Capital City: Spir
Continent: Dominarchus
Terrain: Granite Mts., Ashmir's Folly, Indigo Range, Coronach Mts, Bones of the Desert
Rivers: Darkriver ends in the desert.
Special Classes & Kits:
Bahr al' Raml is a desert surrounded by high mountains; in the north, the East Gate and West Gate ranges; in the southeast, the Coronach Range; in the southwest, the Indigo Range. There are only two passes; the northern Runel Pass and the southern Hassanisaba Pass. A large chasm splits the desert into east and west sections and runs about halfway through the desert from north to south; the chasm is known colloquially among the desert tribes as "The Curse of Ashmir," or "Ashmir's Folly," after the lamia who ostensibly opened it by dabbling in forbidden magics.
The desert border, nearest to the mountains, is composed of dry, hard-packed earth beneath a layer of gravel, with occasional outcroppings of boulders and crags and very little water. This area is referred to as the "Crown" or "Ring" of the desert. As one proceeds deeper into the desert, it becomes sandy, with dunes formed by the high winds that blow in north to south; in some places there are sand mountains, up to 500 feet high and relatively permanent, if highly unstable and given to "sandslides" that can collapse with a thundering boom at any time. Rare oases dot the desert, often guarded by a sphinx who keeps the peace among visitors and sees that the precious water is made available to all; these spots of greenery are often magically protected (and possibly even magically formed) by the lamia. As well as the oases, sometimes rocky outcroppings may hide water in deep crevices or fissures, feeding scrubby bushes and a variety of small rock-dwelling creatures.
Navigation in the desert is primarily star-guided, with the most common landmark being the Folly, which can be seen up to days away in some parts of the desert. However, there are several other notable landmarks that are referred to by the nomadic tribes. The Bones of the Desert is a collection of tall, sand- and wind-scoured pillars of stone that rise in the southeastern part of the desert and are used as a common meeting ground for the tribes in times of trouble. The Temple of the Oracle, about three days' ride to the west of the tail of the Folly, is a ruined stone structure wherein the lamia Oracle dwells and answers pilgrims' questions for a fee of magic or service. The Glass Waste lies in the center of Bahr al Raml and is sometimes hidden, sometimes revealed, by the shifting sands; an expanse of glass a days' journey across in any direction, it is rumored to cover the sunken lamia city of Cimarron (see Legends). When the sands reveal it, the Waste often reflects the sun back into the sky like a beacon; it is always skirted by the nomads, for the heat build-up on its surface is enough to sear flesh to the bone. Spir is a city on Hassanisaba Pass, the only living city in the desert and the center of trade for the nomadic tribes and the rharihini and kobkode of the south.
Bahr al Raml is extremely hot during the day, and few desert dwellers do more than shift to keep up with moving shadows during the daylight hours; the winds are most prevalent during the daytime, whipping up sandstorms and making travel perilous. At nighttime, however, the winds often die down somewhat, and the temperature drops rapidly. Rain falls very seldomly in Bahr al Raml, and almost entirely around the desert Ring; when a rare rainstorm moves into the center of the desert, the heat from the sands and the Glass Waste usually evaporates the water before it hits the ground - this phenomenon is often referred to as "Azel's Jest."
Bahr al Raml has no cultivated plants and the tribes keep only enough livestock to feed and clothe themselves. Most of its "crops" are wild.
Allium is a onion-like plant that grows from a buried "crown" in spears, like asparagus. It is edible and a good source of water. Bunch grasses grow in tufts from bulbs buried in the sand; these bulbs are edible, but do not contain enough water to allow a desert-dweller to live on them alone. Cacti of various types provide a food staple, mashed into a syrup, fermented into a drink, or eaten straight; the needles are used for sewing, and the husks as fire-fuel. Creosote bushes are small, blackish bushes that, when burned, ooze a sticky tar used to seal water containers. Mesquite trees stabilize sand dunes and provide firewood for nomadic tribes.
Of more value are the resinous trees of the Ring area of Bahr al Raml; from these trees are harvested the resins frankincense and myrrh, used as jewelry, perfume and incense. Sesame seeds are also gathered in the Ring, and in the mountain foothills are the bushes that yield the valued indigo dye. Among the rocky outcroppings of the inner desert grow the small succulent Dragontears, valued for its anaesthetic and healing properties, as well as the blue-grey herb called Nightcall, used to heighten senses. In the mountains and oases grow opium poppies and marihuana plants, the former used by the hashishini, the latter used by more casual smokers. There are also a variety of plants that grow in the Ring and rocky outcroppings from which poisons can be distilled (specifically, Cobweb and Paeonin), although the making of such poisons is a secret of the hashishini. Kaffe beans are also grown in the Ring and on the mountains, although liking for this strong hot drink hasn't spread outside the desert.
The West Gate and Indigo ranges have traces of gold in them, although the tribespeople do not actively mine, harvesting gold found in rivers and streams rather than digging into the earth. Some veins of the metal known as darkcloud exist in the mountains, and swords forged of this metal are valued among the desert folk as being particularly effective against djinn, but, again, are not methodically mined. Deposits of salt in the eastern side of the Coronach range are sometimes found and dug out; salt is highly valued in the desert as a seasoning, preservative and physical necessity, and rather more effort is taken to "mine" these veins than is to mine precious metals.
