The Pale King

You are an exiled scion in a world struggling to rebuild itself. In your exile, you have built a confederation of tribes and ascended to kingship. You are a pale stranger among your subjects. Your origins purposefully mythologized. The truth is too terrible. So you and your fellow countrymen keep it a secret and rule as semi-divine figures. You maintain distance. It is simpler this way. Step into the role of a tribal king conquering an arid land. Continue the conquest, build your confederation, and reshape the Great Salt Basin in your image. Laurence of Arabia in a post-post-apocalypse with concubines and secret slaver origins. It's complicated, but fun. This one wasn't really written to publish but it works too well for me to reduce it, so context is not optimized.