Editing Autia (section)

====Sultanate of Miqdaad====

Flickfowl is covered by deserts and plains, there's no way around it. The heat is intense and wherever you go you'd most likely just see rocks. Therefore the east coast should also be a desert with nothing much of value, yet a traveler would see shining oases and gilded temples sprawling out into the sunset. This is due to the wondrous art of celestial magic that is the lifeblood of the region known as the Sultanate of Miqdaad. A nation firmly built on the principles of astrology and faith to the one true god Miqdaad, master of life. Through searching the heavens and the teachings of their holy prophet Aasub who first imparted the teachings of Miqdaad, the pitiful nomads who populated the desert brought rain down and made the sands into a paradise by essentially fixing their desire for food and water. In the current day the Sultanate is a land at the forefront of magecraft and divination, constantly inventing new devices to further enhance man's understandings of the stars. Within their capital of Isbillyah lie a thousand telescopes and orreries pointing to the sun and moon and a league of hunched scholars poring over the meaning behind these celestial bodies movement and what it spells for the future. Comfortably far from any major attackers due to the magitech weapons that line their homes and border alongside the battle wizards who twist the winds against their enemy and benefit the fleets of their homelands by always giving favorable sailing conditions. The courts are as decadent as it's people, constantly bickering over who should rightfully become the next heir to the Sultan or spending shocking amounts on pleasure palaces. In fact this had led to quite a rivalry against the celestial college who need this money to purchase new equipment.

Military:

Mostly used for either border defense or homeland security the army of the Sultanate is made of scimitar wielding conscripts and archers. However the nations real power comes from their celestial weapons capable of unleashing deadly blasts at anyone who even dares approach their lands with malicious intent, quickly blowing their ships to smithereens. Alongside this, mages are among the most feared and respected individuals of the land as without them, it would not be the lush paradise that it is.

Chief among their weaponry are the strange weapons known only as Heavenly Eyes. These are great telescopes with a secondary system of glasses and magic cores allowing it to shoot off a magic projectile at blindingly fast speed which is sure to leave a dent if not completely pierce anything it hits. Knowing the power of these weapons crafting variations and other such devices is the primary concern of the army.

Following the mages and scimitar wielders, follow soldiers wielding slender firearms known as Jezails. These weapons are typically decorated by their wielders and similarly to the shahdom found far to the west, camels are a popular means of transport inside the nation due to their capability to survive the farther and more barren reaches of the countries, the last vestiges of the desert that formerly encapsulated the eastern coast. Some assorted nomad tribes live in these regions and serve as auxiliaries, being skilled scouts in travelling the desert alongside attacking and riding back into the sands.

Transport: Camels are the most widespread means of transportation, respected for their hardiness and ability to bear a load, great beetles found across the dunes that are ridden by merchants traveling around the cities to trade at a fast pace (the army even has a flying regiment of great armored scarabs who serve alongside the drake riders as flying cavalry) and flying carpets which are reserved for mages and nobility.

Currency: The golden talent is the currency of the land and is recognized by all nations in Flickfowl and many beyond. Alongside this bartering is a favorite pastime of the locals who frequently partake in it within their great markets known as bazaars.

Religion: Miqdaad is the one and only god worshipped by the Miqdaadites as the father of life, his gift of life is represented in the form of rain. The people of the Sultanate refuse to hear slander against the one true gods name and can be worked into a frenzy over their interpretation of the faith.

Magic: Magical potential is a highly respected gift among children and these blessed children are gladly given to the celestial college for training. celestial magic remains the primary school of wizardry in the land however aetheric magic involved in spirit channeling and healing magic have their users. Alongside this some female leaders of the nomad tribes have the curious ability to control sand in the area.

Fun fact 1: The Sultanate is centered near the ruins of an ancient farming civilization known for building magnificent pyramids and colorful art pieces in a pictographic tongue. Perhaps the blood of these people still runs today inside of the Miqdaadites?

