World premise
A playable world seed with consequences.
The year is 1112 AD. The Levant is a fractured land shaped by war, faith, trade, and ambition. The Crusader States cling to fortified territories established after the First Crusade, while rival Muslim sultanates, Seljuk rulers, local emirs, and lingering Byzantine interests compete for influence. Damascus, Aleppo, Antioch, and other great cities serve as centers of commerce, scholarship, diplomacy, and military power. At the heart of this world lies Damascus, seat of the Sultanate of Syria, founded in 1085 by Sultan Khalid al-Saiyyd. Khalid forged a centralized state through military discipline, legal reform, and administration. House al-Saiyyd is at its center: Khalid, the stern patriarch; Sultana Zahra bint Ilyas, the sharp-eyed consort; the courtly sons Farid and Nasir; Layla, the charismatic daughter; and the exiled eldest son, Darius, who has just returned from a decade of mercenary service at the head of the Black Sand Company—a disciplined force he built after being cast from court in 1098. The Sultan has summoned Darius back to Damascus, and the city stirs with rumor and possibilities. Spring rains have washed the streets, and the Citadel’s gates stand open—but every courtyard holds a whispered calculation, every market stall a hidden debt.
The Sultan's summons has drawn Darius into the vortex of court succession politics.
The Black Sand Company's presence creates unease among the standing garrison and the trade guilds.
Damascus's commercial fortunes are shifting with the season, and control of the caravan routes grows contested.
House al-Saiyyd remains haunted by the betrayal that led to Darius's exile, and old grievances threaten to surface.