Syrkarn

Estimates based on and extrapolated from the Khorvarien Varmanc Expedition. Population: 260,000 (44% human, 42% eneko, 12% half-giant, 1% kalashtar, 1% other). Area: 1,320,000 square miles. Sovereign: None. Capital: Nderitese (unofficial). Major Settlements: Per, Gjitha, Maszani. Climate: Temperate to tropical throughout; the equatorial heat is tempered by proximity to the Sea of Rage. Highest Point: Mount Athay in the Kushtuar Hills, elevation 4,408 feet. Heraldry: None. Founder: Unknown. National Motto: None. Five thousand years before the arrival of the Inspired and the present age of Inspired dominance of Sarlona, the four kingdoms—Mae-Khree, Sunyagir, Khunan, Lamecha—now known collectively as Syrkarn were the jewels in the imperial crown of Old Sarlona's Twelve Kingdoms. Today, only ancient stonework and half-forgotten legends mark the fall, passing, and rebirth of this land. Still, to those who have inherited this seemingly inhospitable kingdom, Syrkarn offers a gift denied to both the warring kingdoms of the past and the Inspired-dominated lands of the present. To its people and other Sarlonans who have come to hate and fear the domination of the Inspired, Syrkarn is a name that carries the promise of freedom. Syrkarn is a vast expanse of arid plains where the four kingdoms of old once stood. Its history is rich with conflict and conquest, and it is one of the few places in Sarlona where the devastating effects of the ancient Magewars can still be seen, untouched by Inspired reconstruction. A land surrounded by Riedra yet distinct from it, Syrkarn has long been left to its own devices for reasons that none but the Inspired truly understand. Nearly all settlements in Syrkarn are agricultural centers—communal farmsteads (daabi in the Giant tongue) that trap the windblown soil of the steppes behind vast networks of berms and stone walls. However, nearly a third of Syrkarn's population lives on the open steppes. Though most are nomadic herders or hunters, a distinct class of traders (mostly eneko) are the lifeblood of commerce across the nation. Regular trade roads carry goods, laborers, and knowledge between the larger settlements, allowing the Syrks to maintain a social infrastructure that belies the land's isolation. According to the Unity of Riedra, Syrkarn is a protectorate of that empire, and ostensibly owes fealty to Riedra and the Inspired. In truth, however, the Inspired's last act of governance in Syrkarn was to order the land emptied of its human population in the aftermath of a victorious purge of the yuan-ti more than 1200 years ago. “Sahar” is a general term of leadership common among both humans and eneko, but it can cover a wide range of power. The sahar of a nomadic tribe might rule only two dozen people, half of them her immediate family. The sahar of a large settlement might rule a mixed population of a thousand humans and eneko, and have ultimate authority over security, trade, and commerce in a wide region. In larger settlements, sahar are usually elected to fixed-year terms, the exact length of which is set by tradition. Among the tribes and clanholds, leadership is a matter of strength or will, with warriors, spellcasters, or manifesters often taking up the mantle of power. Whether by social accident or design, no central leadership exists in Syrkarn, though the sahar of Nderitese—at 5,000 inhabitants, the land's largest settlement—is sometimes asked to broker disputes between other settlements and larger clans. Smaller disagreements on trade, tariffs, and power-sharing are typically handled by the time- honored tradition of threats and force, but the reality of Syrkarn means that its people typically have little reason to fight. Resources and land are plentiful, and the common culture forged by eneko and human has created social customs and a rule of law unheard of in most other agrarian tribal societies. However, those Riedran exiles who monitor the activities of the Inspired in Syrkarn often claim to see signs of subtle manipulation of the clans and tribes that hint at the use of psionics and matches the Dreaming Dark's modus operandi. Rival chieftains who have long histories of being at each other's throats will suddenly declare a mutual commitment to peace and allegiance. Smaller factions will suddenly gain tactical sophistication that allows them to thwart the expansionist plans of more powerful nomadic tribes, or force the larger settlements into a defensive stance. The least populous (and most mysterious) residents of Syrkarn are the yuan-ti. Descended from the few of their kind who did not flee to Argonnessen when their kingdom was overthrown by the Inspired, these serpentfolk keep themselves well hidden. Even after twelve hundred years, the utter destruction of the yuan-ti at the command of the Inspired remains a potent reminder of the power the lords of Riedra can bring to bear. Syrkarn is an arid landscape of harsh deserts, lush grasslands, and endless steppes sloping up from the southern extent of the Sea of Rage. Its population consists of an almost equal mix of Sarlonan human clans and tribes of eneko—the mongrel ogres who trace their lineage back to the ancient kingdom—and now Riedran province—of Borunan. Though