Qattara
Qattara is based on ancient Egypt, and will retain many of that culture's historical features, including its religion, art, politics, and so on.
Following is a "Creation Myth" for at least one tribe of Qattarans.
Out of Chaos, the Supreme Creator forged Neith, who is Earth; Nut, who is the Heavens; Ra, who is the Sun; and Nun, who is the Waters; there followed Kek, Lord of the Underworld, and next was Hathor, Love. But Creation was without form, until Ptah was made and Order was imposed over all. And then the Creator rested.
This was the First Genesis.
From Nun, Ptah created Duat, Rain; Hâpy, Rivers; and Tefenet, Oceans; and from Neith he made Hehet, Nature. He then arranged the Waters on the Earth, wrapped her in the Heavens, and placed the Sun in its proper place in the Heavens. His work done, he slept.
Hathor, seeing he was alone – and she being alone – slipped into his bed; from this First Union was born the Divine Twins: Isis, Beauty, and Sia, Knowledge. From the Sacred Union of Neith and Nut was born Heh, the Winds, and likewise Ma'at, the Moon, was born of Nut and Hathor. When Ra met Hathor, Seker, Light was made, and when Neith visited the realm of Kek, so arose Seth, the Darkness.
Thus ended the Second Genesis.
Then, when some of the Children of the Second Genesis met, they were overcome by Hathor; from the Blessed Unions of Duat and Hehet came Isis, who was Fertility and female, while at the same time Osiris, male Fertility, was born of Hâpy and Hehet. Hehet, who was wanton, then had union with Heh, and thus were born Min, Storms, and Apshai, the Seasons. She then had consort with Sia, and begat Bastet, who made all the Animals in Creation.
The gods were satisfied with their creations, especially the Supreme Creator, who was pleased with all the Children of Genesis.
But before long Isis and Osiris had unlawful knowledge of one another, and from this Lawless Union the first Humans were born.
The Supreme Creator was outraged by this transgression, and ordered the abominations be destroyed. But their Divine Ancestors, recognizing them as noble animals, were intrigued by these new beings, and so they defied the Creator and gave them gifts instead.
First, Duat, Hâpy, and Tefenet, being the eldest, together gave them Strength and Courage. Hehet, seeing that they were still not as strong as many of her child Bastet’s Animals, gave them Stealth, so that her child’s creatures might not harm them. Sia then gave them Tools with which to use these first gifts, while Isis gave them Arts, with which to temper them. Ma'at gave them Astronomy, so, like her, they would know their place in the Heavens. Seker, seeing that they were naked and hairless, and unlike other Animals could not see well when he slept, stole for them from his grandfather the Sun a lock of his hair, so they might see and keep warm, and also cook their food, so that they would be further elevated above all other Animals. Heh promised to blow the Humans Luck, so they might find fortune in their new world, and even Bastet, recognizing the superiority of this new creation over her own, gave the Humans Husbandry, by which certain of her creatures might serve the noble animals.
Finally the Humans’ parents bestowed upon them Mysticism, so they might recognize and pay homage to all their Ancestors.
All except Seth; he alone obeyed the Supreme Creator and sent them Death.
Seeing all this, the Creator was very angry; but, since the Creator had not the power to take the gifts away, instead punished the Children by forbidding them contact with the infant noble animals. All except Seth and Seker. For his act of thievery Seker was banished to the Underworld, and thus his brother Seth was allowed dominance over Creation to do evil in the world.
But after a time, taking pity on the noble animals, and seeing how the other Children loved them and mourned their loss, the Creator relented and changed Death into Plague, and restored Humans and their Divine Ancestors to Creation. Even so the Creator forbade the Children any direct contact with Humans, who must now and forever communicate only through avatars.
As further punishment, from the Animals the Creator took Speech and gave it instead to the Humans, and so this is why Humans speak and Animals do not. Seker was then allowed to look upon Creation for part of each day, while the rest was given over to Seth. And this is why, having spent so much time alone with Darkness, with no Light to find their way, it is hard for Humans to resist the evil ones, even in the light of day.
And having known Death, the noble animals would now not be able to dismiss him from the
world, nor would they ever be safe from Seth, who will keep trying to send all of Creation
back into Chaos – because that is what he believes has been decreed by the Creator.
Nations of Qattara
This section gives a very brief summary of the Player-Nations of the realm of Qattara, including a sampling of a few of their starting locations or "sites", and the main features of same. Please note that the geographical locations of these sites are not intended to be wholly accurate, either currently or historically. (Remember that DoA is set 20,000 years ago, before the end of the last Ice Age when much of the Mediterranean basin is assumed to be above present sea level, and also that these sites generally represent a much larger area than their actual locations.)
