Dustspeaker

A Dustspeaker is a Sharri holy man, believed to be able to speak directly with their god, Arast Aram. The Dustspeakers live in the Temple of Dust in Aqal-Shatat, emerging only occasionally to impart the wisdom of the Lord of Dust. Dustspeakers are also purportedly powerful glass mages who can bend the elements of the desert to their will.

Organization
Dustspeakers are chosen by the existing members of the group, who carefully choose which of their junior Dust Priests are truly re-incarnated Dustspeakers. Those chosen are almost universally quite old already, and existing Dustspeakers are ancient by any standard, with most living to be nearly two hundred.

Dustspeakers are organized in a hierarchy by how many lifetimes each has purportedly lived. The Dustspeakers contend that it takes five lifetimes at least to be granted the wisdom required to reach paradise. The current head of the Dustspeakers, Qal al'Shadar, has purportedly lived five already and will pass onto paradise once he has passed away. At 191 years, he is also one of the oldest living creatures on the planet. Determining the number of lifetimes of a Dustspeaker can be a tricky process, the details of which are mostly unknown to almost all non-Dustspeakers.

Abilities
Dustspeakers claim to speak directly to Arast Aram. They will then convey his desires and wisdom to the current King of the Sharri, giving them a large amount of sway in the political sphere of Arqar-Sharri. The Dustspeakers all have scratchy, strained voices, which some claim is the result of consuming sand in an attempt to grow closer to Arast Aram.

Many Dustspeakers are trained wizards in addition to holy men, and command magical power over sand and glass. Despite their frail appearance, this can make many of the Dustspeakers formidable foes. Nontheless, many keep personal cadres of Baba-tunam warriors to protect them.