![[ket.png|250]] *Beygraf Zoltana bint-Lhaz, Human (B) Fighter 13 (eldritch knight)* **Government:** Feudal monarchy with semi-hereditary rulership; beygraf must have proven fighting skill and leadership **Capital:** Lopolla (pop. 26,483) **Major Towns:** Molvar, Polvar, Tulmar **Provinces:** Four districts centered around major trade towns, two forest districts (in the Bramblewood) **Resources:** Silver, copper, gems (II), foodstuffs **Coinage:** Citadel (pp), bastion (gp), castle (ep), helm (sp), sword (cp) **Population:** 275,495—Human 92% (Bcof), Dwarf 2%, Elf 2%, Genasi 2%, Halfling 1%, Other 1% **[[Languages for Genies & Giants|Languages.]]** Baklunish (low, ancient), Aerdi, Suh **Allies:** Ulakandar nomads (sometimes), Tusmit (sometimes) **Enemies:** Bissel (sometimes), Gran March (sometimes), Knights of the Watch, Zeif, Ekbir (minor) ___ [[Ketite Characters]] ___ Ket is the crossroads between the Flanaess, the Baklunish Near West and western Oerik beyond. Once simply the easternmost province of the Baklunish Empire of Zeif, Ket is the only Baklunish nation in eastern Oerik to not have a Genie Noble advisor. Much of southern Ket is covered by the Bramblewood, a vast primeval forest that has only one main road through it (and possibly some secondary tracks). Ket lies on a high plateau, and two major rivers, the Tuflik and the Fals, originate within Ket before flowing off the plateau to the north and south respectively. The capital of the nation is the city of Lopolla located on the Tuflik River. The city itself is divided into four walled quarters: the Casbah fortress, the Souk marketplace, the Medina residential quarter and the Ourmistan foreign quarter and warehouse district. As a frontier state, tension and war have been commonplace, yet despite this continual warfare the land has flourished due to the rich trade with the Ulakandar tribes, Tusmit, Ekbir, Perrenland, Bissel, and Veluna. Goods from Risay and Wintershiven pass through Lopolla. This mixture of cultures includes the people themselves, for the Ketites are of mixed ethnic stock, albeit of Baklunish culture for the most part. The court of the Beygraf is a strange mixture of eastern and western influences. This admixture pervades the military as well, for the Ketites field a strong force of pikes and crossbows along with their light horse archers and medium lancers. The army is well honed, for despite ethnic ties and trade, the Ulakandar clans often raid the border country west of the Tuflik River. Ket was originally a province of Zeif, with its earliest Baklunish residents migrating into the area within the first few decades following the Twin Cataclysms. Being the primary pass between western Oerik and the Flanaess, Ket has been a crossroads for millennia. Originally Flan territory, it is in Ket that the migrating Oeridians first settled after being driven from what is today Ull by the Great Horde even before the Invoked Devastation and Rain of Colourless Fire. These Oeridians largely pushed the Flan out of the region with most of that group resettling north into Perrenland or south, through the Dim forest and into Geoff and Keoland. Not far behind the Oerids were the orcs, goblins and ogres of the Great Horde. These humanoids quickly enslaved many Oeridians, driving the remainder through the Bramblewood Forest and into the Flanaess beyond. Within a generation Baklunish refugees from the Invoked Devastation began arriving. Merging with the few remaining Oeridian clans, within a generation these newcomers were seeking outside assistance against the humanoid residents of Fals Gap. This aid came in -320 CY when the nascent Baklunish Empire of Zeif forced march into the region expelling the remaining elements of the Great Horde and claiming the lands of Ket for Zeif. Both Tusmit and Ekbir objected but only Tusmit attempted to use force to prevent Zeif’s expansion east. In the Nine Days War, Zeifan cavalry routed the green Tusman forces establishing Ket as a permanent province of Zeif ruled by an appointed Bey. Over the next centuries Ket was essentially a backwater in Baklunish lands as trade with the “barbarian” east was almost non-existent and the Baklunish nations concentrated instead on internal power struggles and strife amongst themselves. As the Baklunish nations stabilized, the Bey of Ket began sending exploration parties beyond the Bramblewood where they discovered and entered into trade agreements with both Keoland and the growing Kingdom of Aerdy. Over time this trade increased making Ket a wealthy nation and the terminus of a vast trade network. Ket remained a prosperous frontier territory of Zeif for hundreds of years until it was conquered by the Brazen Horde in the early 300s CY. They permitted the Bey of Ket to continue to rule as a figurehead, though the Horde bowed only to their Khahan. From here the Brazen Horde regrouped for a year or so and then swarmed past Thornward in late 303 CY, threatening both Veluna and the northern part of the Duchy of Dorlin in Keoland. The warriors of the Brazen Horde ruled (and plundered) Ket until the middle of that century, when Keoland finally invaded the state in response to the Horde’s provocations. The Keoish *Knights of the Watch*, allied with Flan mercenaries from what would become Perrenland, drove out both the Horde and their puppet ally, Bey Arpad of Ket. The bey began a long campaign of resistance to the Keoish occupation from the Banner Hills. With assistance from both Ekbir and Tusmit, Arpad’s successor, Samir of Ket, eventually drove the eastern soldiers from the land and established an independent state in 326 CY. Ekbir, Tusmit and Veluna all immediately acknowledged the new nation but it took 12 years for Keoland and her allies to do so while Zeif still claims Ket as one of her provinces to this day. No longer forced to bow to eastern or western “barbarians”, Samir declared himself Ket’s first Beygraf, a title derived from both Western and Eastern traditions. The priestesses of Istus were given power over the judiciary while remnants of the Brazen Horde were enticed to settle the plains and hills between Lopolla and the town of Tulmar. Here they eternally wander, staying in one place only for a season before moving their herds of horses and goats to a new location. They remain essentially self-governing within Ket but are sworn to the nation’s defence in times of war. The remainder of Ket is governed by a number of appointed beys who act as local governors and report directly to the Beygraf in all matters. In the reign of the third beygraf in 396 CY a witch known as Hura somehow managed to the breach the renowned *[[Vault of Daoud]]* in Lopolla, defeating defenses both magical and mundane. She made off with a fortune in gold and jewels but most importantly, she acquired a powerful artifact, *Daoud’s Wondrous Lanthorn*, which had been looted from Tusmit by the Brazen Horde nearly a century before. Barely escaping Lopolla alive, Hura made her way to the Free City of Greyhawk. Changing her name to Tasha, she encountered the wizard Zagig Yragerne, who took her on as an apprentice. Their relationship culminated in the imprisonment of the demon lord *Fraz-Urb’luu* with whom Tasha/Hura learned many secrets unbeknownst to Zagig. Shortly thereafter, she absconded with many of Zagig’s magical tomes, including the Tome of Zyx, which she would later expand upon and rename *The Demonomicon*.