Mulhorand

Present-day Mulhorand is only a fraction of the size it was when its empire was at its peak, but it is still a large and powerful kingdom. Its northern border is the River of the Dawn, though it claims the Priador and all of Thay as its rightful domain, and Mulhorand could march into Thazalhar unopposed if it so chose. Its eastern border is not established, but Mulhorand is thought to have mastery of lands as far east as the Sunrise Mountains and the River Murghol, though Mulhorand has no towns or outposts east of Ganathwood or the Fields of Ganath. The eastern border extends southward to the Sword Mountains, at the eastern edge of the Great Vale, as far south as Azulduth, the lake of salt. The western border extends from Azulduth along the River of Swords.

Within this expanse are desert, ruins, mountains, fertile fields, and cities that were great 2,000 years before the first stone was place on Waterdeep, before the Zhentarim ever unleashed an evil scheme, before Bane was even aware that the Realms existed, a time when the world was young, even to the elves. The words Mulhorand and "eternity" are the same in the language of the Mulhorandi. Mulhorand lies within a series of plains, plateaus, lowlands and valleys. There are four distinct geographic divisions: The Menesankh, or Plain of Life, extends in a crescent around the southern tip of the Alamber Sea as far north as Skuld; this is a mainly dry area of flat plains, irrigated by rivers, with occasional marshland.

The Asanibis is the Mulhorand name for the Great Vale, which is a land of hills and plains that lies between the Sword Mountains and the Menesankh. The mountainous areas, which include the Sword Mountains in the south and the Sunrise Mountains in the north, are called the Furitep. These rugged peaks are said to be impassable, though this not quite true; one can get through them in the summer, with the help of a donkey.

The fourth distinct region, the Taranoth, is a series of high plains that rises from the sea between Skuld and Sultim; this area is known for its gloomy climate and spectacular cliffs and falls.

Despite its arid climate, there is a great deal of cultivated lands in Mulhorand along the edges of the rivers and in the Great Vale. Farmland is either owned privately by a noble or run by the church. Laborers on church farms are slaves owned by the temples. Mulhorand usually saves its excess produce for times of famine, so it exports very few crops. Crops grown include wheat, hay, and barley, with figs, dates, grapes, oranges, and other fruits grown in the Great Vale. Cattle and pigs are the typical herd animals. There are trees that are felled along the edge of the Sword Mountains, typically cedars and beech. One major forest, Ganathwood, lies along the border of the Murghom-Mulhorand border in the gap between the Sword and Sunrise mountains.

• The Alamber Sea
• The Cliffs of Leaping Horses
• Dragonsword Mountains
• Ganathwood
• The Great Vale
• The Plains of Purple Dust
• Rauthgor - The Rainbow Falls
• The Raurin Dust Desert
• River of the Dawn
• River Rauthengflow
• River of Shadows
• River of Spears
• River of Swords
• The Ship of the Gods

The people who inhabit Mulhorand come from three racial stocks. The rulers of Mulhorand come from the tribes of ancient Raurin; they are sallow, tall (almost as tall as western men), and thin. They do not have much body hair. This racial type is called the Mulan. The original inhabitants of Mulhorand were a mahogany-skinned people similar to those in Turmish. They are tall and muscular, with dark skin, flat faces, and short hair; this racial type is called the Turami. This race occupies positions in the upper hierarchy of several priesthoods and is renowned for its skill in architecture, art, and stonemasonry, which are considered middle class skills in Mulhorand. The third racial type is that of Amn, Tethyr, and the western nations of the Inner Sea. People of this racial type, which the Mulhorandi refer to as Tethens, make up the bulk of Mulhorand's slaves, since they usually come to Mulhorand through the slave markets of Thay.

The Population of Mulhorand

When a new pharaoh takes the throne, typically his first act is the commissioning of a census, which takes several years to complete. Since the last census was nearly 40 years ago, the following figures are only estimates. There are about 900,000 sentient people within Mulhorand, including slaves (who are counted as 7/10 of a person in the census). The vast majority of these people are humans, as the god-kings long ago discovered that demihumans were unwilling to give their total loyalty to the god-kings; the god-kings thus expelled them from the land.

Approximately 250,000 people live in Mulhorand's cities and towns; the rest dwell in the countryside. In the cities, there are nearly equal numbers of slaves and freemen, while slaves outnumber the landholders and their families in the countryside by a five-to-one ratio. In general, there are three social classes in Mulhorand: the nobility, the middle class, and the slaves.

