Dahak
The Kingdom of the Dahak is a vast and enigmatic land, spanning the arid reaches of the Land of Oro-rio, a sun-scorched wilderness of rolling dunes, salt flats and rocky plateaus. It lies along the Atlantic coast of western Africa, stretching across the great desert expanse south of the Draa River and west of the Adrar plateau, where the dunes and rock formations of the inland desert give way to the salt-rich shores of the ocean.
It is an unforgiving region, where ancient riverbeds lie dry, and the wind-carved rock formations whisper of a past long forgotten. Yet despite the land's harsh and desolate nature, it is home to one of the strangest and most secretive peoples in the known world — the Mud-men of Dahak. It covers an area of 293 hexes, with a population of 33,346.
The Mud-men
These beings, humanoid in form but alien in nature, appear as living figures of earth and clay, resembling mud golems, yet unmistakably alive. Their bodies are coarse and earthen, their skin cracked and ridged like baked river clay, shifting subtly with their movements. Though they have human proportions, they lack visible facial features beyond faint impressions where eyes and a mouth should be, and yet, they see, speak, and understand. None know where they come from, nor by what arcane process they were first given life. No birth is ever seen, no child among them has ever been found, and yet their numbers remain unchanging — as though they simply endure, untouched by the passage of time.
The mud-men dwell in hidden enclaves, their settlements concealed within the cracked valleys and dry river basins of the region. The largest among them are Esmara, Laayoune and Dakhla, each a place of hardened clay structures, domed in shape and fused to the desert rock as though grown rather than built. The streets are eerily quiet, as the Mud-Men move without haste, without sound, conducting their affairs in a manner that seems as ancient and unmoving as the land itself. There is no known ruler, no council, no discernible hierarchy. It is as if the entire kingdom exists in an unspoken accord, its people following an ancient order that requires neither law nor command.
Legends whisper that the mud-men were not born but made, shaped by something older than the desert itself, a forgotten hand that crafted them from the very earth. Some say they were once men, cursed for an unspeakable crime, while others claim they are the servants of a long-dead god, still carrying out a purpose whose meaning has long since faded from memory. Whatever the truth, the Kingdom of the Dahak remains an enigma, a land where time stands still and where the desert itself seems to watch, waiting, for something yet to come.
Interrelations with Others
To outsiders, Dahak is a place of unease. Travelers speak of glimpses of its inhabitants at dusk, standing motionless upon the ridges, their featureless faces turned toward the horizon as if listening to something unheard. Some claim they do not breathe, that their bodies do not bleed when cut, and that their dead simply dissolve into the dust, leaving no trace behind. Yet for all their alien nature, the Mud-Men are not overtly hostile — though neither are they hospitable. Merchants who have landed at Dakhla, which exists on the coast, or dared to venture inland, to Esmara or Laayoune, report a failure to achieve any sort of transaction.
Geography
This is a land where the Sahara meets the sea, a place of endless wind-swept plains, shifting sand ridges and dry river valleys, where the rains come rarely, and the heat bakes the earth into hardened clay and brittle stone. The region extends from the coastal cliffs and lagoons of the Atlantic deep into the vast inland dunes, covering an expanse that reaches far south of the dry wadis that mark the end of the Tell Atlas, beyond the northernmost palm groves of the desert trade routes. The land is sparsely inhabited, save for the nomads and traders who navigate its ancient paths — yet within this emptiness stands Dahak, its hidden cities of Esmara, Laayoune and Dakhla concealed within the dry river basins and natural stone formations that dot the land. To the north, the land gradually transitions into rockier terrain, marked by eroded plateaus and seasonal riverbeds, where only the hardiest plant life clings to existence. To the south and east, the true desert begins, a wasteland of wind-carved dunes, where salt caravans vanish into the horizon, carrying their burdens between the trade centers of the interior. Along the western edge, where the desert meets the sea, great tidal flats and brackish inlets line the coast, their waters teeming with fish and migratory birds, offering the kingdom's only real source of abundance in an otherwise austere and merciless landscape.
Trade
As the Dahak are entirely self-sufficient, producing no goods, tools or textiles of their own and having no known interest in commerce or barter. Unlike other desert cultures, they do not weave cloth, tan hides, forge metal or construct elaborate dwellings — they simply exist, seemingly requiring no sustenance beyond the land itself. Because of this, there is no direct trade between the Dahak and the outside world, no markets or caravan routes leading to their cities, and no merchants who claim to have profited from their dealings.
Yet for all their isolation, there are whispers of commerce occurring in secret, not between the Dahak and outsiders, but among those who have discovered and exploited resources within their lands. It is widely believed that there exist hidden mining sites deep within Dahak's domain, where foreigners or desert-dwelling nomads extract valuable resources, most likely salt, though rumors persist of gold or rare minerals being taken as well. These locations are closely guarded, known only to those who run them, with the goods smuggled out under cover of night and sold far beyond the borders of Dahak.
How the Mud-Men regard this intrusion is unknown. They do not chase away interlopers, nor do they demand tribute or tolls. Those who engage in these clandestine extractions are neither harassed nor aided — yet there remains an uneasy silence surrounding these operations. Some claim that the Dahak simply do not care, while others fear that they are watching, waiting, letting the outsiders take what they will, for a reason no one yet understands.
