The Shezarkai Kingdom
ancient lands of sand, sun, and survival
Structure
The Vampiric gods rule over the cities as the undisputed rulers. Under them are a well curated and loyal council who help advise their ruling god of the current most pressing issues and the current happenings. Under them are the many politicians and judges who handle the rule of the land.
Culture
While the Shezarkai Kingdoms sound like a grand and incredible place to live, it has its own dark secrets. While the people are fanatically devoted, the vampiric gods unbeknownst to the populace simply view their people as convenient livestock. They realize that its far easier to simply have the people offer themselves to them without a fight rather then hunt for food, and so sacrifices are chosen from the populace to be offered to the gods. Refusing is not an option, for it is seen as an incredible honor to be chosen, and refusing will result in being executed for ones insolence. The slave markets brim with the downtrodden and the Shezarkaian people are worked hard, for all must be perfectly maintained to be the jewel of the Plane of Fire that they currently are. Those who disagree with the rule of the land are either arrested, executed, or exiled out of the cities. A very small few have managed to survive outside of the cities in raider nomads, but in practical terms, political dissenters find it best to hide amongst the alleyways and keep their treasonous thoughts to themselves.
Water is what separates a man from the dead. Water is all in the Shezarkai Kingdoms, and the vampiric gods will commonly have beautiful water fountains and flowing rivers in their Palaces, as well as gold walls, and beautiful men and women as their personal consorts. To show ones decadence and achievements is only right to those who have fought to secure their spoils. The common people only get enough water to survive, and thus it is considered a grievous insult to refuse water when offered
Workers work long hours, either farming near the great oasis rivers, or manual labor. This is often accompanied by massive scarabs that help in daily life. Oasis spirits are common nearby the great rivers, and cults of water and even farmers pray and give offerings to them so that the lands may be fertile enough to keep their people fed.
Travel outside the cities is extremely hazardous. While trade helps keep these cities functioning, the Cinder Wastes are ever treacherous, and raiders on top of the Ashen Cursed zombies make travel extremely dangerous. Convoys of trade goods are usually followed by armies of troops, but for the independent traders looking to expand their profit, they must rely on mercenaries to try and survive out in the sands.
Life is cheap in the sands. People die constantly, and thus the people of Shezarkai are hardened. Many view foreigners as weak. Ones life is to respect the many gods in the lands, and to work hard for their masters, for without this, order would devolve and the people would all die out as the oasis cities fall into disrepair and are destroyed. That on top of the ever feared wrath of the vampiric gods make sure many would never dream of defying their way of life. However crime does still occur, and many have gotten good at hiding in plain sight or bribing local law enforcement to let them go about their illict activity's.
History
The Shezarkai Kingdoms have stood for such an immeasurable amount of time even they are not entirely sure of their true origins. What is known is that long ago, before many nations of the world even came to being, the Shezarkaian Kingdoms ruled over the sands of Carall with an iron fist. The Pharaohs ruled as chosen by the will of their one true god, Rameshka, god of the sun and sands. Through them they banished the current tribals of what would become the Tajiran people, and would give praise to their god as they were the undisputed rulers of the sands. However, the daughter of one of the greatest pharaohs, Ashtekhu, was in great peril. She had lived in incredibly decadent wealth, sipping from the finest wines, and having any man or woman she desired at her whim, but these luxuries would fade with simple time. She would grow old, and perish from this world. She would despair, hiring the best scribes of the world to find a key to immorality, but none could find it. She would mourn for her soul for a day straight, but after that day, an idea formed. She would seek out forbidden magics with the help of a shady sorcerer she sought out in secret, after learning all she could, she slaughtered him as he slept and would commence a ritual in the deepest parts of the royal palace. No one knows what happened, but from this ritual she would become one of if not the first instance of a vampire. From this, a cult would form around her, and she would bask in the blood sacrifices which kept her sustained, and time would pass as she would, with the forbidden tomes she sought out, ascended rapidly too god hood.
However, an event known as the Sun Death, would occur when the moon would cover the sun, and not go away for a week. In this time, strange monsters not known to this plane would surge fourth and slaughter the kingdoms people. In this moment of great despair, Ashtekhu would reveal herself, after her father had died, and declare that the god Rameshka had abandoned them. Challenging the god who had just been weakened by this event, she would slaughter him and consume his power. She would then in a great spell, teleport what remained of the kingdom to the plane of fire, among the expansive Cinder Wastes. There she would form a sort of pocket reality, or oasis in this land of ashen sand, and from this oasis water would flow and crops would grow, but only if the people would give sacrifice to her. The people would fervently worship her as their new goddess, proclaiming her the goddess of blood, order, beauty, and war. She would maintain the oasis through a complex blood ritual that would renew the arcane seals that kept the oasis's in tact and to this day they are dutifully maintained by caretakers and Ashtekhu herself. In time the kingdom would regrow in this oasis, and eventually Ashtekhu would embrace others with her vampiric gift, granting them a state similar to her god like vampirism. It is from here that she would spread her children out into the Cinder Wastes, and teach them the ways of the oasis spell to form their own grand, decadent city states, and to serve as part of the Shezarkaian pantheon.
