Son of Sand

*Keeper of tribe and nation, Zaeed urges the preservation of one's culture and people against those that would render both dissolute, a fate that a foreign power once threatened His people with. His origin links Him to the elements of the desert, with sun, sand, stone and wind at His command, as well as representing the harsh trials of life that drive the creation of family and tribe.*

## (Deity)

### Titles

- Son of Sand - The Desert King

- Al'ab Alsaami (Alrimal honorific)

### Adjective

Alrimal Tifl 'Ajnabiun (Native Alrimal term for foreign worshippers)

## History

### **The Great Hunger**

In the land of Eatash Alram, there once existed a lush jungle, the likes of which was never seen before. Full of life and magic, it was the envy of the ancient world. With this glory however came those that wished to prey upon it. One of those was a meager earth elemental that wished to claim this place for the Eternal Delve, and upon searching for ways to do so, found a forbidden technique that allowed it to absorb the life energies, even the very essence that forms the foundation of magic, of all around it.

Subsequently, the elemental gorged itself on the richness of life and magic in Eatash, sucking the vitality from the land. Soil turned to sand, rivers dried, and the wildlife died off in huge numbers as its energies were consumed. Not a fool though, the elemental ushered in life suitable for living in the new desert, including a race of Men, and allowed it to grow so it could be harvested again and again like crops every thousand years.

As it fed upon life and magic in the desert time and again, the elemental began to grow lax; never sated, yet swelling in size and power until it rivaled the gods themselves. It eventually came to the point that the creature could no longer move itself from beneath the sands of Eatash, so fat and gluttonous it was. Soon, it needed something to deliver the life it seeded in the desert into its maw, and so it created from its own essence the first Son of Sand. The Son would arise, every thousand years, to reap vitality that had grown, Men and animals alike. For hundreds of cycles, the Sons of Sand performed their duties, unstoppable as they devoured any magic that was thrown against them, and the life energies of any warrior that stood to fight them. Only in the last two cycles would the pattern break...

### **The Teacher**

Two thousand years ago, a man by the name of Hakim rose from a caste of slaves known as the Alrimal, and rather than devour all life around him as his destiny dictated, he instead lead his people against their rulers, a cruel civilization of mages known as the Salaf. Sadly, using his powers against the wishes of The Great Hunger, as his creator became known as, lead to the deific elemental rising from its slumber and consuming the latest crop itself, leaving only the barest traces of the Alrimal and Salaf.

This however was not the end, as Hakim stayed behind to teach the newest generation of Men the language and culture of the lost Alrimal, subtly guiding them for the next thousands years to keep away from any magic that might draw The Great Hunger's attention again, and instead make use of the mineral treasures that lay in the ground beneath. In time, Hakim's descendent arose, the next Son of Sand, a man by the name of Zaeed Abadi. Posing as Zaeed's father, Hakim ingrained within the boy, the need to protect his people, and cultivate his abilities.

### **The Rebel**

Zaeed learned all he could at Hakim's knee, and even temporarily left the desert to attend the finest academies of the strange foreign civilization, known as the Setlaar, to enhance his wisdom and knowledge of the world around him. Reading through history, he discovered how much the most recent generations of the Alrimal had been taken advantage of by 'the invaders'. While the Setlaar were capable of amazing technologies, all of their knowledge was built off the backs of his people, who had been slowly pushed from the comfortable coastline and further into the inhospitable bowels of the desert, their culture slowly eroded. When Zaeed returned, he gathered an army of followers, warriors from the various tribes, and harassed the frontiersmen of the Setlaar, trying to push them out of his homeland.

It was during the Hungering Sands Incident that Zaeed's origins came to light, and towards the end of the journey, he finally reached His true potential as the Son of Sand, merging with Hakim to claim His full power. For a time after, He was the guardian of the Alrimal, protecting them from the machinations of the Setlaar's noble class, the Alinibal Court as a regional deity. It is only recently, with the rise of Chronus' exclusive, personal pantheon, that He rose further still to a proper worldly god of home and clan.

## Home

The Son of Sand does not make His home in any extraplanar space, but rather the Setlaar state of Eatash Alram. There in the desert and cities, He rules unchallenged, His power overwhelming even compared to His fellow deities within the boundaries of His homeland; outside its borders, He is still mighty as a god should be, but more on the scale of the other Gods of Chronus. His largest temple and most powerful stronghold however, is in the Alrimal city of Hajar Almanzil, considered the capital of the desert's native culture.

## Appearance

In His proper godly form, Zaeed is an ebony-skinned man in black-and-gold armor, wielding His sacred weapons and bearing a golden helmet resembling a jackal. Still, He prefers to conduct himself in human form when dealing with worshippers and friends, a broad-chested warrior-king of old in robes and Hakim's ancient Alrimal necklace. He mostly reserves His true deific shape when faced with threats to His people or His fellow gods.

## Relationships

### **Friends**

Zaeed was assisted in His previous ascension to a regional god by several Eterans, including Avalia Naramoore and Delvar Starbreaker, with His friendship with the former continuing as they both took their place in Chronus' pantheon. Although He considers all the Alrimal as His children, He is particularly close to Mileena DeChance, seeing her especially as a daughter, with her husband Benedict a son-in-law He views with pride for his righteousness.

