Kusan (KUSA) - Province #105 - Player Kingdom

KUSAN (Small Kingdom) -- The westernmost Khitan Kingdom, culturally advanced Kusan relies upon her excellent ambassadors and diplomats (easily the most adept politicians of the age) at least as much as upon her armies. Considered the most challenging position to rule, Kusan must expand its tiny size in the dwindling vacuum between great Khitai in the east and the Hyrkanian hordes to the west.

NATIONAL HISTORY

Listen, most tender branch of the noble tree of Kusan, of thy heritage, of thy people, and in all things of thyself. We are Khitaian, our own royal family of the same descent as the emperors in Paikang, Shu-Chen, and Ruo-Gen. We trace our history to the very beginnings of Khitai, more than five thousands of years in the past.

Kusan but was a far flung outpost when Khitai's fate brought a furious Lemurian revolution. Kusan alone survived the bloody, senseless, revolution intact, and accepted many refugees from the broken empire. We lived in cultured peace for hundreds of years until the savage Lemurians, newly renamed Hyrkanians, clashed with our armies on their migratory path to the west. For thousands of years we were beset by this inhuman tide, beating it back sometimes as far as the Kusan Desert and Steppes and sometimes only as far as the other side of our capitol Kusan City's walls.

At last they passed us by, and some of our kinsmen recaptured their ancient Khitai homeland. Powerful once again, they seek to command us, their benefactors. If not their betters, we are at least their peers, we of the oldest intact culture on the earth today.

We know the hand which wields the sword must have the will to drive it. Age has given us this wisdom, and so we negotiate, and spy, and bribe where other younger, more foolish realms would invade, battle, and - - for but a fleeting moment in history's reckoning - - conquer. Now lend thy wisdom to hearing my report of the present state of thy treasured land.

Koth (KOTH) - Provinces #98 through #104 - Player Kingdom

KOTH (Large Kingdom) -- Pride of the Hyborian south, Koth is known for its armour making skill and adventurous people. The Kothic army is powerful and balanced enough to fight against any army of the Hyborian Age. Both Khauran and Khoraja have formed cultural and economic ties which bind Koth into firm alliance with them during the early years of the epoch.

NATIONAL HISTORY

Hear me, my Lord, as I speak of thy heritage, and the history of thy people. Koth was carved from out of that evil empire of Acheron, many thousands of years ago.

Yea, many Hyborian Swords cut down the arcane might of Acheron, and upon the very heels of her defeat, vassal states of Argos, Ophir, Corinthia, and Koth (then little more than a Khorshemish province) revolted. Nemedia and Aquilonia were made Hyborian kingdoms, and Argos fell to Hyborian conquerors soon after. But, Ophir, Corinthia, and Koth remained independent for hundreds of years, people by a mixed race of Acheronian and Valusian descent. This was a curious time in our history. Finally, however, our Hyborian ancestors surged across these very borders, crushed the remaining vassal states, and threw down the last vestiges of Acheron evil.

Those surviving were put to rebuilding their broken cities; our hot-blooded grandsires had learned to appreciate the rude cities and luxuries afforded by their Hyborian kin in Nemedia and Aquilonia during their forced transmigration. The rebuilding was swift, outpacing even the northern neighbors so recently fled, and Koth as a result has been called by some the first true Hyborian kingdom established. Our people swept east to the Kothian uplands, then in a red tide turned south into the Shemish lands to drive the accursed Stygians south even of the vile river Styx. The Shemite states grew so in power and arrogance under our protection that we were forced in time to abandon our garrisons and march north of the Kothian hills.

Khoraja and Khauran remain independent Kothic states, valuable as trading partners but untrustworthy always, and bothersome in time of Kothic expansion.

Ours is an august tradition, foremost among our peers and beneficent to out inferiors, sometimes to a fault. But always we remain the pride of the Hyborian southern world! Now hearken and learn the length and breadth of thy land.

Kosala (KOSA) - Provinces #95 through #97 - Player Kingdom

KOSALA (Medium Kingdom) -- The Kosalans are an ancient race, decadent but not grown soft. They are devoted to the worship of the god Yajur and their armies are an arm of their religious organization. The Kosalans are aided by ancient magics and a fanatical if untrained populace ever willing to fight and die in battle. Kosala from of old is tied with Vendhya through intermarriage and treaty and can expect no invasions from that quarter.

NATIONAL HISTORY

Listen, O Lord of the noble blood, and thy heritage will unfold before thee. In the dawn of time, before the rise of Vendhya, when Anshan was but a mud-thatched village, and the Hyrkanians pitched their tents in the far east while warring with Khitai tirelessly, Kosala lived on the earth.

