Ogabo Desert

The **Desert of Ogabo** is a harsh area, an almost completely flat piece of land where barely anything grows, with burning hot days and deadly cold nights. Only mysterious nomads live here, guarding the secret locations of water and foot for their herds from any outsider. However, in the western side of the desert there is a strange construct, a massive palace made out of ice. Such a structure shouldn't exist in any way in a desert, and yet it stands. It is said to be the tomb of a djinn who fell in love with his master, and broke the rules of his magic to save her.

   Within the Ogabo desert live the **Tolbari**, nomads who travel across the vast dunes, surviving by hunting. A few of the Tolbari have settled in caves. They fear the Bog Witch, and her daughters, believing them to be divine punishment for lack of devotion to the desert spirits and the rock spirits. These spirits do exist (air and earth elementals, and other such creatures), but in far fewer numbers than the Tolbari believe. The Tolbari despise the Bhakkari, viewing them as impure due to lack of devotion to the spirits.

The Tolbari refer to the desert spirits as the Bari, and the rock spirits as the Tolba, leading to them being known as the Tolbari for their devotion to them.

The Tolbar Consist of one thousand four hundred and nineteen spirits. The greatest of the Tolbar is Tol'ankor "the protector", known for having occasionally fought attacks from the Bhakkari, and for saving honorable warriors in times of need. Tol'ankor is believed to provide some amount of protection to all Tolbari, but it is not certain if this is true.

The Bari consist of two thousand one hundred and seventy five spirits, the greatest of which is Kebaril "the guide" known for leading clever Tolbari to what they desire, but in a manner that often confounds all but the wises of sages. Kebaril is also believed to allow the Tolbari to find their way when lost, all though if this belief is true is unknown.

The Bari and Tolbar have been increasing in number, with the Tolbar growing faster than the Bari, due to the belief of many different Tolbari tribes.

Many of these spirits are malevolant to an extent, seeking to punish all who do not worship them with death.

## History

The ancient Tolbari were one of the first human civilizations to achieve a high level mastery of magic, using it to make life in the desert easier in a number of ways, but after some sort of magical mishap or deliberate sabotage circa 1500 BBE, all of this work was undone, and the desert became even more uninhabitable than ever.

The Tolbari were forced to adopt a more primitive, rugged lifestyle, moving from one small oasis to the next whenever the scant resources of each oasis was temporarily exhausted (and sometimes raiding their more wealthy neighbors).

Since then, history has largely passed them by. The Khenomeric Empire decided the area was too desolate to absorb, colonize, or even forge trade routes through, as have a number of other regional powers over the millennia.

Perhaps the only reason many folk have heard of them at all is the appearance of one or more locations in the Desert on various lists of horrors and wonders. The original list of thirteen wonders was compiled by Arnold the Elder in Azan during the early Fifth Dynasty, but the list was heavily biased towards buildings within the Azan Empire. Since then, countless other lists have come out, including many competing versions of the built wonders list, along with horrors, natural wonders, legendary wonders/horrors, etc. The globe trotting Tolbari adventuress Anira came up with a number of lists for her book about a century after Arnold’s list, and despite the fact she often relied on dubious secondhand accounts, her well illustrated and entertainingly written book was copied countless times (and later went into widespread print). Each of her lists contained one or two locations/creatures/objects/etc., from her homeland, thus ensuring an unusually high profile for it in the imaginations of better read folk in more civilized lands. Many later lists drew from her work as well.

## Government

The Tolbari no longer have any form of central government. They are organized into small tribes, typically made of relatives, though they spend most of their time navigating the desert in even smaller groups.

## Economy

The Tolbari are nomadic, moving frequently to avoid depleting the scarce resources in any one area. They use camels to travel, and some groups also herd various animals. Hunting and gathering are the main forms of subsistence though. Their manufacturing abilities are limited and many of their clothes, tools, and weaponry are ancient, looted, or bought from the Kinga. Some tribes rely on slave raiding or banditry to acquire wealth, which is mostly spent on weaponry.

## Foreign Relations

### Dominion of the Bog Witch

The Tolbari see the Bog Witches servants (as well as the Coven of the Frozen Djinnmaiden among others) as divine punishment for insufficient devotion to the spirits of the desert. Despite this fear and hate, they sometimes raid neutral humans living on outskirts of bog.

### Bhakkari Tribelands

The Tolbari despise Bhakkari on religious grounds, and have fought wars against them for ages.

### Snoloth Country

The Ogabo Desert is too dry for the Snoloths, and Snoloth Country is filled with chemicals harmful to the Tolbari, so the two generally avoid one another.

### Kinga Badlands

The Tolbari sometimes sell slaves to their wealthier cousins the Kinga, but otherwise the two don’t interact much.

## Geography

The Ogabo Desert is a high plateau covered in harsh desert where little grows.

Its main noteworthy features are the occasional ruin from ancient times.

A few unusual oddities stand out like the Ice Palace, the Ogabo Bubbling Demon Pit, and the Spectral City, which are poorly understood, but famous enough to be recognized as both wonders and horrors, originally by Arnold the Elder in Azan and currently by scholars in the Hithlone Citadel.

