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Ok This is what I came up with.
This ruined world is covered in an ever shifting desert. The ruins of long dead empires are evidence of a more prosperous time.
One thousand years ago Navinda was ruled by a magically superior race of humanoids, called Navindar by scholars, that could change the world as they pleased. They would clear forests or raise mountains as they saw fit. Many wars were fought over lands that contained ley lines or where the veil between planes was weaker.
They used a slave labor force of rodent like humanoids that they had created to do the most disgusting jobs. These slaves breed quickly to replace those lost in wars or to the creatures that inhabited the sewers and dumps where they worked.
The nobility in the empire enjoyed the arts, especially singing and dance. When they became bored of watching others of their own kind perform they used magic to give songbirds a new form that would allow them to sing and dance to entertain the nobles. Most nobles had at least one of these poor creatures locked in large cages on their estates.
A Navindar lich, Kulltorres, had lived for over 6 centuries when he discovered a ley line of incredible power in the Scouring Desert. He set up an arcane lab here and remained undisturbed for almost 100 years. Eventually the other empires learned of this ley line and began to covet it. When they attacked Kulltorres he began a ritual that would destroy his annoying rivals and give him the peace to continue his research. Upon completion of the ritual Kulltorres released a massive wave of arcane energy that stripped many of the Navindar of their power, but also ripped the ley line open allowing more and more energy to flow into this world.
The power flowing from the torn ley line spread from the Scouring Desert, bringing the climate with it. After a century the world was covered in deserts and the Navindians great empires were beginning to crumble. After another 500 years no one even remembered who used to live within the ruins that dot the desert.
The Navindar, having lost most of their power, quickly lost control of their slaves. The ratfolk fled to deep caves to escape the spreading heat and lack of available food. The song birds banded together into flocks and began searching the growing deserts for roosts. The lingering aura of magic released from Kulltorres’s ritual infused the sculptures that decorated the Navindar architecture, eventually granting them life.
As the world changed, so too did the Navindar. Their bodies have adapted to the deserts they now dwell in and they call themselves the Asherati. They have forgotten their ancestry and commonly raid or live within the ruins of the Navindar empires.
The Ratfolk have begun to return to the surface slowly due to overcrowding in the caverns they have called home for centuries. They are still quite distrustful of other races, but are smart enough to understand that they don’t yet know enough about survival on the surface to deny any aid.
Harpies, as the song birds of old have taken to calling themselves, are renowned as scouts. They commonly join with groups of Asherati or Ratfolk to act as lookouts or hunters. The magical aura that covers this world has given the voice of a Harpy a captivating quality. Some Harpies use this to soothe their companions, while others use it to prey on the weak or weary.
The Gargoyles live in family groups that usually inhabit the ruins of the old world. They will defend their homes tenaciously but can be dealt with if you make your intentions clear with offerings of food or water. Most permanent settlements do well to attract a family of Gargoyles as allies. Once a family grows too large some of its younger members will leave to try and start a new family.
With many of the rivers and lakes of the world drying out the population of Nixies has become increasingly concentrated around the remaining water sources. Anyone wishing to collect water from a river or oasis must deal with these small fey. Though small they will defend their watery homes to the death. Sometimes a tribe will send some of its own out into the desert to seek out new sources of water.