The Nations of Qattara are for now divided into five tribal regions or provinces, each
of which will start the game in a more or less random site in their respective
region. The nations, with a general description of the geography of their starting
territory, follow:
Faiyum
The Faiyum are beloved of Ptah, whom has bestowed upon them the ability to become great
craftsmen and traders from their fertile territory around the River Nile south of the
Delta and Lake Moeris (Birket Qarun).
 | Amarna |
The confluence of the River Moeris (Bahr Yusuf) and the Nile provides an ideal location for a site of great strategic importance to take advantage of its large deposits of stone and clay.
| Faiyum |
Near the shores of Lake Moeris, which is the source of the river that drains that body of water into the mighty Nile, is a vast oasis of great bounty in the form of animal and plant life that would support a huge population.
| SawarisNot far south of Amarna and Faiyum is a site on the Nile of spiritual significance that
would make an ideal port teeming with fish, not to mention its valuable deposits of flint
on the east bank. |
| Tihna |
Farther south along the Nile from Sawaris is a site with a moderate mix of a good variety of resources, including food and other commodities.
Nehsiu
Hathor calls the Nehsiu her children, having given them the territory from the
cataracts of the River Nile to the jungles of Meroë (modern southern Sudan) from which to
practise her gifts of diplomacy and fruitfulness.
| Buhen |
Below the Second Cataract of the River Nile is a site with modest bounty, awaiting development into an important population centre.
| ElephantineThe northern edge of Nehsiu territory lies roughly at an island in the middle of the
Nile called Abu or Elephantine. Here, below the First Cataract, is a site of almost
unmatched beauty, spirituality, and magic. |
| Kawa |
Gold, semi-precious stones, and a strategic site for the construction of a monastic or other religious community lies on the Nile near the hills of Axum (see Kûsh) to the east.
| Napata |
Just below the Fourth Cataract of the Nile is a site of spritual and military value, not to mention harvestable bounty; here could be established a final "civilised" outpost before entering the steaming jungles of Meroë and Abyssinia (see Kûsh).
Nobatia
The Nobatians are beloved of Khnum, whom has blessed them with the ability to nurture
life from the fertile land around the River Nile in the area which used to be known in our
world as Upper Egypt.
| Abydos |
A splendid site on the River Nile at the northern borders of Nobatian territory contains resources of stone as well as tremendous religious power.
| Edfu |
The southern edge of the territory of the Nobatians is at Edfu, where spirituality and magical power combine to create a site of great significance, aside from its resources of game and other foodstuffs.
| Koptos |
North of Thebes (see below) is a militarily important site with much stone and some timber to be found in the low hills just to the east, albeit not much else.
| Thebes |
Not to be confused with Boeotian Thebes in Hellas, this site on the River Nile is one of the most spritually and magically notable in all of Qattara. Unfortunately it lacks significant on-site resources to take immediate advantage of all that power.
Nubia
East of the River Nile to the coast of the Sea of Sheba (Red Sea) is an area of mostly
hilly desert, rich in minerals, where the semi-nomadic children of Kek will benefit from
the Lord of Darkness' military gifts.
| Berenice |
On the central west coast of the Sea of Sheba is an ideal fortified harbour site, to control potential trade routes by land to the west through the Nubian Desert to sites along the Nile, and of course by sea, not to mention the emerald mines in the nearby mountains.
| Erba |
Deep in the southern Nubian Desert are more mountains with copper and gold deposits, as well as resins such as myrrh -- but watch out for the lions!
| Sawu |
The hills in the northeast of Nubia contain deposits of copper, gold, stone, and even lead, while a nearby harbour on the Sea of Sheba would make another excellent port for whomever controls it.
| Zabara |
South of Sawu there is another fairly mountainous region where emeralds might be found, as well as gold and copper. A fortified site to protect these assets would be advisable.
Tehenu
Neith is the patron of the Tehenu, whom has given his children a region of the most
fertile land in the known world -- being in the Delta of the River Nile -- along with the
gifts to cultivate it and perhaps develop a culture of great learning.
| Avaris |
The eastern portion of the Delta, on the edge of the Desert of Sinai (see Outremer), is a region of great fertility, albeit a swampy one with not much room for a large population centre.
| Buto |
A site on the sea on the western side of the Delta would make an ideal port, with as deep a harbour as can be found in the silted Delta region, ripe with fish, grain, and of course the ubiquitous papyrus reeds, for which a use really should be found...
| Giza |
A great, flat desert plain near the River Nile between the Delta and Lake Moeris holds such great magical and spiritual power that almost nothing else can flourish here -- other than its massive stone quarries.
| Memphis |
The sheer size and fertility of the Nile plain at this point would support a huge population, perhaps ideally situated to service a religious centre at nearby Giza.