The Tukham kingdom

Tukham Muruk (The Tukham kingdom)

Government: Unitary city states ruled by a gerontocratic council with head of state as military leader.

Head of state: Warlord Altan of clan Nin

Capital: Caglyyan

Ruling race: Uruk

Riches, beauty and luxury are three things that define the Tukham people. Tukham Muruk is situated in and claims the majority of the great Tukham desert. With its roots in nomadic culture, the kingdom has grown out of harsh circumstances and never-ending wandering between waterholes to create great glimmering mountain cities. As nomads the Tukham people became masters of trade, mainly selling salt to neighboring traders in exchange for necessary goods. At the time of unification extra effort was put into cementing trade by creating large hubs and upholding security along the routes. When airships became available, the Tukham were early in adopting them, easing travel through the desert and for better managing the trade routes. Thanks to this the Tukham kingdom quickly became a major power in the world.

Geographically the kingdom is mainly dry steppe, sandy desert, mountains, mesas, and buttes that have been carved out by the harsh desert winds. In the middle there is the salt gorge, a massive canyon that cuts a deep corridor through the land, and holds salt flats and the saline endorheic Gwitumen sea which is feed by the three rivers which flow down from the northern Tukham mountains. Temperature varies on the season as summers are hot throughout the lowland region while the higher altitudes of the mountains are warm. Winter cools the whole region; the southern coastline becomes a warm but going inland the temperature drops and gets lower the father north one goes. The lower half of the desert has a mild winter whereas the upper half is cold and the areas closer to the mountains becomes very cold. Rain is rare throughout the region as most of the area see little to no precipitation year round, such as the inland and southern coastal region. Along the mountains on the edge of the desert there is sparse precipitation with large areas seeing only seasonal rain during winter. The same goes for the southern coastal region. In the east and north and some smaller areas around the southern mountains see sparse rainfall all year round. This rain feeds a dry steppe enough to see some grass and small brushes grow. The inland never see rain, leaving the environment bone dry sandy dunes, with very rare appearances of water holes and oases where the underground aquifer pushes up for short periods of time. Where the mountains are high enough precipitation falls as snow, which as the snow melts during the warmer season it creates seasonal streams of water that runs down into the desert, where it goes down into the aquifer from which it will go out into the desert to fill both temporary and more permanent waterholes and oases. The exception being the three rivers which receive water from the northern mountains year round, though winter has a lower flow. Because of the geography and varied climate, though the kingdom claims the entire desert as its own, the main settlements consist of a number of large cities built on and into the solitary mountains in the south. Each mountain city is under the rule of a clan, which in turn is led by the eldest. The reason for this is mainly due to the Uruk race having difficulties handling cold temperatures. For this reason there are only small settlements in the north that are occupied during the warmer parts of the year inhabited by lesser clans that use the summers to farm on the rich soil along the rivers, growing grain and grazing livestock, all of which are then brought to the south for winter.

Historically the different clans wandered the desert along routes between oases, herding animals and gathering the slim resources available, while clashing with other clans over control of precious areas. Some clans even tried to push their way into Evperia but as they faced fierce resistance they instead formed occasional war bands or raid parties which went into the Medrtian corridor to pillage. As the Medtrian empire rose, it pushed back the clans in the northern steppes and the three rivers, claiming the land as an imperial province. The uruk clans either submitted to Medrian rule, becoming settled clans, or where forcefully pushed out to live in the desolate southern part of the desert, remaining as wandering clans. The wandering clans made many attempts of uprising against the empire, but with no success, instead opting to raid caravans along the traveling routes. During the time of the empires fall and the war of the sages, the province would at first be somewhat forgotten by the council of Warlocks. The wandering clans took this opportunity to attempt an uprising, only to be ruthlessly crushed by the dark armies of the sages. When the council of warlocks fell, the stationed armies fell into disarray. The ruling elite attempted to maintain their hold of the area, but among the wandering clans a religious zeal had spread by the faith of the flame which brought the clans together under one banner and made another uprising which would finally drive away any remnants of the sages armies and remove anything left of the empire. At last the wandering clans could finally regain the land taken from them. Over time there was not much left of what Medtria had built and the settled clans returned to the traditional nomadic life.

Later on when the situation in Evperia settled down, traders came traveling through the desert again, one man took the opportunity to make profit of them. His name was Multri of clan Nin. The Nin clan had been one of the settled clans of old Medtria, with much influence and property. After the fall of Medtria the cland suffered greatly as the victorious wandering clans chastised all settled clans, pushing them out into the barren lands of the gorge and the Gwitumen sea. By chance he encountered a trader's party going past the great salt flats, suffering from dehydration, and to help them survive by leading them to drinkable water. As the party recovered and seeing the stretches of pure salt the trader offered a good sum to be allowed to collect as much salt as he could carry. Multri agreed, despite the salt not being his to trade. This started a blossoming trade relation and over the coming years the Nin clan would become very rich. When other clans eventually realized what Multri and the Nin clan was doing, they gathered to once more push the clan away but with the money that the Nin had collected if had afforded them to buy advance arms and armor from Evperia, among them gunpowder weapons, which gave them a massive advantage over the simple nomadic warriors. Overpowering their enemies, Multri and his clan began subjugating the defeated clans, taking their lands and using the people as slaves. Soon enough Multri was declared as warlord of the Nin elders and set out to conquer all the clans of the desert with the ambition of creating their own kingdom. Facing a war that could not be won, a large gathering of clan elders conveyed with the warlord to come to terms with the change before them. A proposal came that each clan that subjected to the warlord would be granted their own land in exchange that they would volunteer men for military service fully under control of the warlord. It was agreed upon one condition, that the elder of each clan would be granted a place on a council that would have a say in the governance of the kingdom. A deal was struck and the Tukham kingdom was established. With time the elder council would become the true power of the state, limiting the warlord's influence on political matters. But as the warlord still holds all military power he cannot be disposed and in turn keep the elder council in check. Out of this a golden age began as clans started to build settlements around key point of the trade routes, where they traded for wares and coin with the nations and people outside the desert. Nearly overnight, the once nomadic people became the wealthiest merchants known and the people embraced it, making trade their new pillar of life.

There was however some clans did not accept the new ways. Be it either for sake of tradition or political disagreement, these clans was exiled from the cities. These clans and those who are part of them became Kuvmac. Many of the kuvmac remained as traditional nomadic while some choose to embrace change in their own ways, becoming free traders, smugglers or even pirates. They travel unrestricted, taking anything they feel will bring them new riches.

Each clan, even those of the kuvmac, builds a common palace-like home called "haxane". As the clan grows with new member, so does the haxane. The great clans which rule over cities usually build their haxane on the highest point available and expand it downwards, while lower clans (depending on standing in society) build expand upwards. The belief is that as the haxane grows higher, so does the status of the clans. This is in contrast to the ruling clan that believes that by expanding downwards, they make the roots of their clan spread and cement their high status. If there ever is a feud between clans, the one that lose in the end will have their haxane destroyed as a sign of their defeat. However, for the clans of higher status, a symbolic form of destruction is done by building a wall or pillar connected to their hexane, before a ceremony is held together with the other clan (or clans) where it is razed. This symbolic action saves face for the defeated clan and let them keep their hexane. Only those of really low status or believers of more orthodox tradition have their haxane destroyed.