The Nobility

Bureaucrats are the most mobile of the group; it is possible to advance from a slave to a bureaucrat if one is in a position to get a good education. Bureaucrats include tax-collectors, scribes, messengers, and even spies. They take directives from the priesthood and generally carry out the priesthood's deliberately vague orders with great efficiency. For example, if a priest of Horus-Re wanted to discredit a rival, the priest would mention aloud that it was be fortunate for him if something unpleasant happened to the rival; the bureaucrat is expected to interpret this order and carry it out without implicating his master. Bureaucrats enable their masters to fulfill their ambitions without getting their hands dirty.

Wizardry is considered to be an honorable profession. All mages must swear allegiance to the god-king and to temples of Thoth and Horus-Re. They spend most of their time researching new magical items or examining old artifacts, so they stay out of the majority of the political affairs of Mulhorand.

The priests are the major power brokers in Mulhorand. They control vast tracts of land and thousands of slaves. The pharaoh allows them to determine the policies of the land. By far the most powerful priesthood is that of Horus-Re, but other groups control large areas of land and slaves. Some of the more ambitious priesthoods, such as the priesthood of Anhur, have engaged in a number of secret enterprises devised to promote their visions of a more aggressive Mulhorand. (If it seems as though religion is the least important concern of the priesthoods, well, it is.)

The pharaoh, the incarnation of Horus-Re, sits on the throne in Skuld. He is more of a figurehead than a ruler, and this is mostly by choice, for reasons explained earlier. Theoretically, the priesthood, mages, and bureaucrats must obey every whim of the pharaoh, but he has yet to exert his authority. One notable quote from the priesthood is this: "The pharaoh wishes to be involved in the important affairs of the land. Design him a new temple so that he will take his mind off such a foolish notion." The pharaoh is always male and always an incarnation of Horus-Re for a brief time after the loss of Thay, when an incarnation of Thoth took the throne (all of the other incarnations of Horus-Re were dead).

The priesthoods are hereditary; their members are almost always the descendants of incarnations of various deities, which are known as the divine houses. The houses are usually referred to by their Thayvian names, as listed below:

• House of Horus-Re: House of Helcaliant
• House of Thoth: House of Tholaunt
• House of Osiris: House of Osriant
• House of Anhur: House of Ramathant

Descendants of female incarnations are not given a House name, nor are descendants of Set incarnations. Mulhorand is a thoroughly patriarchal society. The first two sons of a House are said to be nobles; the eldest is entitled to at least 2/3 of the father's land and slaves, while the younger son can have no more than 1/3. Other sons, and all daughters, must fend for themselves.

Nobles of all varieties must shave themselves bald, and typically paint one to three blue circles on their foreheads. These indicate learning, knowledge of magic, and familiarity with the laws, customs, and religious rituals of the land. (Very roughly, one circle means that the man is an educated freeman, two circles mean he is a mage, and three circles mean he is a priest.) If a noble wishes to maintain his power in Mulhorand, it is almost always necessary to have friends in the priesthood of Horus-Re. However, as it is possible to strike at a priest through his friends and the power struggles in that priesthood can be extremely treacherous, it is best to avoid having too many close connections. On the other hand, it is usually a good thing to help a person rise to power.

Noble Titles of Mulhorand

Mulhorand does not have a formal hierarchy of titles that are passed on from father to son. People who are recognized as nobles are referred to as "Lords," while their spouses or chosen concubines are referred to as "Ladies." Provincial governors and the rulers of cities are referred to as "Precepts." Incarnations are referred to as "Divine Precepts." Since the internal politics of Mulhorand can be volatile, these titles are not hereditary. The major honors given in Mulhorand are bureaucratic positions. Such titles as "Keeper of the Royal Comb," "Master of the Pharaoh's Horse," etc. are the major honors and sources of pride; without some sort of bureaucratic responsibility, no matter how trivial, a nobleman is said not to matter in Mulhorand. Wizards are referred to as "Lord Wizards"; wizards that also belong to the priesthood of Thoth are referred to as "Lord High Wizards." Priests are referred to as "Lord Priests" and important priests as "Lord High Priests."

The Middle Class

There is a sizable middle class in Mulhorand. While the middle class owns only small tracts of land, it includes many skilled craftsmen whose talents are in demand. Artists, builders, traders, mercenaries, and scribes are the most noted members of this class (with horse groomers, navigators, and military commanders added to this list in times of war). There are also freeman farmers who lease slaves from the church to serve as their work force. Because members of this class are often wealthy, they are seen as marriage prospects for the daughters of noble families.

Adventurers, often considered to be members of the middle class elsewhere, are treated with disdain in Mulhorand. Adventuring is seen as the same thing as grave robbing; no one honors adventurers in Mulhorand, and few consort with known adventurers. City guards and Preceptual militia keep a watchful eye on all adventurers.

Some craft guilds exist in Mulhorand, of which the Scribes' Guild is the most famous. Compared to the priesthoods, the guilds are honorable groups that fight to protect the rights and security of their members. They have a reputation for pushiness and making unreasonable demands in an attempt to get their own way. Some craftsmen attempt to work independent of the guilds, but they are subject to the whims of Mulhorand politics, since one needs good connections to survive without (and against) the guilds.

