Karakorum

Overview

"We do not have a home. We have a promise."
– Elder Yurukhan, Keeper of the Grand Charter

The Karakorum Alliance is a nomadic coalition of colossal arks that navigate the coasts of Antares, bound not by land but by a shared mission: to find sanctuary beyond the reach of the Warp. Unlike traditional nations, Karakorum’s existence depends on its fleet—once five, now three.

For centuries, Karakorum has sailed without a destination, its people holding fast to the promise of a home that may not exist.

History

The Birth of the Arks

"We did not build ships. We built the last chance for our people."
– Grand Architect Temujin, final address before departure

Karakorum’s originates from the eastern regions of Antares, where warring nations once fought over land and resources. This conflict ended not through diplomacy, but through catastrophe. The Second Maelstorm unleashed a series of disasters—earthquakes, tidal waves, and Aberrations—that left survival as the only priority.

The discovery of precursor ruins linked to Eridu changed everything. The Khaganate, the dominant power of the time, harnessed this lost technology to construct the first ark—a mobile seafaring fortress built to endure the horrors of the new world. Other nations, seeing no alternative, joined the effort, pooling resources to create four more.

But their architect never boarded them. The first Khan, who had united the warring factions, was left behind as the Aberrations closed in. His death bound the alliance to a single vow: to find a land untouched by the Warp, where they could finally lay their lost leader to rest. A promise that remains unfufilled.

The Vanishing of the Emerald of Paradise

"A distress call, clear as day. And then—nothing. Just the sea, empty as a grave."
– Tsunoi Soshu, Navigator of the Kamikaze

One of the five original arks, the Emerald of Paradise. also known as the Majapahit, was never built for survival. A floating resort, it was a symbol of excess in an age of hardship. And it was the first to be lost.

Its last transmission—a distress signal—was sent to the war-ark Kamikaze. But when Kamikaze arrived at the coordinates, the Majapahit was gone. No wreckage. No survivors. No trace of what had happened. Navigation records suggest it drifted into the Mist Veil.

No ark has ever been lost with survivors. No answers have ever surfaced. And dead men tell no tales.

Sanctum of Sentience's Destruction

"We were archivists, not warriors. When the screaming started, we knew—we were never meant to leave."
– Last transmission from the Murashu

The Murashu, known as the Sanctum of Sentience, was more than an ark—it was a vault of lost and forbidden knowledge. Within its halls lay relics of the past: ancient texts, arcane records, and artifacts predating even the fall of the old gods. It was a floating archive, a sanctuary of learning, and to some, a blasphemy that should never have existed.

Its destruction did not come from the sea, nor from war, but from within. The last transmission spoke of a group known as the Veilkeepers. The Murashu, built to withstand external threats, was unprepared for betrayal from within. One among the cultists, whether through intent or madness, allowed a powerful Warp entity to take hold. What followed was slaughter. The entity tore through the ark’s corridors, twisting metal and flesh alike, until the great vessel’s systems failed entirely.

No survivors emerged from its wreckage—only those who had never boarded the ark remained to tell its tale.

The Murashu was lost.

Society

The Karakorum Alliance is less a unified nation and more a coalition of necessity, bound by a shared fate rather than a centralised government. The Khan, the nominal leader of the alliance, rules from the Urga, the heart of what remains of Karakorum’s once-mighty fleet. However, true authority is fragmented, with each ark maintaining its own traditions, leadership, and priorities.

Kamikaze: Storm of Vengeance

"The storm bows to no master."
– Shogun of the Kamikaze

Among the remaining arks, the Kamikaze stands apart. Less a sanctuary and more a fortress, it is the last remnant of a bygone military order, where the traditions of the Shogunate endure. Unlike the other arks, which seek survival through trade and diplomacy, the Kamikaze maintains a warrior culture, its people shaped by centuries of discipline and conflict.

The majority of its population are Oni, a subrace of continental orcs distinct from their kin—less physically imposing but possessed of a keen intellect. The Kamikaze itself is not a traditional ark but a colossal warship, its core a relic of an age when Karakorum’s dominion extended beyond the sea. It answers to no one but the Shogun, unless the Khan calls upon it in dire times.

In recent years, the Kamikaze has begun to shift. The once-unyielding bastion of war has slowly opened its doors to art, literature, and diplomacy. Ancient practices once thought lost have begun to resurface, and with new alliances forming—particularly with Tartessia and Gallia.

Its literature, known as light novels, has gained a cult following in these foreign lands, a strange yet fitting evolution for an ark once built for conquest.

Tianming: Gate of Prosperity

TBA

Urga: The Divine Mandate

TBA