The Desert Kingdom Overview: The northern desert kingdoms are all lumped together as a simgle kingdom by outsiders. However, the country is actually made up of several disjoint city-states, generally ruled over by a monarch of some stature. The individual populations are relatively peaceful with each other, mainly because the distance is too great to keep up a war, but also because no one would desire to wage war over vast distances of sand and heat. The one redeeming feature of the desert kingdoms is the tower of magic in Shantor. Completely made out of sand, it was blasted with intense heat upon its creation so that the sand fused into glass. Although every one is able to see into the tower, the magic of the tower is able to shift the visibility at the will of an individual, even in small sections. Of all the towers of the land, the Tower of magic in Shantor is the most open to the city it resides in. Government: Individual city-state monarchies. Population: The individual city-states vary widely in terms of population. Shantor, Balador, and Calador make up the three largest of the states, covering about 75% of the total known population in the Desert Kingdom. However, the total population of the desert is estimated to be less than one million people. Humans, by far, make up the largest portion of of the population, contributing about 70% of the total. Dwarves, Orcs, and Half-Orcs make up the majority of the rest, and elves and half-elves account for less than 5%. Armed Forces: Each individual city-state sports impressive protective walls. As such, there is little need for a standing army. However, the denizens of the desert have proven themselves to be quite a formidable nuisance. Each city has extensive monies devoted to large protective arms such as catapults and ballistas in order to take care of the occasional ankheg or sand dragon.