Uttara Kuru (UTTA) - Provinces #159 through #161 - Player Kingdom

UTTARA KURU (Medium Kingdom) -- Dismissed as a myth in most regions of the world, Uttara Kuru is a land of ancient magics, misty mountains, dense coastal forest, and the strange, haunting architecture of Uttara Kuru City. The people of this Kingdom are fanatically loyal in defense of their homeland. Ancient enemy of great Vendhya, the people of Uttara Kuru must seek empire to the north and east.

NATIONAL HISTORY

Know, my Lord, of the heritage and history of thy people. Uttara Kuru is an ancient kingdom. Our histories record as far back as the Great Cataclysm which rocked the world's foundations and changed the face of the earth over seven thousand years ago. Our origins are humble.

Our people began as simple cave dwellers high upon the mountains of mist, keeping ever to themselves and the seclusion of the high reaches. We have ever kept our own counsel and remained apart from other kingdoms. We trust in our own ways and magic, knowledge which was old when Vendhya was but a wandering tribe in the ancient lands to the south. We rade but little with the outside world and only with the people of Meru, who, like us, prefer to remain apart from the other kingdoms of the earth.

Over the centuries, neighboring Vendhya has grown great in power and her Kshatriyan warriors dream of enslaving our ancient home. But we are the great Nobles of Uttara Kuru! Our greatest magic is the magic of speech and persuasion. For thousands of years we have kept the invasion armies of Vendhya at bay through our magic and our diplomats. Heed well now my words, Great One, as I report to thee in full on the present state of thy new kingdom.

Turan (TURA) - Provinces #151 through #158 - Player Kindgom

TURAN (Large Kingdom) -- Gleaming mailed and silken clad riders, masters of the Vilayet Sea, Turan revels in sweeping the barely contested wastelands to the west and south. Turan, however, must bear the plague of a thousand frustrations arising from the seemingly indomitable and ever resurgent Kossaks, Zuagirs, and Vilayet pirates. Perpetually battling raiders and quelling revolts from a hundred pin-pricking sources, the rulers of Turan must pass their reign in unceasing watchfulness. Turan is a natural enemy to Iranistan and Vendhya but at the beginning of the epoch stands in loose alliance with Hyrkania.

NATIONAL HISTORY

Listen, young Shah, to the heritage and history of thy people and the kingdom which thou wast born to rule. Thy people are of the Hyrkanian race, children of horse and bow, the tribe of Turan. A thousand years ago thy forefathers swept southwest along the shores of the Vilayet Sea and then north along the Vilayet's western shore, where they came to rest and founded the mighty kingdom of Turan. Of the time before then there are only legends, speaking of an oceanic empire called Lemuria, and an ancient and hated dominator cast down millennia after a Great Cataclysm.

Swiftly have we become more civilized than our Hyrkanian kindred whom we left behind us in the east, becoming builders, scholars, diplomats, and makers of many things. We have tamed the Vilayet Sea with our proud fleet, and our swift armies have on occasion probed as far west as Zamboula, Arenjun, an d the Hyperbor Valley. We hold sway over the trade routes of the world, in the Vilayet Sea and on the Ilbars Steppe.

How swiftly we have surpassed our ignorant Hyrkanian kin, and now our destiny is clear before us: to rule all the land from the sea to the Hyborian kingdoms, perhaps even to the oceans beyond! Heed well now my words, O Shah, as I report to the of the present state of thy new kingdom.

Tombalku (TOMB) - Province #150 - Player Kingdom

TOMBALKU (Small Kingdom) -- The vibrant clashing Tombalku culture provides a springboard of energy for expansionist desires. Unless controlled, the white-black conflict in Tombalku may rip the small but powerful Kingdom in two. However, if united and working together, the Tombalku riders, Black spearmen, and White lancers may roll back their bordering nations in a surging red tide!

NATIONAL HISTORY

Know, O Lord of the royal blood, of the heritage and history of thy people. Thou art a son of mighty Shem. Thy forefathers pushed south through the evil of Stygia even as the Stygians warred with the horrid snake men which inhabited their land in those days long ago. Thy white forefathers founded Tombalku, forging the black tribes into a powerful kingdom, the might of which rivaled even the young kingdom of Stygia in that time.

