History
Note: This is a very brief, broad brushstrokes, overview of the region’s history. Some areas and regions have more detailed history available.
Many generations ago, the lands west of the Hann Sea were populated by Celtic (style) clans, while the wilder North was home to small villagers and semi-nomadic herders, who followed the gods of The Kalevara (Finnish mythology) To the Northwest were the Norsemen, followers of Odin and Thor. South, although practically unknown to the others, were tribes of desert nomads, who followed the Pyramid Kings, and their priests. (Egyptian) (welcome to AD&D Deities and Demigods)
As those people grew and matured, a new force moved in, with strange priests, mages and legions of undead, descended on towns and cities, and rapidly incorporated them as part of the Wangate Empire. Later scholars will speculate that they used magical pathways to control cities and trade between them - always able to move troops and goods easily, they held sway for many years. Faiths and hope changed quite a lot over the years. New deities claimed support among the masses, and then came to the fore as the Wangate empire finally collapsed. The nations, while retaining some of their original culture, grew and changed.
In the north and west the new pantheon of (3e) gods were the strongest, in the east it was a different pantheon of (PF) gods, in the south still other ‘enlightened’ deities (Al Qadim) took centre stage. (I ran Al Qadim, 3e and PF games in different parts of the world)
Some time after that, the Grand Caliph decided it was time to spread the Enlightened Word to the north, and started to work his way up the western coast of the Hann Sea, conquering and claiming land as he went. He got quite a way, before his troops were driven out, with help from the east. With the Grand Caliph's power broken, Sakar, regressed to a confederation of semi-independent states.
For now, the lines are drawn.
- A strong north, controlled by The Hann Empire.
- A weaker and disorganised south, still (technically) ruled by a Caliph.
- Neutral Buffer Zones – Port Elizabeth and Porters Bar in the east, with Razadi and Finaroka in the west.
- East Telida, did not come to the attention the Wangate Empire or the Grand Caliph – and while they follow the modern deities, they still retain a lot of their original cultural values. Most of the rest of the world find them uncivilised, and (in many cases) uncouth.