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The Empire was destroyed.
Winds blew through its empty streets, the sands engulfed its buildings with hunger. Its pillars, which stood strong for hundreds of years, shattered at once under the pressure of the Underworld. Earth itself cried as it was forced to burst open, allowing the dead to claim the city. Eventually, when the storm passed, nothing - not even a name - was left behind. The desert claimed the city as its own.
But the desert is not a constant thing. It is a dynamic, changing entity. Its sands shift and travel, moved by some sort of primordial hunger. It dances. It sings an ancient song about life and death, wisdom and pride.
The desert also remembers things, secrets no one else upon the face of Earth knows. Many hidden treasures from bygone eras are covered by its sands, while the wind whispers their stories to anyone who is willing to listen. It is a constant reminder that our lives are only temporary. Eventually, the desert will cover us too, and only it would remember our lost names...
Yet nothing is lost forever. The sands shift, and the past in uncovered. Things which seemed to be lost forever rise once more, guided by the gentle hands of Fate, as written in the stars.
An Empire was destroyed... but another rose from its ruins.
Kemet, the Black Land. Birthed in the middle of the desert by the flow of the Nile, the Old Kingdom stands strong. Its gods are life and death, the sun and the desert. Built on the broken pillars of the lost city, it created a whole new society, growing away from the secrets of the past and into the shinning future, guided by the light of the Sun. Its Pharaoh rules as the incarnation of the gods on two lands, its priests sing hymns honoring the powers which granted them life in the wasteland while guiding their souls to the afterlife. This is a land of power, of might, a land protected by the many gods it named.
But as the blessed Sun falls to the Underworld, other things crawl out, holding their own secrets from the past.
In the shadow of the Kingdom, things move. Beings claw their way out of their grave, filled with yearning for warmth, for blood. Those Hungry Dead walk through the streets, sing their own hymns to the same gods worshiped by the living. Many cults compete each other over both blood and faith, each carrying its god with pride. Sutek, Re, Nebthet, Djehuty - each of those and more sings its own Requiem in the dark night, orchestrated by the great House of the Dead. They respect their mortal king and accept his authority, yet they live under their own rules. The living must protect the dead, both those who lie in their grave and those who aren't.
Yet, not all gods sing the same song - and when those hymns meet, a discord is heard. Some try to deafen the song, others whisper among the dead and few seek to only bring silence. Not only that, other kingdoms also find themselves drawn to the land of the Nile, bringing with them their own gods and faithful - from the passionate dead of Mesopotamia, through the silent idols of Canaan and even up to the shadow haunted Punt, Kemet has become the center where they interact, trade secrets and whisper wars. And other kingdoms are not the only problem - for the wasteland hides its own dangers. Wolves, hyenas and jackals roam through the desert, their eyes burn with hunger. Cults search after ruins of the past in the desert, forsaking the path of light granted by the great vizer and willing to endanger themselves through poison and death. Darkness sleeps beneath the sands, always hungering, always waiting. Dangers are found everywhere for those who dare the travel between lands - just enough to make you forget how dangerous Kemet itself really is.
But everyone is going to be reminded soon enough.
The ancient star rises once more, causing the sands to shift again - and it happens in the worst timing it could possibly be. A bloodthirsty king rules the throne, stopping ancient traditions out of spite and a hunger for power. The old cults discover their gods rising from their graves, carrying with them the power of the ruined empire. Madness covers the land, disrupting the eternal Requiem for a lost city and replacing it with something else - a song about victory and triumph against time itself. For long years, the Sun blessed the Black Land, but not any longer.
The Sun sets. Its Age has passed.
And the Age of Azar finally begins.
Winds blew through its empty streets, the sands engulfed its buildings with hunger. Its pillars, which stood strong for hundreds of years, shattered at once under the pressure of the Underworld. Earth itself cried as it was forced to burst open, allowing the dead to claim the city. Eventually, when the storm passed, nothing - not even a name - was left behind. The desert claimed the city as its own.
But the desert is not a constant thing. It is a dynamic, changing entity. Its sands shift and travel, moved by some sort of primordial hunger. It dances. It sings an ancient song about life and death, wisdom and pride.
The desert also remembers things, secrets no one else upon the face of Earth knows. Many hidden treasures from bygone eras are covered by its sands, while the wind whispers their stories to anyone who is willing to listen. It is a constant reminder that our lives are only temporary. Eventually, the desert will cover us too, and only it would remember our lost names...
Yet nothing is lost forever. The sands shift, and the past in uncovered. Things which seemed to be lost forever rise once more, guided by the gentle hands of Fate, as written in the stars.
An Empire was destroyed... but another rose from its ruins.
Kemet, the Black Land. Birthed in the middle of the desert by the flow of the Nile, the Old Kingdom stands strong. Its gods are life and death, the sun and the desert. Built on the broken pillars of the lost city, it created a whole new society, growing away from the secrets of the past and into the shinning future, guided by the light of the Sun. Its Pharaoh rules as the incarnation of the gods on two lands, its priests sing hymns honoring the powers which granted them life in the wasteland while guiding their souls to the afterlife. This is a land of power, of might, a land protected by the many gods it named.
But as the blessed Sun falls to the Underworld, other things crawl out, holding their own secrets from the past.
In the shadow of the Kingdom, things move. Beings claw their way out of their grave, filled with yearning for warmth, for blood. Those Hungry Dead walk through the streets, sing their own hymns to the same gods worshiped by the living. Many cults compete each other over both blood and faith, each carrying its god with pride. Sutek, Re, Nebthet, Djehuty - each of those and more sings its own Requiem in the dark night, orchestrated by the great House of the Dead. They respect their mortal king and accept his authority, yet they live under their own rules. The living must protect the dead, both those who lie in their grave and those who aren't.
Yet, not all gods sing the same song - and when those hymns meet, a discord is heard. Some try to deafen the song, others whisper among the dead and few seek to only bring silence. Not only that, other kingdoms also find themselves drawn to the land of the Nile, bringing with them their own gods and faithful - from the passionate dead of Mesopotamia, through the silent idols of Canaan and even up to the shadow haunted Punt, Kemet has become the center where they interact, trade secrets and whisper wars. And other kingdoms are not the only problem - for the wasteland hides its own dangers. Wolves, hyenas and jackals roam through the desert, their eyes burn with hunger. Cults search after ruins of the past in the desert, forsaking the path of light granted by the great vizer and willing to endanger themselves through poison and death. Darkness sleeps beneath the sands, always hungering, always waiting. Dangers are found everywhere for those who dare the travel between lands - just enough to make you forget how dangerous Kemet itself really is.
But everyone is going to be reminded soon enough.
The ancient star rises once more, causing the sands to shift again - and it happens in the worst timing it could possibly be. A bloodthirsty king rules the throne, stopping ancient traditions out of spite and a hunger for power. The old cults discover their gods rising from their graves, carrying with them the power of the ruined empire. Madness covers the land, disrupting the eternal Requiem for a lost city and replacing it with something else - a song about victory and triumph against time itself. For long years, the Sun blessed the Black Land, but not any longer.
The Sun sets. Its Age has passed.
And the Age of Azar finally begins.
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