Alquarest

The Eastern nation of Arif. It is mostly a dry, hot plateau, although it slopes steeply to the Dark Mesas and Endless Plains of its powerful western neighbor, Zhuma. Alquarest is very poor only loosely organized, but its constituent principalities have managed to unite behind the threat of Zhuman rule and raise an army to defend the long border.

To the east of Alquarest lie the verdant islands and warm seas of Ardellia. From there, there is never a threat of conquest, because Alquarest has nothing for Ardellians to covet except a land passage to Zhuma. Given an invasion over the Endless Plains would be suicidal against Zhuman desert warriors, if an Ardellian nation seeks to take Zhuman wealth, they would go by sea.

Alquarest settlements use qanat systems (artificial springs) as their primary water source.