History[]
The land of Kah'alune has not always been the desert that it is now, home to bandits, demons, wild animals, and really any other nasty creature you can think of. Once, in a time long from our own, it was a lust fertile field, home to thousands. A rich and wonderful culture thrived there, and the people were happy, crops were able to grow, and rivers flowed freely throughout the land. It was a golden age for the entire region, as it would seem their culture was destined to overcome the entire continent.
But fate has other plans for these peoples. Just as the wind had brought them food and water, so now the wind turned against them, bringing heat, sand, and dust. Forests turned to dunes, and fertile valleys, to dead dry ravines. The people were scattered, as cities that were once home to hundred were soon only inhabited by a few dozens. Though even though who tried to flee did not meet a happy end, for they were met by large vicious hordes of beast, and were soon torn apart. Nature had torn apart an empire decades in the making, in just two years. The nation broke down into cities states, with each one barely moving beyond their own walls as they fought for the few oases of trees and water that remained.
This era of civil war would last for over a century until the invasion of the coast came. The cities there had far better luck, with a thin strip of land there still being fertile and allowing for the survival of a small fragment of the old empire. After they had raised a grand army together, the shore states invaded the inland area and conquered it in a brief war, with the small tribal armies of the city states standing no chance against the grand army. With the conquest of the old capital, it seemed the new empire had a chance of returning. This fate was not to be had however. While the Grand army was gone and in its conquest of the desert land, an insurrection had occurred at home, deposing of the council as one Alvin Blackthorn took power of the nation. Fearing the challenge of the Grand Army commander Melvis Stormfold, he arranged for him to visit the capital. While the commander made his way back, Alvis accosted Melvis’s wife as well, leaving his son in an orphanage. It was also at this point that he declared that the gods would no longer be welcomed in the country, and that their worship would be outlawed. In secret though he had been working with a cult in the area who had helped him secure power. They believed Alvis and Serina, Melvis’s wife, to be the children of a deity of theirs. Alvis didn’t take this seriously but he went along with it to secure the throne. Meanwhile when Melvis returned to the capital, Alvis was ready for him and along with a legion of elite battlemages, wiped out most of his grand army in one fell swoop, securing him the entire old republic as an empire now.
Though Alvis would later die to an insurrection, the monarch remained, though for several years they kept a council of nobles to give the faint hint of representation, along with clinging to old customs. Though as time went on, this degraded downwards, with nobles becoming more corrupt, more finances being funneled into the army, and more lost attributes of the republic. It was during this long period that a large band of nomadic lizard people moved into the nation. They were quickly captured and forced into slavery, forced to go through the dangerous mining conditions near the mountains while others were forced to live near the ocean and were selectively breed so they could eventually go underwater and mine more there. Though there has been numerous attempts at conquest, due to the large size and the nature of the desert, most invading army tend to be bogged down in the dunes and picked off by hit and run attacks.
Recently the government has begun to crack down on "liberation fronts" throughout the country, who wish to abolish the slave trade in the country. All attempts so far have been crushed with minimal ease by the state army, the laves none the wiser for the most part that there are even liberation fronts. The only places where it has become a serious issues is in the far corners of the empire, where the power of the king is not felt as strongly, thus the seeds of rebellion find more fertile ground to sprout.
Government[]
Though at one point a republic, the Kah'Alune of the modern day is a strict monarchy that has been around for centuries, established by Emperor Arvis the 1st. There is currently a king and queen on the throne, along with four children, two boys and two girls. There are 10 dukes throughout the kingdom, each controlling a duchy, with the duchy holding Neogronde being controlled by the king himself. Water rationing is a serious policy in the country, and anyone found taking more then their share can be killed for this crime. Legal trials also tend to get very tense, with armed guards often at high stake trials and everyone being searched before entering the building. Lawyers often have to hire bodyguards to protect them in the weeks leading up to the trials.
Military[]
Kah'Alune has a very large military force, at it maximum, able to raise an army of 150,000 troopers, though they only keep 50,000 around during times of peace. Though this isn't as large as the number of Feydore, they make up for their lack of numbers with high quality equipment and skill. Due to the large amount of valuable minerals in their land, they are able to pump out some of the best armor and equipment on the continent. Their main army tend to consist of camel Calvary, and loose bands of soldiers. Though when needed to fight on foreign soil, they have a large supply of horse ranches within the north and their soldiers tend to be very adaptable to most types of weather. Their army contains 5 major divisions: The Wyvern Corp, the Spy corp , The Fleet , and the Grand Army, commanded by Lord Tidas. Outside the normal change of command though are a group of 8 mysterious generals known only as the "Dragon Generals". It is said that they are generals who have done spectular services for Kah'Alune, and as rewards, are granted a rare gift: dragons. Specifically, dragons that have had their minds and bodies altered and corrupted so they serve as obedient, mindless mounts.It is said the dragon generals report only to the king.