Qet

City of Faded Glory

Qet is a city-state on the northern coast of Zarkhir. During the Second Age it was the capital of the Qeshan Empire (successor state to the empire of Khemsa). Once one of the greatest cities of humanity, Qet is a mere shadow of its former self. A series of magical mishaps and natural disasters over the years disintegrated the Qeshan Empire until all that remained was scattered ruins and monuments buried in the sands of the Varghani Desert. The Thaumaturgical Wars had little effect on Qet; Marasinia had only a nominal presence in northern Zarkhir, and the old empire was a distant memory by that time anyway.

Today, the de facto government of the city is the merchants of the foreign quarter as the decadent nobility spend their time dwelling on past glories, unconcerned with the present. These merchants are dominated by two factions - one consisting of Ilmarans and the other of Zeldorans. Traders hailing from other regions tend to align with one or the other. Despite the squabbles and rivalry, the foreigners tend to get more done than the actual rulers of Qet.