Lo, but our beloved Tombalku faltered upon the rock of racial hatred as our black people began to demand more and more power for their kind. In a moment of weakness, our forefathers created a dual kingship. No longer did one king rule in Tombalku, rather there were two, one white and one black. Since that day so many thousands of years ago, the fortunes of Tombalku have risen and fallen just as the sand of our desert land is lifted from one point to the next by the sweep of the wind.

The past generations have been good and many Tibu, Borni, and Bigharma tribesmen have come to serve you. Perhaps even the homelands of these tribes may soon fall under our sway. Know, Great One, that only through control of the southern trade routes can Tombalku hope to gain power. And most of all, the black-white tension of the kingdom must be kept under control with wise rule, else the power of Tombalku will fade once again. There is much to learn and much to plan. Heed well my words, my Liege, as I report to thee of the length and breadth of thy new kingdom.

Stygia (STYG) - Provinces #141 through #149 - Player Kingdom

STYGIA (Large Kingdom) -- Slumbering in her desert retreats, protected behind the mighty and brooding Styx river, lies Stygia. The Stygian army is never without the backing of wizards well versed in black battle magics, most often of the priesthood of Set. The ancient culture of Stygia is in decline, revolving in malignance about itself but it is also the source of a great and evil sorcerous knowledge which may yet gain mastery over the western world.

NATIONAL HISTORY

Know, my Lord, of the beginning of time and of Stygia. Once long ago, our forbears  lived far to the east on the shores of the Eastern Ocean, a people ancient and wise even then in the youth of this age. These, our fathers, ruled an empire beyond measure, taking as their servants uncounted numbers of Lemurians. The Lemurians were a homeless race, smashed by the Great Cataclysm which had brought low many of the mighty in their era, and seemed well suited to their servitude.

Lo, on one bitter day these Lemurians turned mad and began slaying their masters across the length and breadth of the land. One legion alone of our elders' brightly shining armies survived the onslaught, and with these brave warriors our direct forefathers traveled the entire length on the continent until at last they came to the great river Styx. Here they found the land to be good, and our people began to claim it for their own.

Some of our kin migrated farther north, to the empire of Acheron, whose evil power was to dominate the northwestern world for thousands of years. Thy Stygian people crossed the river Styx and began to contest for the land which we now call home with a pre-human race - - a race of man and snake. These snake men were great warriors and held much ancient knowledge. The battle for the land was long and hard until we finally prevailed. In the aftermath of war, our fathers began to rebuild the cities they had torn down and to delve deeply into the black secrets which the ancient race had left behind. When at last out people began to worship the very god upon whom our snakelike foes had called in vain, the deeper mysteries of the Black Ring were revealed and great power became ours. Praise be to Set!

During all this time our kindred, Acheron, had grown strong in the north and then their power waned as wild Hyborian tribes crashed upon her northern borders. For a thousand years Acheron's power slowly weakened under the hammer blows of the Hyborian hordes. As Acheron weakened, Stygia expanded, taking up the void of lands vacated by Acheron' armies as they were called up to fight in the north. This we came to rule an empire which encompassed all of Shem, eastern Koth, Zamboula, and much of the eastern desert.

Sister Acheron was broken at last. The Hyborian tribes utterly consumed her in fire and sword. In time our fathers were forced to retreat back behind the brooding Styx river that today forms our northern border.

In the thousands of years in which we have dwelt in this land we have adventured much and taken many slaves in raids upon the black kingdoms. Never have our people been plentiful and always has ur land been parched. Our strength lies in Set, with whose power we are invincible.

Lo, we have gathered our strength through the generations, holding our silent counsel even when the upstart Turanians separated Zamboula from our power. The time of empire is nearly upon us (once more) as indeed the entire world is torn by war and visions of imperial ambition. May Set grant that we are equal to the tasks ahead! Heed well now my words, Great One, and I will report to thee of the length and breadth of thy new kingdom.

Shem (SHEM) - Provinces #136 through #140 - Player Kingdom

SHEM (Medium Kingdom) -- The city states of Shem lie between the ambitions of Koth and the malignant arcane power of Stygia. The western Shemish states form a loose knit nation with Asgalun as their tiller head. The eastern Shemish states stand in alliance with each other and also with western Shem creating a friendly eastern border. The Shemish Asshuri and the famous Shemish archers make Shem's armies very strong. Through mercenary service in over a dozen Kingdoms of the western world the Shemish generals have learned well the art of war.

