Nechara, Land of a Thousand Pyramids

Description:  Wedged between the Heart Sea in the north and the Unsaid Ocean in the south, the southern empire of Nechara is a tropical land of humid rainforest. The vast jungle covers most of the realm. Forest trolls, lizardmen, botanoids, and intelligent baboons make their home in the jungle, as do dinosaurs and other ancient creatures from before the time of men.

Most human settlements lie along the outer edges of the rainforest.  In the deeper parts of the forest lie the ruins of the many pyramids that give Nechara the epithet of “land of a thousand pyramids”. These huge mausoleums are the tombs of Nechara’s emperors of past dynasties. Many of the oldest of the ancient pyramids are protected by odd astronomical time locks that track the positions of far away stars. When the stars are right, the tombs will open and release whatever secrets are buried there.

Ruler: Empress Emuishéré, assisted by her two husbands: General Mdjai, commander in chief of the Necharan legions, and chief bureaucrat Khenti of the imperial bureaucracy. Although the traditional marriage between empress, general and bureaucrat is formal procedure, Emuishéré has managed to maintain romantic relationships with both her spouses.

Population: The original inhabitants of Nechara were a dark-skinned people. However, millennia of invasions, conquest, mercantile relations and migrations have mixed Necharan blood with that of many different races. Modern-day Necharans have brown skin. Hair ranges from blond to black, eyes are most often brown. Green eyes are believed to be a sign of sorcerous talent, and green-eyed children are sold as apprentice to mages at a very young age; sometimes as young as six years old.

Necharans believe in a version of humanotheism, a philosophy that states all people must strive to be the best they can be. Necharan humanotheism says humanity was created by a mother goddess, which charged her children with the quest for divinity. When humans have reached divine perfection, she will permit them into her divine realm.

Lambakota: The imperial capital has a population of about 13,000. Its ancient streets are laid out in concentric circles around the Great Pyramid. This gigantic building is said to be the oldest pyramid in the empire, and maybe even the oldest man-build structure in the world. Recent study of the astronomical lock shows the pyramid will soon open its gate.