Desert Lords

The **Desert Lords** are a loose collection of warlords and local rulers occupying most of the Great Sand Sea. It was born from the ashes of the Sapphire Empire of Da'al Mon in 1011 AW. The Desert Lords, while small in numbers and disunited, have acted as tools for the Empire of Da'al Mon and the Empire of Sallant in what would eventually be known as the Great Game.

The Great Game ended in recent years as both empires refuse to fund the Desert Lords further, leading them to lose much of their political influence. The Desert Lords have no single leader, though individual rulers can ally with each other, forming loose coalitions with mutual interests known as Hegemonies.

The Desert Lords are currently ruled by the Seventh Hegemony which meets in the town of Cadurica. They are neutral in nature and have refused to seek aid from either Sallant or Da'al Mon, viewing both countries as exploitative and deceitful. Instead, the Seventh Hegemony seeks to feudalise the Lords or — at the very least — unify them under something resembling a stable government.

## History

### Rise and First Hegemony

Born from chaos in the Sapphire Empire of Da'al Mon, the earliest Desert Lords were recruited by Emperor Taslona II. They consisted primarily of mercenaries, nomads, bandits, and other criminals. The term Desert Lord appeared for the first time for this specific subgroup of Sapphire Warlords, though there was some overlap with so-called Cave Lords and Fort Lords.

As Taslona II lost most of his territory and ran out of money, the Desert Lords turned on him and killed the Da'al Moni Emperor. They rebelled and gained control over the largely uninhabited Great Sand Sea. In total, they captured over twenty settlements, though many of these were tiny villages with only a handful of residents.

Da'al Mon's new Empress, Ayga I, couldn't be bothered to launch an offensive and take losses for a worthless desert and a handful of settlements, and let the Desert Lords bicker over the land amongst themselves. There was plenty of bickering to be had, as minor warlords fought for decades over control of the twenty-three lawless settlements, with constant shifts of power. It wasn't until the 1060s that the internal borders of the Desert Lords finally began to stabilise somewhat. In 1069 AW, a minority coalition of warlords formed the First Hegemony. Its naming is disputed, as some argue that the coalition of 1069 AW was not large or domestically influential enough to be considered a proper Hegemony like its successors, though the name has stuck around to the present day.

The First Hegemony was heavily influenced by the Sallanthians, as the Da'al Monis had refused to bribe the Desert Lords for decades leading up to 1069 AW. The rise of the First Hegemony also marked the start of the so-called Great Game, the war of influence over the Desert Lords between Sallant and Da'al Mon. Spurred on by the Sallanthian Emperors, the Desert Lords launched the First Desert Lord Invasion into Da'al Mon in 1072 AW. The Da'al Moni Empress, Ayga II, was caught off-guard, leading to the First Desert Lord Invasion lasting some three years and causing widespread destruction. After a spree of uncontested looting and pillaging, the First Hegemony was slowly but steadily pushed back, first out of Da'al Mon and later into their home territory, where the First Hegemony was shattered by 1075 AW. Its leaders who had neither died in battle nor fled were executed, and the Great Sand Sea fell under military occupation as Ayga II moved to annex the territory. It seemed that the age of the Desert Lords had ended, yet the military occupation proved too costly when the garrison came under pressure from warlords, nomads, guerrillas, and saboteurs. Before the year was over, the Da'al Monis withdrew, leaving the Sand Sea to its bickering warlords once more.

### Second Hegemony

With the First Hegemony crushed and the military occupation ended, the Desert Lords returned to their infighting. Ayga II's successor, Empress Kayil, began seriously partaking in the Great Game to counter the Sallanthians, and the overwhelming influence further destabilised the Desert Lords. Besides the regular infighting between individual warlords, the threat of betrayal and conflict spurred on by either the Da'al Moni or Sallanthian Empire added further threat to local rulers, as aligning with one side of the Great Game would make the warlords enemies of the other empire.

