Athurrâm

Sadar-Nizar

Athurrâm is a desert of northern Halmarth and southern Skegjold. It is an unnatural place, having suffering desertification as a result of strong magical emanations coming off the Cube of Infinity. Athurrâm is like other areas of eastern Cinazan, islands and coastal regions turned to deserts from magical energy pouring off the Cube. In the Second Epoch, the destructive energies were diverted away from the area in what became known as the Voruth Anharr Project.

Athurrâm is home to tribes of scorpionfolk which before the disaster that befell the area were centaurs. Those that remained too long in the area during its desertification became Cube Tainted. This caused their equine lower body to be replaced with that of a scorpion and their upper body, though still humanoid, became covered in chitin. The scorpionfolk proved to be more useful and obedient than when they were centaurs, so they became common targets for slave traders. Normally only the young are taken, with their primary market being the holds of the Khazarkar Empire. These young scorpionfolk slaves are raised in military crèches and often become elite guards for government officials or sent to special units of the Athirbêni. Some scorpionfolk tribes participate in this slave trade, selling captured young off as slaves.

The scorpionfolk of Athurrâm are a nomadic people. They are uncivilized and barbaric and not a product of divine creation. They came about in Second Epoch when magical emanations from the Cube of Infinity warped the native creatures of Athurrâm into something entirely different. The area's centaurs became scorpionfolk which worked out well since the grasslands they once roamed had become a bleak desert.