Al Kharid–Menaphos War

The Al Kharid - Menaphos War was a series of conflicts between the emirate of Al Kharid, located at the northern fringes of the Kharidian Desert, and the great city Menaphos in the far south. The war lasted for centuries and is said to have resulted from the Menaphites' attempts to expand their territory northwards.

The exact details of the war are unavailable. The campaigns of conquest have been fairly unsuccessful, not least due to the harsh climate in the desert, which makes it difficult for large armies to travel the great distance between Al Kharid and Menaphos.

The four demigods of the Menaphite Pantheon - Apmeken, Crondis, Het and Scabaras - constantly attempted to end the war and bring peace to the desert. In 119 of the Fifth Age, the Apmekian Pharaoh of Menaphos, a young, progressive leader, finally made peace with Al Kharid so that the desert civilisations could prosper once more.

Upon discovering that the war, and thus the destruction, had ended, Amascut, the Devourer, became enraged and, after dealing with the Pharaoh, hunted down Apmeken, the most active deity in the attempts to make peace. After a brief battle in which Amascut easily bested her opponent, she cursed Apmeken, depriving her of her senses, a fate that also befell her main followers, the desert monkeys. Furthermore, the Devourer used Apmeken's sight, speech and hearing to create three simian demons - Ayuni, Leeuni and Eruni respectively - who proceeded to slaughter the desert monkeys. Without their senses to aid them, most of the monkeys were killed - only three, Mizaru, Kikazaru and Iwazaru, are known to have escaped to Ape Atoll. Following these events, Apmeken went into hiding.

However, despite the fact that the war was officially over, hostilities between the two cities remained high. Even today, the people of Al Kharid would not we welcome in Menaphos and vice versa. The peace between the two is described as 'shaky' and either polis would attempt to profit from political unrest in the other if the chance arose.

In 169, Amascut kidnapped Prince Ali Mirza of Al Kharid and sent an ambassador from Menaphos, Jabari, to kill Ali's father Emir Shah so that the nation would be forced to pay the ransom she demanded: the Kharid-ib. Otherwise, the leaderless emirate would be conquered by Menaphos and the war rekindled. Although Shah did die and the Kharid-ib was lost to Amascut, the prince was rescued by an adventurer, Ozan and Leela, and succeeded his father as emir. Due to the fact that Jabari was acting on Amascut's orders, the actual involvement of Menaphos and the pharaoh is unknown. The "ambassador's" claim that he was acting as a peace envoy for the pharaoh therefore remains open to doubt. Over the course of that same year, Scabaras and Apmeken both returned to the desert, and the latter's senses were restored, as was the desert monkey colony.