the climate and the isolated life of this land are never easy, the coastal steppes and inland savannah of Syrkarn offer limitless range for animals and agriculture. Herds of wild bison and domesticated goats, deer, and horses roam the grasslands, while cultivated fields of oat grass and flax spread across the Itzaina plains and the steppes of the Lamecha lowlands. The natives grow a range of vegetable crops, including the gnarled root known as sepse, native to Sarlona and prized for its high nutritional value. Exotic spices found nowhere outside Sarlona thrive in the heat of the savannah, as does dreamlily. Use of the drug is rare among the Syrk humans, but the eneko (who are immune to dreamlily’s narcotic effects) grow it for its medicinal value. Harvests are hard in some years, but the clans and tribes of Syrkarn know bounty more often than not. Though the ruins of great cities dot the landscape, modern-day Syrkarn is predominantly a land of hamlets, villages, and nomadic town sites. The remnants of human cities are common in the former lands of Mae Khree, Sunyagir, and Lamecha, but the plains and savannah that were once Khunan are marked exclusively by the ruins of the yuan-ti. Shulassakar and yuan-ti ruins are especially common on the Hailana Islands, said to be the site from which the yuan-ti launched their desperate voyage to Argonnessen and left their ancient homeland behind. The population of Syrkarn is largely a mix of eneko and human clans descended from Riedran refugees. Half-giants are common in Syrkarn, but the nomadic lifestyle of the Sandstrider family in the Andnemun Desert keeps them removed from the affairs of the other tribes and clans. Human and eneko settlements dot the plains, and seminomadic clans wander regular hunting grounds in the forests and river valleys with the changing of the seasons. The clans and tribes both see themselves as the only truly native Sarlonan culture left on the continent—avoiding the stagnation of Riedra and the rigid culture of Adar as they build their lives in the shadows of the past of the Twelve Kingdoms. Whatever their race, Syrks are thoughtful and hardworking folk who believe that celebration should be the end result of all honest labor. Their love of freedom leads Syrks to respect privacy and the individual, but they balance this with a sense of community that allows them to thrive in the sometimes hostile plains of Syrkarn. A Syrk neither seeks to lead nor to follow. He does the job to the best of his ability, and expects the same in return from those he trusts and depends on. The love and celebration of freedom is central to the Syrk spirit, and nearly all disputes between Syrks concern obligation, restitution, or a sense that someone desires power not rightly his. Such disputes are not infrequent, but rarely lead to more than threatening standoffs. Those unfamiliar with Syrk customs can sometimes find themselves caught off guard when angrily accused of some affront by a Syrk native. Those who do not know the appropriate Syrk response (be fierce, be truthful, and apologize when truth turns against you) sometimes needlessly respond with violence that the other party never anticipated or desired. Syrkarn is a rural and agrarian land, but it is built on the bones of Old Sarlona. As a result, Syrks appreciate art, architecture, and formal music that contrasts with their humble lives. From field laborers to nomadic hunters, Syrks take as much pride in their appearance as they do their work and skill. Textiles are one of the primary trades of Syrkarn, and those too young or too old for harder labor spend their days at the loom or with needle and thread. Nearly a third of Syrk society leads some form of nomadic life, but no great differences can be seen between the Syrk nomads and their brethren who settle in villages and towns. In fact, many Syrks live a cyclical life—wandering the steppes in their youth, later settling in a community to raise children or pursue a formal vocation, then breaking away to take up the life of a nomad or trader in their twilight years. Likewise, the harmony between Syrkarn's two main races is remarkable, given Sarlona's long history of conflict between different ethnicities and races. Though the human clans and eneko tribes maintain their own separate ways and traditions, little sense of division exists between the races, and virtually all settlements and nomadic groups feature members of both races living alongside each other. Humans and eneko often form lifelong romantic bonds, but they cannot interbreed despite the eneko's mixed genetic heritage as the descendants of ogre refugees who fled the fall of Borunan to the Inspired and then interbred with the nomadic half-giants of Syrkarn. The ogres, who were giantkin, proved genetically compatible with the half-giants because of their shared giant heritages. However, despite their reproductive incompatibility, mixed eneko-human couples do adopt orphaned kin of either race. Syrks typically define themselves by vocation and deed. A majority of traders and herders happen to be eneko; most farmers and artisans happen to be human. Still, these happenstances are unimportant next to the quality of the artisan's goods, the shot that