Delzahn Empire
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The place called the Delzahn Empire stretches from the coast to the end of the hills, just before the deserts of the South begin, and from the south-western bornder of the Varang City-States in the east to the Mattahuk Alliance in the west. The biggest cities in the area are Chiaroscuro, Vilag City (the capital of Alom Vilag), Asherta (a warlike city-state along the Tamas River) and Shalha Bay (the largest city in the Mattahuk Alliance).
History
This area of Creation has a long history. During the First Age, the great City of Glass dominated the area completely, with a vast network of glass roads. Occasionally, small portions of these deep red roads can still be found here and there through the hills. They make excellent camping spots, as they remain tremendously cool during the day, and radiate the day's heat pleasantly through the night.
These wild hills were the hunting grounds and territory of the Ka-Khan, the Khan of Khans, the Lunar Exalt who merged the Three Tribes of the Plain of Windswept Bones and led the attack on Chiaroscuro. A great dhole-god, a prophecy remains among the Delzahn that he shall return one day. It is clear that Tamas Khan never intended for his people to become so dependent on the city, and his dholeman children know this.
Terrain
Though these hills are usually green, the soil here tends to be dry and somewhat sandy. The plants here are tough scrub brush and evergreens such as cedar, palms and similar tough succulents. Moreover, the trees that grow here tend to be gnarled and impressive, capable of withstanding droughts and high, searing winds that blow up from out of the South.
The food of this area is well-known throughout Creation. Olives, dates and similar fruits are to be had in abundance, and vegetables and lentils are quite favored. The main grain grown here is rice along the rivers and a variety of other arid grains. Goats are kept for their meat and milk, as are cattle along the river and near oases and other water-rich locales.
The hillsides themselves tend to be covered in succulent grasses and other hardy foliage, providing ample fodder for the tough horses of the Delzahn, goats, camels and the mighty yeddim. There are also plenty of predators here: dhole-hounds, jackals, lions and packs of claw striders. Prides of simhata can be found occasionally, as well.
These hills also often contain a variety of ruins, from ages past. Many of these are set into the depths of the craggy hills themselves, protected from destruction by their construction. Among the hills can also be found the occasional thumnas — an artificial hill made of scree, gravel and sand. These hills were constructed as protection for tombs by the tribes and people of these lands. Though this was not a First Age practice, it is said that the first thumnas was constructed for the body of Tamas Khan, interred in a tomb hidden as a hill, that his foes might not find and despoil his grave.
In the centuries since, a variety of great heroes, many of them Exalted, have been interred in the thumnas, which are always constructed with some thaumaturgical property that prevents the hungry ghosts within from escaping.
These are not the strangest of the lands, though. It is clear that the Essence of this land owes much to the Elemental Pole of Fire, far to the South, for fully half of the demesnes (and thus Manses) to be found here are aspected to Fire. Locals refer to these demesnes as "chimaera lands," due to the strange gouts of flame that erupt from the ground itself. It is known that many gods and elementals favor these sites.
Tamas River
The single great river that flows down from the hills to the sea, the Tamas River is named for Tamas Khan, who is said to have fought the god of this river, and when he won, he chose as his victory prize the right to have the river bear his name, rather than the god's.
Nations of the Great Southern Hills
- Alom Vilag, a tiny nation well and truly under the thumb of the Guild, though technically ruled by a royal house and its council of god-blooded mandarin-eunuchs.
- The Mattahuk Alliance, a small collection of allied city-states allied by a court of small gods. Currently a focus of the Immaculate Order, who seek to lessen the influence of the gods on the city-states and possibly establish a new satrapy for the Realm here.
- The Tamas City-States, a collection of independent cities that flank the Tamas River.
- Tribes of the Great Southern Hills, including a handful of Delzahn clans and the Djala panda-folk.
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