Junos

A cruel bard might say that the only reason Sultan Kadiz is said to rule all he surveys is because he is 4'3". The Junos Empire, isn't really an empire - it's a small country with delusions of grandeur. However, it's a very proud small country with delusions of grandeur and when within its domains it is wise to praise the sultan and stay on the right side of the law. Junos law is perhaps the most brutal in all of Urova where "an eye for an eye" has the most literal of connotations.

The sultan, ruling from the northern city of Alabann, presides over a fractured empire than reaches as far south, west and east as the land-mass of Junos extends. His dominions are not seamless, and much (some would say most) of Junos is ruled by other forces. The most notable of these are the gnomes of the Pits of Walhoon, who have annexed the entire portion of the country south-west of the Gallomar Peaks - something that sultan is inconsolably furious about. Throughout the rest of Junos there are enclaves where tinhorn dictators rule large bands of nomads or bandits. Dragons are common in areas far from man, and the land has more than its fair share of dangerous beasties to make crossing it very hazardous. Yet, despite these realities, the sultan believes himself a great power, on a par with the king of Norandor, and worthy of respect and unquestioning loyalty. He receives this from his own people, but outsiders tend to be able to see the bigger picture. As a result foreigners are not entirely welcome in Junos; they are watched by the guard who are just waiting for them to put a foot wrong and break one of the country's thousand trifling laws.

Almost all of Junos north of the Gallomars is desert. Most large settlements, like Alabann, are on the coast. There are no overland rivers at all in the country, and many visitors believe the place is unnaturally hot. Signs of civilisations predating the sultan are continually evident. Ruins of ancient temples, statues and cities dot the desert. Because the sultan maintains that history started with his dynasty these ruins have been dismissed as fakes and never properly explored. They are thought to hold great secrets of the time before the Hadradan occupation, but few if any have ever entered them and lived to tell the tale.

The Church of Calafax is very strong in Junos. It is said that many efreet have swollen the ranks of the church, and aid the priests of fire in their endeavours. Some go so far to say that the sultan is a puppet of the church, but they normally wait until leaving the country to do so.