Getting Started

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Geography
Egyptia spans the area of desert up and down the length of a long river that runs through it known as the Nile. The Nile runs all the way to the sea, and the most fertile lands of Egyptia lay at the Nile Delta. Life in Egyptia flows from the Nile river, its water is the life blood of the Egyptian people, and the fertile lands of its banks provide the farmland needed to grow the food the people require for survival. The river serves as transportation, up and down the length of the empire. And the Egyptian people believe that only they have the right to use the vast resources of the Nile river and it's surrounding lands, as granted to them by their Desert Gods.

Life in the desert is not easy. It requires patience, hard work and vigilance. The sun scorches the land by day, and at the height of the day it is often too hot for work, driving people indoors for rest or meals to find relief from the desert's high heat. Once the sun disappears behind the horizon, the nights are bitterly cold, often freezing. Rain falls rarely and though it is a rare occurrence, it is more than welcomed by the desert people, as it brings the desert to life with plants and animals for a brief period of time.

Many dangerous creatures make their home among the rocks and sand dunes of the desert, so the people of Egyptia or visiting travelers from other lands must be ever vigilant. Scorpions, tiny brothers to the large scorpion men, roam the land, making their home in the small, cool spaces beneath rocks. Many snakes make their home in the desert, a few of them even in the deep waters of the Nile. Among the most deadly snakes in Egyptia are the feared Asps. Even more feared and revered by the Egyptian people are the flesh eating scarabs who make their home in the desert sands.

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Economy
The Egyptian people are well able to provide for themselves even in the harsh environment in which they live. They farm the fertile lands of the Nile bank, and fish its waters for other sources of food. The Nile provides water and easy transportation throughout the empire. By harvesting the reeds that grow on the Nile bank, Egyptians have created a paper-like substance known as Papyrus on which they write most of their official documents. Papyrus works well in the harsh desert environment where it is always dry, but doesn't fare as well in cooler, damp lands.

There are a wealth of resources that can be harvested by the Egyptian people and used to make fine goods that can be sold at home, or abroad in other lands. Egyptian wears are finely crafted and in demand throughout the empire and even in lands far beyond. They make jewelry, cosmetics, perfumes and baskets from the locally grown flora. From the stone quarried from the desert are crafted fine statues of all sizes, from small enough to fit on a desk, to so grand that one must stand at the base and tilt his head all the way back to behold the grand top. Nile clay allows potters to create a wide verity of works from pots to sculptures of their own. Weavers create fine linens of a light, airy nature, sought after in any land where the summer sun burns hot.

Though it is hard for someone to improve their position and standing in the Egyptian nation, it is not impossible to rise above the station one was born in. If one can learn a craft particularly well they can find entrance into the merchant class, where much of the wealth of the nation is centered. The luckiest people, however, are those of noble birth. They command vast resources, including the most valuable resource of all, land on which to farm the resources valuable to everyone who wishes to survive in the desert. Of course the Pharaoh and the royal family command the most resources, taking tribute from the lords and all the people of the land in order to fill their stores and treasury. In return the Pharaoh sees to the welfare of the nation, commanding the army and keeping the people protected, and serving as a judge in situations where justice is sought and required from the Egyptian citizens.

Perhaps Egyptia's greatest resource, however, is its workers. The Egyptians do not draw on slave labour to complete their massive monuments and temples, but instead on the skills of craftsman and workers who come together to complete the monumental efforts over a span of twenty years or more, depending on the scale of the project. The building projects are overseen by the royal builders and architects, but it is the workers who make them a reality. Egyptia keeps its workers very well. Whole towns spring up on the sights of building projects to tend to the needs of the labourers. While they toil throughout the hot day, their wives and children work to prepare food which is shared in massive dining areas. Healers see to the wounded so that they may return to their work as quickly as possible. Those who toil to build the massive building projects of the Pharaoh are among the most respected men in the nation and are well cared for as a result of it.

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Life in the Desert
Akhet, Peret, Shemu – the cycle of seasons for the desert people. Three seasons in a year, each of four months.

Akhet – Inundation or Flood, the time during which the Nile river overflows its banks, leaving behind fertile land for the planting season. Akhet is one of the most important times of the year, can prove to be one of the most chaotic, and can have a lasting effect on the rest of the year. If the flood is poor, not enough fertile soil will be left behind to be farmed and there will be an inadequate harvest. Several years of inadequate floods will quickly cause a famine. If the Nile river overflows its banks too far it will cause damage to the cities built close to its banks. A successful flood, however, means that the year will be a prosperous one, and the harvest will likely be good. Much of the year is spent worshiping to please the gods for a good flood season.

Peret – the planting season

Shemu – the harvest season

Obviously one of the most pressing issues of living in the desert is the sun's heat. Houses are built to catch every bit of breeze and allow it to cool inside the stone walls, while the stone walls also hold the sun's heat so that people will not freeze during the chill of night. Clothing, like buildings, is designed to be cool and is made of a light, airy material, though it also covers most of the skin, in order to protect from the harmful, burning sun. Wide, straw woven hats are also common, to protect the face and shoulders from the sun while working out doors. In many places, activity comes to a halt during the high heat of the afternoon hours, while people return home to rest, take meals or even nap. The most active times in the desert land is the evening, when the sun begins to sink below the horizon and the chill of night has not yet set in. Many people stay out or active until well into the night. Some people are also very active in the early morning hours, when the heat of the day has not yet permeated the land, but those who stay up well into the evenings tend to sleep right through the early mornings.

