The unforgiving deserts of Aranoch split the great lands and realms of Sanctuary
in two. It is the most inhospitable environment that can be imagined by man,
endless wastes punctuated only by the occasional ruin, the last remnants of a kinder age.
Despite these dangers, a steady current of convoys flow from the mountains to the West,
braving the frigid nights and searing days for one reason: Lut Gholein, the Jewel of the Desert.
The city exists today as one of the great trading ports on the western edge of the Twin Seas.
It links together the remaining wealth and power of Kehjistan
with the Western Kingdoms of Entsteig, Khanduras and Westmarch.
Its people have come to the city from across the breadth of Sanctuary and become known for
their fondness for colorful dyes. The citizens of Lut Gholein walk the streets in vibrant finery,
while its sailors camouflage their ships’s sails to avoid the rampant piracy off the coast.
While the Palace of the Sultan, the Lord of Lut Gholein, dominates the city,
the markets are the true heart of the port. Here can be found every manner of good from both east
and west, master crafted weapons and arcane potions. The Desert Rain Inn attracts many
travellers who seek not only a comfortable refuge, but the stories of the ex-bandit lord who runs it.
Atma’s tavern meanwhile provides drinks and entertainment to visiting sailors,
though those who know her history might find the experience bitter-sweet.
A thin strip of fertile land in the otherwise merciless desert of Aranoch
has allowed the port city to prosper, but Lut Gholein was not the first settlement raised
here. During the Age of Magic the Brotherhood of the Vizjerei, one of the eldest Mage Clans,
constructed a fortress on the edge of the Rocky Wastes. Lut Gholein was built on its ruins but
traces of the old bastion can still be seen in the foundations of the city’s sewers and palace.
The wealth of many lands and nations flowed through Lut Gholein and in the years that followed
several conquerors attempted to lay siege to the city and claim it for themselves. None succeeded.
The heavy stone walls that surround the port, and the rusting weapons and sun-bleached
bones scattered across the Dry Hills are all that remain from this age of war and strife.
In the year 1264, many centuries after the end of the city’s golden era, troubles started in Lut
Gholein. A sorcerer passed through the city’s gates, a man reputed to have fought the Lord
of Terror in old Tristram. He took refuge in the Sultan’s palace only to disappear there,
but from the time of his arrival, a dread power seemed to arise from the desert.
Undead creatures and demonic entities prowled outside the city’s walls, attacking the desert
convoys until nothing arrived from the West. Lut Gholein’s harem guilds too sought refuge
in the palace, only to be slaughtered by demons that emerged from its deepest levels.
The Sultan’s army pushed back this incursion of the burning hells, but the carnage left the
city increasingly reliant on mercenaries to keep the peace. For a time the streets of Lut Gholein
lay empty as its citizens barricaded themselves inside their homes. At night, a terrible creature
emerged from the sewers, claiming victims for its lair. While many attempted to destroy it,
none who entered the labyrinth of tunnels beneath the sewers ever returned.
The terrors finally ended when a group of travellers passed through the city,
in pursuit of another man they named the Dark Wanderer. The evil within the Palace
and beneath the streets was cleansed and peace returned to the surrounding deserts.
The tragedy of the men and women who confront the evils of the world is that they are destined
to be changed and in time, corrupted by them. The same can be said of the lands they walk.
The shadow that for a time darkened Lut Gholein has never fully passed, and likely never will.