NATIONAL HISTORY

Know, Lord of the blue beard, thou art a true son of Shem, thy lineage untainted and counted from the days of the beginning. Long ago, thy fathers migrated west through the burning sands of the Naked Desert to our beloved meadowland between the Kothic Hills and the mighty Styx river. In that distant age there was war to the north as the evil empire of Acheron marched to subjugate ancient Ophir. To the south, Stygia strove in great slaughter with a mysterious pre-human race. Our way was clear between these warring nations and so we migrated west.

Many of thy forefathers traveled as far as the Zingg Valley to settle in a land which would one day come to be known as the kingdom of Zingara. The two thousand years following the original journey to the lands we now call our home became increasingly harsh as first mighty Acheron came to conquer us, and then, while Hyborian warriors began to press Acheron in the north, malevolent Stygia sent her wizards and bright legions of soldiers to rule over us. At the hands of these oppressors we learned to build in stone and began to settle in crude villages; we grazed our cattle and sheep, as well as planting and tending wine vineyards. Five hundred years after the final collapse of Acheron under the weight of the Hyborian tribes, the newly founded kingdom of Koth swept south to overrun our Stygian masters and take the yoke of our bondage up into their own hands.

Under the gentler rule of these Kothic masters, our people learned the higher arts of civilization, castle building, trade, administration, and warfare. Fighting alongside Kothic armies in countless battles against the twice-cursed Stygians, our fierce Asshuri warriors soon began to gain fame across the Hyborian world. The next one thousand years saw the development of Shem as we know it today.

Asgalun became the center of government. In the Kyros region the making of wine became a high art. In Erul, weapons-making and trade has become highly advanced. In Akkharia, farming and manufacturing are at the fore, while at ancient Shushan (the former center of Stygian administration), international trade has grown to great import. Our sister states of Shumir, Nippr, Sabatea, and Akbitana are all important trade sites and allies but they are too independent to be relied upon in times of war. The Zuagir and Kharamun tribes of the eastern deserts are also sons of Shem, although there is little love lost between thy people and those homeless vagabonds of the eastern reaches.

During the last one thousand years we have thrown off the hated yoke of slavery. Koth has withdrawn her armies north to the flaming mountains in the face of our growing power and the burning desire within us for freedom and greatness! We will never be enslaved again. Our Asshuri warriors and Shemish archers are now legendary in the world, eagerly hired by most kingdoms as a bulwark for their armies. Perhaps now we move into a time when we shall be the rulers rather than the ruled? Only thou can say, my Liege. Heed well now my words and I will report to thee on the present state of thy new kingdom.

Punt (PUNT) - Provinces #133 through #135 - Player Kingdom

PUNT (Small Kingdom) -- The barbaric splendor of the Kingdom which is Punt is based upon the bright yellow gold washed down off the central hills. Hereditary enemies of Keshan, Punt must also mistrust the growing power of Zembabwei. If these two foes can be kept at bay, and if a trade route can be established to the gold hungry markets of the Hyborian world, then Punt may well emerge as supreme among the Black Kingdoms.

NATIONAL HISTORY

Know, my Lord, of the history and heritage of thy people. We are Puntish as we have been from the dawn of time. Long ago, we became favored of the the goddess Nebethet, who led our people north to this blessed land that we now inhabit. Here we have grown strong. We have built our palaces in brick as the size of our kingdom has expanded with each generation. Our people are good warriors, and our rules wise. We are a people born to greatness even though our land is wedged between Keshan, with whom we have warred for generations, and the growing might of Zembabwei. The source of our civilization, and hope of our empire, lies within the gold hills of our central province. There, gold dust washes down clear icy streams, and thence into the Royal Treasury!

In recent years we have often defeated Keshan, but Zembabwei continues to gather her strength. It is from Zembabwei that our prophets have seen the greatest danger. We needs must keep the danger of our neighbors at bay, while establishing trade routes to the gold-hungry markets of the Hyborian west, for then our wealth and power will be unmatched in the southern world! Heed now well my words, my Liege, as I report to thee of the present state of thy new kingdom.

Pictland (PICT) - Provinces #121 through #132 - Player Kingdom

PICTLAND (Medium Kingdom) -- Savage, warlike brutish, persistently resistant to civilizing influences, the Picts inhabit the Primal forest of the Pictish Wilderness. Constantly warring amongst themselves, the Picts must find a leader strong enough to unite the tribes and hurl their vast hordes upon the path of empire.

