The Empire of the Sphinx is a fae kingdom encompassing the mortal country of Egypt.
Overview[]
Rich in modern splendor and ancient ruins, blessed by the wealth of the Nile Delta, ruled by a mysterious empress who claims to be the last of an ancient kith, the Empire of the Sphinx considers itself the crown jewel of the Land of Ancient Dreams. However, beyond its own long and storied history it has also been under threat of mundane interference since the 1700s, ever since European explorers began investigating the ancient pyramids and more ancient buildings which stud the sands and create an air of reverence within the desert. The sands of the Empire are sacred, soaked with the magic of the Dreaming. The Empire has always been a seat of power, somewhere that anyone who was anybody knew was a place that held power to control the world.
The main seat of the Empire lies near the Great Pyramid of Giza, beneath the paws of the statue which gives its name to both the region and its ruler. Far beneath the sands – far beneath where you would ever suspect it would be safe to dig in a riverland – lies the mighty freehold known as the Court of the Sphinx. The entrance to the Court is down a flight of stairs lit by torches which burn blue. No matter how many steps you take, the bottom of the staircase is always in darkness, until you reach the end and you find yourself faced with a grand promenade in ancient style. It is lined with statues of royal consorts done in the style of the pharaohs, and at the foot of each statue sits a jar which it’s said holds the heart of a beloved leader of the Empire.
Dreaming[]
The Empire glows. The air is weighted with golden magic that suffuses everything. There is dust in your shoes and a breeze off the Nile. Stalks of cat-tails and reeds rise impossibly high from the banks of the Nile, sheltering the crocodiles from view. Here, every step shifts the sands a little, sometimes dislodging a piece of history in your wake. Magic leaves imprints and those imprints will rise up at times. The impossibly bright, impossibly blue sky hosts hawks with human heads, and at sunset the sun is swallowed by Nut and she covers the world in her body of stars. The Empire of the Sphinx feels like a place where magic is ancient and can wraparound you like a mantle, or like armor.
History[]
In addition to Giza and the Valley of Kings – both places where the veil between the Dreaming and the mundane world are extremely thin – there is Cairo. Modern Cairo was established in 960 CE, and has been a place where changelings, Prodigals, and humans have co-existed for longer than many other metropolitan cities. While the Sphinx discourages her subjects from getting too involved with Prodigals or their arcane and deadly politics, her desire for a united Empire standing against the world means that she has standing mutual defense and non-aggression agreements with quite a few Prodigal leaders in the region.
Since their reawakening following the Sixth Great Maelstrom, the mummies known as the Amenti have rapidly become more of a presence in the Empire of the Sphinx. While they are by no means numerous, the fact remains that these lands hold great power and significance to them, and thus they are found here in greater numbers than anywhere else in the world. The Sphinx has embraced them with uncharacteristic openness, and provided they mean no harm to her or her people all Amenti are welcomed and considered under her protection. It is rumored that the Sphinx has taken secret meetings with several of the Undying, and even that she might choose one as her next consort – most natives scoff, but then again, if the Sphinx is changing her practices, who knows what that might mean?
The 2011 revolution which began in Tahrir Square as a direct reaction to police brutality under the regime of President Mubarek in Cairo greatly affected the Empire of the Sphinx. While it is policy for the Courts to not involve themselves in mundane political affairs, it is another thing when the revolution is right on your doorstep. To the surprise – and quiet but lasting outrage – of many of her subjects, the Sphinx did not take a side during the revolution. Speculation as to why is publicly forbidden but a popular pastime among the native fae, with theories ranging from a backroom power play of some kind to interference from Prodigal agents to even wilder notions. The closest the Empire came to getting involved was sponsoring safe havens for rebels fleeing from the city, as well as for families trying to remain while the revolution occurred. These were directed primarily at involved changelings and their families, but due to popular demand they were quickly opened to wider use.
Since then, at the urging of her subjects the Empire has kept a more protective eye upon the city of Cairo. The revolution also caused the Sphinx to suddenly offer a number of long term residential and diplomatic passes to changelings who had the skills to protect the interests of the fae on the ground in Cairo, whether that help was through official business and diplomatic channels or unofficially through smuggling and safe houses. The passes come with a requirement to operate as one of the Sphinx’s operatives, loyalty being the most important quality. Changelings interested in maintaining democracy in Egypt, or in studying the history of the past would benefit from such access.