Nearly all professional soldiers and guards in Mulhorand are Chessentan mercenaries. These are paid by the cities and precepts in which they are stationed. The priesthood of Anhur has purchased many slaves and is training them to be a military force, but this is not approved by the pharaoh.

Slaves

Most of the people of Mulhorand are slaves, the official property of the churches. Landholders are not permitted to buy slaves (yet) but may rent them from a temple. Each temple buys its own slaves, which it trains for its own purposes.

Slaves in Mulhorand are reasonably well-treated. Food is plentiful and no one starves. Killing a slave is a capital crime, and any slave who is unfairly punished is able to make a complaint to the priests of Osiris, who judge how slaves are treated in Mulhorand. Punishment for abusing a slave usually involves forfeiture of some lands and possessions. Work is hard and sometimes dangerous, but few masters are willing to be responsible for the accidental death of a slave.

All slaves must take an oath to obey the gods and whatever master the gods see fit to give them. It is not uncommon for a master to pay his slaves when they are returned to their priesthood; this often favorably impresses the priests who own the slaves. Life as a slave in Mulhorand is not easy or particularly pleasant, but it is better than a slave's life in other lands, especially Thay.

Life and Society

Mulhorand has long been a patriarchal nation, with the first son of a family inheriting two-thirds of the family's property, the second son getting the remainder, and all other children left to fend for themselves. With the removal of the deific manifestations and influence on Pharaoh Horustep III by foreign mercenaries, Mulhorand's laws have started to enforce equality between the sexes. Clerics are still the most respected members of society, with the vast majority of them being descendants of the incarnations of the deities they serve. Wizards and sorcerers, also well respected here, spend their time researching new magic or examining old artifacts. Religion is important to the Mulhorandi. They say prayers four times a day, clerics run the government, and the temples own all the nation's slaves (which are rented out to others) Class is also important: Bureaucrats (people of status) shave their heads and paint circles upon their foreheads. One circle indicates a freeman, two a wizard, and three a cleric. The middle class consists of artisans, craftsfolk, traders, mercenaries, and scribes.

Below the middle class are the slaves, who are treated well; harming a slave is considered vandalism of temple property. It is possible for a slave to rise to the status of a bureaucrat if given sufficient education. For the most part, adventurers are seen as little more than grave robbers. Non-humans are uncommon aside from the dwarves and gnomes in the Sword Mountains and elves and half-elves in the Methwood.

The greatest source of dissent among the citizens is the rivalry between the churches of Anhur and Horus-Re. Anhur favors change and conflict while Horus-Re represents eternity and perpetual order. Now that Mulhorand is ruled by someone fully mortal once again, the dominance of Horus-Re is lessening, and deities from the Faerunian pantheon are making inroads in Mulhorand while the local deities are expanding outward from their native land. Mulhorand is also unusual for its technology, primarily pumps to move water to irrigate crops. This aspect of the culture had fallen into decline for centuries but is now being revived by the clerics of Thoth and Gond.

Mulhorand is a lawful neutral society. It believes in order and discipline, and despises change. Each member of society is expected to obey the law without question, respect the authority of the priests without question, and honor the gods without question. Mulhorand represents paradise on earth-stability and security for all eternity. These concepts, in the eyes of a faithful Mulhorandi, cannot be challenged. Underlying the society, however, is a great deal of corruption. The priesthood is an object of political domination rather than religious worship, and each priesthood suffers from infighting, power struggles, and useless bickering. The unifying forces of the god-kings, tradition, and isolation from external forces prevents Mulhorand from disintegrating into petty city-states, as happened in Chessenta, or into an impotent has-been, as happened to Unther. While Mulhorand lacks the will and the manpower to regain its lost empire in the near future, it still is a power to be reckoned with in the eastern section of the Inner Sea.

Mulhorand is a land of arrogance. The nobles of the realm consider themselves superior to the people of every other nation. They believe Mulhorand to be more civilized, more prosperous, more creative, and (if they were ever interested in conquest again) more powerful than all of the nations on the outside. Of all the lands in the Realms, they reason, only Mulhorand is ruled by gods. They do not hide this arrogance from outsiders; even the slaves are haughty, for they are not the property of men, but of gods. Mulhorand is hidebound in its belief that it will be eternal, that no enemy will ever be able to destroy it.

Customs of Mulhorand

Mulhorand has a number of unique customs, which are generally adhered to by all classes.