Several desert denizens are in themselves valuable. Camels, the most common form of transportation in the desert, provide hair for tents and dung for fuel. Horses are highly valued among the tribespeople of the Ring and mountains, although have less value in the inner desert. More notably, the wyverns of the mountains are tamed and ridden by several tribes, and their eggs and young are extremely valuable but seldom sold. Wyvern hides, teeth and poison are also of value. The teeth and hides of dune worms have some natural value, as do sphinx wing-feathers and boalisk eyes.
The lamia were once the unquestioned rulers of Bahr al Raml, and the sphinx their servants and mouthpieces. As the population of the lamia and sphinx diminished, the traditional respect paid them becomes less important to the younger races. However, with the invasion of the satamharanthu, and the subsequent annihilation of almost all the lamia and their sphinx servants, a renewed loyalty arose among the native races of the desert. Now the natives of Bahr al'Raml have reverted to a strongly traditional lifestyle, and bitterly resent the satamharanthu invasion.
There are three races, primarily gathered into nomadic clans, that make up the bulk of the population of Bahr al Raml. The "natives" of the desert are the hadjjin, dwelling in the mountains and Ring areas of Bahr al Raml. Hadjjin are the most powerful race, in general, as they are the most numerous, hold the best land, and often raise wyverns to augument their ability to travel through the desert. "Newcomers" are the aseku and humans, who migrated south but have since become fully assimilated into desert culture; the tribes of these races are more likely to be found in the inner desert than those of the hadjjin, being more interested in trade and maintaining caravan routes than are the hadjjin. The city of Spir is populated almost entirely by humans and aseku; hadjjin find trade and city-dwelling suspect and indicative of weakness. All of the people of Bahr al Raml may be collectively described as Init'ie. Although religion was outlawed under satamharanthu domination, the strictures of the Dawn Masters carried little weight in the desert, and the strong religious underground among Bahr al' Raml natives rose up to the surface again quickly after the Theophany.
Hadjjin and humans of Bahr al Raml tend to be dark-skinned, -eyed and -haired; the aseku are often dusky-skinned but fair-haired, with occasional births of fair-skinned children. Clans run from about 50 to (the largest) 300. Males and females wear loose robes known as abas and cover their heads with kaffiyeh that indicates their clan membership. Women customarily cover all but hands, feet and eyes, except when alone or in their tents with their husbands; the exceptions are those women known as marashiten (sword-wives); warriors sworn never to marry or bear children. These women dress and act like men, and are accorded the same privileges as men; including taking wives to increase their status.
Init'ie value honor over all else, and are proud, ruthless, and pragmatic. They give their friendship sparingly, but value friendship above all else. They value prowess in battle, but also cunning and trickery, so long as the trick does not compromise the trickster's honor.
Clans are ruled by warlords (almost always male) who take advice from the clan elders (also almost always male). Councils are held in the warlord's tent and forbidden to women, children and outsiders; if no accord is met, the warlord has the right of ultimate decision so long as his decision does not violate Init'ie tradition. The warlord's ultimate power is to banish someone from his tribe.
Bahr al Raml traditions are as binding as law. These include guest-right, the tradition that those who eat and drink with each other share a 24-hour truce; any who attack a guest may be put to death immediately, unless the attack is made in self-defense or to save the life of another clan member from a guest. Init'ie do not thank another for food or water when it is given, however; they consider these essentials as the right of any who is in need of them. Other traditions include the right of any warrior to enter the warlord's tent without announcement, and the rights of men only to welcome guests to a tent; women not only may not allow a stranger into the tent, they are forbidden to speak to or approach men unless they are unmarried and/or in desperate need. Men, on the other hand, may approach and speak to women at their whim, although improper conduct (suspected or actual) will undoubtably bring down the wrath of the woman's relatives, and it is considered proper for an unrelated man and woman to only carry on conversations in the presence of others.
Most marriages in Bahr al Raml are arranged by the bride's father and the groom, although human and aseku Init'ie have a romantic streak and are likely to be more permissive of passionate elopements and the like than one might expect. Women usually have no say about whom they marry. There is a seven-day "honeymoon" period after a marriage during which the wife is forbidden to leave her husband's tent or speak to another man; ostensibly this is a pleasurable time, although in reality it is probably to keep the woman from running off from a man she may never have met before the wedding. Women who kill their husbands are put to death at once.
An Init'ie man is obliged to care for a dead brother's wife for two years, after which time he may send her away or marry her himself. In general, a woman's status is directly linked to that of the man who takes care of her (brother, father, husband, son, or brother-in-law), and she will work to support him as much as possible. Priestesses (of Ishabel or Vahana) have some status of their own, although their work is still considered confined to "women's matters." Sorceresses are very rare and often mistrusted, since they pose a direct threat to male dominance; however, the rare female mage is treated much the same as a priestess. Marashiten are considered "honorary men" due to their prowess in battle, and are treated like men in all ways; if one should marry or become pregnant, her Marashiten status is considered revoked and she is treated as a mere woman again.
