- "One of the tribes of Atlantis broke off and settled here when this region was still an inland sea, and the water dried up, they perished along with it."
- ―Mera[src]
The Kingdom of the Deserters was one of the seven Kingdoms of Atlantis that splintered from Atlantis after the Great Fall. It is currently located underneath the dunes of the Sahara Desert.
History[]
Pre-Sinking of Atlantis[]
The Hall of Armory, where the Trident of Atlan was created, was located in what would become the Kingdom of the Deserters. The Hall contained a mould where the Trident was forged from Poseidonian steel, as well as a structure that can play Atlantean messages as long as it was in contact with water.
Post-Sinking of Atlantis[]
Sometime after Atlantis sank under the sea, a number of Atlanteans broke off and formed the Kingdom of the Deserters, occupying an inland sea in Northern Africa. Eventually, however, the sea dried out and became the desert now known as the Sahara, ultimately causing its primary inhabitants to die. What remains of the kingdom is littered with debris and marine skeletons, and its once great underwater halls are now chasms located underneath the dunes.
At some point, descendants of those who survived and developed vampiric traits that allowed them to feed on blood for their moisture requirements. These descendants were known as the Deserters, and became in charge of overseeing a secret Atlantean prison where prisoners considered to be enemies of the Atlantean throne were sent.[1]
In 2018, Arthur Curry and Princess Mera of Xebel traveled to the dead kingdom to search for the ancient technology located in the forge that would allow them to locate Atlan's Trident. They were able to reactivate the structure to play a message from King Atlan, which gave instructions for Atlantis' true heir to find the trident.[2]
In 2022, Arthur returned to the kingdom where his half-brother Orm Marius was imprisoned in a secret Atlantean prison controlled by the Deserters.[3] After Aquaman infiltrated the prison and freed Orm, the Deserters pursued them through the Sahara, but were fought off by Orm.
