Al-Kalim

Homeland to Sultans, Pyramids, and ancient wonders.

South of Terrinoth, across the glittering expanse of the shining sea, lies a vast, arid continent. Here, when the grand baronies and kingdoms of the north were but fledgling tribes, the seeds of civilization took root and flourished. Long ago, Al-Kalim was said to the domain of the Djinni, petty demigods who ruled over tribes of Humans from their floating castles and glass citadels. When A’tar, the God of Fire and Light, descended upon the world, he swept away the corrupt and vile Djinni, freeing Humans from their magical yokes. In the place of these capricious creatures, he sired the first Caliph and gave rise to perhaps the greatest Human civilization the world has ever seen. For centuries, this grand empire has endured as a shining beacon of A’tar’s light, but its time might well be coming to an end as old enemies gather out in the desert night. Heroes setting foot upon this vast desert continent are likely to find wonder and peril in equal measure, from the pirate dens of the Thieves’ Coast and their lawless cities to the grand city-states of the viziers, where powerful lords plot and scheme. Those who seek advancement and opportunity might journey to Al-Madena itself, seat of the Caliph and beating heart of the Caliphate. Beyond the politics and social warfare of the capital, the mysteries of the deserts beckon, their rolling sands filled with the ruins of Djinn cities, the lairs of mythical beasts, and the Djinni themselves, who even now meddle in the affairs of mortals and plan their return to power.

CALIPHATE OF THE DESERT KING
Al-Kalim is ruled by the mighty Caliph, a divine descendant of the Sun God, A’tar, and ruler of an empire that stretches for hundreds of leagues across broken coastlines, snowcapped peaks, and vast deserts. Under their command are the tribes and races of the desert, from the proud Bedorri Clans to the Jiafar vassals and the citizens of the lordly viziers’ city-states. Their land is ancient indeed, having survived for centuries shielded from the wars and mayhem of Terrinoth by the strength of its grand armies and fleets and the protection of the Sun God. It was, however, not always so. Before the arrival of A’tar, the Sayr-Savim, as the tribes of the desert are collectively known, were slaves to the will of the Djinni. In great cities wrought of magic, mortals served the whims of these sorcerous creatures and lived for their amusement. Kajir, the City of Dark Dreams, traded in nightmares, its obsidian mines filled with the screams of sleeping captives, which fueled the depraved thirsts of its master, the Djinn Darmarr. Meanwhile, Asolerr, the City of Fire, consumed a hundred Humans a day in its infernos so that the fire Djinn Erfrart might bathe in molten glory. To live in such a corrupted time as a Human was to bear the mark of one’s Djinn master, serve their city and their will, and wage war upon the servants of the other Djinni. It was only the efforts of the Cult of A’tar that saved the people of Al-Kalim. Meeting in secret, they worshipped the only object more powerful than the Djinni: the sun. When their prayers were at last answered, a season of flame came upon the land, and there was a great uprising against the Djinni. When at last the final fires died away, the Djinni had been banished to the desert, the mountains, and the sky, and in their place, the foundation of the Caliphate was laid.
Now, centuries later, the city of Al-Madena stands at the heart of this empire. It was here in the Blessed Valley that A’tar descended to the world’s surface, and it was here where the first Caliph was born. Upon this sacred ground, one of the largest cities in the world sprawls, its towers reaching up to
the sun, their golden spires gleaming like fire. For a hundred leagues and more in all directions, the Caliph rules, their power extending into the mountains and their arcane observatories, across the desert plains, to the mighty vizier cities of Haruun, Siryasa, and Irram, and all the way to the shining sea and the Thieves’ Coast, with its countless trade cities and towns.