In that time we were a beautiful people, olive skinned, slender, and well formed. In our youth we Kosalans were fierce and warlike, but centuries made us wiser, more relaxed, capable of enjoying life as man was meant to do. Then, still long ago, a brown people invaded from the south, crushing our high walls and burning our fair cities. Many fled west, into Tiazitia, and many more went farther, never to be seen again. But we stayed, and in time rose to dominance as the ruling caste of our now-hybrid people.

Years and years passed, and we fought against, then married with the Vendhyans; to the west Anshan of Iranistan grew to its current golden splendor, and the Hyrkanians migrated west, occasionally raiding our outposts. Our own two cultures have much intermarried, and today Kosalans, save for we rulers, are a large, handsome, golden-skinned race. We of the nobility remain as before. Many years ago we moved our capitol to Yota-Pong, and our seaport to the Kosalan Bay. Here and wherever Kosalans wander, we devoutly worship the god Yajur and dedicate all our works to that name. Now listen as I reveal further the knowledge of the land.

Khoraja (RAJA) - Province #94 - Player Kingdom

KHORAJA (Small Kingdom) -- Blessed with excellent leadership, a highly diverse and well trained army, a fertile land, and a location central to the rich southern and eastern trade routes, Khoraja is powerful beyond its tiny size. Wizards and priests capable of calling upon unearthly aid are not unknown in Khoraja. Situated over the fractured eastern Shemish Kingdoms, Khoraja stands at the gates of empire IF through wisdom and cunning Shem, Stygia, and Turan can be held at bay. As the epoch begins, Koth and Khauran stand firmly allied with Khoraja.

NATIONAL HISTORY

Listen, my Lady, and I will tell thee of thy forefathers, thy kingdom, and thy heritage.

When the Hybori overthrew that evil of Acheron, they founded many kingdoms in its ruins. Our proud forebears began the Kothic empire. Perhaps among all the Hyborian people, the Kothic nature runs most towards adventure, as countless Kothic noblemen have wandered into the wilderness, never to return. Some actually succeeded in carving out empires to rule. Thy royal sires were such a group who traveled southeast. There they found a gentle people working a rich farmland, but ruled by Shemish men-at-arms. They defeated the Shemites and in time came to rule both farmers and Shemites, thus founding the tiny kingdom of Khoraja.

Koth waxed in power and might, and for a time Khoraja was but a province. The wealth of many trade routes from the south is channeled through her offices, however, and it was through wise manipulation of those that independence was restored for Khoraja. (Perhaps recent setbacks for Koth in western Shem might also have had some small effect).

Today Khoraja remains a rich kingdom, coveted as ever by Koth as well as the Shemites. It is easily defensible, however, ringed as it is by hills, and can afford to be not too well loved by its Shemite enemies of old. Remember always, royal sire, where thy power comes from, and forget not that it can only be maintained with the same diligence. Now listen, as I tell of the length and the breadth of thy kingdom.

Khitai (KHIT) - Provinces #79 through #93 - Player Kingdom

KHITAI (Large Kingdom) -- The ancient empire, stronghold of the world's greatest wizards and masters of the eastern world, Khitai has a powerful army and a sound leadership based in Paikang, Shu-Chen and Ruo-Chen. Khitai is forever at war with Kambulja to the south whose god-kings vie with them for supremacy in the arcane mysteries of the scarlet circle.

NATIONAL HISTORY

Listen, my Lord, the origins of Khitai, the land of the dragon. Long, very long ago, our esteemed ancestors lived in great, shimmering cities on the shores of the Eastern Ocean. In that ocean there dwelt a savage race, the Lemurians, who lived on a chain of islands and excelled too well in warfare. Far to the west were the great empires of Valusia, Commoria, and their sister states. To the south dwelt the Kambuljans, deep within their jungles, an ancient and decadent people even then.

It was over five thousand years ago that our histories record the Great Cataclysm which shook the entire earth like the whipping of a dragon's tail, utterly destroying the western empires and changing the face of the earth. One of these mighty changes was the sinking of the islands of the Lemurians. Many of the Lemurians survived the Cataclysm and gthrew themselves on our mercy. We were merciful, and though they were barbarians, unworthy of attention, our ancient fathers allowed them to be our slaves, and used them to rebuild our own broken cities. We rebuilt our empire, and the Khitai culture reached heights which have never been scaled again.