brings a bison down, or the strength that drives a plow. Syrks take great pride in their work, and they spend as much time as that work allows celebrating the wealth and heritage their land has bequeathed them. Derived as it is from Riedran refugees and their descendants, Syrkarn's human population is uniformly contemptuous of the Path of Inspiration. Nearly half of all human Syrks follow no gods at all, instead placing their faith and devotion in the land itself. For Syrk faithful, the spirit of Syrkarn is treated as an unaligned primal force that is served by both clerics and druids and probably represents an aspect of Eberron, the Dragon Between herself. In much of Syrkarn, humans have reclaimed the worship of the Sovereign Host from contact with Lhaazarite traders from Khorvaire. At the same time, the eneko have always invoked aspects of Arawai and Balinor, naming them Rowa of the Enduring Trees and Banor the Bowhunter. Human Syrks thus focus their own worship on Arawai and Balinor, with this accidental meeting of traditions underpinning the long-term social and racial stability in the region. Among the eneko, some worship Karrak the Final Guardian, a dark god of the ancient Borunan ogres. No analogous faith exists among the humans, and Karrak's sects are among the few eneko-only enclaves in Syrkarn. Syrks are content to leave others alone and hope for the same in return. For all intents and purposes, Riedra is Syrkarn's only neighbor, and the repressive and isolationist bent of that land means that Syrks frequently define themselves as its antithesis. The Inspired in Riedra clearly have the resources and the military might to take Syrkarn in a heartbeat, driving its people into the sea if they so chose. Although desert and mountain marks much of Syrkarn's inland frontier, unlike Adar, no natural or mystical defenses protect this land from invasion. The fact that the Inspired have chosen not to invade suggests that they have strong reasons to leave Syrkarn as it is. The Thousand Eyes has agents throughout the land, but these seem primarily focused on maintaining the status quo among the tribes and clans. Isolated skirmishes are sometimes made against the human exiles, but clear benefits can be seen in Riedra's allowing the exile clans to survive as a beacon to the like-minded. No matter how many exiles swell its population, vast Syrkarn will never have the resources or the population to challenge the Inspired. Better to have those who oppose Inspired rule flee for the “freedom” of the barbarian frontier than to disturb the Riedran peace. Riedran agents harass the mongrel ogre tribes with greater frequency than they do the human clans. Some speculate that this behavior marks a fear that the eneko are more apt to pursue dark magic, as has been seen in the recent rise of the Karrak cults. It is known that the Horned Shadow has sought to recruit both half-giants and eneko from Syrkarn in recent years, but whether any connection exists between the rebellious oni and the cults remains to be seen. More than anything else, Inspired agents seek signs of arcane magic use in Syrkarn. They are especially watchful for any sign of the Heirs of Ohr Kaluun in the steppes and the yuan-ti ruins. When it is found, the arcane is exterminated. Riedra is intent on seeing that Syrkarn's lost arcane lore stays that way. There is a reason for this concern. From fragments of yuan-ti lore and contemporary human records, some scholars assert that a rakshasa rajah exists in Syrkarn, possibly beneath the ruined yuan-ti city of Sustrai Mor. The eneko's Karrak cults are said to be numerous within the wasted plain that surrounds the ruins. Among the Syrk nomads, the city has a reputation for being haunted or overrun with secret sects of yuan-ti. Whatever the truth, the Syrks avoid the place. Whether the Inspired or the Dreaming Dark have reason to fear the might of a bound fiendish Overlord is an open question. It seems likely, though, that the Inspired's unwillingness to risk the resources necessary to destroy the Syrkarn fiend drove the decision to simply empty that land after Unification—denying the fiend (and its inevitable Lords of Dust allies) the followers it would inevitably seek among the land's population. At the same time, the Inspired show little of the same concern for the rajahs thought to be trapped beneath the Tashana Tundra and Adar. Perhaps the lords of Riedra have some plan for keeping these other fiends in check, either before, or preferably after, they run rampant in those lands. At the same time, the fall of Khunan and the subsequent rise of the yuan-ti suggests to some that the Syrk rajah was once unbound—and that whatever act saw it put down might not have bound it as strongly as the Inspired would like. Sharing a desert border as it does with Borunan, Syrkarn has a more open relationship with the former ogre kingdom than with the other Riedran provinces. Just as the ogres made their way south centuries ago fleeing the imposition of the Riedran Path of Inspiration, more than a few eneko make the trek north today. The eneko in the Harmonious Shield's Savage Legion are drawn from the ranks of such Syrk exiles.

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