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The Pharaohs
The Pharaoh holds all the power in Egyptia. The Pharaoh's line is descended from the Gods themselves, and the Pharaoh is believed to be a reincarnation of the Gods among the people. The Pharaoh's word is law, and is rarely questioned. He is the leader of the army, in charge of the nation's wealth and resources, and in charge of their relationships with other nations. Egyptians tend to see themselves as more civilized than most of the other nations, though it is the Norsemen from the frozen north that bother them the most, as they are an uncivilized and barbaric people in the eyes of the desert nation. The Pharaoh is in charge of many other things as well, however. The Pharaoh decides which massive projects will be built. Every great Pharaoh leaves behind a legacy of large buildings, from temples to pyramids to monuments. The more a Pharaoh can manage to build, the more prosperous his rule has been, as a Pharaoh will not have the time or resources to build such projects if he cannot make his empire prosperous. The Pharaoh is also in charge of serving as the head of the justice system, and when there are disputes that warrant legal attention, he presides over the case, hearing both sides and making his decision based on the evidence presented to him. He is Maat's representative in the mortal world. While the Pharaoh lives and rules, it is also his responsibility to prepare his tomb. Since tombs are usually large and can take twenty years or more to be completed, a Pharaoh's tomb must be begun early in his reign to be certain that it will be ready in time for his death. A Pharaoh's journey into the afterlife is massively important, through his rebirth is the way to the afterlife opened to his people.

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The Afterlife
The afterlife is immensely important. In fact, most Egyptians spend their whole life preparing for it. Though it may seem to many outside nations that the Egyptians are obsessed with death, the opposite is in fact true. The Egyptian people are very fond of life, enjoy attending festivals, and very much love their desert home, no matter how harsh its living conditions might prove to be. They are so fond of living that they rather enjoy the thought of being able to do it forever, and take great pains in life, so that their lives may continue even after death. Egyptia is a land of rituals, in fact many aspects of their life have been ritualized, from the harvest to the ensuring of a good flood each year during Akhet. The gods are tended to with intricate rituals which they attend or which are crafted around statues that stand in their stead. But the most complicated and revered ritual of all is the one that allows entry into the Afterlife.

In order to gain entry to the afterlife, several conditions must be satisfied. First the body must be preserved, or the soul will not be able to gain entry to the Afterlife. In order to achieve this, the body of the deceased is mummified. The more wealthy the deceased, the better the process used for mummification. First all the vital organs are removed from the body and sealed into canopic jars. The heart, lungs, liver, stomach and intestines are usually preserved in this way. The heart is considered to be the most vital organ, from which all life flows. The brain is removed through the nasal cavity and discarded as garbage. The body is then throughly washed and anointed with specially prepared oils, the secrets of the preparation of these oils is known only to Anubis, and through Anubis to priests of his temple. The body is then wrapped in linens. The more wealthy one is, the better the oils and linens will be. The wealthy also usually have jewelry adorning their bodies before it is wrapped with the linens.

Depending on the wealth of a person, their mummified body will then be laid in a casket, shaped perfectly to match their height and width. Those of low wealth and station are buried directly in the desert sands. The wealthy can afford to maintain a family tomb, usually in the form of a mastaba. Once a pharaoh has been laid in his casket a golden face mask depicting his face exactly will be laid over his face so that he will be able to recognize his body upon returning to it.

Once a tomb has been prepared and the mummification process has been completed, the burial ceremony will take place. The mouth of the mummy is opened, representing its rebirth, and food and other articles the deceased will need is laid in their tomb to be taken with them to the afterlife. The treasures that grace a Pharaoh's tomb are many and vast, so much gold and wealth is laid to rest with the Pharaoh that many from other nations would gawf at the mere thought of it. When the spiritual essence of the deceased finds and recognizes it's body, the Ba and the Ka become united. The resulting phoenix of blue then travels up and out of the tomb through specially placed tunnels dug through the rock. If the pharaoh has been laid in a pyramid, the soul then awaits the sunset at the tip of the pyramid. When the sun sets the soul follows the Sun God, Ra, into the Afterlife or Underworld where he spends the night time hours fighting the serpent Apep.

Once a soul, any soul, has passed into the Underworld, it must undergo the weighing of it's heart before it will be allowed to pass into the afterlife. The soul stands before a panel of 42 judges and the Goddess Maat and must declare if it is guilty or innocent of certain crimes. At the end of the trial the soul of the deceased is weighed against the Goddess Maat in the form of a feather. If the soul is lighter than the feather, it is allowed to pass into the afterlife. If it is weighed down, however, it is feed to the terrible beast Ammut, and the deceased is unable to find its way into the afterlife. Anubis, God of the Mummy Wrappings, oversees the weighing ceremony, and the result is recorded by Maat's consort, Thoth.

In order for a Pharaoh to enter the Afterlife there is one more condition that must be fulfilled. His (or her) name, must be preserved in eternity. The name of a Pharaoh is carved in many places, including but not limited to the temples and monuments they build during their reign. It is also carved in several places into their tomb. However, the greatest offense to the dead one can commit is to pillage or rob their tomb, or attempt to remove their name from history. If every instance of a Pharaoh's name is destroyed, it is said that they will be unable to enjoy eternal life in the afterlife and will fade and be forgotten.