Arqar-Sharri

Arqar-Sharri is a predominantly desert country that makes up the south and westernmost parts of Deltin. It is inhabited by the Sharri, a tall, strange race of humanoids who seem aloof and alien compared to humans. Much of the country's area is composed of the Great Sharri Waste, a massive red-sanded desert broken up by unforgiving mountains, across which bands of sharri nomads wander. The westernmost part of the country is where the seat of the nation, Aqal-Shatat, is located along with other major cities.

Geography & Climate
Almost all of the nation's land area is composed of the Great Sharri Waste. This unforgiving, baking hot desert extends for hundreds of miles and is criss-crossed by huge, dark mountain ranges. Bands of sharri nomads cross the desert, usually by night, searching for shade beneath the mountains and ekeing out an existence. The very southeast of the region is known as the Land of Dead Kings, and is covered with ancient ruins of castles and cities, most of which are unexplored and theorized to be part of some ancient Sharri empire. The western part of the country lies in a more stable climate, and is the region which houses the Sharri cities. Aqal-Shatat, the capitol, borders the Shellstone Bay, from which it launches trade ships by the hundred. The northern part of Arqar-Sharri borders the Middle Sea, and enjoys slightly more rain than the rest of the Waste.

History
The history of the sharri dates back thousands of years, and much of it is lost to time. It is known that as much as 1,000 years before the Landing at the Reachlands, Sharri were roaming throughout the south in parts of what is now Dragonslake. For unknown reasons, they were driven back to the desert where they have been living ever since.

The capitol of Aqal-Shatat, the City of Glass, was built 3,500 years before Gregen's Stand. Here the great temples of many gods were built, and Sharri worshipped them all equally. However, around 2,800 BGS, some priests decided that their god was the better of them all. Thus began the Sharri Holy Wars, which would rage across the desert for over 2,000 years. Some theorize that this is how the ruins of the Land of Dead Kings came to be, though the Sharri are silent in this regard. In the end, around the 900's BGS, one god would stand above the rest: Arast Aram, the Lord of Dust. While numerous other Sharri gods still exist- including the Lord of Blood, Lord of Bone, and Lord of Glass- they must all pay tribute to Arast Aram. The Temple of Dust, which stands in Aqal-Shatat despite thousands of attempts to bring it down, houses the Dustspeakers, ancient Sharri who claim to speak to Arast Aram. These men influence the monarchy to this day.

In 990 BGS, the Invasion of the Red King took place. Jahar Mahtuub, now known as the Red King, was more ambitious and hot-tempered than any Sharri ruler in living memory. He led an army of some 60,000 Sharri riders and warriors across the Middle Sea, through what is now known as the Red King's Passage. His army broke against the walls of Calamont and was routed on the field by the Kasimar heavy cavalry, which he was not at all prepared to face. The Red King would return, humiliated, to Aqal-Shatat and ritualisticly disembowel himself in the throne room, granting him his nickname. This practice, called shatu-dinmat or the ritual of shame, is still practiced by Sharri warriors who are disgraced in battle or otherwise.

Recently, scandal has rocked the monarchy of Aqal-Shatat. The crown prince of the nation, Hamad al-Aqal, fled the capitol in 434 GS for unknown reasons, bringing with him two hundred Sharri warriors of the royal guard. The king, Jagar al-Aqal, has refused to speak on the subject. The prince, known now as the Runaway Prince, is said to be wandering the desert of the Waste.

Culture & Demographics
Culture among the Sharri is divided. There are the nomadic Sharri who wander the waste, and the city Sharri who live in the glass cities of the west. Both share traditions, and both have their own. The nomadic Sharri never set down roots for long, always moving across the desert in search of more food, water, and resources to find. They practice a matriarchal form of leadership, with the oldest mother in the band taking command, as they believe mothers hold the most wisdom. The men of the tribe hunt desert beasts for food and defend the band from danger. Some bands of nomads, usually all-male, instead raid other bands or travelers in the desert for food and necessities. These raiders make crossing the Waste, already deadly, even more dangerous.

The city Sharri are much more refined, pragmatic, and aloof than nomad sharri. Those who live in the desert might live to be 60 if they are lucky, but in the cities Sharri enjoy unusually long lives, with the oldest Dustspeakers being around 180 years old. Due to their long life, Sharri nobles often mastermind schemes that can unfold over decades or even a century. They care little for the day-to-day problems of the poorer Sharri, leading to overcrowded slums and crime. Sharri nobles often pierce one of their pointed ears each time they defeat a rival, with the most shrewd of nobles having ears covered entirely with golden piercings. It is not uncommon, in fact almost expected, for Sharri nobles to commit shatu-dinmat when humiliated by another noble in court or as part of some intrigue or scheme.

The sharri are in general reserved people, holding few public festivals and rarely performing songs or drinking in groups. They find the openness of peoples such as Byrosians utterly bizarre and occasionally annoying. Most Sharri would rather spar, pray, read, or quietly sip summerwine by themselves than be involved in public spectacles. A notable exception is the Festival of Dust, which commemorates the end of the Holy Wars and is a party legendary across the world for its debauchery. Outsiders like to joke that Sharri reserve all of their sinning for this one of the year, noting the irony of saving all of the sins for a holy day.

Government & Military
The Sharri are ruled by King Jagar al-Aqal, whose dynasty has lasted centuries. He commands his subjects from the Glass Palace in Aqal-Shatat. Closely advising the King are the Dustspeakers, who interpret the Scrolls of the Ancestors and claim to speak directly to the Lord of Dust, among other minor gods. Religious influence is felt throughout the cities of Arqar-Sharri, though not in the Waste. The nomads of the Waste have their own gods and their own laws.

The primary tools of war among the Sharri are the javelin and the curved sword, the scimitar. Sharri warriors carry ten or more javelins into battle and learn to throw them with deadly accuracy. The scimitar is used for close combat, where its deadly sharp edge can sever a man's arm with a single stroke. Some Sharri use crude shortbows, but they are usually reserved for cavalry, who ride camels into battle. The Sharri of the cities use fine steel weapons, but nomads must make do with more basic materials: stone, wood, bronze, and bone are the materials of their blades. Glass is also used occasionally- the Sharri royal guard make arrows of highly tempered glass, designed to shatter on impact with a target, causing horrible lacerations.

The capitol city's city guard is composed of only female warriors, raised from birth in the school locals call the Pit of Spiders to be peerless in combat, obedient, and utterly fearless. These warrior-women are known as the Baba-tunam, which means the Warrior Widows. In ancient times, these women had their genitals cut to remove all sexual pleasure in order to keep them pure. In modern times, this practice has been phased out, though most Baba-tunam practice abstinence.

Trade & Industry
Much of the trade in Arqar-Sharri involves linen, glass, and art objects being traded to outsiders. Sharri also trade exotic animals, like camels, in exchange for goods. The capitol mainly imports cloth, food, and steel from outside sources, especially Kasimar by way of the Middle Sea. Most of the capitol's industry revolves around glass-making, with glass being sold for mirrors, windows, and art.

Sharri traders are fond of tricking naive foreigners out of their gold using a number of scams. The most common is called the shababa, which is the Sharri word meaning "camel shit." A trader will approach a hapless merchant or visitor, and offer a worthless glass or sandstone bauble, both of which are abundant materials in the nation, calling it a shababa or mystical talisman. They offer the item at a "low price" which is usually hundreds of times what the item is actually worth, attempting to sucker unwitting foreigners out of their gold.

The sharri also made decent trade in exotic spices made from desert plants like the fire cactus. These spices are used in most Sharri cooking.