Kemet
Kemet, On The Great River
A bastion on the south coast of the Crown Sea at the delta of the massive Iteru, a colossal brackish channel and lagoon fed by rivers that reach all the way from the Eldauthian sanctuary of Kuo-At. Kemet lies along the banks and islands of the Iteru, nestled amongst the drowned ruins of Eshbahar, brought to the surface by the relentless floods of the The Fall. Before the great wave, the inlet was once a river and floodplain that brought life to a vast corridor of cities which persisted for three millennia most recently known as the Great House of Hwuat, unified under dynastic reigns which stretch back to the Mnar-Alsahra War. Now, only Kemet and Meruw remain of this once grand civilization, the rest of which presumably lies at the bottom of the Crown Sea. The great wave was particularly cruel to the floodplains and riverside cities of the Great House of Hwuat, erasing almost all of the ancient cities of their people and instead bringing to the surface the ancient ruins of Eshbahar. The hilltops of that ancient place are now the isles of Kemet and Meruw on which the people of the river take refuge. Hwuat was once a kingdom of farmers and hersman who relied on yearly floods to create rich grazing and growing areas. The Fall has distinctly separated the survivors into the bastions of Kemet in the north and Meruw to the south. Kemet's northern brackish waters lay over what were once fields for grazing cattle and growing grain. While they provide rich source of fish and are relatively sheltered from ocean storms, the unrelenting floodwaters are a betrayal of a 3000 year old way of life and the cultures and beliefs that came with it.
Kemet is now essentially a wealthy but resource-choked port in an inland sea at the mouth of the great Iteru, a staging area for southern Meruw's barges of rock quartz and gold exhumed from inland sandstone formations. This wealth has put Kemet in a position to rule the surrounding 'Banamet' or 'red soilers' who live in the adjacent marshes and salt forests. Both Hwuat and the ancient ruins of Eshbahar are famous for their grand monuments. Much of Kemet is situated directly among them, and what of them remain above water are often used as navigational guides. Amongst them are the cyclopean pyramids, some say built by the Hwuat, some say by the Eshbahar themselves. These stone monuments which rise about 70 marches over the water clad with linestone and peaked with gold are slowly eroding into the waters of the Iteru, the ancient and beautiful motifs on their surface now used to measure the tides. Touching these ancient ruins is a rite of passage for those who sail from distant ports. Young sailors are often chased away from the partially submerged statues of animal-headed gods which now serve as makeshift shrines.
Before The Fall, much of Kemetian belief and culture hinged on the continued wellness of the immortal river god Ausur, a figure long linked to the egnimatic Beast of Eshbahar. Believed by historians to be fictional or allegorical until recent explorations proved its existence, the beast is a monstrous creature whose shape and size defy rational understanding. Tunnels leading to the beast (and into it) have been discovered several times in the last few decades, run by poachers, cultists and the curious, with pieces of the beast becoming curios and artifacts sought by the rich. This has caused much alarm in Kemet as the Eshbahari were known to believe that the beast would one day wake and lay waste to the region.
"I kept asking, "Who's funeral was it?" Always, the same answer; the river. The river. The river." - Sonsobar the Scribe, The River People
Geography
A bastion on the south coast of the Crown Sea at the delta of the massive Iteru, a colossal brackish channel and lagoon fed by rivers that reach all the way from the Eldauthian sanctuary of Kuo-At. Kemet lies along the banks and islands of the Iteru, nestled amongst the drowned ruins of Eshbahar, brought to the surface by the relentless floods of the The Fall. Before the great wave, the inlet was once a river and floodplain that brought life to a vast corridor of cities which persisted for three millennia most recently known as the Great House of Hwuat, unified under dynastic reigns which stretch back to the Mnar-Alsahra War. Now, only Kemet and Meruw remain of this once grand civilization, the rest of which presumably lies at the bottom of the Crown Sea. The great wave was particularly cruel to the floodplains and riverside cities of the Great House of Hwuat, erasing almost all of the ancient cities of their people and instead bringing to the surface the ancient ruins of Eshbahar. The hilltops of that ancient place are now the isles of Kemet and Meruw on which the people of the river take refuge. Hwuat was once a kingdom of farmers and hersman who relied on yearly floods to create rich grazing and growing areas. The Fall has distinctly separated the survivors into the bastions of Kemet in the north and Meruw to the south. Kemet's northern brackish waters lay over what were once fields for grazing cattle and growing grain. While they provide rich source of fish and are relatively sheltered from ocean storms, the unrelenting floodwaters are a betrayal of a 3000 year old way of life and the cultures and beliefs that came with it.
Kemet is now essentially a wealthy but resource-choked port in an inland sea at the mouth of the great Iteru, a staging area for southern Meruw's barges of rock quartz and gold exhumed from inland sandstone formations. This wealth has put Kemet in a position to rule the surrounding 'Banamet' or 'red soilers' who live in the adjacent marshes and salt forests. Both Hwuat and the ancient ruins of Eshbahar are famous for their grand monuments. Much of Kemet is situated directly among them, and what of them remain above water are often used as navigational guides. Amongst them are the cyclopean pyramids, some say built by the Hwuat, some say by the Eshbahar themselves. These stone monuments which rise about 70 marches over the water clad with linestone and peaked with gold are slowly eroding into the waters of the Iteru, the ancient and beautiful motifs on their surface now used to measure the tides. Touching these ancient ruins is a rite of passage for those who sail from distant ports. Young sailors are often chased away from the partially submerged statues of animal-headed gods which now serve as makeshift shrines.
Before The Fall, much of Kemetian belief and culture hinged on the continued wellness of the immortal river god Ausur, a figure long linked to the egnimatic Beast of Eshbahar. Believed by historians to be fictional or allegorical until recent explorations proved its existence, the beast is a monstrous creature whose shape and size defy rational understanding. Tunnels leading to the beast (and into it) have been discovered several times in the last few decades, run by poachers, cultists and the curious, with pieces of the beast becoming curios and artifacts sought by the rich. This has caused much alarm in Kemet as the Eshbahari were known to believe that the beast would one day wake and lay waste to the region.
Comments