### **Enemies**

From his return to our time, the first Son of Sand, now the nascent God of Hunger Yakuul, has been an enemy of Zaeed. His loyalty to The Great Hunger may have died with it, but his obsession with luxury is distasteful to a desert god who views harshness as a necessary whetting of one's mettle, and the defection of the Hunger Spirits, formerly-mindless monsters that served the elemental, to Yakuul has created several points of contention between them.

## Honoring The Son

### **Worshipers**

The Son of Sand is worshipped by virtually all of the Alrimal, the native peoples of Eatash Alram, who see Him as a divine protector and their greatest paragon. Outside of Eatash, Zaeed is honored by those that wish to ensure the survival of their people, including the preservation of their culture, and the protection of their land. Especially in places like the Setlaar confederation, where constant immigration between states sometimes threatens the uniqueness of their beliefs and blurs the lines that define them, He is valued for helping keep their sovereignty alive and well and preventing the many cultures of the Setlaar from turning into a featureless slurry of beliefs and values.

In His aspects aligned with sun and stone, the Desert King is also worshiped by those who dwell in arid regions, such as some parts of the Setlaar states of Dom or Sameeyay Asha and beyond. For them, His control over the elements around them is more relevant, and thus they pray for success in surviving such harsh lands. Blessed rains, calm winds, and bountiful hunts of the sparing resources in the desert are all asked for and, sometimes, given.

### **Clergy**

For most of the Son of Sand's existence as a god, there were no official churches or clergymen of His faith. As Zaeed Abadi, He lived among His people like a high chieftain, directly taking part in their rituals and advising the chiefs of the various Alrimal tribes in their duties. He was such an integral and everyday element of their lives that specialized ceremonies and offerings were seen as pointless. Why mutter prayers when you can journey to Hajar Almanzil and see Him for yourself, and directly petition for His blessings?

In more recent years, especially as He fully ascended from a regional deity to a full God of Chronus, those outside of Eatash have begun to form traditions to honor him in their own way. Being a god of tribe and family, The Desert King does not demand a universal method of worship or prayer, but does encourage communities to create their own way of doing so, then passing them on to their descendants to form a proper tradition. To Him, there is no greater way to pay homage than to integrate belief of Him into their existing culture and beliefs.

Those that value Zaeed more for his aspects of the desert tend to create 'flocks' of wanderers that pray to Him, hoping their collective size will attract Him and make Him more likely to grant favor. Such tactics actually tend to work, with the Son of Sand's blessings becoming greater and more frequent as they cement themselves into clans and nomadic bands.

### **Temples and Shrines**

Just as Zaeed does not demand a global standard for prayer, so does He allow worshipers in different parts of the world to build their own sorts of churches and the like. In Eatash Alram, many of the Alrimal consider Hajar Almanzil to be a holy city, the seat of the Son of Sand's power. With this in mind, most foreign worshipers of Zaeed make pilgrimages to Hajar to see His birthplace and perhaps even meet Him personally.

Desert-dwellers who wish for the Son of Sand's favor in surviving their home tend to create small shrines known as 'storm bowls', where wind magic is used to create miniature sandstorms within clay or stone vessels. Combined with fervent prayer, the Desert King tends to take notice, and while preferring worshipers to appeal to His familial aspects over His elemental ones, He is still a generous god and often grants at least small blessings for such attempts. His doing so tends to perpetuate the practice, but He doesn't seem to mind too much.

## Teachings

Despite his freeform and adaptive approach to worship, the Son of Sand is not so permissive in the principles he represents. As a function of family, tribe and nation, Zaeed advises caution with outsiders. Those from foreign lands with unproven intentions are not to be trusted, but still given the chance to prove themselves as friends or even potential additions to the tribe. Following this logic, the land and its borders are to be secured. Outsiders should not be allowed to freely trespass into the tribe's home nor conduct their business, whatever it is, with absolute agency. The Alrimal were very much open to the Setlaar when they arrived in Eatash, and were almost annihilated as a people for their trouble. Zaeed will not see any others he watches over be exploited in such a way.

That is not to say foreigners should be treated with active hostility however, only a wise sort of caution. Outsiders should still be hosted gracefully, and if they wish to make a home in the tribe's land, should be given the chance to assimilate. The language, culture, and religious beliefs of the keepers of the land should all be learned and engaged in during everyday life. Should outsiders refuse and attempt to settle in the homeland of another with no respect to the tribe, they should be treated as invaders and be ousted by any means necessary.

Outside of the governance of land, Zaeed also encourages the teachings of adversity. Not all luxuries should be afforded, and the land must retain a sense of wildness, not tamed to complete domesticity; it is only when danger and hard work remain a part of life that life itself is truly appreciated and cared for, so says the Son of Sand. In addition, goods and services should be derived from the native land and population, respectively. A tribe that depends on foreigners is not a clan to themselves, but a branch of outsiders, liable to be pruned at any time by their providers if convenient. Ores should be mined, lumber cut, from resources within the homeland, just as the Alrimal made miracles of technology from Eatash Alram's hidden natural treasures.