Thothia (Kingdom of)

Location: Southeastern end of the Isle of Dawn, north of Caerdwicca and east of Provician Septentriona.
Area: 458,157 sq. mi. (95,277 sq. mi. for Thothia proper and another 362,880 sq. mi. for the Thothian Plateau.)
Population: 80,000.
Languages: Nithian (Thothian dialect), Alphatian Common (Thothian dialect, official language).
Coinage: Alphatian Standard: Crown (gp), mirror (sp), judge (cp).
Taxes: 15% income tax, collected yearly.
Government Type: Independent Monarchy part of the New Alphatian Confederate Empire.
Industries: Agriculture, fishing and trade.
Important Figures: Pharaoh Ramenhotep XXIV (king, human, male, P10 of Rathanos).
Flora and Fauna: In mainland Thothia, standard desert wildlife can be found. Also, various undead and golem/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 aranea.
Further Reading: M5 - Talons of Night, GAZ - Dawn of the Emperors boxed Set, AC1010 - Poor Wizard's Almanac to AC1012 - Poor Wizard's Almanac 3.

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 complain when ye show dem ye gold. With de proper money, ye be enjoyin' ye stay, no matter how barbaric dey think ye are, mohn.

The Land

Thothia be mainly one large desert, nothing 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 mouth. 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 that 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 needing to raise dem all to fight in their army, as dey did against Thyatis a few years ago. It be a scary sight to see skeletons and zombie charging against you mohn.

The southeastern most edge of de kingdom by a dry grassland where a few herders dwell, but they be mostly scarce. Instead, de grassland be de home of the cat-people called rakasta [of the msongo or fast runner race. Ed.] who run around an' hunt for food. De rakasta are not considered to be citizens of Thothia, yet de nobles often use dem in der armies or as pets. I don't be thinkin' that de rakasta like dis deal, but it seems that dere be to few of dem to do anythin' about it.

Not much be known about de Thothian Plateau. Most who go dere don't come back, and those that do claim dey be attacked by giant spiders call aranea by de locals. De plateau seems to be heavily forested, a sharp contrast to de desert and grassland of Thothia down below.

The People

Thothia be a strange bunch, mohn. Dey call themselves civilised, yet refuse to deal with other cultures. I be thinkin' that talkin' to others is what make ye civilised, mohn. Dey be small people, with a brownish skin and red hair, although many Alphatians have fled here since de war and have now mingled with them.

De Thothians have a deep respect for the dead, an' any form of grave robbin' be a capital offence here. I have always believed in letting de dead go, so I can agree with dis law. Dis respect come from der religin toward de Immortal Rathanos. In fact, der king, called a pharaoh, must be a priest of Rathanos. I guess dis be making Thothia a theocracy of sorts. Who really knows, mohn.

Dere be another religion in Thothia, although this one be without any Immortal. A game called de Spider's Wed be holy to dem, but de pharaoh not be likin' dis game. He be tryin' to get his people to abandon it, and the mysticism that be goin' with it. Dis have something to do with de pharaoh's father, Ramenhotep XXIII, who was being controlled by a spider demon. It seems that he be overthrown by adventurers, mohn, just before the turn of de century [we believe it was in AC 996, but this is yet unconfirmed. Ed.], and de new pharaoh doesn't want dem spiders back. Could dey be related to dem aranea 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 influencing 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' that de sight of de undead alone was enough to rout de Thyatians. Add magical statues and golems into de group, and ye be seeing that Thothia is powerful indeed mohn.

Dey conquered lands that 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 then, not much has happened. Except for on de plateau. De Thyatian colonists dere have been fleein' into mainland Thothia, askin' for help against the aranea 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 that Ramenhotep XXIV will be doing somethin' about it soon, mohn.

Don't Miss

For a Nuari, dere be nothing here to miss. Come and see it all, mohn. De pyramids are examples of spectacular engineering, mohn, an' de statues of sphinxes an' other such monuments are larger dan ye would think possible to create. De culture be different to, an' worth learning about. I must say, I be enjoying that Spider's Web game, to.