Domain of the Ancient Dead

Darklord: @Ankhtepot

Genre: Dark fantasy

Hallmarks: Ancient tombs, desert perils, lost gods, mummies

Mist Talismans: Canopic jar, lapis lazuli scarab, scroll of hieroglyphics

The sands of time bury the desert realm of @Har'Akir. Here, the wonders of fallen empires and pyramids of forgotten pharaohs crumble beneath a merciless sun. Untold generations of tombs and secrets lie beneath the sands, markers of a history the land's few residents know of only in story and song. Their interest in past splendor is smothered, as life is harsh in Har'Akir and the living exist only to serve a deathless god-king.

This realm of fierce deserts and mysterious monuments is ruled by the @Mummy Lord @Ankhtepot, speaker for the gods and immortal pharaoh. From his golden pyramid in the @City of the Dead, the Darklord watches over his domain, careless of the passage of mortal lives as he sends his servants in search of his only remaining desire: his ka, the missing piece of his fractured soul.

As the pharaoh obsesses over his lost treasure and thoughts of escaping his impossibly long @Undead existence, his servants plague the domain in his name. In hidden tomb-courts, withered, animal-headed elder mummies known as the Children of Ankhtepot luxuriate as emissaries of false gods. And in the mud brick city of @Muhar, the @Priests of morbid gods oversee all aspects of life, apportioning food and blessings to the worthy and punishing blasphemers. But all the pharaoh's servants also pursue his quest to find his mysterious lost treasure, and are ever desperate for some clue or news to placate @Ankhtepot and spare them from the storms of his wrath and his buried legions of the ancient dead.

Noteworthy Features

Those familiar with @Har'Akir know the following facts:

• @Har'Akir is a land of vast deserts and deadly storms. Water is scarce beyond the land's few oases and the city of @Muhar.

• The land is ruled by Pharaoh @Ankhtepot, the immortal intermediary between the mortals and the gods. The pharaoh rules from his pyramid, @Pharaoh's Rest, in the @City of the Dead.

• The people worship a pantheon of strict gods (see the Ankhtepot, Adventures in Har'Akir & Gods of Har'Akir lore article). The @Priests of these gods oversee all aspects of labor, agriculture, trade, justice, and religion in the pharaoh's name.

• The monuments, tombs, and pyramids of past golden ages litter Har'Akir. These countless tombs are interconnected, forming a vast, semi-hidden underground network called @The Labyrinth.

• Akirran death rituals call for removing the heart, draining the body of blood, and wrapping the remains in linen. These methods preserve the body so the pharaoh might call it to service. It is a crime to burn the dead.

• Akirrans value music, and many locals are accomplished singers or proficient in playing the reed pipe, goblet drum, or arched harp.

Akirran Characters

Characters from @Har'Akir claim descent from an ancient culture and have survived in an extreme environment. Most of the land's people have dark hair and a variety of warm skin tones favoring golden to deep brown and black shades, and names with Egyptian inspirations. When creating characters from @Har'Akir, consider the following questions.

How do they survive in the desert realm? Are they a laborer in the fields or camps surrounding @Muhar? Are they a scribe or @Priest of @Har'Akir's gods? Are they a trader who travels the land or a member of the desert-dwellers known as Sute's Chosen?

What role does music play in their life? Do they prefer to sing, dance, or play an instrument? What animal, hero, god, or past pharaoh is evoked in their favorite song? How do others feel about their performances?

How do the gods feature in their life? Are they a devout follower of all the gods of @Har'Akir, or do they favor a single deity? Do they worship only as they must to gain food and protection from the @Priests? Do they secretly worship a deity other than the gods of Har'Akir?

Settlements and Sites

@Har'Akir sprawls across a desert bordered in the east by crumbling, canyon-etched mountains. Most locals live around four oases, located in the bed of an immense river that dried up long ago.

The Oases

Four oases hold all the water in @Har'Akir, making them focuses of life among the domain's people, beasts, and monstrous inhabitants:

• @Muhar Oasis. The largest oasis shares a name with the city of @Muhar, which sits upon its southern shore. Gazelles and herons frequent its northern shore, often attracting predators such as @Crocodiles, @Hyenas, @Chimeras, and @Giant Scorpions.

