Jadida Alam overview
Jadida Alam is a new world risen from the ashes of a very old one. Across the sands and windswept cliffs of this hostile desert empires have come and gone. Built on the backs of man, elf, dwarf, and dragonborn, each empire has risen and fallen. Time eternal has brought an end to all that has come before. But persistence lies in the heart of all Alam's children. Each generation brings forth their own desires and wishes to master the unknown, control that which would have no minder and conquer the lands from the southern mountains to the great northern sea.
One hundred years have passed since the last war. No victory was claimed and the losses were felt the world over. Left behind were loose confederations of all races, really no larger than tribes. No nations were left standing. The masses would find solace in the ruins of former empires and the lonely would travel the wild for shelter, and perhaps a bright spot in the darkness they could call home.
Now the claim for dominance begins again, and as populations grow, there are those who seek to control and command. Rulers are not so much chosen as they force their seat of power over the weak willed. Some offer protection from the wild and honest leadership, others seek to better their own personal goals and ego.
The hostile world is speckled with white and red clay hovels and some grand temples built upon the ruins of others. Tents and caravans populate the most common roads and an oasis is a blessing from the gods to the weary traveler. The wealthy have slave-mined gold hammered and worked into the finest details of their great halls while the poor hang sheep pelts from their doorways to fend off the ever-present sandstorm. Around every rock and in every desert canyon dark monsters dwell, waiting to leap on the weak. People travel in groups for protection. Bandits pray on those groups, fierce predatory packs leaving only bones for the sands to consume. In such times it is no wonder the safety of community is sought. Throughout the desert societies are found in two forms, the tribe, and the city. And though before the war cultures ran divided by race, now survival pays little attention to creed and origin. Still the two most common groups differ greatly.
The tribes have been wandering the desert since the gods breathed life into the infertile sands. Their ways are ancient, and their traditions sacred. The archetypical tribes are nomadic herdsmen. In hard times, they resort to brigandage, and some are fully committed raiders; tribes of ill repute among the cultural group that lived off the 'fat of the land'. Raider tribes even fight amongst each other for control of territory that is ripe for plunder. Though all-out warfare has not been seen since The War of World's End these tribes are sometimes gathered under a single warlord. The warlord, thus emboldened, usually brings his forces to small conflicts and trade disputes. After the fighting, the tribes split off again, seldom gaining much from their efforts. The spoils go to the more sedentary groups of the desert.
Those who find wandering the desert too uncertain an existence secure themselves within earthen city walls. These citizens pay homage to warlords and priests. Settling around the few fertile spots such as oasis' and water ports, these cities would become hubs of commerce. Life in the cities is rarely permanent, however. Occasionally nomads settle, and sedentary tribes become nomadic when ousted from their territory or an oasis/well dries up. Life in the cities is nearly as fluid as life on the dunes. Unlike the nomads, the settled people have no long-standing traditions, rather a hodge-podge of many customs brought to and fro with commerce. The way of the sword is not as mighty as the way of words in the city. Negotiation is an art most revered within the city's walls. Where steel is final, the changing nature of the metropolitan populace values the flexibility of diplomacy. And such is the nature of the sedentary tribes. Seldom do settlements last for longer than two generations. That does not mean, however, there are no enduring communities.
On the Badikh Ma'ida, three such long lasting settlements exist. To the south, along the Sinn Jabal mountains lies Yamm Kasr, an ancient dwarven stronghold at the edge of a mighty lake. Since the War of World's End the population of Yamm Kasr has diluted from its once singular dwarven stock. Possibly the most hospitable city in all of Jadida Alam in terms of climate, Yamm Kasr is the end of the trail for much of the Badikh Ma'ida's commerce. The lake drains through the dwarven built damn into the Zammara Nahr, Jadida Alam's largest river. The Zammara Nahr flows north and connects to the next city on the mesa, Muk-Jaras.
Muk-Jaras is small compared to Yamm Kasr, though it sees much trade and the occasional religious pilgrimage due to its role in the War of World's End. It was here the last survivors made their stand against the great hordes. It was here Lord Terous displayed the magic Qudssi Mass, the magic stone that stopped the demonic tide and ended the war. To this day, the devout travel to see the Quadssi Mass, now enshrined in the temple. Muk-Jaras holds great significance to trade as well. As the Zammara Nahr travels north it reaches the great waterfalls at the Badikh Ma'ida's end. Traders use Muk-Jaras as their port, converting water-borne cargo to camel back on their voyage north towards Khawr Madi.
Khawr Madi is a mighty city, founded by Lord Terous after the war. Khawr Madi is surrounded by small farmsteads and its ruler governs all the land on the mesa. The nomadic tribes bring trade from the small farms and settlements to the north and some bring treasures from the Forgotten Lands. Though there are those who venture further north along the river, Khawr Madi represents the end of civilization in the vast desert. The other settlements to the north fluctuate like the nomads themselves and no map of the area is current due to this fluid lifestyle, shifting constantly like the sands. If an empire were to rise, Khawr Madi would be its birthplace.
Those of elven blood hail from the Zammara Haraj, the dense and mysterious forest east of Muk-Jaras. Since the war the elves have drifted more and more from their domain, as is usual to their nature. Many take to horse and camel and roam the desert. Some seek to explore the Khawr Min Sirrayya, the dark and horrible Valley of Riddles that lays between the high mesa and the Forgotten Lands. Of these foolhardy and adventurous souls little is ever recovered or heard from again.
The Halflings remain the most unchanged since the war. They have always been a wandering species and now that survival depends on flexibility they are thriving. Owners of no land or city, the Halflings nonetheless are the masters of the rivers. The trade enterprise that does not hold a Halfling at its head is rare indeed.
Dragonborn too are set to adopt nomadic ways though their sheer martial capability makes them much desired for garrison and mercenary duty. Collectively as a race their story is the most harrowing. Loyal allies, they came to the aid of the Dwarves during the war and fought valiantly sacrificing their own home of Dragons Peak. Among the proud Dragonborn there are those who claim they will rebuild their rightful home.
For the Tiefling, assimilation was the hardest. Few could forget the tide of demonic armies came from the Tiefling's capitol. Their shared heritage with the dwellers of the abyss and their meddling in demonic pacts was surely to blame for the war. But the Tiefling has always been the master of the diplomatic domain. Their charisma and savvy has elevated them from the once accused to the highest levels of many local governments. Those who do not hold seats of power remain unnoticed in the shadows were their security is unquestioned.
Of Man, Dwarf and Eladrin little has changed. Men are perhaps the most concerned with rebuilding the empires of old. Dwarves survive throughout the Sinn Jabal and are bested only by the Halflings in their trade networks. The Eladrin remains as elusive as ever before. The masters of the arcane seldom mix with population at large, instead they seek to dominate and rule over the Feywild, their eternal domain.
And this is the way of Jadida Alam. The orcs from the west have not crossed the Forgotten Lands since the war, not in large enough groups to threaten more than the smallest tribe. The old nations are lost. Hostile creatures still roam but few present an intelligent opposition to either sedentary or nomadic tribes as a whole. The danger is still real and the elderly still remember when the evils of the Abyss and Feywild joined forces long enough to destroy the great desert nations. For now though, the winds blow the sands and the scattered societies of the desert protect themselves from the unknown in the best way they know how.
