KESHAN
KESHAN
(Medium Kingdom) -- A Kingdom of barbaric splendor, the Keshans are
well
led by nobles and religious leaders who claim descent from the great
people of Alkmeenon. Keshan also has a well drilled army patterned
after the Stygian military organization. While Stygian troops often
raid
into northern Keshan, Punt is Keshan's long standing and hereditary
enemy. Keshan lies poised in the midst of a power vacuum and, if well
controlled, may emerge as a major power of the Hyborian Age.
NATIONAL HISTORY
Listen well, O Lord of the blood, to these words. Thy people are the
Keshan, and thou art descended of the great Alkmeenon race. Few people
are as misunderstood as thy Keshan. The world believes us to be
backward and barbaric, and while many of our jungle tribes are little
more than savages, still we are more, much more than we seem.
Our Alkmeenon forebears ruled a vast, powerful empire, and employed
magics beyond any seen today! And then, many hundreds of years ago, the
Alkmeenon age of power and glory ended abruptly. Some say it was a
great plague, others the scourge of the gods, but none can know. Some
of the Alkmeenon who survived began again in the village of Keshia,
after which our kingdom is named.
Foreigners see our humble royal palace, built of mud, stone, and
bamboo, but do they notice our strong city walls nearing completion?
They laugh at our simple customs, but do they know we have a strong
government, a written language, and a complex society? We are civilized
though we live in bamboo palaces, we rulers remember our Alkmeenon
heritage.
Always remember, O powerful one, we have an ancient feud with Punt, a
worthless people who flaunt their great wealth, gold washed from their
central hills. We harbor a hatred of the Stygians who have despised us
since the time of Alkmeenon eminence. They yet raid our borders for
slaves to serve in their pagan rites to Set.
Thy most recent forefathers have strengthened the Stygian borderlands,
forcing the abomnibale snake-worshippers to raid Darfar for their
slaves. This has been a great success. But our recent incursions into
the Puntish Gold Hills have gone badly. This is what thou must change
for the better, if thou would thy land in the manner thy fathers,
and thy people, demand.
Heed well my words, Great One, and I will tell of the length and breadth of thy land.