Kingdom of Sep'therak (Ceh-p-Theh-raaq)

The River Kingdom of Seph'therak, in short Seph, is a nation that lives in Nahja around the shores of the great river Nekh Phal, in the center of region.
Due to a well organized and efficient exploration of the great river, this nation has quickly become one of the most prosperous in the desert.
They have a monarchy, where the king (known as Pharaoh) has absolute power over the land and it's resources. He is the military leader and head of the government, delegating the administrative tasks of the realm to his right hand, the Vizir, that acts as a representative of the monarch and coordinates the finances, public works, and justice. Regionally, the nation is divided in small sectors, Nomes. Each of these is governed by a Nomarch, that answers to the Vizir.
The religious sector is of high importance to the "lords of the river". Besides the ruler, seen as a good by the population, these whorship an extensive polytheistic pantheon, that covers most of the areas.
Their temples act as houses of prayer, but also as keeps for the riches of the nation, in a system of sylos and treasuries administred by tax collectors, that redistribute the wealth wisely through the people.
Due to the extremely fertile land, the Sephs sometimes use wheat as currency. A great deal of the rich economy of these nation comes from a solid and rich agriculture and pecuary, with no need to import food to feed their people.
Besides the abundant food, the land is rich in stone, copper, lead, gems and some gold deposits. Their main items of exportation are weath, papyrus, linen and glassworks.
The sephs accept slavery and slaves are seen as possessions, not having rights in their society. This doesn't stop a slave from being able to buy or sell goods, acquire his own freedom or even get a noble status.
Military wise, they keep an organized army that protects the land in a series of forts spread throughout the land. To maintain their army and a strong economy, comercial routes and stoneworks are heavily patrolled.
The typical soldier yields bow and spear, as weapons of choice. Due to the high heat, they avoid using a lot of armor, with most of the soldiers fighting with some leather straps. Still lamellar is used by nobles. They do use big wooden and round shields made of wood and bronze as their main mean of protection.
Besides all these equipment, Seph soldiers are known to be quite capable in chariot warfare. Their elite can use both bow and spear effectively while on this devices.
Their most recognizable weapon, though, is the Khopesh. A long sword with a scythe shaped blade. These are heavier than the normal a normal sword, though easier to wield than an axe, resulting in an extremely resistant sword that in the hands of a capable fighter, easily dominates foes.
On the day-to-day life, Sephs cherish appearance and hygiene. Their typical gowns include simples linen shirts, with high society using wigs, jewelry and a lot of cosmetics.
Vanity is something well seen in these society. Men boost the contrast of their dark eyes with eyeliner and women bath in perfumed milk. Both dress little clothes, not only due to the heat, but to highlight their body shapes.
Children where minimal clothes until their twelve summer, where the boys are circumcized and their heads shaved.
Education for a child is incentivated by the exploration of arts, like music and literature, and some sports, with wrestling being a common sport.
Diplomatically, they keep good relations with cretian culture civilizations as well as the asseri city-states, since all accept slavery. They have a mixed relation with the muabin, whom they until recently had a mutual defense agreement, but ended with the start of the cretian expansion and they are economical rivals of the kaastians. Sephs have a difficult relationship with the Varsemian Isles confederation and skirmishes between them are frequent.
A typical seph has between 1.80 to 1.90 meters tall. They are slim and with toned bodies. They sport a raven dark hair and exotic haircuts. Their eyes usually match the darkness of their hair. A woman usually is lighter skinned than a man, whom is dark or bronze skinned.

Main Hub

Menphistes

The capital of the Seph Kingdom, is located midway through the Nek'Thal River. The city is known for it's majestic temples and statues, dedicated to their pantheon and Pharaohs, but also for their welcoming ports and boasting markets.
The city is of immense geographical importance, being a must stop for anyone moving towards southern Najha. It's docks is a cultural melting pot where merchants from all over the human lands come and ply their trade.
Due to the river's proximity, the area has a contrast of colors, with the nature's green contrasting with the dry yellow of the many limestone buildings of the city.
The Seph capital is also known for it's colossal buildings just outside the city walls. The necropolis, where the royals are buried, is a huge place with gigantic pyramids, where the dead rest, rising from the ground and can be seen from anywhere in the city due to it's sheer size. Not far away from it, a colossal statue of a sphinx, looks at the necropolis, intended for it's gaze to look after the dead.

Sep'therak Kingdom Traits

Court Etiquette

+1 to Bluff, Diplomacy, Knowledge(Nobility) and Knowledge (Religion) skill checks. This bonus increases by +1 every 5 levels.

Beautiful and Vain

Characters with this trait when rolling bluff or diplomacy skill checks against the humans of the opposite gender can roll twice and take the better result.

Chariot Expertise

Characters with this trait get +2 to ride skill checks and +2 to attack and damage rolls while on a chariot. This bonus increases every 8 levels.

Khopesh Masters

Proficiency with Khopesh.

+1 to Attack and +1 to Trip attempts. This bonus increases by +1 every 5 levels.

Powerful Priesthood

Divine Casters get +1 to their spells DC. This bonus increases by +1 every 5 levels.

Armor Restrictions

Characters with this trait can't use medium or heavy armor, except hide and lamellar armor.

Lamellar Armor Expertise

While wearing any type of lamellar armor, they get +1 to their AC and reduce their Armor Check Penalty by 1. This bonus increases by +1 every 6 levels.

Type

Geopolitical, Kingdom