NATIONAL HISTORY

      Listen, young Chieftain, to the words of thy heritage and to the knowledge of thy people. Listen that thy people may hunt more swiftly, war more violently, and revel in the screams of thy dying foes. We the Picts have a long, long history. Well have we remembered long, long hatreds, for there are those whom we have indeed ancient reason to hate!

      Once long ago, when the now forgotten kingdom of Valusia was great, our people lived in two great nations. Our homeland was the Pictish Isles in the western sea, and a great nation of our people lived upon the mainland to serve and fight in the armies of Valusia during the time of Kull, the conqueror, over eight thousand years ago!

      Lo, it was during these years that the world was smitten by a Great Cataclysm which rocked the foundations of the world and forever changed the face of the land. The Pictish Islands sank and our people there with them, gone forever. Great Valusia and her sister empires of that age were thrown down by the earth's convulsions and we, her Pictish vassals, survived only after great loss of life and much sorrow.

      When the earth had ended its torment, our forefathers began to build a great Pictish empire. Their expansion brought them into contact with survivors of the fall of Atlantis. How quickly we destroyed them in battle! We scattered the Atlanteans into loose clans, fleeing for their lives to the Cimmerian hills where for hundreds of years we hunted them like animals, but could not destroy them. Unfortunately, the long years of war had wearied our people so that in time the Pictish Empire fell apart and the tribes went their many ways, laying claim to the western lands which have become dear to our hearts.

      For a thousand years our people roamed freely in the Pictish Wilderness, content simply to hunt and kill, torturing foes that we captured, as man was meant to do! And five thousand years ago, the hated Atlanteans (who now call themselves Cimmerians) began their howling descent from those cursed hills to slaughter and destroy our northeastern tribes. We learned anew to hate our old foes and in the thousands of years since we have learned to sing the death chant whenever we slay one of those twice-cursed Cimmerians!

      Two thousand five hundred years ago we acquired a new hatred: the Aquilonians. The Aquilonians came upon our borders to destroy the ancient empire of Acheron and take their lands. For a time, our peoples did not war upon one another (except for occasional raids to kill a few men, as chance might provide. This is only human). But when the Aquilonians felt strong, they came upon our land with their clumsy Gunderland mercenaries, struck into our homelands, slew whole tribes and drove the survivors ever westward into the swamps and jungles. Their Bossonian vassals settled into a land which was once ours and this we will never forget. In our own time, the hated Aquilonians have invaded again and taken what they call the Westmark for their own, and killed all of our people who lived there. This we also remember!

      Heed well now my words, O Chieftain, as I report to thee of the length and breadth of thy kingdom.

Ophir (OPHI) - Provinces #116 through #120 - Player Kingdom

OPHIR (Medium Kingdom) -- A Kingdom of great beauty with gilded knights and high towered cities, Ophir is protected by natural boundaries of mountain and river on all sides but to the south which the Ophirians have well fortified. The Ophirian army is provided for with all that wealth can purchase including the finest training, weapons, and arms as well as being additionally strengthened by mercenary archers from Shem. Unassuming Ophir is powerful enough to begin the red road to empire but small enough to avoid threatening the larger Kingdoms.

NATIONAL HISTORY

Know, my Lord, of the history and glory of thy kingdom, jewel strewn Ophir, Pearl of the Hyborian Age! Ophir was founded long, long ago, before even the hated Stygians swept into this part of the world from out of the mist-shrouded east.

Ophir was built upon the ruins of the great and noble Valusian Empire, destroyed almost seven thousand years ago in the Great Cataclysm which shook the earth and changed the very face of the land. The few surviving Valusians of that day were the forefathers of thy people. After the Cataclysm, they scattered into wandering tribes and roamed the meadowlands for over two thousand years before uniting once more to build the city of Ianthe and establish the young kingdom of Ophir.

It was at this time that the Stygians came unto the western world with their sophisticated armies and great magics, overwhelming our forefathers before they could defend themselves. Our ancestors became slaves of the northern portion of the Stygian empire which in time came to be known as Acheron (cursed be the name!) and lived out an age of over two thousand five hundred years in grim bondage to these stern masters.

The other half of our Ophirian heritage may be found in the Hybori tribes which began their great migrations from the northlands into the south during this epoch. Falling upon the northeastern part of the evil Acheron empire, these first Hyborians warred for two thousand of the years of our bondage unti at last, in a series of major victories, the might of Acheron was smashed and the purple towers of Python the Great were torn down into dust. Our Ophirian forefathers chose this time to revolt, and in a great battle fighting side by side with the sister states of Koth and Corinthia, our people regained the independence that they had lost eons before.