## Demographics

The majority of the inhabitants of the Ogabo Desert are humans known as the Tolbari. Ethnically they related to the “Plains Nomads” and “Westerling” racial groupings, with their closest relatives being the Kinga.

## Religion

The Tolbari worship nature spirits, which are likely related to similar nature and animal spirits common in other parts of the world, though some Tolbari myths say they were the result of the magical mishap that destroyed their civilization.

These spirits are split between the desert spirits (Bari) and rock spirits (Tolba), collectively known as the Tolbari (not to be confused with the human ethnic group), greatest of which are Tol’ankor and Kebaril.

The Bari and Tolba are fickle masters and the shamans/nature priests that speak for them are a strange and eccentric group of many contradictory rituals and rites. One of the few things they seem to agree on are the locations of the main sacred sites, the largest of which is a circle of 27 massive stones over some sand stone caves.

There is a secondary religion in the desert centered around djinn and demon worship, but it is poorly understood.

## Military

Like many people living in harsh climates, the Tolbari have a fierce fighting reputation, though cynics question whether this is purely fighting skill, or whether the harsh climate simply thins out the weak and those unwilling to do what it takes to survive. No one can deny though that Tolbari of both genders spend much time practising with swords, and their elite sword dancers are often considered among the best in the world.

The Tolbari rely on night raids and desert ambushes using ancient or looted weapons, and rarely wearing armor of any sort. Compared to many of their archenemies, they are weak magically, but sometimes a Bari or Tolba can be convinced to join the battle, where they assist in sometimes unexpected ways.

Although officially religious zeal and bigotry prompt many raids by the Tolbari, unofficially they tend to stick to “soft” targets where profits from looting and slave selling can allow for the purchase of more weaponry.

### Witch Coven

The **Coven of the Frozen Djinnmaiden** - also known as the Maidens of the Frozen Sand - are sinister magic users based in the Ogabo Desert capable of binding djinns in order to control their powerful cold, sand, and wind magic both directly and indirectly.

They operate in the western region of the Ogabo Desert, near the mysterious palace of ice. They are known for their mastery of ice magic and their worship of djinns and pacts. It was founded when a Djinn betrayed his ancient pact to save the life of the founder of the coven Zaihra the Sworddancer. Not a witch herself prior to that the Frozen Djinnmaiden are a rare formation of witches which also demands it’s members learn the Tolbari art of sword-dancing, a more deadly form of a seductive dance female entertainers perform for chiefs and lords.

The Tolbari nomads tell tales of the Coven's dark rituals and sacrifices, of how the witches summon djinns and bind them to their will, using them to unleash destruction and chaos upon their enemies. They say that the witches are able to control the elements themselves, summoning blizzards and sandstorms to destroy entire cities. The nomads view the Coven as a curse upon the land, and pray to the spirits of the desert to protect them from their wrath.

The Coven of Frozen Djinnmaiden is led by the powerful and infamous witch, **Zalika**. She possesses unparalleled powers of ice and sand control, able to summon djinns and bend the elements to her will. Her true power lies in her cruelty and brutality, using fear and destruction to rule her coven. She is a force to be reckoned with and not to be underestimated, as those who encounter her and don’t show propper respect will face certain death.

Another powerful member of the Coven of Frozen Djinnmaiden is An’Nura. She is known for her ability to manipulate the minds of others and to cast powerful illusions, giving them a sense of weight and touch by creating a layer of ice within each created illusion.. She is often seen as a charismatic and persuasive leader, who is able to convince others to follow her lead.

The Coven of Frozen Djinnmaiden is known for their evil rituals, which they perform to gain power and to appease their djinn allies. They are said to sacrifice animals and even humans to the djinns, in exchange for their favor. They watch over the sabbaths at the Ogabo Bubbling Demon Pit, where they perform dark magic and sacrifice demons to gain their power. The Bubbling Demon pit is desired by Necromancers, alchemists and Dark mages alike and it is the unfortunate duty of the Djinnmaiden to keep it in the control of the covens, a duty they may or may not be aided by the other covens. At least officially the Pit-guard is supposed to receive a tythe of witches from all other covens to ensure the unholy site remains accessible when the next sabbath commeth.

The Tolbari nomads view the Coven of Frozen Djinnmaiden with fear and dread, believing them to be divine punishment for their lack of devotion to the spirits of the desert. They warn outsiders not to approach the palace of ice, for fear of the witches' wrath. They speak of the powerful leader of the coven, Zalika, in hushed tones, as if her very name carries a curse.

Despite the danger and evil associated with the Coven of Frozen Djinnmaiden, there are some who seek out their power, in hopes of gaining control over the elements and the djinns. These brave souls journey to the palace of ice, in hopes of being accepted into the coven as apprentices. However, those who do so risk falling under the witches' control and becoming pawns in their dark plans. Many of those who join the Coven are escaped slaves, courtisans, and prostitutes, seeking to gain power to exert revenge against those who wronged them.