Shavlu

The Shavlu are an Alawaq-speaking ethnic minority who live in the rocky desert country of Tifwa Akn. They are a small and isolated tribe, but are well-known for their rejection of the Nazhbehtaq Dynasty, the current rulers of the neighboring country of L'ai Alaq, which they were exiled from when the new conquerors arose. Traditionally, Shavlu are known for their fierce independence and refusal to be ruled, save by their own elders. They have long resisted attempts by the dynasty to exert control over their lands and way of life, and have remained steadfast in their rejection of its authority, and greater claim to power over the region.
On account of this wholesale rejection they have been largely welcomed to Tifwa Akn by the Ghūd, the country's dominant culture who similarly oppose the Nazhbehtaqs (even if they are more concretely at odds with the Īkagh of neighbouring Shuri). The religious convictions of both Ghūd and Shavlu differ, the former worshipping the spider deity, Jailindulayin, the All-Seer, the latter holding to the Alaq Religion, as do their countrymen back home. This slight ideological divide is the only thing holding the Ghūd back from embracing the Shavlu fully, but pragmatically speaking, the Shavlu have been permitted to integrate into the society of Tifwa Akn in all ways that count, and work and break bread together regularly with their hosts.