First, beyond all other things, Mulhorand is a theocratic state, ruled by the priesthood. Mulhorandi are supposed to be willing to submit to the authority of the priests in all things, and most of them do so willingly. Mulhorandi always show great respect whenever a priest walks by, usually by bowing their heads or by turning away so as not to interfere in the priest's journey. Priests expect these shows of respect. Mandatory prayers occur four times daily: at waking, at mid-day, at dinner time, and at bed time. There is one holy day each week, when all men, nobles and slaves alike, are expected to congregate under the balconies of temples and listen to the priests. Priests are the only ones permitted to slay cattle for the consumption of meat. This must be done while performing holy rites (almost always by acolytes) or the meat is considered to be unclean.

Mulhorandi often seem to have an obsession with death, spending much of their time constructing their tombs and preparing for the afterlife. This is not as morbid as it sounds. Mulhorandi believe that the afterlife is a continuation of life, not a journey to paradise or damnation. Thus the people of Mulhorand do their best to prepare for the next existence.

Language of Mulhorand

The Mulhorandi language comes from a language family known as Rauric. Only Mulhorandi and Untheric survive from this linguistic family; Mulhorandi has preserved much of the old tongue, while Untheric has evolved greatly over the course of the millennia. Mulhorandi is an inflected language with many verb tenses and cases; word order is relatively unimportant. It often sounds thick and slow compared to other languages; some say this is due to the heavy influence of priestly rituals on everyday speech. Basic Mulhorandi writing consists of complicated pictureglyphs, each of which represents a different idea; it has become somewhat more abstracted over the course of the last thousand years and consists of a vocabulary of tens of thousands of pictographs. Most Mulhorandi know a basic vocabulary of about 3,000 pictographs, while scribes, wizards, and priests learn a more extensive vocabulary.

Economy

Mulhorand is a slave-based agrarian economy. Foodstuffs are grown on slave farms in the Great Vale. There are small farms that are owned by landowners, but the costs of slave leasing makes them prohibitively expensive. The slave farms are not an efficient system, but they provide more than enough food for the country's needs. Food grown in Mulhorand is used in Mulhorand; food exports are almost nonexistent, though when the north suffers from drought some traders have bought grain from freeholders to sell elsewhere. While Mulhorand often has a food surplus, it is usually preserved by magic for years of drought, which, thanks to the interference of the Red Wizards of Thay in the weather of the eastern Inner Sea, come more frequently these days. Mulhorand is content to grow for its needs and does not try to compete economically with Thay; this is in perfect harmony with most of its political policies for the last three centuries.

Each slave farm is controlled by a temple, and temple bureaucrats carefully count and monitor distribution of grain. Some temples are bribed by freeholders to put them down as having less grain than they possess, thus enabling them to sell the surplus to traders and avoid taxes.

Mulhorand produces papyrus, a reed that can be spun into a variety of products including paper. Over the course of centuries, Mulhorand has increased the efficiency of this process, and Mulhorand paper is considered to be of extremely high quality, sought after by wizards throughout the Realms. The slave farms of papyrus harvesters in the delta of the River of Spears are run by the temples of Thoth and Nephthys; both temples have waxed rich from the proceeds. Flax grows in the north, from which fine linen is made; this has made certain temples of Anhur and Osiris quite rich.

While Mulhorand imports slaves (usually from Thay), it never exports them. Selling Mulhorand citizens into slavery, or even selling Mulhorand slaves to foreigners in Mulhorand, is a capital offense. The general belief is that being a slave in Mulhorand is better than being a freeman in other nations. It is considered an insult to the pharaoh to assume that temple property can be resold to outsiders. This is yet another example of Mulhorand arrogance.

Mulhorand does export wood to Thay, usually from the edges of Ganathwood. It is not a major business, and Mulhorand must rely on imports from the south for truly fine woods that are finding increasing popularity in furnishings.

Mulhorand has several major mines. Gold is plentiful in the rivers, particularly in the Great Vale, and there are several gold mines in the Sword Mountains. These mines are perhaps the most ancient ones ever devised by humans, using dwarven shaft-mining techniques. A good number of precious stones are mined in Mulhorand: agate, amethyst, and jasper are the most valuable. Granite is also plentiful; many foreign sculptors insist on Mulhorand granite for their works.

Mulhorand imports iron, fine timber, silver, incense, spice, and perfume. These scarce commodities are provided by traders from the south.