Meanwhile, the Lemurians proved to be poor slaves, warlike and unable to learn civilized ways. We were forced to be harsh masters, and still they could not learn. For two thousand years we ruled over the Lemurians, and became the greatest civilization the world would ever know. And then that golden age came to a senseless and brutal end. We had come to view the Lemurians as subhuman; they never talked and went about their tasks in a stupid trance. But without warning they turned on us, a mad bestial horde! We slew, and slew, and did not stop. But at last we were pulled down, our fabulous kingdom in ruins, and those who remained were hunted day and night by howling Lemurians. Only one in twenty emerged form that terrible slaughter.

Those of our ancestors who survived fled in two bodies. First many marched west, thousands formed around our few remaining armies, sweeping like a windblown grass fire to the western sea. There they met and crushed a race of snake men, and in time established the great empires of Acheron and Stygia. Our own fathers were of the second group, who fled south to live in exile among the Kambuljans. As the barbaric Lemurians began streaming slowly westward, we fought back into our homeland, armed with Kambuljan weapons, and defeated what Lemurians remained on the eastern coast. To our surprise, some of these proved to be civilized, and we allowed them to join our young kingdom.

Still there roamed the unregenerate Hyrkanians, as the Lemurians now called themselves, to our west, and we were forced to erect huge walls for protection. As the years rolled on, the Hyrkanians flowed ever westward, and we built more walls behind them, for they would rais unceasingly had we not.

Our time in Kambulja taught us the value of arcane lore, and now our wizards are indisputably the greatest in the world. We have built upon the Kambuljans' Secrets of the Scarlet Circle an impregnable defense of magic.

In recent years we have been racked by internal rivalries. This has slowed our expansion and allowed our neighboring Kambuljans to believe that they can match us. This thou must change. Ours is the only true empire born to rule on this continent. Before our iron-shod armies and supreme wizards no kingdom may stand! Hear now my words, and I will report to thee in full on the present state of thy kingdom.

Khauran (KHAU) - Provinces #77 through #78 - Player Kingdom

KHAURAN (Medium Kingdom) -- Rich in fertile meadowlands and at the center of trade in the Hyborian world, Khauran is a Kingdom of abundant wealth. Khauran is well ruled by nobles of Kothic descent and lacks not for wizards and powers arcane. The Khauranian nobles disdain the use of horse but hire mercenary cavalry troops as needed. Khauran begins the epoch in strong alliance with both Koth and Khoraja.

NATIONAL HISTORY

Hear me, my Lady, and learn well the knowledge thou will need for wisdom in your rule!

Khauran is a small kingdom with very rich farmlands producing up to three and four crops a year. Most of the trade routes of the Hyborian world snake through Khauran City. The eastern Shemite desert tribes (Zuagirs and others) covet the wealth of thy Khauran, but have been unable to overcome Khauran City's high walls or well-drilled Khaurani troops.

Khauran is the product of Kothic expansion in the past. The Hyborian kingdom of Koth was founded a few hundred years after its predecessors of Argos, Nemedia, and Aquilonia. A young kingdom, its people have ever seemed adventurous, and many a Kothic nobleman has wandered off, never to be seen again. However, many such Kothic adventurers carved Khauran out from a land inhabited by mixed, aboriginal people east of the Kothic uplands. In time Koth itself overran her outpost and Khauran became a province for hundreds of years. Through adroit political machinations timed to Kothic setbacks in western Shem, Khauran regained her independence.

Khauran is valuable today to Koth, acting as middleman to the great eastern trade which would go north, without Khaurani contacts, to Arenjun in Zamora. Still, Kothic kings covet Khauran, and ever seek to absorb it in their empire. Only the most clever economic and political manipulations hold Koth at bay, for now. Now listen, as I tell of the length and breadth of thy land.

Keshan (KESH) - Provinces #73 through #76 - Player Kingdom

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 abominable 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.

Kambulja (KAMB) - Provinces #69 through #72 - Player Kingdom

KAMBULJA (Medium Kingdom) -- Ruled by the god-king of the scarlet circle, deep in jungle girdled Angkhor crouches the hungry Kingdom of Kambulja. The Kambuljans are forever locked in war with neighbouring Khitai whose great wizards, the god-kings also contest on an arcane level. The Kambuljan host fields huge mammoths trained and relied upon to smash the formations of the Khitai in battle.

NATIONAL HISTORY

Listen well, O sanguine Lord of the ancient peoples, and learn well the history, the nature, the present, and the future of thy kingdom. Kambulja is as ancient as the history of man; our venerable forefathers fought with the snakes who walked as men, talked to the creatures of Yag, and walked the earth when it was young: in the forgotten days of Valusia, Kamelia, and Commoria. We survived the Great Cataclysmwhich long ago destroyed the ancient races, and we rebuilt amid the ruins of our cities, creating our beloved capitol of Angkhor. We saw the ignorant Lemurians (those who would in time be called Hyrkanians) rise up and destroy our northern neighbor, and we gave refuge to many of our northern kin in those days.

