Ar Ishret

Physical characteristics
Ar Ishret contains 5 major continents, each of which has at least one major mountain range which gives way into rolling plains and vast deserts, with deep canyons.

These are separated from each other by a series of shallow seas.

Early History
(work in progress) As humanity began it sojurn into the stars so did the 1st settlers to Ar Ishret. Their journey has its roots within the conflicts in the region of Earth once called "The Middle East". As their oral history tells it, they fled to the stars to flee the conflicts that had been tearing the region apart since the dawn of recorded history. These stories, the truth of which no one is sure of, tell that the ultra wealthy of the Promethium rich nations pooled their resources sometime during the Dark Age of Technology and sent a colony ship into the stars with its passengers held in a primitive form of stasis.

Despite their lack of a clear destination, they arrived at Ar Ishret hundreds of years later, finding that against all odds, the planet could support human life. They settled in the vast deserts that reminded them of what they had left behind.

City States
A series of natural disasters, starvation and unfamiliar diseases would kill many, only thousands would and corrupt their knowledge of the world they had left behind. Harsh conditions led to harsh leadership and little emphasis on understanding, only work leaders looked to the examples of the distant past in the earliest days of human civilization, only conquerors and warriors could survive. In time the few who survived would grow into a population of millions again. But the damage was done, the local settlements had already grown into heavily fortified and militarized cities.

The cities, built around resources and easily controlled natural fortifications ruled the surrounding areas, crushing all those who resisted. In their arrogance the city dwellers forgot their past, seeing only their own accomplishments. In sharp contrast to this the poor, those who made their living as farmers and shepherds, fled to the hills taking both technology and a flawed understanding of it with them.

In their eyes, unlike the rulers of the city states who had come to see themselves almost as gods, those who had made such advanced machines, almost divine in their power and abilities, could only be divine themselves.

Nekhen and the Iburet Dynasty
The greatest of these city states was Nekhen, ruled over for millennia by the Iburet Dynasty, 27 generations of women related by either blood or adoption. Every one of them was cruel and vindictive and had no interest in lasting peace, not unlike the rulers of the other city states. Like them they sought to control all others but never had the resources. The rule of the last, Iburet XXVII, would end during the Crusade for Nightshores at the hands of the Asharas Yek Taxamada. Even the temporary alliance she formed with all of the other states was not enough to stop the Crusade Army.

Government
Ar Ishret is ruled over by the Seniar Dynasty, descendants of the first commander of the Asharas Yek Taxamada and first Imperial Governor. While they rule the world as a whole they do so through various intermediaries, the city states still stand as regional capitals ruled over by hereditary leaders who report to 5 higher ranking leaders, in control of the continents, they in turn answer to the governor.

Nekhen/An Qazava
Once the seat of power for the Mad Queen Iburet XXVII, the city of Nekhen burned by her hand. The new citizens of this Imperial world simply rebuilt on the same site, making it greater than it ever was under her rule. Under Imperial control the city was rebuilt in a ring, with the City of Spires in the center, the Merchant City around that and the Low City making up the outer ring, with residential and commercial neighborhoods scattered throughout.

The city of Spires
This is the oldest part of the city, separated from the rest of the city as a whole by a wide canyon it is has always been a symbol of power and superiority. It remains so in the hands of the hands of the Seniar Dynasty. The bridge connecting the city of Spires is tens of thousands of years old, a triumph of engineering and a planetary treasure to the people of the city and Ar Ishret.

This district contains the homes of the Governor, his family and his government as well as the headquarters for all governemt functions. The spires and minarets from which the area gets it name tower above the city around it, hundreds of meters into Ar Ishret's crystal blue skies.

The Merchant City
The Merchant city is built around An Qazava's major spaceport, a vast structure the size of a city on its own. The vast rows of merchant stalls stretch for kilometers in every direction, offering products from all over the Iox Sector and from the industries farms, orchards and vineyards of Ar Ishret.

The Low City
Named not for its geography, despite it being on the outer fringes of the city but rather for those who live in it. The so called "low men" who work the factories and waste processors and other vital jobs tend to be forgotten about. This is menial, low paying work but necessary work, the city would never run without them.

Al Zarihan
Al Zarihan is the second city founded by the Asharas. Almost as large as An Qazava and almost as important, it houses the high command for Ar Ishret's PDF as well as the primary factories that produce their equipment. As an industrial city it also produces regional farming and metal goods.

Enkylu
Another of the conquered city states and now a regional capital. Best known for the quality of its 2 products.

Enkylu produces olives in numbers small enough that only the wealthy can afford can afford them. While this is a source of some tension to the Mountain clans that call the area home they do appreciate the irony, they grow rich off those who had once oppressed them.

Since Ar Ishret has not raised Imperial Guard since the Asharas claimed it the PDF are they're first line of defense, a responsibility the people of Enkylu take very seriously.