Fun fact 2: Recently the Golems have made an ally of the Miqdaadites and have agreed to guard the western coast in exchange for access to the Blue Library, a massive repository of medicinal, arcane and all sorts of other knowledge. This is a wonder of Isbillyah and a common bragging point to foreigners.

Exports of the Sultanate:

Being a nation with a large amount of land and a warm climate, made tropical thanks to terraforming efforts by celestial mages, the Sultanate has been a major part of the so called "spice trade". Several culinary spices and fragrances with names such as Frankincense and Myrrh. Alongside this spices such as Coriander and Turmeric serve as excellent additions to a meal. The growing hunger for these spices have served as a mainstay in the Miqdaadite economy and will continue to remain so, as they jealously guard their spices from outside merchants.

Navy:
The Miqdaadites possess a vast trading network due to their role in the lucrative spice trade, commonly at rival to Soukos over oceanic mastery. Due to this they possess a massive merchant fleet. Sleek dhows skirt the coast of the land fishing and selling their wares to nearby locations. Pictured above alongside some other ship types a dhow can greatly differ from a small trading vessel to a swift merchant ship filled with compartments for fish, spices, jewelry and indeed, some hidden openings to store some more “policed” goods as the traders call their clearly smuggled items. Second to this, a felluca is a ship made to sail the oceans and thus is the main means of international trade the Sultanate possesses. Equipped with 4 slots on each side for cannons and renowned for a swift speed at most times so long as the wind favors its sails, a felluca is used for many purposes, from trade to naval battles where they sail by employing superior speed and skirmish tactics alongside their magical sails enchanted by celestial mages which allow for permanent good wind conditions by subtly altering wind paths letting them perform shocking bursts of speed and maneuverability. And let it be known that the ironclads and paddleships of Alkor have not gone unnoticed as the Sultanate have developed a standard ship of the lune known as a baglah. A massive warship outfitted with an ornate back alongside 3 levels each with 7 weapon ports per side and a hardened hull ready for ramming, with a steam engine powering it and commonly several magitech modifications. Such ships being able to constantly be produced in the shipyards are the pride of the navy and help police the waters from the endless threat of pirates. Should a mage choose to follow a ship or fleet one day you can commonly see them sailing by gently on flying carpets as they survey the surroundings and foretell if there will be storms, attacks or other conditions by studying the stars.

Funnily enough even with devices like flying carpets, the idea of flying machines beyond carpets never crossed the minds of any mage of scientist until the recent rediscovery and subsequent alliance between the Miqdaadites and their estranged northern descendants, the Belkans (before you ask yes this has been discussed before. Belkan sees Flickfowl as the holy land of their religion alongside a shared magitech obsession and an anon who I assume made Belkan put this idea forwards initially) allowed them to see the airships they fielded, the one key discovery keeping them from being among the technological level of the Nantic states. Due to this they immediately set to work using the specialized talents their celestial mages possessed to establish their own brand of flying transport. Currently two patterns of magical airship have been produced, both being supremely powerful yet difficult to manufacture airships. Firstly the efreet-class strike cruiser is a fast and deadly elemental airship shooting forwards and launching a powerful double beam attack due to the two heavenly eyes, harpoon cannon, bombs and fiery ring surrounding it allowing for a powerful wave of heat to be released. Secondly, the djinn-class carrier is a massive armored war machine capable of unleashing shocking amounts of damage due to the 6 heavenly eyes, 12 cannons, 2 harpoon guns and cohort of armored scarab riders surrounding it. Together these weapons have been the key to victory in battles such as a skirmish against the Puppet Clans due to their ability to quickly reach the combat zone and fire upon the longship used by the foul, mutated warriors before they could board and escape into the Sea of Souls once more.

