Friday, July 5, 2013

Sharafkhaneh - The House of Honor

The campaign focuses on the district of Sharafkhaneh, close to the shores Lake Urmia, a large salt lake in a mountainous, hilly region. Once a land that was contested between the Aryani and Basilean Empires, it has now been part of the Great Caliphate of Asharaf for a century now. Sharafkhaneh, however, is much, much older than that and peopled by more than just the Aryani people and their Ashari conquerors. Many races have called the lands around Lake Urmia home for hundreds of thousands of years.

Humanity is the newcomer, having appeared in only the last 12 - 15,000 years, older than the human presence in any other land by far but still young from the point of view of the demihuman and non-human races that have also called Sharafkhaneh home. The children of gods and demons, the spawn of entities beyond this world, and horrific monstrosities that have never seen the light of day also dwell on, above, or below the hills and mighty ranges surrounding Sharafkhaneh. Legends tell that it was here that the first heroes of mankind imprisoned demons deep beneath the earth, and landed their ships after a mighty deluge swept the world clean of life. Ankidiru the World Conqueror, the first emperor, built a mighty tower to challenge the gods in the heavens - and lost. Iskander Godson swept over this land with his armies from the west, bringing knowledge and the destruction of the first empire of the Aryanis. The Legions of Empyrea marched here and built their fortresses and cities. Sometimes these structures stood and are still inhabited to this day. Others were destroyed by invading armies, whether human or otherwise, swallowed by the earth, cursed, or overrun by evil beings who swarmed from deep caverns.

It is this district that has come into the possession of Emir Khaled ibn Ajman al-Hajj of the Great Tribe of Ajman. Emir Khaled wants to enlarge his domain by putting the beasts that surround his lands to the sword and carry the war to the Basilean unbelievers. The call has gone out for the brave, the foolhardy, and the zealot to gather and continue the great struggle against the monstrous and the unbeliever (all the while enriching his noble coffers). Glory to those who can bring down the fortresses of the Basileans. All that stands between his lands and theirs are unending leagues of monster and bandit filled wilderness.

The snows are melting off of the peaks and the high passes. The akritoi sharpen their blades and prepare for battle, ready to die for their God. Will the ghazi heed the call?


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