Culture[]
The most important thing to understand is that the Sphinx does not trust outsiders, and there is a strict code in terms how any guests to the Empire will be received. Just because you’re a fellow changeling doesn’t mean that you aren’t regarded with suspicion. Most especially, take nothing from the Empire of the Sphinx unless it is a gift or it is given with explicit permission. This code came into being because of the long history that the Empire has with intruders. The removal of the Rosetta Stone, many temples, and artifacts as well as the buried dead is a closely held hurt by the fae of the Nile Delta, and as a result strangers coming from anywhere outside of the Land of Ancient Dreams – or locals who might be acting as agents of such forces – are suspect. Any action which smacks of colonialism will be met with force.
There is of course an exception to this policy: fae tourists. The tourism industry in the mundane world is such that changelings flock to see the Valley of Kings just like their mortal kin, and rather than try to hold off the world the Sphinx has granted a measure of grace for those fae who come to participate in human kinds of tourism. Stick to the approved locations, touch nothing mystical, activate no hieroglyphs, don’t rent a long term business apartment, and you’ll be fine. Of course, the Sphinx doesn’t expect anyone to self-regulate, so there are official Empire guides whose job is to maintain the boundaries for visitors. Those who don’t follow the rules will find themselves with a bevy of useful but ultimately very insistent guides who declare that your tour is over.
This code of ethics does not just extend to the living, but also to the dead. Disturbing the rest of a pharaoh or anyone else who has been entombed within the walls of a pyramid or a tomb is considered an act of war against the dead. Mummies and their places of burial are guarded by a society of changelings known as the Jackals, the warriors of Anubis. They are tasked with guarding the resting places of the dead, and according to rumor they have the ability to strip Glamour from a fae in order to judge your true worth. Regardless of whether the rumors are true, they are well-trained and highly organized, and so getting into a confrontation with them is extremely ill advised.
When foreign changelings arrive in the Empire of the Sphinx for the purpose of conducting business, performing academic research, or staying for a tourist visit longer than a week, they are expected to present themselves at the Court. Trained chimera and members of the Sphinx’s staff watch major ports of entry for this reason, with visiting changelings taken aside for “special screening” on arrival. Each individual must pass two trials to receive permission to stay for such visits. They must be able to walk past one of the Sphinx’s elite household guards without raising an alarm, and they must be able to answer a riddle given to them by the Sphinx herself. Exactly how difficult these tasks are made to be is directly proportional to the amount of time the changeling wishes to stay and/or how much of an impact their business may have on the Empire. Regardless, if the would-be cannot do both, they will be escorted to a departure point and cast out – if they’re lucky. Anyone who fails the tests and tries to sneak in is treated… harshly.
Long-term immigrants seeking to resettle in the are also face tests posed by the Sphinx, but as they are forbidden by changeling oath to reveal the nature of these tests, no one knows exactly that they might entail. The haunted look such individuals get when the matter is mentioned, however, tells a tale of its own.
Political Policy[]
Despite its closed off reputation, the Empire of the Sphinx is politically and diplomatically connected to many territories outside the Land of Ancient Dreams, in no small part due to the volume of visitors that floods her borders every year. Though the Sphinx would prefer to cut off her domain from the world if she could, she recognizes this as a practical impossibility, and so maintains strong diplomatic communications with the rest of the kingdoms in Africa as well as the neighboring regions of the Middle East. These relationships are meant to give support in case outside kingdoms try to take advantage of native rights, even though the Empire otherwise maintains tightly controlled borders as with the rest of the world.
The only kingdom the Sphinx forbids any real contact with is the Kingdom of Albion. The last time a representative from said Kingdom arrived on the Sphinx’s threshold, they attempted to emphasize how Albion supported the Empire during the 1920s. The Sphinx decreed, in response to this gross misrepresentation of the relationship, that until certain sacred artifacts are returned, there will be no further discussion.