Editing Dark Ring (section)

=== Overview ===
[[Qis]] stands alone on the Dark Ring. Under the leadership of the lich Soris, Qis has begun the longest existence nation on the Sea of Screams. Through expansion the country has continued to grow despite the efforts of its neighbors. With every passing year, the threat that Qis possesses to the sovereignty of all people on the Dark Ring grows. Their ultimatum has not changed: kneel with the living or serve with the dead. 

==== ''Land of the Lich'' ====
In 156 AR Soris completed his ritual for lichdom in Gharib. By the turn of the next century he had escaped to what is now Jahat where he took control of the local government. Since those early days he has been the undisputed leader of Qis. With power enough to level entire armies, few have met Soris on the battlefield and lived to tell the tale.

==== ''Betrayed God'' ====
There is no Material God ruling Qis. Instead, there is one imprisoned within its borders. Hawass was once the god of Jahat who was challenged by Soris to a duel. Using his new lichdom, Soris defeated Hawass and imprisoned the god within his left eye. The lich cut out the eye, with Hawass inside, and sealed it away in a vault applying the mark of Qis, understood as order in the common tongue, upon the prison. Then Soris spread the symbol around the land building its power the further it propagated. 

Hawass is not simply a prisoner. Soris uses the god’s power to bolster his own abilities. One of these methods allows Soris to command untold thousands of undead using Hawass’ divinity and mental processing to control the corpses. 

==== ''The Necromancer’s Duty'' ====
Soris has said that he believes in the Day of Final Mourning where the souls of the dead will return to their bodies and walk the Dark Ring. However, he believes that the day of return can only come via the use of necromancy. By animating enough bodies, Soris believes that the conditions will become right where the souls can return and use the residual necromancy to live their second life. 

All other nations across the Sea of Screams decry Soris as a heretic. They speak of his taboo use of the dead. However, to this, the lich smiles as his dream shambles ever closer. 

''Watchful Eyes''

Qis is considered by many a police state. The Social Harmony Division (SHD) works tirelessly to keep a watchful eye on the living citizens within Qis. With so many enemies, Soris knows that his nation cannot be divided. Traitors against the state are rooted out with ruthless efficiency. There is a reason why there are so few spies in Qis. Everyone is already a spy and trained to flush out the liars amongst the population. 

==== ''Zephath Blades'' ====
Soris’ keen mind and the zeal of the nation’s people would not be enough to fend off so many foes. That is why Soris, using the power of Hawass, created the Zephath blades. These weapons give off a faint chill and those close to the blades have reported a distinct lack of taste.

A Zephath blade uses the life force of the wielder to empower its strikes. It can turn a normal soldier into a killing machine worth five veterans. However, the cost is high. A regular swing will visibility age the average person by one to two years. After a battle, an army of Qis soldiers made up of young recruits might resemble a nursing home.

The Zephath blades have also given way to foul insinuations against the Qis. A child of seven, after a few swings of a sword, can appear twenty-five. Intelligence within the Eshai Caliphate notes that, while an uncommon practice, their own researchers have encountered people who describe the forced aging and use of child soldiers. Soris denies this saying that if this were true, the nations along the Sea of Screams would already be dead. 

==== ''Work Camps'' ====
Along the edges of the Gray Peaks and in the wastes West of Isis lie the work camps. These camps are designed to extract raw materials from the surrounding environment. Usually the process for obtaining these ores or raw materials is too complex for a simple undead and thus enemies of the Qis are conscripted to do the job. It is thought that a twentieth of the population in Qis lives in one of these work camps.