Ultimately, Empress Kayil would prove a talented player of the Great Game, slowly but surely expanding her power base in the Great Sand Sea. In 1080 AW, the Second Hegemony was founded, heavily favouring the Da'al Monis. At the orders of the Empress, they began regularly raiding Sallanthian territory, mostly centred around Agumia. Kayil would provide supplies, weapons, and armour to the warlords loyal to her cause, and incite proxy wars that crushed those who tried to remain neutral.

With the Second Hegemony securing its control over the Great Sand Sea, they were now ready for war. In 1092 AW, the Second Desert Lord Invasion broke out, this time targeting Sallant. The Desert Lords pushed deep into Agumia, though they were stalled when faced by the elite Agumian Aroka cavalry and Sallanthian Dragonfleets. One year later, the Second Hegemony had been crushed, mirroring the fall of the First. A small remnant of the Second Hegemony remained near the Da'al Moni border, though the Great Sand Sea largely fell to Sallanthian military occupation.

### Third Hegemony

Unlike the aftermath of the First Hegemony's downfall, there was no power struggle or infighting. Instead, the Sallanthians directly appointed a Third Hegemony out of warlords who had switched sides or out of their own officers, who had been appointed to rule over the towns directly. The Third Hegemony was born to serve as a quasi-vassal state of Sallant. A small but long-lasting proxy war broke out between the Third Hegemony and the western remnants of the Second, though this conflict went nowhere.

While loyal at first, no one is incorruptible. The ever-increasing amount of Da'al Moni bribes saw the foundations of the Third Hegemony slowly rotting away. Appointed warlords died and were succeeded by more influenceable figures. There was no great struggle for power, no infighting, and no foreign invasion. By 1122 AW, the Third Hegemony had simply died a quiet death after years of decay. The Sallanthian bribes had been too mediocre to maintain loyalties, and the balance of power shifted westward once more. It looked like a Fourth Hegemony would rise under Da'al Mon, yet barely three years after the collapse of the Third Hegemony, the Desert Lords and Da'al Mon were in a state of all-out warfare thanks to the efforts of one woman: Ayga III.

### Fourth Hegemony

Empress Uysai I of Da'al Mon took the throne in 1110 AW. When it was discovered she was under the influence of the Desert Lords, hurting the Empire's economy to line her own pockets, she was couped and replaced by her sister, Ayga III. Uysai fled into the Great Sand Sea and eventually became a Warlady herself. As Uysai faded into irrelevancy in her homeland, many expected to never hear from her again.

Ayga III was a militarist, much like her mother, Ayga II. Throughout her reign, a series of border fortifications were built, including on the edge of the Sand Sea. By 1125 AW, satisfied with the state of her fortifications, and believing Da'al Mon to be safe, Ayga III announced her withdrawal from the Great Game. All ransom payments and bribes towards the Desert Lords stopped. warlords loyal to Da'al Mon lost their power base and were deposed by those aligned with Sallant.

In a matter of months, the Desert Lords had unanimously turned against Da'al Mon under the Sallanthian-led Fourth Hegemony, ruled over by none other than Uysai herself. Near the end of the year, the Third Desert Lord Invasion entered Da'al Mon, breaking through the fortifications, and burning and pillaging as they pleased. Uysai had extensive knowledge of the land and still had some political connections, which became evident when the Third Invasion became marked by treason by Da'al Moni officials joining Uysai's side.

In time, the Third Invasion turned into a meat grinder, as the armies of Ayga III and Uysai repeatedly clashes in prolonged and bloody battles. Ultimately, the Da'al Monis had more manpower to spare, and slowly gained the upper hand. In the final battle of the war, Uysai and Ayga III duelled. Ayga III defeated and killed her sister in the duel, yet was mortally wounded in the process, dying shortly after. With both sides left leaderless, the war ended abruptly. The Da'al Monis licked their wounds, while the remaining warlords returned to their seats of power with whatever spoils they could carry.

