Sekhsemet And Rasetra

Wow, this is longer than i thought it would be, well enjoy

Sekhsemet, Shadow King of Rasetra, First of his Line

In the time of Sekhsemet’s mortal life he was a subject of the bloodthirsty king of Khemri, King Nekhesh of the first dynasty. Sekhsemet served him first as captain of the Throne Guard before being elevated to the esteemed position of Icon Bearer to the King. In this position Sekhsemet was required to do battle with the champions of other Kings over disputes between Nekhesh and the other King. Sekhsemet was never defeated and so enhanced his King’s fearsome reputation.
Also in his station Sekhsemet had an unrivalled chance to lend his opinions to any issues that arised in the kingdom and on the battlefield and with Sekhsemet’s advice Nekhesh was able to become the unchallenged ruler of Nehekhara, receiving tribute from all the vassal kingdoms of the desert kingdom.
It was not long in his career that Sekhsemet was raised to the position of general in Nekhesh’s army and given enourmous responsibilities, much to the anger of Nekhesh’s princes, who felt that their father was getting much to close to Sekhsemet. They saw him as a rival to their future inheritance of the kingdom.
The princes complained to the Liche priests who then used their considerable influence over Nekhesh to convince him to get rid of Sekhsemet.
Thus Sekhsemet was made into the overlord of Rasetra, the furthest village in the kingdom. At the time Rasetra was merely a handful of houses, and its main export was the small quantities of low quality metal that it mined from the nearby mountains.
When Sekhsemet arrived at his new home he was bitterly disappointed, and angered at the insult done to him by the line of Nekhesh. Rasetra was small, dingy, and in a permenant shadow due to the proximity of the sheer mountains. But he was determined to make something for himself and so he began to use his own considerable fortune to improve the mining techniques used in the village. Slowly better quality metals began to be mined and further improvements could be made to the city. It was not long before a Sanatorium and a school of engineering was constructed in Rasetra.
With these improvements and many others, people were encouraged to move away from their homes to Rasetra, and the small village grew exponentially. It was also at this time that King Nekhesh passed to the nether-world and strife broke out in Khemri as different factions tried to become the next lord of Nehekhara. In the resulting confusion Sekhsemet detached himself from Khemri and declared himself King of Rasetra, the first of his dynasty. This decision was well supported in Rasetra were he had brought prosperity and security. The first of Liche priests moved to Rasetra
When the dust settled in Khemri and Rakaph I was crowned King, he sent emissaries to Sekhsemet demanding tribute. Sekhsemet, mindful of the youth of his city and relative military weakness, sent the tribute and declared himself again for Khemri, although this time as a King.

Soon after the crowning of Rakaph I, miners in Rasetra struck on a huge seam of a new type of metal. With the present technology the smiths in the City of the Long Shadow were unable to work this metal and the seam was abandoned until techniques could be found to work it. The metal was gromril (I think that’s how you spell it) and word reached the dwarves of Karak Zorn (I did not know when this became the lost hold so I incorporated it anyway), who sent a messenger to Rasetra.
Sekhsemet held a huge welcome to their non-human visitor, with banquets and festivals, for dwarves were not regular guests to any of the deserts kingdoms, and were seen by the peasants as spirits of the mountains.
The dwarf proposed an exchange, the population of Rasetra would send any gromril mined to Karak Zorn and the dwarves would send an equal quantity of gold and bronze back (dwarves love their gold, but their love of gromril is greater).
Sekhsemet considered this offer for many days as his guests were entertained and finally returned to them with an alternative bargain. He would give them half of all gromril mined from that seam and in return the dwarves would give him the secret to working gromril. The dwarves flatly refused this, they would not reveal the secret of gromril, it was key to their military future. Sekhsemet tried a different tack- the dwarves would get half of the gromril and in return dwarves capable of working would move to Rasetra and work the gromril for the city without revealing its secrets. This the dwarven emissaries considered but were unable to make a decision without the knowledge of their King. So Sekhsemet offered to travel to Karak Zorn and negotiate with the King. This offer was accepted.
When Sekhsemet arrived at Karak Zorn escorted by his Throne Guard, the King of Karak Zorn, Gurald Steelshod, drew him straight into the negotiations. After many days and nights of talking and drinking (the dwarves believed a flagon of brew was vital to good negotiation) an agreement was finally made. The men of Rasetra would send any gromril mined to the dwarves and in return the dwarves would send the ‘lesser metals’ back to the city, this included steel, iron, bronze and the secret to working them effectively. They would also send quantities of gold and every year gifts made from dwarven worked gromril would be made to Sekhsemet and his elite. This announcement was made with great cheer by both sides and the promises of alliance and friendship between the two kingdoms, for as the negotiations were taking place the two kings had developed a deep friendship between them. When the Rasetra expedition was leaving, they left with some dwarven volunteers, who had offered to move to Rasetra and work as Smiths and Overseers of mining there.
With the Dwarven Agreement in place Rasetra boomed like never before, becoming one of the wealthiest and largest of the City-states in Nehekhara. And with this boom came crime in the city like never before. And so it came to be that Sekhsemet put in place the Iron Laws of Sekhsemet. Any crime was to have only one punishment, so if a theft took place, the thief had his hand chopped off and murder was answered with execution as was corruption. These laws were harsh but rewarded good citizens and crime in Rasetra was almost none existent.
The dwarves in Rasetra also prospered. They were welcomed into Rasetra by the citizens and set-up very reputable businesses, arming the army and smithing for the locals. Soon they had their children in Rasetra and more dwarves moved to the city, resulting in a large dwarven population, some who even joined the legion of Sekhsemet. There was a very famous regiment of dwarves, known as the Mountain Gods, that held a pass against a horde of goblins single-handedly until Sekhsemet could arrive with the rest of his army. They even interred themselves with the rest of his army upon his death, the only dwarven regiment to do so, even though Sekhsemet stated that no dwarf had to. Such was the devotion that the King inspired.