Coinage and Currency

Coinage in Mulhorand has been around for many years. Coins are primarily made of gold, dated and engraved with the face of the current pharaoh as a symbol of authenticity; the edges have demarcations to prevent further shaving. There are two major coins: the precept, a small coin worth three to five silvers elsewhere, and the pharaoh, worth one to two gold crowns elsewhere. The Mulhorand rate of exchange is six precepts to one crown. Only nobles and the middle class use coins. Most goods in Mulhorand are bartered, especially among the lower classes and slaves, who are permitted to own property if given as gifts for good service (the temples are allowed to confiscate this money since technically the slaves are their property and therefore anything that belongs to them belongs to the temple). Real property in Mulhorand comes from two sources, first being the ownership of cattle and livestock. Meat is considered to be a valuable commodity, and cattle farmers are among the most honored freemen. However, diseases plague herds and flocks on frequent occasions, so it is not always a stable source of wealth. The second source of wealth is ownership of land. The drawback to this form of wealth is that the temples can confiscate land at any time. Were it not for the priesthood of Osiris, which allows a displaced freeholder to challenge the temples in a just court, the power of the priests of Horus-Re would be virtually absolute.

Law and Order

In Mulhorand, there is no uniform code of justice; each precept has its own laws, which are for the most part similar but sometimes have unusual variations. There are both good and bad aspects to Mulhorandi justice. The bad aspects are that punishments are very severe. They consist of banishment from Mulhorand with a curse, imprisonment, or execution. Property and goods are usually confiscated and lost forever. There are many deaths over what would elsewhere be trivial offenses.

On the other hand, the system of justice is very good. Justice is handled by the priests of Osiris, who often send priests from town to town to hear cases and render judgments. The judges are genuinely fair, reasonable, and incorruptible. On the other hand, the burden of proof is usually on the accused to prove his innocence, not on the accuser.

Capital crimes include murder, killing a slave, damaging church property, theft from a church, using a god's name in vain, grave robbing, teaching Mulhorand magical spells to foreigners, assaulting a priest, building a dam on the River of Spears, and espionage.

Imprisonment or banishment crimes include theft, insulting a priest, assault, selling weapons to foreigners, leading foreigners to grave sites, stating malicious falsehoods about the nobles of the realm, hurting a slave, lying to a priest, cursing a priest, and wearing armor without a permit. Wizards are never banished.

Civil disputes are handled by a tribunal of the priests of Osiris. Anyone may request that a tribunal be called to settle disputes of property and marriage. They charge a rather expensive fee for this service.

The greatest power that a judge of Osiris has is the ability to call an independent inquiry. If a judge views any political situation as suspicious, he can call up to two other judges and determine if any laws were broken. The results of this inquiry are given to the vizier, who has the right to ignore them if he feels like it.

Magical spells and divinations are frequently relied on to determine the truth in Mulhorandi courts. Most recently, following the assassination of Akonhorus II, there was an inquiry to determine whether the guards who killed him were responsible for their actions.

The inquiry concluded that they were magically controlled, had no awareness of their actions, and therefore weren't responsible. It was concluded that the cult of Set was responsible. In other nations, as the priests of Osiris are quick to point out, justice would have consisted of a summary execution and the real culprits would never have been discovered.

The major threat to the system of justice in Mulhorand is Rezim, the vizier. He eventually plans to strip the priests of Osiris of their ability to put any of his servants on trial; all crimes committed by the priests of Horus-Re would be tried by priests of Horus-Re. Given that Rezim has enough political problems at the moment, it's not likely he'll push this; he would very much like to free himself of the legal yoke of the Osirisians.

Religion

Main Article: The Mulhorandi Pantheon

From their very beginnings, the people of Mulhorand used the Egyptian pantheon as their own; the pantheons of Mulhorand and Unther are the only lands where worshipers venerate families of deities in the Realms. The gods of Egypt are for the most part god-kings of Mulhorand. The pharaoh of Mulhorand is almost always an incarnation of the god Horus, and the other members of the royal family are incarnations of the other gods of this pantheon.

To understand the gods, it is necessary to understand a number of basic concepts. The true gods of Mulhorand, Egypt, and the other cultures on other worlds that employ this pantheon live in the outer planes. However, this pantheon prefers to dwell physically at a holy place within this plane. This physical form of the deity is called a manifestation. It is immortal, very powerful (sometimes of Greater Power status), and is the master of that deity's affairs on the plane. For most purposes, the manifestation of a deity can be considered to be the deity, with one essential difference. A deity who leaves the plane may pass on the power of his manifestation to another; when the manifestation of Re (also known as Ra) was slain during the Orcgate Wars, he passed on his power to the manifestation of Horus, who took the name Horus-Re.

In more extreme circumstances, a deity who clashes with another deity and who has a greater following among mortals may demand that the rival manifestation surrender his power; if a war deity who had a greater number of worshipers than Anhur arose, he might force Anhur to surrender the power of his manifestation. When a manifestation is successfully challenged for his worshipers or destroyed in combat, he is forever banished from the plane, though a gate spell might summon the deity's true form.