Though they claim rulership of their cities, none question that the pharaoh of pharaohs, the god among gods, is Ashtekhu. To this day she remains as the undisputed ruler of the Shezarkai Kingdoms, and rules with an iron fist. Though they have not sat idly by. Many threats oppose the blossoming kingdoms. A strange curse, known simply as the Ashen Curse or The Curse of Wandering, would be revealed to the Shezarkaian people. Due to the powerful nature of the vampiric gods, it spawned a strange form of living ash sand, that would attack those outside the walls and suck the water out of their body before reducing them to a sort of mindless zombie like monster. Vast hordes of undead roam the sands now, with a few nobles who dared to try and live outside the gracious goddesses domains. On top of that, many natives to the Plane of Fire, most notably genies and their slave armies, as well as the recent dwarves of Barrak Gurum would seek to plunder the wealth of the elemental plane in their name of their debased fire god. However, few could hope to beat the vast armies of the vampiric gods in an open battle, and so to this day the kingdoms remain strong. Some even say Ashtekhu is planning a glorious invasion of the Mortal Realm to retake their birthright and teach all the races their proper place, on their knees before the great goddess.
Demography and Population
The people that live under the gaze of their bloody gods and goddesses are mainly humans, qizmian elves, and snake like people called Neheb. Some other races include a varraiton fo arakocra known as Aven, minitours, and genasi. They also have vast hordes of slaves, with a few slaves of more exotic races, such as depowered planar travelers.
Military
Each city state maintains a vast professional army of mortal troops, and it is said their numbers are legion without number.
Religion
The pantheon the Shezarkai worship revolved around the vampiric gods who rule the cities:
- Ashtekhu: Head of the pantheon and great goddess of blood, order, war, and pleasure, through her all the great miracles were possible, and is seen as the benevolent goddess of the people. She rules over the city of Khemkhameru, and it is said to be the grandest land ruled over by the vampiric gods.
- Makara: Makara is the goddess of arcana, and knowledge. She wears the guise of a great ibis and is a powerful sorcerer in her own right. She rules her city of Sesai wisely but from afar, preferring to delegate most of her tasks to her council of advisors while she studies more arcane and blood rituals.
- Akhek: Akhek is the God of Death, graves, and twilight. His city of Nakhamu is a drab and gloomy place, for he is tasked with preparing the afterlife for the faithful. As such, many of the people have it where their bodies are offered to Akhek where he can send them to the afterlife, Unbeknownst to the people, the soul leaves to the afterlife, but the body is used for dark necromantic rituals. He favors the guise of a jackal, and he has a close circle of beings resembling humanoid jackals called Khenra.
- Maut-nefer: Maut-nefer is the goddess of life, nature, and storms. Many clerics research blood rituals in her name, and it is said her realm is one of the most fertile in the kingdoms. She sips from only the finest, decadent wines, and it is said she regularly throws parties in her grand palace to experience the wonders of nature. No one is entirely sure what happens during these parties. She favors the guise of a cat like veil and rules over the city of Apsana
- Mi-amen: Mi-amen is the god of strength, zeal, and forge. His palace has a royal armory where the finest crafted weapons and items are forged, and many blacksmiths compete to have the honor of being employed in them. He is a stoic god, who favors his strength as a warrior and smith above magical prowess, and relentlessly has his armies train harder and harder. He favors the guise of a snake like crown and rules over the city of Menpitaten
- Nekhtou: Nekhtou is the god of courage, ambition, and unbending will. He favors the guise of a bull like crown, and is said to inspire such passionate zealotry in his people that all would debase and kill themselves for him if he so wished. His walls around his city of Satusa have withered many storms of cursed undead, and many other threats due to being near the edge of the Cinder Wastes,
Foreign Relations
The Shezarkai are thought of as a long, long dead nation. Few, if any, scholars in the Mortal Realm know of the survival of the Shezarkai Kingdoms, this is also due to very few Shezarkaian adventurers planar traveling to the Mortal Realm.
"For the Gods, the Sun Rises Eternally!"
Founding Date
Unkown, theroized to be -100EC
Type
Geopolitical, Kingdom
Demonym
Shezarkaian
Judicial Body
The Kenbet helped enforce and make laws with the approval of their ruling god or goddess, as well as meting out punishment to those who broke the law
Notable Members
- Akhek, Shezarkaian God of Death, Grave, and Twilight
- Ashtekhu, God Pharaoh of Shezarkai
- Makara, Shezarkaian Goddess of Arcana and Knowledge
- Maut-nefer, Shezarkaian Goddess of Life, Nature, and Storms
- Mi-amen, Shezarkaian God of Strength, Zeal, and Forge
- Nekhtou, Shezarkaian God of Courage, Ambition, and Unbending Will