In his fiftieth year of ruling Rasetra (Sekhsemet’s life was extended by the sorceries of the Liche priests) Sekhsemet declared that he was going on a voyage to explore the world. He left his son, Nekaph, as Prince-Regent of Rasetra and left the city alone, dressed in a long black robe and hood, armed only with his twin golden sickles, a gift from the dwarves.
For many years Sekhsemet wandered, visiting all the realms in reach. As he traveled he was beset from all sides by evil creatures and vicious beasts. But Sekhsemet was one of the mightiest warriors of the age and walked out – not unscathed- from every encounter. It was from these years of traveling that one of his honorifics became the Wanderer King or the Lonely King. Many orc legends tell of the shadow that slays, referring of course to the robe that Sekhsemet always wore.
It was on his travels in forgotten regions of Nehekhara that Sekhsemet entered the cave system that ran beneath the mountains bisecting the desert realm. For how long he wandered down there, no one knows, but it was down in those caves that Sekhsemet had his encounter with the gods.
There are many gods in Nehekharan lore, but the two most feared are Pha’a and Usekhp, the gods of the Tomb and Shadow, otherwise known as the Dark Shades. Deep within the earth Sekhsemet found the twins gods and he was selected by them to become their avatar to walk the Earth, much like Khalida was the avatar of Asaph, the asp goddess and Settra the chosen of Ptra, the Sun god.
He was presented with the Haunted blade, a huge black sword wrapped in dark curses and sorcery and new powers were bequeathed to him. Sekhsemet discovered that he could pull shadows to him and move around unseen and unheard, he was also stronger and faster and his body more resilient to the blows of his enemies.
Sekhsemet resurfaced in one of the deeper mines in Rasetra and once again took up his throne, this time as the first of the Shadow Kings of Rasetra.
He was killed in the war against the Orcite and Goblinite hordes, finally dying after the decisive battle was won. Great mourning was in the City of Rasetra to the king who had made them one of the first cities in Nehekhara. Great mourning also in Karak Zorn towards their great friend and ally who had saved them from attackers more than once. Gurald Steelshod famously shaved off his beard in mourning and promised to smash the orcs from area, a promise he did not fail to keep (becoming King Gurald Steelshod Orcslayer).
The next King to take the throne was Sekhsemet’s son Nekaph, who followed the example set down by his father. The royal family is famous in Rasetra for being the only one out all the cities to have an unbroken dynasty, starting with Sekhsemet.

Upon the Great Awakening Sekhsemet emerged from his black tomb clad in his robe that he wore for his travels, wearing his gromril armour gifted to him by Gurald and wearing his black obsidian funeral mask. All the Kings that had lived after all pledged themselves his vassals, the devotion that had begun many thousands of years ago remaining still in death.
Now Sekhsemet gives himself and his armies to the cause of Settra and the reclaiming of the empire, while always remaining mindful of the cause of his patron gods, the Dark Shades.

“Hail Sekhsemet, Shadow King, Wanderer King, Long Shadow of Doom, Wind of Night, First of his Line, Bearer of the Haunted Blade, Khalgarak Kharag, Hail!”

(When i finished i noticed that under the heading for Rakhash in the TK book it says that he founded Rasetra, kinda ruins the narrative doesn't it "sigh")

Nice job! As an avid roleplayer I love when people actually spend time to flesh out the background of characters/units in thier army I'll be posting my background at some point. Enjoyable read!

I really like it, very well thought out and planned, having a backround for your army always helps (especially justifying some of your iffier units) I will also hopefully post my backround, that is, when I get around to writing it

great story... why doesnt sombody try to make a book out of all these stories???

I agree... fluffy fluff