The Fourth Hegemony is of particular interest, for their story did not end with the Third Invasion. Instead, it was the only Hegemony whose loyalty changed over time. Ayga III's successor, the charismatic administrator Ayga IV, resumed payments to the Desert Lords, re-entering the Great Game. The ruling warlords, more loyal to gold than to Sallant, began flipping one by one. Entering the 1130s, they had now become largely loyal to the Da'al Monis. In 1133 AW, they launched the Fourth Invasion into Sallant. The Fourth Invasion was as bloody as the Third and led to heavy losses on both sides. Yet, this time around, decapitation strikes by the Sallanthians left only a couple warlords alive.

The power base of the Fourth Hegemony was now depleted, and it collapsed naturally as its surviving warlords went their separate ways. While the wars of the Fourth Hegemony had been very costly, they had also been extremely profitable for the few survivors. Much of this wealth was used as an investment, with existing settlements and fortifications being expanded. A period of relative peace descended upon the Great Sand Sea, leading to the rise of a new type of Hegemony.

### Fifth Hegemony

The Fifth Hegemony arose in 1155 AW, after roughly twenty years of disunited co-existence in the Great Sand Sea. Instead of aligning themselves with either side of the Great Game, the Fifth Hegemony maintained a policy of independent neutrality, much to the annoyance of both empires. The Fifth Hegemony, while still dominated by outlaws and bandits, resembled a peaceful cooperative agreement of a myriad of smaller states forming one mutual body, much like the Alliance of Fühlgart of old.

Instead of raids and criminality, the Fifth Hegemony began expanding in other ways. Trade, commerce, and production were stimulated, and reforms were implemented. The Desert Lords gained a small amount of economic influence in bordering countries, including their would-be-dominating empires. By 1166 AW, a formal agreement to unify most of the warlords into one administrative body was implemented. This was the closest the Desert Lords had ever come to becoming a modern and stable country.

Yet the Great Game is cruel, and the pawns have no control over when the Game ends. In an unlikely and rare moment of shared interests, both Sallant and Da'al Mon began a cruel effort to dismantle the Fifth Hegemony. Violent warlords who had remained out of the Fifth Hegemony were propped up and supported, major figures of the Fifth Hegemony were assassinated, and old wounds were re-opened. Internal tensions flared and, by 1169 AW, the Fifth Hegemony had collapsed under insurmountable pressure.

The collapse of the Fifth Hegemony left the largest power vacuum in the Great Sand Sea to date, and as many as 200 warlords rose and fell in the decade after the Fifth Hegemony's collapse. This was, by far, the most intense, fast-paced, and unstable period of the Great Game. Ultimately, after both sides had spent a fortune propping up and deposing warlords, the Sallanthians came on top.

### Sixth Hegemony

The rise of the Sixth Hegemony loyal to Sallant marked the beginning of the end of the Great Game. After having devoted countless resources, time, and energy to gaining control over the Desert Lords, only to end up as the loser, led Empress Zemica I to end her empire's support to the Great Sand Sea permanently. None of her successors have appeased the Desert Lords in any way, and Sallant gradually began decreasing its own tributes paid due to the lack of competition.

The Sixth Hegemony, therefore, became weaker with time, as more independent warlords began appearing. However, unlike the Fifth Hegemony, there was no cooperation between these independent rulers, so the weakened Sixth Hegemony remained dominant across the Sand Sea, though they became increasingly obsolete. Yet, unexpectedly, decades later, a chance for redemption was offered.

Muzai II, the power-hungry and deceitful Emperor of Sallant, had received a large force of Monarchist exiles during the early stages of the Great War. He had sent these exiles west to supplement his own preparations for an invasion of Da'al Mon. Muzai II hoped to conquer the empire to the west and finally rid Sallant of its main rival, yet feared he lacked the numbers for an absolute victory. To bolster his own troops, he turned to the increasingly obscure Sixth Hegemony. Payments to the Desert Lords had been token at best, yet there were still some loyalties to Sallant to be found in the Sand Sea. Muzai II promised the warlords the world for their assistance, ranging from territorial concessions and vast resources and payments in the event of a Sallanthian victory.

