THOTHIA (Kingdom of)
Location: Southeastern end of the Isle of Dawn, north of Caerdwicca and east of Provincia Septentriona. SD
Area: 458,157 sq. mi. (1,186,627 sq. km.), 95,277 sq. mi. (246,767 sq. km.) for Thothia proper and another 362,880 sq. mi. (939,839 sq. km.) for the Thothian Plateau.
Population: 80,000.
Languages: Nithian (Thothian dialect), Alphatian (Thothian dialect, official language).
Coinage: Alphatian Standard: crown (gp), mirror (sp), judge (cp).
Taxes: 15% income tax on everyone of servant status or higher, and an import/export tax of 2% on magical items and components, and 1% on all other goods (Naycese kingdoms, Karameikos and Thyatis excluded). 10% of tax revenue goes to the Naycese treasury, and an additional 10% is spent on military forces in the name of the confederation.
Government Type: Semiautonomous monarchy, member of Nayce.
Industries: Agriculture, fishing and trade.
Important Figures: Ramenhotep XXIV (Pharaoh).
Flora and Fauna: In mainland Thothia, standard desert wildlife can be found. Also, various undead and golems/statues protect the numerous ruins and tombs lost beneath the sands. On the Thothian Plateau, the exact wildlife is still relatively unknown, but there is a known presence of phanatons, centaurs, treants, and araneas.
Further Reading: M5 Talons of Night, Dawn of the Emperors boxed set, previous almanacs.
Description by Kalitoru Nuar.
Thothia be a place worth visitin' if ye be havin' de time an' de money. Sure, mohn, dey be treatin' non-Alphatians like uncivilised barbarians, but at least dey don't complain when ye show dem yer gold. Wid de proper money, ye be enjoyin' yer stay, no matter how barbaric dey think ye are, mohn.
The Land
Thothia be mainly one large desert, noding like our home island of Nuar. Yet dere be farmin' land as well. Most of dem be along de Aurora River, especially in de fertile delta at de river moud. De desert be very inhospitable, mohn, and I be advising ye not to go unless ye be well trained in surviving in such dry place, our dat ye have a good guide. De desert is filled with large, triangular buildings dey call pyramids, which serve to house der dead. It be an expensive way to bury dem, but it comes in real handy when dey be needin' to raise dem all to fight in deir army, as dey did against Thyatis a few years ago. It be a scary sight to see skeletons and zombies charging against ye, mohn.
The soudeastern most edge of de kingdom be a dry grassland where a few herders dwell, but dey be mostly scarce. Instead, de grassland be de home of de cat-people called rakasta [of the msongo or fast runner race. Ed.] who run around an' hunt for food. De rakasta be not considered to be citizens of Thothia, yet de nobles often use dem in der armies or as pets. I don't be thinkin' dat de rakasta like dis deal, but it seems dat dere be too few of dem to do anydin' about it.
Not much be known about de Thothian Plateau. Most who go dere don't come back, and dose dat do claim dey be attacked by giant spiders call araneas by de locals. De plateau seems to be heavily forested, a sharp contrast to de desert and grassland of Thothia down below.
The People
Thothians be a strange bunch, mohn. Dey call themselves civilised, yet refuse to deal with other cultures. I be thinkin' that talkin' to others be what make ye civilised, mohn. Dey be small people, wid a brownish skin and red hair, although mainy Alphatians have fled here since de war and have now mingled wid dem.
De Thothians have a deep respect for de dead, an' any form of grave robbin' be a capital offence here. I have always believed in lettin' de dead go, so I can agree wid dis law. Dis respect comes from der religion toward de Immortal Rathanos. In fact, der king, called a pharaoh, must be a priest of Rathanos. I guess dis be makin' Thothia a deocracy of sorts. Who really knows, mohn.
Dere be anoder religion in Thothia, although dis one be widout any Immortal. A game called de Spider's Web be holy to dem, but de pharaoh not be likin' dis game. He be tryin' to get his people to abandon it, and de mysticism dat be goin' wid it. Dis has someding to do wid de pharaoh's fader, Ramenhotep XXIII, who was bein' controlled by a spider demon. It seems dat he be overthrown by adventurers, mohn, just before the turn of de century [we believe it was circa AC 1000, but this is yet unconfirmed. Ed.], and de new pharaoh doesn't want dem spiders back. Could dey be related to dem araneas on the plateau? Who knows, mohn, but I wouldn't take a chance either.
Recent History
Thothia prefers to be left alone, mohn, so dey not be influencin' de world much. Of course, when Thyatis invaded dem after Alphatia sank, de pharaoh showed dem Thyatians just how much dey be wantin' to be alone. Dey animated most of der dead and sent dem off to defeat de invaders. I be thinkin' dat de sight of de undead alone was enough to rout de Thyatians. Add magical statues and golems into de group, and ye be seein' dat Thothia be powerful indeed mohn.
Dey conquered lands dat were originally Alphatian until dere be a peace treaty between Thothia and Thyatis. Dis Treaty of Dawn, as some call it, defined what territories belonged to Alphatia and which would be given to Thyatis. In it, Thothia was granted control of the Great Escarpment, now called de Thothian Plateau. Soon after, Thothia be joinin' de New Alphatian Confederate Empire, re-establishin' its loyalties to de empress.
Since den, not much has happened. Except for on de plateau. De Thyatian colonists dere have been fleein' into mainland Thothia, askin' for help against the araneas that live dere. Thothia does not care much about dem Thyatians left on der land, but now de spider monsters actually be raidin' into Thothia proper. Many believe dat Ramenhotep XXIV will be doin' somethin' about it soon, mohn.
Don't Miss
For a Nuari, dere be nothin' here to
miss. Come and see it all, mohn. De pyramids are examples of spectacular
engineerin', mohn, an' de statues of sphinxes an' oder such monuments are
larger dan ye would dink possible to create.
De culture be different too, an' word learning about. I must say, I be enjoyin' that Spider's Web
game, too.