Another important concept is that of an incarnation. The incarnation is a mortal form of a deity. An incarnation is very powerful, equal to a high-level character, occasionally possessing minor divine powers, but still capable of being slain (Tholaunt, an incarnation of Anhur, was slain 30 years ago by Valerios of Pyardos, one of the Tharchions of Thay). Incarnations compose most of a pharaoh's royal family, but the eldest is always an incarnation of Horus-Re. An incarnation has the general temperament of a manifestation, but it is not under the direct control of the deity and can be affected by mortal weaknesses and foibles.

A third term that is used in Mulhorand is the cult of a god. A cult is a group of worshipers devoted to a single god within a pantheon of deities. Thus a cult of Isis recognizes all deities of the pantheon but focuses devotion on the goddess Isis.

Mulhorand is an absolute theocracy. The priests are the instruments of the government of the pharaoh, who is responsible only to the gods for his action. All land that is not privately owned belongs to the god-kings. All slaves are the property of the god-kings and must be rented from the church of Horus. They must be treated well, for they are the property of the gods. All commands of the god-kings must be obeyed. This arrangement gives great power to the priesthood.

In spite of this, the deities of Mulhorand are not fanatics devoted to absolute control over the people. Most of the real power in Mulhorand belongs to the priests. The gods generally believe that mortals should be in charge of most of their daily affairs. They do not believe in exporting their worship to other nations: in Mulhorand, one worships the gods of Mulhorand, and in other nations, one worships the gods of that nation. This is seen as a reasonable and tolerant philosophy. The gods of Mulhorand place their trust in the priests to run the nation, intervening on very rare occasions, which gives the world the impression that the god-kings are "slumbering" and "in their dotage." It should be noted that Horus-Re and the other members of this pantheon consider Mulhorand to be a paradise that rarely needs the intervention of deities. It will be noted more than once in this text that the priests do not share their masters' disinterest in the day-to-day affairs of this land.

The goal of a Mulhorand citizen, of any social or economic class, is to have a good life and to make preparations for the afterlife. It is the belief of those who worship the gods of Mulhorand that life after death is merely a continuation of life; when one expects to die, one must prepare for a journey. This belief shapes much of Mulhorand culture, art, and architecture.

Mulhorandi worship many gods, but most of these are local cults that spring up and disappear every few generations. There are seven major deities, however, who have extensive priesthoods and influences.

There are two forms of government in Mulhorand-a central government based in Skuld and run by the vizier (who may be overruled by the pharaoh, but usually isn't), and preceptual governments in cities and over wide areas. There are 16 precepts in Mulhorand, each of whom is appointed by the vizier, though in areas that are controlled by a priesthood, the vizier appoints precepts recommended by that priesthood. The vizier is the most important individual in Mulhorand. He is always the most dominant priest of Horus-Re. He appoints or approves of the appointments of all high-level bureaucrats and all major officials. He can strip people of land, titles, and freedom as he wills. He is virtually a dictator, though sometimes a vizier who is too unpopular is removed by the pharaoh.

Aside from the pharaoh, the only challenge to the absolute authority of the vizier is from the justices, who are chosen from the priests of Osiris. It is a duty of Osirisian priests to uphold the law, and a complainant may challenge even the vizier in a court of law. The burden of proof, of course, lies with the complainant. However, the judges in Mulhorand are honest and honorable men.

Because the leader of each priesthood wields a lot of political power, fighting for the high priesthood is the source of bitter rivalry in all orders, with the exception of that of Osiris. Favoritism and political opportunism is rampant in Mulhorand. The political leadership in Mulhorand is often extremely ruthless; there are few assassinations of person, but many of character.

The incarnations are mostly spectators to these power games. Incarnations are the religious heads of each priesthood, but they consider politics to be too mundane to be the pursuit of gods, so mortals are given tacit approval for their political in-fighting. Each priesthood can be roughly divided into three factions: conservative, mainline, and radical. There is often fighting for leadership of each of the factions of each priesthood. The conservative faction wants as little change as possible. The radical faction believes that change is essential. The mainline faction wants to preserve the power of its priesthood by avoiding violent disagreements between the conservative and radical elements.

Each faction of each priesthood plays a part in determining the goals and direction of Mulhorand. It is not uncommon for a faction of a priesthood to have more in common with a faction of another priesthood than the other factions of its own priesthood. These factions can be lumped together according to their general goals, as follows:

Status Quo

These people want to preserve the current state of Mulhorand and refrain from wars against foreign powers, including Thay. They believe that Thay will eventually rejoin Mulhorand on its own volition. Factions in this camp include the conservative and mainline factions of Horus-Re and Isis and the conservative factions of Thoth and Osiris.

Consolidationists

These people believe that a war should be waged against Thay, but that now is not the time to wage it. This faction wants to build up the Mulhorand nation and make careful preparations, which they believe will ensure that Thay falls quickly. Factions in support of this include the radical factions of Horus-Re and Isis, the mainline factions of Thoth and Osiris, and the conservative factions of Anhur and Nephthys.

