HUMAN, DHARI

The Dhari are the prevalent race of central and western Thule. They inhabit the jungles, forests, and hills of the continent’s interior basin, especially the regions of Dhar Mesh (from which they take their name) and the dry uplands of Nar. Most Dhari are barbarians or savages, at home deep in their native jungles, but civilized Dhari make up most of the population of cities such as Katagia, Orech, and Thran. Dhari tend toward medium height, with brown or black hair and eyes of brown or blue; men often grow beards and wear their hair shoulder-length. Dhari are naturally light in skin tone, but most are deeply tanned by lives spent outdoors. They often dress in well-cured buckskin, leather, or hides, and think nothing of stripping down to a loincloth and simple harness for carrying weapons or tools in the steaming humidity of their jungle home.
The Dhari people revere the spirits of nature and see the world as a living thing. Those who live in cities regard the gods simply as particularly important spirits, and honor them the same way they honor the spir- its of the forest, the animals, and the elements. Dhari men and women are expected to be strongly self-reliant and independent; they prize freedom and the right to speak their minds or refuse leaders they disagree with. They tend to be direct, honest, and industrious, and compared to other peoples of Thule, they are very modest in their personal conduct—part of self-reliance is self-control, after all.