Having fallen from glory and becoming increasingly desperate to cling onto relevance, the warlords eagerly agreed. The Sixth Hegemony grew rapidly in the months leading to the invasion which counter-intuitively gave away the impending attack to Da'al Mon, who noticed the rapid shift taking place amongst the Desert Lords. The eastern borders were fortified and, sure enough, a Fifth Desert Lord Invasion broke out in 1214 AW. What the Da'al Monis hadn't anticipated, however, was the Second Sallanthian-Da'al Moni War breaking out alongside it. What was supposed to be a raid by warlords turned into the largest war in the South in the 13th century thus far, and panicked Da'al Moni generals began redirecting their forces to deal with the much larger Sallanthian threat.

For the Desert Lords, the invasion went poorly. Despite the chaotic opposition they faced, their numbers and military expertise were a far cry from the might of earlier invasions. The attack stalled, and the conflict ended after only some months as the Sixth Hegemony retreated due to a lack of supplies. They spent the rest of the war assisting Sallanthian efforts further to the south, though made no independent attacks due to a lack of strength. Muzai II didn't mind and allowed the warlords to accompany his forces, using them as meat shields for his own troops. Yet, as the war came to a grinding halt and eventually ended in stalemate, Muzai turned on his allies.

The Monarchists were told to return to New Sallant, though the route they took was unorthodox, as they were led back through the Great Sand Sea. Then, they were attacked suddenly while stranded in the desert, though most got away, fleeing towards either Amagoi or Llendus. The Sixth Hegemony had nowhere to run, however. Their leaders, having failed Muzai II, were rounded up and brought before him in his army camp, only to be beheaded one by one. Overnight, the Sixth Hegemony had been exterminated by their benefactors, and anarchy once more descended on the Great Sand Sea. Sallanthian funding stopped, marking the end of the Great Game. Henceforth, the Desert Lords were left to rot away in their worthless wasteland of territory, though this is not entirely what happened.

### Seventh Hegemony

The Seventh Hegemony, the current ruling body of the Desert Lords, emerged in 1224 AW. While the collapse of the Sixth Hegemony marked some infighting, the scale of it was reduced. The truth was, after over two centuries of independence, the Great Sand Sea had grown a small yet hardy civilian community. The support for warlordism was at an all-time low point, and the locals simply weren't supportive of the widespread violence anymore.

The Seventh Hegemony largely resembles the Fifth, as it is a loose yet non-violent partnership between independent rulers. Notably, it does not entirely consists of warlords, as some towns have recently come under the control of mayors, traders, or even important farming families. Under the Seventh Hegemony, an effort to feudalise has been presented to turn the lawless territory of the Desert Lords into a functioning independent country for the first time in its history.

While these efforts are widespread, it does not mean the end of warlordism. The Seventh Hegemony does not have complete control over its territory, and some warmongering groups continue to exist and resist the reformist approach of the new ruling class. However, the general trend seems to be shifting away from war and, perhaps, into the realm of peace.

## Politics

Try as they might, the Desert Lords have never established a formal or stable political system. Warlordism proved to be the most practical system for the Desert Lords. Infighting, mistrust, and deceit have been widespread for much of the Desert Lords' shared history. Hegemonies, despite their names, have thus far been loose partnerships prone to collapse or collapse from within. Only the Fifth and Seventh have had any notable cooperation besides joint military campaigns. The general trend and wish amongst most Desert Lords seems to be one of modernisation, which could lead to a more stable feudal-like system being established sometime in the near future.

