Haashir
As south as any thinking creature has ever travelled lay great dunes that stretch over a seemingly never-ending landmass. The Tieflings call it the Dayim Desert; the wild races know it as The Endless Sand. No one knows where it leads or what it hides under its fine, innumerable grains but none have ever questioned who are masters of this horizon: The Haashir. Appearing as Elephants that walk on two legs, the Haashir are born with an innert ability to cast spells, though not a clear understanding of how to undertake these. Those who have gained a comprehension of how their arcane capabilities work, however, become powerful individuals, often leaders of their roving bands, who lead nomadic lives centered around slow moving rains that sluggishly loom over their homeland. The Haashir are diehard Animists, offering dedicated worship toward their Spirit Guardians.
The Haashir are unique amongst all races, as they are hostile to any who enter their land by default. This is not to say they cannot be reasoned with, but Haashir culture holds no allegiances; not even to fellow beast races. Instead they viciously protect the borders of the desert against any who have not already perished under its harsh conditions. Only great devotees of the Spirit Guardians -- true Clerics, Durids, or Paladins of the Animist faith -- would give the Haashir pause in a chance encounter.
Their hierarchy functions in a meritocracy, where the most gifted in arcane use claim the greatest renown, ruling over the more militaristic lower folk. This hierarchy is repeated in a multitude of groups -- or bands -- that dot the landscape, forever moving. The Haashir live a seemingly self-appointed curse, as their culture holds no cities or very large permanent settlements, always on the move to take advantage of the next Oasis that will sprout from the bowels of the sands. This is due to the magical rains that fly over the Dayim Desert, providing shade and water to a portion of a map for weeks on end, or even months -- sometimes years. A band (or even a multitude of bands) settle here where they celebrate, birth and raise their young. From there, scouts and fighters will branch out, seeking out intruders in the desert or hunting rogue creatures that could threaten their livelyhood. Though they find this sense of community in the oasis, Haashir are nonetheless very aggressive towards outsiders; even against other Haashir.
This aggressiveness is well known to the Tieflings and the Halflings who cor centuries have tried to conquer slices of the desert to no avail, as these roving bands waste no time in decimating any who step into the dunes. Their overwhelming victories over invaders can be attributed to understanding of the terrain and wise use of the arcane to undo any would-be visitors. If all else fails, the Haashir resort to their least favorable of options: fiends. Terrible creatures wander the deserts, who the Haashir hunt incessantly. When invaders resist Haashir attempts for too long, the roving bands simply retreat and 'herd' wandering fiends into the area of the invaders, who not uncommonly lay waste to foreign forces. Invading armies are often smaller in scale and resources, as governments remember the overwhelming victories of the Haashir and seldom support any ventures to conquer land there. Expeditionary forces are therefore usually small and privately financed; and easy to break down in the the cruel desert.
Haashir have a knack for shining and exotic things. Leaders will often wear or display clothes and artifacts from past invaders, in a pirate-like fashion. Though Haashir disallow the entry of invaders, they do allow some of their kind to venture out into the borders and trade with the few black markets that will purchase from them.
Comments