The Theocracy of Kaparia had an early history similar to its neighbor to the north. But while the warring mages of Nelistan were controlled fairly rapidly, the mages in the Kaparian region did not run into such opposition. Large sections of the countryside were devastated as mages warred with each other for advantage of land and supremacy. The commoners lived in terror, and feared any wizard, even though the few good-natured mages tried to shield the people.
Eventually, a priest emerged who rallied the people. His name was Ansel, and he preached the evils of magic, and the people listened. He was intelligent, and learned to read the magical tomes where magicians stored their spells. Gleaning important information, he organized a blockade of spell components. He also organized other priesthoods under his banner, and the priesthoods of Boccob, Mystra, Azuth, and others fled or were destroyed in retribution. The mages, fearful at last of the people, disappeared. Several of them launched retributive spells perverting the nearby countryside, and others fought against the masses. However, all mages who had an established stronghold was driven out or destroyed, regardless of their attitude towards the people.
The priests stopped short of outlawing mages, as they were also wise enough to know the uses of magic when controlled. Laws were passed barring the use of magic by non-church sanctioned mages. Magic use of traditional style is recognized by the watch. Any use of magic must be sanctioned by one of the temples, and the practitioner of magic must be licensed. In some regions of Kaparia, mages are forbidden to maintain their own spell books, reading instead from a central church-controlled library. Any magic of an unusual nature is immediately suspect, and in more repressed areas, mages have been burned or stoned. It is forbidden for any practitioner of magic to own land in Kaparia.
Mages know that they should walk a fine line in this theocracy, and avoid certain areas. A mages' underground does exist. Members disguise themselves as commoners and frequently learn cover trades. The underground mages are similar to a thieves' guild in large cities, with street contacts, covers, and the like. They are supported in part by the Nelistan mages, who wish the Theocracy to end.
Deities worshipped in Kaparia invariably are the "common man's gods", gods of crafts, home, arts, and protection. Gods of war are also worshipped, and the war clergies have created several units of fanatics through religious fervor. Kaparia at present is steadily increasing the size of their armies. Since Kaparian soldiers are prone to be sent on crusades (one such invaded Nelistan in 4275), the neighboring kingdoms are becoming more than a little nervous.
The Blasted Desert is a region in southern Kaparia which is inhabited by very little. The desert sands are a pale grey, and the desert has the smell of death. The area is not excessively hot, but is entirely barren of any life of a permanent nature. Some creatures roam the fine sands, but the area has not been explored to any great detail. The Blasted Desert was originally fertile lands, lying near and mostly between two mages. Malekos and Fyzan, a necromancer and a pyromancer respectively, were rivals in many things, and control over the region was one of them. Neither cared for the other inhabitants of the region, and they begun a minor mage-war. Both restricted the damage upon the region, as neither wished dominion over a wasteland.
With the coming of Ansel, Malekos was one of the immediate targets of the clergy's wrath. When Ansel sent a host of clerics and warriors to drive out Malekos, he was involved in a long-range battle with Fyzan (they fought the war through intermediaries, almost in the role of chessmasters over a chessboard). Malekos believed Fyzan had betrayed him to the clergy, and launched an all-out assault, which destroyed Fyzan. Fyzan, knowing his doom was coming, struck the Necromancer's tower with wave after wave of fire, broiling alive all the warriors and clergy, as well as ending Malekos's life.
In the ensuing battle where both archmages unleashed everything they had, the land between the two towers was blasted from the heat and sickened by the touch of death. Whole villages disappeared in minutes, rivers boiled away, and every living thing perished.
The folk of Kaparia view both the towers and the Blasted Desert with suspicion. They fear that such magics may return, and shun both. The Blasted Desert is considered in Kaparian territory, but its southern edge forms part of Kaparia's border.