Expansionists

This group believes in restoring Mulhorand to the property boundaries that existed at the height of the Second Empire. They wish to purge the Realms of all traces of Set, to destroy the Red Wizards, and to reclaim Thay as part of Mulhorand. They want to restore Mulhorand's army and march on Thay as soon as possible. Factions in support of this include the radical factions of Thoth and Osiris and the mainline and radical factions of Anhur and Nephthys.

Current political issues in Mulhorand include the following:

• The Thayvian problem.
• Rezim's plan to sell slaves directly to freeholders instead of leasing them. (This has raised strong opposition from the priests of Osiris, and there is growing strain between those two traditionally friendly priesthoods.)
• The sahuagin problem.
• The cult of Set problem.
• Complaints by traveling merchants about poor road conditions and lack of protection against bandits. Rezim wants to enact a stiff road tax (as in Thay) and promises to repair the roads later. The merchants do not trust him.
• Attempts by freeholders to expand their trade and produce more items, so they can compete more effectively with Thay. This is supported by Rezim and the church of Nephthys, but many within the church of Horus-Re see it as an attempt to destroy the traditional approach to handling goods in Mulhorand that keeps the nation safe from shortages.
• Attacks by monsters on the Eastern Road and in the Great Vale have been increasing, and the people are beginning to demand that the dangerous areas be cleared.
• Major conflicts between the priests of Horus-Re and Anhur are leading to increasing violence between their followers. The priests of Horus-Re have stripped the Anhurites of their traditional dominions, embarrassed them at every opportunity, and would like to destroy the priesthood outright.

The precepts in Mulhorand often have their own political struggles. The precepts are listed below and rated as major, minor, or no importance in political terms:

• Aina (no): Includes the town of Aina, and the farms at the mouth of the River of Swords. Precept is Alakin (8th-level priest of Thoth).
• Gheldaneth (major): Includes Gheldaneth and the area at the mouth of the River of Spears. Precept is Derlaunt (13th-level priest of Thoth); Tholaunt, Divine Precept of Thoth (his incarnation) can overrule Derlaunt's decisions.
• Surbroar (no): Includes area around Surbroar. Precept is Kesia (5th-level fighter who serves Isis).
• Klondor (minor): Includes area around Klondor and east to the Plains of Purple Dust. There are many monsters in this region, so there is a large garrison of Chessenta mercenary guards. Precept is Haskrayth (12th-level fighter, chief of the mercenaries, who serves Assuran).
• Ulzel (no): Serves area around Ulzel and the immediate south. Precept is Nessisi (10th-level priest of Isis).
• Mishtan (major): Serves Mishtan and the Land of the Dead. Precept is responsible for the tombs of the pharaohs and other important Mulhorandi. Its precept is Temis (12th-level priest of Osiris).
• Jhalhoran (minor): Serves Jhalhoran and lands west; responsible for road patrols on the Great Eastern Trade Road. Precept is Ulara (13th-level priest of Nephthys). Nephita, the current incarnation of Nephthys, also dwells here.
• Skuld (minor): The reason the precept of Skuld is only a minor position is that the vizier has the ability to overrule the precept on any matter, and the precept is really only second-in-command of Skuld. The current precept is Ceianre (11th-level priest of Horus-Re).
• Maerlar (no): The main job of this precept is to make sure that the crossroads are continually guarded. Attaining this position is usually considered to be the vizier's way of telling a henchman that the vizier is disappointed in him. It currently has no precept; one is expected to be appointed within the next six months, though Rezim may keep it open for a while longer in case someone disappoints him.
• Rauthil (no): This position is identical to that of Maerlar, except that this precept has less territory to guard. Rezim likes to keep either Rauthil or Maerlar without a precept at all times, to have a place to put his enemies. Its current precept is Ethnestus 4th-level priest of Horus-Re).
• Rauthgor (no): This precept looks at waterfalls all day, lives in a small isolated keep, and if the pirates don't get him, the sahuagin will. This position is given to an enemy that the vizier wants to eliminate. The current precept is Bokasin (10th-level fighter/6th-level priest of Anhur).
• Ganath (major): This is a major post because it is located in Murghyr, capital of Murghom. It is mostly a diplomatic post, as the precept of Ganath is also the Mulhorandi ambassador to Murghom. It is considered a nice place to get away from the infighting of Mulhorandi politics, and is typically given to old, respected priests of Horus-Re. The current precept is Imthalos (17th-level priest of Horus-Re).
• Sultim (major): This was once a minor post, but as Sultim is the fastest growing city in Mulhorand, the importance of this post is now equal to that of Gheldaneth. The precept is responsible for the safety of Mulhorand's largest port and is supposed to try to bring order to the chaos of Outer Sultim. None have come close to succeeding in the latter responsibility. This was typically the post held by the high priest of Anhur, but Rezim has stripped the priests of Anhur of that privilege; the current precept is Koramon (10th-level fighter who serves Horus-Re).
• Thazarim (minor): This precept has one major responsibility-to ensure the integrity of the northern border, since Thay has invaded twice. The precept lives in a small citadel just south of the River of the Dawn. This was also traditionally an Anhur post, but they have been stripped of this as well. The current precept is Mulhortep (15th-level fighter). Mulhortep is a competent general and probably the best man for the job.
• Sampranasz (minor): This precept is really in the service of Set. The precept controls the town of Sampranasz and the surrounding area. The current precept is Sanuet (13th-level fighter).