And years later when the ignorant Lemurians began to migrate west, it was we who helped our kin to rebuild their kingdom, which in time would grow to be called Khitai. We taught the infant Khitrai kingdom some of our ancient wisdom, some of our estimable culture. This they mixed with their own heartless and cruel natures to become the evil which they are today. Later, Khitai began to expand, her kings lusting after our gold, the Khitaian wizards envious of our ancient wisdoms. For thousands of years we have fought their growing might, and these two things we have clearly learned: Khitai will never stop coveting us, and our otherwise peaceful people will not rest until Khitai is utterly crushed, broken beyond reach of any aid from this world (or the world beyond).

Kambulja has rebuilt during the past generation, as internal strife has wracked our Khitaian foe and allowed us time for rest. But now Khitai, too, is rebuilding, and once again her hated armies march to war. Our armies are best used in the dense forest, where our raiders and archers are supreme. But we can fight equally well in the open, where our beloved Kambuljan spear and giant mammoths can batter the arrogant Khitaians to their deaths!

Our destiny is to break Khitai's strength: on that course we will succeed or fall! Heed well my words, O salubrious one, as I tell now of the length and breadth of thy land!

Juma's Kingdom (JUMA) - Province #68 - Player Kingdom

JUMA'S KlNGDOM (Small Kingdom) -- The warriors of Kulalo receive archer training in the Turanian fashion and thus stand out as the finest archers in any of the Black Kingdoms. Juma's Kingdom is relatively unbeleaguered in early years and can look to the north and south coastlines for easy expansion. The black corsairs of the Southern Isles have become natural enemies over many a skirmish and raid. Under skillful control, Juma's Kingdom can quickly emerge as a major power in the southern world.

NATIONAL HISTORY

Hear me, thou who dreams to rule the empire which Juma built, as I speak of thy people, and thy history. Thy people are a proud race, direct descendants of the tribe of Damballah, the first man. As an old race, we are wary of new customs and change, but praise be to our gods, Juma taught us the way of the Eastern bowmen. Now we are both a proud and great kingdom!

Before great Juma's arrival we were a weak people, fit to be slaves for the Amazonians, Black Kingdoms, and white slave traders. But Juma came and taught us the ways to be strong, and now we have white, black, and even Amazonian slaves!

We are mighty! It is our destiny to overrun all those who once dominated us. From our great capitol city of Kulalo we will conquer and rule the southern world! Now listen well as I speak of the land which thy father has left to thee.

Iranistan (IRAN) - Provinces #58 through #67 - Player Kingdom

IRANISTAN (Medium Kingdom) -- The golden land south of the Ilbars mountains is widely, albeit sparsely inhabited. Ancient and rich, Iranistan uses the Kossaks and the Ilbars hillmen as border defenses to turn back the swift horse-archers of their long standing foes in Turan and Hyrkania. When forced to do battle the well trained Iranistani army is as good as any in the world of Hyboria.

NATIONAL HISTORY

Hear me, my Lord, thee who rules an ancient and wise race from thy golden capitol of Anshan. During the ages since great Acheron fell, while Stygia's power waned, it was tiny Iranistan who slowly, wisely expanded her borders to the current size.

Iranistan's wealth is beyond compare, but it is ancient, hoarded wealth and must be used with discretion. Thy lands are for the most part unremarkable, and of only modest value. Thy cultural traditions also allow thee to tax thy various provinces only lightly. Thy population has grown, but there is still plenty of unclaimed farming and grazing land within thy borders, thus, thy people are not eager for expansion. Such boorishness has been the policy of Iranistan. We have en dured with patience where other kingdoms burgeoned with ambition and a generation later blew away with the first great wind; always this happens, only we have avoided such foolhardiness.

Thy predecessors have watched with concern the westward movement of the Hyrkanians, the Turanians, and of the other Hyrkanian tribes, spawn of Lemuria. They have become a constant threat to thy peaceful kingdom's existence. Be vigilant, Great One, in their direction.

Thine once-feared Horse Warriors have grown slack over the generations, thus thy kingdom today hires barbarian mercenary horsemen as the need arises. However, there is a growing faction in thy court that favors rapid expansion. Thou may choose to follow - - for a prudent interval - - the course they propose with a possibility at least of success. Thou may otherwise choose to follow the course of thy fathers and expand only slowly as the other kingdoms of the world expend their strength in useless gestures.

Heed well my words and I will tell thee of the length and breadth of thy new kingdom.