## Geography

The Desert Lords, as their name suggests, rule over a desert. Namely, the largest in Enselonde: the Great Sand Sea. Between its seemingly endless sprawling dunes are only a handful of small towns and villages built around the few oases and springs that can be found scattered across the desert. The Desert Lords control some scraps of territory outside the Great Sand Sea, but this is nonetheless often still dry and infertile land, making agriculture limited.

## Economy

The Desert Lords have no unified economy to speak of, as each warlord and settlement does things their own way. Instead, there are many separate self-sustaining economies in the settlements dotting the Great Sand Sea, with trade between them being minimal. Those who are not put to work farming to sustain the population of these oasis towns are usually unemployed, as the Sand Sea is practically worthless when it comes to resources or development.

A handful of nomadic groups trek across the Great Sand Sea, hunting what little wildlife there is and often trading with the established settlements. Some warlord-sponsored caravans can be found moving from one town to the next, though these have historically been targets for rival warlords, which has further hampered internal trade.

## Demographics

The Great Sand Sea is almost entirely inhabited by Humans, though some small and scattered communities of Agumian Hyllidans can be found. The main divide is between the settled population and the nomadic groups travelling around the desert. There is no unified identity under the Desert Lords, with immigrants and outlaws having moved to the desert in the last 200 years from every corner of the South.

## Culture and Religion

The Desert Lords are a melting pot of outcasts and misfits from Sallant to Yratessia and everywhere in between. Some argue that Desert Lord culture has been shaped by its lack of one majority group, whereas others consider the Great Sand Sea an uncultured and barbaric backwater. Perhaps, the reality is somewhere in between these two sentiments. There is no official language, though Common is most widely used to communicate, and there is no official religion.

The arts have largely died out under the rule of the Desert Lords, as it was considered a useless pastime locally and art is prone to theft by rival warlords. However, there has been a slight increase in written art, particularly poetry and songs, which can be shared mouth-to-mouth. Agumian warrior-poets have been well-appreciated within the Great Sand Sea. There is no presence from international organisations such as the Fighters League, Divine Order, or the Rangers Guild. All these services, if they exist, are done locally.

## Relations

* Khanate of Agumia - Agumia's struggle for independence from Sallant in the ongoing Steppe Rebellion has been admired and, at times, supported by the Desert Lords.
* Kingdom of Amagoi - The northern neighbours of the Desert Lords, the relationship between the two is peaceful and some very limited trade has occurred with Amagoi.

* Empire of Sallant - The Sallanthians spat out the Desert Lords and stabbed them in the back during the Great War, causing the downfall of the Sixth Hegemony. For years, they exploited the Desert Lords in the Great Game, and the Seventh Hegemony is firmly opposed to the Sapphire League.
* Empire of Da'al Mon - While less hated than Sallant, the Desert Lords remember Da'al Mon as a cruel state who exploited them during the Great Game. There is no love lost between the two.

## Military

The Desert Lords have no organised military. Most warlords and settlements field their own small and independent militias. In times of military cooperation, such as during any of the Desert Lord Invasions, these smaller forces band together into a large though disunited army.

## List of Hegemonies

* First Hegemony, 1069-1075 AW
* Second Hegemony, 1080-1093 AW
* Third Hegemony, 1093-1122 AW
* Fourth Hegemony, 1125-1134 AW
* Fifth Hegemony, 1155-1169 AW
* Sixth Hegemony, 1186-1214 AW
* Seventh Hegemony, 1224 AW-

## People of the Desert Lords

*For a full list that includes dead and minor characters, see: Category:Characters (Desert Lords)*

## Locations of the Desert Lords

*For a full list that includes buildings, see: Category:Locations (Desert Lords)*

* **Cadurica - Current Capital**
* Albariz
* Aleja
* Ancetas
* Andalos
* Calzes
* Cayakisla
* Cayiic
* Coslia
* Dikent
* Gororez
* Mahmular
* New Kirikea
* Old Kirikea
* Olulid
* Orhoz
* Payaila
* Pevaz
* Rez'al
* Socthan
* Tenovah
* Tiripal
* Zantash