One may wonder whether a person can refuse the position of precept, given the lack of honor or the certain danger of various precepts. The answer is yes, but those who refuse have ruined their political careers. When a person refuses the vizier, tradition has it that he is expected to leave the bureaucracy forever. In the case of Rauthgor, where an Anhurite holds the post, Bokasin felt that the priesthood needed to hold at least one precepthood to maintain a sense of honor; refusing would have been a serious blow to the integrity of the priests of Anhur. To protect Bokasin, the Anhurites are spending a lot of flax money on improving the fortifications.

The History of Mulhorand

Four thousand years ago, the Imaskar Empire suffered a great plague that decimated its population. The wizard-rulers of Imaskar opened a pair of great portals to another world, pulling forth over one hundred thousand humans, then closed the portals and sealed all connections to that world forever. The Imaskari enslaved and oppressed these people (the Mulan), and the slaves offered countless prayers to their deities that went unheard because of the Imaskaran barrier.

Through the intervention of Ao, the slaves' deities were able to send powerful but mortal versions of themselves through alternate methods, bypassing the barrier. The deities battled and defeated the Imaskari, settling the lands to the west along with their followers. The nations of Mulhorand and Unther were born from these events, and after years of war, the divine manifestations agreed to abide by their common border and pursue conquest of other lands. Nine hundred years later, another great portal opened to an unknown world, calling forth unnumbered hordes of orcs. The humanoids attacked the northern reaches of Mulhorand and Unther, drawing the divine manifestations into battle with the barbarous enemy. In response, the orc clerics summoned manifestations of their deities, resulting in many deaths on both sides. Eventually the orcs were defeated and fled to elsewhere in Toril.

Over the next two thousand years, Mulhorand's daughter states broke free, forming the nations of Murghom, Semphar, and Thay. Mulhorand existed in a state of slow decline for hundreds of years until the end of the Time of Troubles, when Ao removed the Imaskari barrier. This allowed the Mulhorandi manifestations to reunite with their primary essences. Ruled by a true mortal for the first time in its history, Mulhorand went through a brief period of repression and martial law, then stabilized somewhat as the clergy, long used to ruling the country, reestablished a state of normalcy. With the death of Gilgeam the Tyrant, Unther lost its lone manifest deity. Anhur, the Mulhorandi god of war, had long been pressing the pharaoh to take a more active role in the world, and the change in Unther was the catalyst that the young pharaoh Horustep III (LG male human Clr4/Pa16 of Horus-Re) needed. Realizing the border treaty between the deities was no longer valid without the presence of the manifestation of Gilgeam in Unther, the pharaoh allowed the clerics of Anhur to lead an army into Unther. Greatly aided by the Gold Swords, a skilled foreign mercenary company led by Kendera Steeldice (LG female human Pal11 of the Red Knight), the army of Mulhorand marched around the Alamber Sea as far north as the city of Shussel, conquering most of Unther in the process. Mulhorand's military energy is currently being used to end or divert slave revolts and train former Untheric slaves in the service of the temples of Mulhorand.

Back in Skuld, the pharaoh had become quite enamored of the mercenary Kendera, whose dedication, skill, and experience impressed him greatly. With the able-bodied men of the country camped to the west, Mulhorand faced a severe shortage of workers in all disciplines. Under Kendera's advice, Horustep III has passed a law allowing women to work in the same jobs as men and is considering plans to restructure the inheritance laws to be more equitable among all siblings.

Now Mulhorand has expanded its territory by nearly half, with the remainder of Unther barely able to organize a coherent defense. Thay, Chessenta, and other nearby nations have taken care to treat Mulhorand carefully, and diplomats from many nations visit Skuld, hoping to stay in good favor with the pharaoh. The remainder of Unther trembles at the thought of next year's campaign, but the pharaoh's military advisors caution him not to expand too quickly.

• Gheldaneth
• Mishtan
• Murghyr
• Neldorild
• Rauthil
• Sampranasz
• Sultim
• Skuld