Hashashins:

Deep in the southeast of the Sultanate, hidden within the crevasses of the sandstone mountain range bordering the Kangoo tribes a fearsome cult obsessed with death make their home. These are the Hashashins, an ancient order of assassins said to be as ancient as the ninja clans of Nippon and a stain upon the purity of Miqdaad's chosen though a necessary evil. Long before the Sultanate was properly established and a great desert covered the lands the original Hashashins had set up holdings within the mountains after fleeing an especially bad sandstorm. They would not be able to leave these mountains for a very long time as it seemed because a veritable mountain of sand had blocked up the entrance they travelled through meaning they were stuck within the mountains. This new home was deceptively safe as it turned out to be a more dangerous realm than the outside they had fled, for the great cave dwelling lizard who called it home had a ravenous hunger that season and these newcomers would satiate them quite well. Rather than direct confrontations, these beasts who had been rendered nearly blind from life within the caves chose to strike at times when the guard of the nomads was lowest dragging off their kin into the depths never to be seen again. Time and time again their numbers were thinned from these man-eaters and the nomads had to either adapt or die, and adapt they did for they took to meditating and taking in every sound travelling through the caves for hours on end. Their ears became keen enough to hear even the slightest intrusion and kill whoever was stalking them while their martial talents grew much, with one of their ranks being able to throw a dagger right into the skull of a lizard in the blink of an eye.

Years passed as this battle between hunters slowly shifted in their favor as the sand that had sealed them inside the caves in the first place abruptly opened up exposing them to the outside world. Their forays outside and the stories of their forefathers had them expecting primitive nomads, needless to say they were quite surprised when the first human contact they came across were a group of camel riders garbed in colorful robes who wielded gleaming swords and spears. After initial conversation, they found these riders were nomads like them, though their tribe had sworn fealty to a great power just to their north said to be able to bring rain upon these desolate lands with a mere flick of the wrist who had gifted them these weapons. Fascinated by the tales of these magic men, they travelled further north still until they came across a newly built city amongst a lush rainforest that had been magically terraformed into existence. This city was Isbillyah, the soon-to-be capital of the burgeoning Sultanate and knowing the stories told earlier to be true they entered the city and swore allegiance themselves to the Celestial Mages and nobles running this land hoping to receive a portion of their bounty for themselves. Knowing not about their nature as silent killers, the freshly crowned Sultan believed them to be yet another nomad tribe seeking their gifts and in exchange for conversion to the faith of Miqdaad they were welcomed into the Sultanate. A caravan full of food and gifts set back home in exchange for their fealty, though this meeting quickly got much more interesting when the merchant steering the caravan was nearly killed by the guards settled in front of the entrance to the caves the Hashashins called home who thought him to be an intruder.

While rattled from the endeavor, the Miqdaadite merchant was fascinated by the way these men had seemingly appeared out of thin air next to his caravan and jumped aboard it holding his throat at knifepoint until the others quickly explained that he was a friend. He reported this incident back to his employers once he reached Isbillyah again who were now quite hesitant to allow them to be fully integrated into the Sultanate seeing them as bloodthirsty rogues. An idea was posited by one of the nobles however, rather than shun them directly, they could put these men to use by sending them to take out someone deemed a threat to the Sultanate. With their skills of stealth, this would be easy for the Hashashin as the Miqdaadites had come to calling this tribe after discovering their capacity as assassins. A theological issue was the only thing preventing the Hashashin from being allowed to realize this new role as the code of Miqdaad said to move away from unnecessary violence and only fight in self-defense. This was resolved in the end with a compromise, the Hashashins would still have to practice the faith of Miqdaad but they would practice a slightly modified versions of it where sanctioned killing would be tolerated. With these formalities properly answered, the Hashashin soon became the stuff of legend amongst the people of the Sultanate with many legends and myths springing up about them. Looking back to the Hashashin during this time, they had taken to their new responsibilities quite well with the greatest amongst their ranks commonly heading out on clandestine operations. These tasks would be aided by a myriad of new tools provided to them by the Miqdaadites as their part of the deal with items such as poisons and new weapons being provided, many of them enchanted with each helping them get their way. Currently they retain their traditional role, being sent out to gather information or kill important targets either during a battle or in enemy land.