In time, the migrations of the Hyborian tribes continued ever southward to swell as a tide into Ophir, as with all the other kingdoms of the day. Ophir became a Hyborian state; however, within a few generations the most ancient of Valusian blood had mixed with the bloodlines of the Hybori to give bloom to us, a new generation of Ophireans. Thy people are proud and strong among the nations of the earth. Heed well now my words, Great One, as I report to thee of the length and breadth of thy new kingdom.

Nemedia (NEME) - Provinces #110 through #115 - Player Kingdom

NEMEDIA (Large Kingdom) -- Nemedia, the central pillar of Hyborian culture and civilization stands ever in defiance to their habitual foes, mighty Aquilonia. The gleaming Nemedian knights are rightly proud for their army which is as diverse as it is deadly. Nemedia may well extend an empire without limit ... IF they can stop the hosts of Aquilonia.

NATIONAL HISTORY

Listen, O Lord of the Scarlet Dragon, and I shall read the chronicles of Nemedia's birth. The Nemedian lands were, of old, a part of Acheron, that cursed sister empire to Stygia. Migrating southward, our proud Hybori forebears were cruelly set upon by the evil that was Acheron and thrown alive into the fire of Set, the Arch-Demon of the purple-towered Python. But we banded together in large war tribes, and the kingdom of Nemedia was born, Hyborian high kings and war chiefs learning warfare at the hands of Acheron Iron Legions.

After two thousand years of striving we crushed our foes. We left no two stones of that great, evil city standing together! In the aftermath, half our folk traveled west in pursuit of Acheronian survivors and founded Aquilonia. Our own ancestors founded Nemedia amid rich croplands and orchards, creating the first Hyborian kingdom the world had seen.

For hundreds of years thereafter we fought off our own kin, driven south upon us by the Hyperborean expansion, and sometimes by wild blond reavers from the far north. Finally they penetrated our lands into Ophir, Koth, and Corinthia, displacing the Acheron vassal states still there.

We waxed strong and grew in wisdom, in time surpassing all other nations in science and scholarship as we became the pillar of Hyborian culture and achievement. So we remain to this day. Aquilonia has since begun to covet all that we possess, and makes claims upon our borders. Throughout our history, we have waged intermittent battles to the death with this, our western neighbor. We have camped at Tarantia's gates, and Aquilonians are not strangers to our soil. We have had much peace, but we have also always known that only one of our two kingdoms can rise to dominance in the western world. Thou must make certain that the ultimate victor is Nemedia, young one!

Thy forefathers have found great utility in the Border Kingdom as a buffer state. We have quietly supported it to protect against the wild Cimmerians, Asgardians, and Hyperboreans. The continuance of the Border Kingom has become part of our national policy. Bear that in mind, Great One, along with the need for dealing, someday, with the threat that is Aquilonia. Now listen well as I reveal the length and breadth of Nemedia, land of the Scarlet Dragon.

Kush (KUSH) - Provinces #106 through #109 - Player Kingdom

KUSH (Medium Kingdom) -- The semi-civilized Black Kingdom of most common knowledge among people of the Hyborian nations is Kush. Proud Kush is seldom raided, the Stygians usually preferring to take their slaves from weaker Darfar or Keshan. Kush in Conan's time is a Kingdom teetering on the road to empire ... or ruin. Good Kings must be fostered lest poor leadership allow the Kingdom to fall into unrest and rebellion.

NATIONAL HISTORY

Listen, proud Lord of noble lineage, and I will tell thee the history of mighty Kush. Thy forefathers were mighty warriors of Stygia who conquered the Zabhela and Zuad tribes and established our copper-sheathed capitol amid the central savannah. Through these thousands of years has our noble family, infused with blood of kings and princes of various black tribes, held the wild Kushish tribesmen at bay, holding back civilization with one hand, and wielding the sword of rule with the other.

Today we cast a long shadow in the Hyborian world. Stygia respects us grudgingly, and we have added the southern Kushish Tribelands to the empire. It is here that we recruit many of our best archers! Word comes that Tombalku has awakened once again in the east and regained its powers. Let it be; they remain but a minor threat! We rule Kush, and none may assail us. Now listen as I unfold to thee the length and breadth of thy land.