The clans of Bahr al Raml are notoriously independent and argumentative; only the lamia and sphinx could ever lay down a law that could affect them all, and this was done so rarely that the last such commandment cannot even be remembered. When the heads of the clans must meet, they assemble in the Bones of the Desert, and argue for days or weeks until a decision is reached or, more commonly, the assembly breaks apart in chaos. The clans seem to be only able to unite under one common cause - opposition to the satamharanthu.
There are nine major hadjjin clans, five major human clans, and seven major aseku clans. These clans are the political powers in Bahr al Raml, but not the only denizens; in addition to the clans, there are the citizens of Spir, small merchant bands who travel back and forth in trade, outcastes and hermits, and secret clans such as the Slayers, or hashishini (black kaffiyeh), and the Prophets of Ramatap (red kaffiyeh). Clans are predominantly one race, but often have a variety of races in them due to exchange of prisoners, inter-racial marriages, bastards, and the adoption of warriors. The hadjjin clans are: Kharad Thar (Broken Bone), Hafar Kurt (Black Tongue), Feshar Rih (Bloody Wind), Kharad Rabah (Cracked Skull), Inikh Shef (Jagged Blade), Yesseh al' Eleh (Saltburner), Anarat al' Eshre (Shadowdoom), Keffyeh Dukh (Venom Claw) and Yverhn Dahart (Wyvern Wing). The human clans are: Myrkir (Hawk), Jhe-vannan (Sandwyrm), Jacal (Jackal), Chie'ie (Spirit) and Issadin (Lizard). The aseku clans are: Eshre (Shadow), Farsas (Stone), Aliban (Sandstorm), Haraz'nar (Fire), Adaitya (Wind), Jabril (Moonlight) and Ishe Afaril (Silent Hand). Each clan has its own kaffiyeh pattern and set of alliances and enimities. While one is usually born into a clan, there are certain occasions when one might become an actual or honorary member of another clan; for example, a warrior who fights very well but is about to be captured may be honored with the offer to become an enemy's brother - there is no disgrace in accepting this offer and switching allegiances as long as it is not begged for, and not abused.
Certain clans are of particular note. The Kharad Thar is the largest and most warlike clan, and the most resentful of the presence of outlanders in the desert (by now, however, the clansmen no longer think of the aseku and humans who have become acculturated to be "outlanders"). The Feshar Rih, Anarat al' Eshre and Yverhn Dahart clans are all wyvern-riders, living in the mountains. The Keffyeh Dukh is well-known for its use of poisons, and considered thereby to be somewhat dishonorable. The Jhe-vannan clan (about evenly aseku and human in actuality) is sworn to protect the desert, and often breaks up fights, hunts down criminals and saves those who are lost. The Chie'ie clan consists of the best unarmed warriors in the desert, and takes in any worthy petitioners for training. The Eshre and Ishe Afaril clans contain a strong drow element, act nocturnally, and are often considered to consist of thieves and murderers; unlike the hashishini, however, members of these clans cannot be hired and seem to work under a personal code of honor.
Foreigners tend to see Bahr al'Raml as a sand desert, hot, dry and cheerless. Its natives are thought to be given to religious fanaticism and warlike passion, violent and untrustworthy, likely to lead foreigners deep into the desert and then rob and abandon them there to die. Foreigners tend to consider Bahr al' Raml natives to be thieves and murderers who prefer brute force to finesse, being too lazy to expend the effort needed to come up with a plan. They are called sly and sneaky, and male hadjjin are often considered chauvinists. Foreign women tend to feel uncomfortable in Bahr al'Raml.
Skin, hair and eye color tends to be dark, with the exception of the white-haired drow. Men tend to wear moustaches and/or beards, men and women tie long hair back in ponytails. Women often wear veils; aseku clansmen also wear veils. Natives' builds tend to be solid and muscular, and their accent lilting.
This town once stood between Somadios and Bahr al'Raml, a military post from which the old Dominarchy could watch over and protect itself from the periodic hadjjin raids against their lands. After the Shattering Wars, the city became assimilated by the desert nomads, who use it to trade with the northern realms. Most caravans from the northern realms stop here. Travellers can hire guides from Garamile who will lead them through the desert, and some smaller caravans do trade between Garamile and Spir, transporting goods back and forth. Nobody rules Garamile; it is a neutral city controlled more by various trading houses than by any single person. A small river that runs off the East Gate mountains runs through the city and peters out in a lake several miles away.
Spir
[Map: TSR's I19 - Day of Al'Akbar, Khaibar]
This city is properly a product of the desert culture, although it is inhabited more by humans and half-aseku than by hadjjin. The city has wide streets and low, whitewashed buildings, and a great marketplace where traders can bargain for supplies from the southern lands. The drow Jherhazad Serasi of the Dusk Palace rules Spir with a gentle but firm hand, discouraging trading houses from establishing the kind of power here that they have in Garamile. Most traditional Bahr al'Raml clanspeople would like to look down on her, for she acts like neither woman, man, or marashiten, but her command of magic and swordplay has earned her their begrudging respect.
