[b]Name of the Kingdom:[/b] Rohango
[b]Current Ruler:[/b] King Ogun, the Black Tyrant
[b]Dynasty:[/b] The House of Inshe
[b]Flag:[/b] Pending
[b]History:[/b] The Ebon Folk of the Gulf of Thralls are newcomers to the region. Only three centuries prior, their ancestors inhabited Yarabo, a lush and verdant land to the west dominated by giant red stones and plentiful grazing. The expansion of the Great Desolation intensified at that time, and Yarabo was swallowed by the encroaching desert.The Ebon Folk wandered east and after a generation came to settle upon the scrubland on the coast. Primitive tribal states developed along the Gulf that vied for dominance, sowing the seeds of a distinguished warrior society as the small states did battle for greater dominance of the coast. Wanting for resources in this relatively depauperate land, the Ebon Folk offered captive warriors and women to slave traders from the East. A lucrative trade network established itself along the coast, with slaves being the commodity that powered commerce on the Gulf. Sprawling encampments coalesced around the the established maritime settlements, giving rise to the first things approaching a proper city. Although slaves were the most lucrative and important commodity, there was a great and diverse wealth of goods traded for in the bazaars of the coastal trade hubs of Kisone, Qoga, Lubumbe, and others. Spices, corals, gemstones, and ivory traded for steel, wheat, and gold. In addition to bartering their material wealth and captives, native warriors sold their talents here in exchange for foreign gold. Those sellswords that returned came home hardened veterans with a knowledge of the tactics of warfare in exotic lands.

Such was the case with Inshe, a young mercenary who lent his blade to various wars and conflicts during the implosion of the Koronai Empire. In his service, he bore witness to a much more organized and sophisticated means of battle. War in the East was a totally different phenomenon than the chaotic skirmishes that passed for battles in the Ebon Land. In the East, ranks and files and bowmen and flanking and cavalry added numerous layers of complexity. The fighters with the strongest warriors and the most men were not assured victory in this part of the world. Effective use of the resources at the warlord's disposal made a greater difference on the field of battle than a thousand blades. With this knowledge was impressed upon young Inshe, he returned years later to the Ebon Lands with a handsome stipend and purchased with it his own band of native fighters. His small troop trounced rival warriors, providing captives to be liquidated as slaves and used to purchase still more fighters. For twenty-four years, Inshe did this, subjugating tribes and introducing modern fighting techniques to already savage and ferocious warriors. Coalitions of rival clans formed to counter Inshe's might were met with a confederation of clans owing fealty to Inshe - the forebears of a network of vassals. At the time of his death, Inshe died the leader of a unified Ebon Folk and clanmaster of all Rohango - Yarabo Rebornk. His son, Harabe, assumed rule of the Ebon Lands at the age of 20.

Whereas Inshe worked primarily to initially establish Rohango, Harabe moved to expand the power and prestige of his realm. To this end, he dispatched his warbands to the northwest against the settlements on the periphery of the Ebon Lands with the intention of capturing not land, but slaves. The wealth for which these captives were sold enriched the realm greatly. With his newfound wealth and armies of foreign slaves, Harabe built proper cities populated with fortresses and palaces of stone. Unimaginable feats of architecture were chiseled out at a terrible price in the lives of slaves made to toil unto the point of death. The crack of the lash rang out all through the day and night across the vast slave empire of Rohango. The Black Host, Harabe's endless legion of savage brutes, elicited terror across the southern realms. The neighboring kingdoms offered the Black Tyrant tribute that his greed might be sated. Bribery proved to be an effective means of staying the Black Host's assault; a vanquished realm could be plundered but once, while a spared tributary realm could provide endless bounty. The Black Tyrant's appetite was mighty indeed: vast quantities of concubines, slaves, and wealth were required to quench his greed. Harabe lived a life of fabulous luxury, but it left him soft and decadent.

Ogun, the eldest son of Harabe, was a monster even by the standards of Rohango's royalty. On his sixth birthday, Ogun did not request a single gift, but instead lamented having to share his playthings with his younger brothers. He politely asked of his father that he dispose of his two younger brothers so that he might enjoy the undivided attention and wealth of his father. When Harabe refused his wish, Ogun threw a hammer from a balcony of the palace and struck his younger brother in the head, nearly killing him and rendering the child a lazy-eyed mute for the rest of his life. Ogun blamed a careless slave for the incident, fabricating a tale where a chiseling mason allowed the hammer to fall from his grip. In his later teens, Ogun came to despise his father for keeping him from a throne he desperately desired. Early one morning, before Harabe bathed in the palace pools, Ogun released a starved cobra in the bath chambers. When Harabe settled in to lounge in the warm pools, the hungry snake slithered into the water and bit him in the neck. Servants who came to attend to their king discovered the famished cobra feasting upon their slain ruler's cheek. And so at the age of 19, Ogun became the master of Rohango.

From the very beginning of his rule, Ogun was transfixed on conquest. He cared little for the decadent lifestyle of his father, and quickly spent the great fortunes he inherited from Harabe on building a vast and unstoppable army. The new tyrant sent his Black Host against the tributary nations to the northeast that his father had spared during his reign. The invasion was a long, costly endeavor - Rohango's neighbors to the east had long anticipated a betrayal and fortified their realms accordingly. Many warriors died in failed sieges of enemy citadels - the Rohango tactics of overwhelming enemies on even terrain with speed and ferocity utterly failed to answer the problem of assaulting entrenched defenders. The first wave of attack was repulsed, humiliating the Black Tyrant. Furious and determined to avenge his losses, Ogun sent his envoys across the seas to hire foreign warriors as advisers. They returned with a siege engineer from the realm of Arlais, who was paid fabulously in exchange for diagrams of onagers and catapults of every flavor. He taught the Rohango to wrap projectiles in tar-soaked rags and ignite them just prior to launch, and he taught the stonecutting slaves how to bore tunnels under enemy fortifications. With this knowledge, the Black Host returned to the northeastern realms and laid a proper siege to their strongholds. The Black Host left their enemies' cities ablaze and vanquished these realms readily. Throughout the lands, Ogun ordered a massacre of the male inhabitants. The women, children, and male survivors of that onslaught were marched back to Rohango in chains and dispersed throughout the kingdom so that the vanquished peoples would be too thinly spread to ever revolt.

The Black Tyrant fancies himself a juggernaut, the master of an unstoppable legion of ferocious warriors. In spite of his barbarism, King Ogun is in some respects rather cunning. He understands his mistakes and actively corrects them; he is proud, but not so much so that he fails to see his errors. Even so, Ogun is a poor diplomat and a lackluster strategist at best. His ruthless ambition has alarmed the southern realms, who know now the Black Host can no longer be stayed by tribute. Ogun will have what he feels is his. S'laaeth in particular has certainly taken notice, as it is certain that the proud King Ogun must consider that majestic empire the ultimate trophy.

For if the Straits of Astieth are his to command, the Black Host can march on all the world.
[b]Location:[/b]
[img]http://i.imgur.com/4Q7VSKN.jpg[/img]

[b]Traits:[/b]
[u]Economy[/u]
-Black Market
-Ports
-Important Trade Routes

[u]Kingdom[/u]
-Developed Infrastructure

[u]Military[/u]
-Trained troops
-Big armies
-Light armor
-Foraging
-Sieging genius

[u]Flaws[/u]
-Not a flawless family
-Hated by the people
-Terrible boats
-Even your horses look weak