Egypt

Egypt is ruled by Malik al-Kamil as part of Saladin’s Ayyubid dynasty. Though Saladin moved his capital from Egypt to Damascus in 1183, under his son Malik the Nile kingdom flourishes with art, learning, and culture. Malik’s friendship with Frederick II of Germany has produced a massive exchange of learning and culture between the two peoples. Admittedly, Frederick takes far more from the superior Muslim culture than he returns, but Malik knows that through this friendship the Egyptian kingdom has little to fear from Frederick’s budding crusade.

As an Islamic nation ruled by the son of Saladin, Egypt is a major center of philosophy, science, culture, literature, and art. The achievements of Islam in these areas have yet to find a parallel in Christian nations. Christian monarchs such as Roger II (former king of Sicily) and Frederick II of Germany developed a great appreciation of Islamic culture, but they are rare exceptions. Though not fundamentalist in nature, the Ayyubid dynasty has not yet fallen to the abundant temptations power brings as have their embattled cousins of the Almohad Empire in Moorish Spain.

Cainites: The lands of Egypt have long been associated, and rightly so, with one clan: the Followers of Set. For millennia the Settites, as they call themselves, have dutifully served their dark god’s calling, influencing pharaohs, priests, and sultans through dark gifts and the promise of immortality. The current Islamic rulers’ temperance and piety have not thwarted the activities of the devious Settites. There are always those who seek to rise above their station, whether through conscious guile or in the deluded belief that they do what is best for their kin and country, and it is these the Settites cajole with their insidious talents.

The Followers of Set are not the only undead dwellers within the Nile Kingdom. Egypt has long borne a well-deserved reputation for mystical knowledge, and there are many who seek to plumb its secrets. Cappadocians can be found there in number, searching through the ruins of bygone eras and within the tombs of the ancient dead for secrets seemingly just out of their reach. At least one Tremere elder, clan members know, has journeyed through Egypt over the past decade, seeking by hook or by crook to expand the clan’s thaumaturgical knowledge. Rumors insinuate that this Tremere has found himself opposed by Assamites interested in the same secrets of blood magic allegedly possessed by the old Egyptian priestly castes (who, it is said, still serve the nation’s old gods behind the imams’ watchful eyes). The Settites, no doubt, are only too pleased to play the Graverobbers, Usurpers, and Saracens against one another, sweetening every deal for one faction while ensuring even more in return for the next. It is no wonder that some vampires return noticeably changed in nature, if not spirit, by their experiences in Egypt.

Not all Cainites in North Africa seek the occult. Many Toreador take residence in the major cities, enjoying the enlightened culture of Islam and the artists who flourish there. Brujah scholars take back for the craft guilds of Europe they support the same technical and scientific knowledge Islam once borrowed from Greece, with the benefit of a millennium of additional developments and discoveries. Vampires of the Laibon bloodline, though mostly inhabiting the more southerly African realms, pass through Egypt enroute to Europe, where a scant few serve as advisors and storytellers.

Garou: For a thousand years before the Egyptians first laid stone upon stone in building the pyramids, the Silent Striders thrived among the peoples of the Nile. Then the Followers of Set seized power over the mortal priesthood, and the Antediluvian himself set to molding the land in his image. The history of the many wars fought between Settite and Silent Strider (and the allies of each) forms part of the oral tradition of the tribe, and are long in the telling. But the ending never changes. The Followers of Set triumphed and expunged the Garou from their native lands. Only rarely do they return, but it is considered a bold quest to strike back at their ancient foes, and there still linger a few spirits and other allies sympathetic to the Striders’ cause. No other Garou come to Africa, as much due to the view of it as a land lost to the Wyrm as for the presence of the Bastet, who have yet to forgive the lupines for the War of Rage. Though rare, the territories and den realms of the werecats can cover vast areas, and they do not welcome supernatural intruders, peaceful or otherwise.

Awakened: Egypt attracts the seeker of lore like no other land, and the Awakened are no exception. Though it is whispered that certain magi of the past fought valiantly against the Settites alongside the Silent Strider lupines, those enigmatic mortals who now come to Africa seeking to augment their mystical powers often have less virtuous goals in mind. Still, there are those who have heard the tales of powerful, living mummies who, the stories say, possess literal troves of magical lore, and vampire and mortal alike have been known to risk their existence to search for these legendary beings. Not all return.

Few realms are so enigmatic, so insidiously seductive, as Egypt. Few realms provide such rewards for the industrious, nor such torments for the foolish or unwary. Some visitors to the Nile Kingdom return from their travels irrevocably changed, corrupt in mind, spirit, and body, addicted to strange elixirs or the perverse company of young mortals. Truly, Egypt is not a land for the unwise.