• @Red Oasis. @Har'Akir's people say this oasis's waters are poison, as the oasis was given by the gods to the @Beasts of the land. Prides of cunning @Lions hunt nearby, frequently washing their kills here.

• @Sek's Tears. The waters of this oasis are said to be able to heal any affliction, but they are guarded by the sphinxes who dwell in the nearby canyons.

• @White Oasis. Holy to the god Neb, the White Oasis is surrounded by rich deposits of limestone favored in the creation of monuments and tombs. A largely disused quarry nearby now shelters a community of recluses called @River's Shelter. All of the residents expect to die soon, for one reason or another, and seek to cleanse themselves with the White Oasis's waters before meeting their end.

@Muhar

With a population of approximately 3,000 people, @Muhar is the largest settlement in @Har'Akir and the center of trade, agriculture, art, and religion in the domain. The @Temple of Ese towers over the city, its limestone walls glinting like a jewel in the sun. Here Akirrans worship, receive food shares, seek justice, and receive medicine or healing, all from the hands of High Priest @Isu Rehkotep. The @Priest claims to speak for Pharaoh @Ankhtepot in all matters, and her word is considered both royal decree and divine edict. In truth, though, the pharaoh cares little for the living so long as order is maintained, leaving Rehkotep to run Muhar largely as she pleases. Those who displease Rehkotep or oppose her priest-guards are thrown into the @Mouth of Oru, a pit that connects to @The Labyrinth.

@Ousa's Pyramid

A mountain of white limestone rises above the southern plateaus of @Har'Akir. This pyramid is known as the spirit home of Ousa, partner of Ese and the god who rules in the afterlife. Akirrans whisper that the interior holds a door between this world and the land of the dead. In front of this wonder, a giant statue of Anu, the Great Jackal, overlooks parched riverbeds. A small order of jackal-masked @Priests guards entry to the pyramid. The priests follow the commands of @Thute, a limber and vicious Child of Ankhtepot with a jackal's head.

@The Labyrinth

Beneath the @Sands of Sute lie generations of hidden tombs, built one atop the other and hidden by the sands of ages. Elaborated upon by the Dark Powers, these endless, entangled crypts are known as @The Labyrinth—a vast, dungeon-underworld that connects every tomb and monument in @Har'Akir. The Children of Ankhtepot and their @Undead servants make use of hidden thoroughfares connecting to the @City of the Dead. But many less-traveled passages lie throughout the Labyrinth, forming a sprawling wilderness of crumbling, monster-haunted ruins and trap-laden passages. Within the deepest of these secret places lie crypts dedicated to gods that predate Pharaoh @Ankhtepot's reign. A traitorous Child of Ankhtepot called @Senmet also lurks within these passages, seeking ways to depose Ankhtepot and become the new pharaoh.

The @Sands of Sute

The desert between the old riverbed and the Sun's Throne Mountains is the largest, most inhospitable region of @Har'Akir. Two mighty sandstorms rage over the region: the @Breath of the Forgotten and the @Breath of the False. These storms are said to impose tests from the gods on those who enter them, trials that punish those living lives without consequence or faith. They are also known to stop and rise without warning, obeying @Ankhtepot's whims. Religious guides known as Sute's Chosen wander the region; the order's members claim to know how to read and navigate past the storms to reach the @City of the Dead by the most expedient route.

@City of the Dead

The Sun's Throne Mountains are a massive monument to the dead, their cliffs dotted with the cavern-tombs of forgotten heroes and nobles. The densest collection of these crypts lines the monument- and temple-filled canyon called the @City of the Dead. This necropolis climbs the canyon walls, where whole cliffs have been sculpted into massive statues of @Har'Akir's gods and pharaohs. Among these monuments hide entrances to ancient tombs, many of which belong to past high @Priests of @Muhar and Children of Ankhtepot.

The @City of the Dead rises toward the sculpted, golden mountain called @Pharaoh's Rest, the massive pyramid of Pharaoh @Ankhtepot. From here, the Darklord can see across much of the domain as he sends agents to hunt the missing piece of his soul.

The @Bent Pyramid

In the northern desert stands a small pyramid that has a curious design: the sides rise from the earth at a steep angle until halfway up, then come together at a shallower angle. The @Bent Pyramid, which is encased in black granite, has no interior, no temple, and no obvious reason for existing. Sute's Chosen, however, know it sits atop a well of immense magical power that can be tapped by manipulating sound waves.