The Emirates
In the beginning, there was the sand and the wind, and into that sand and wind came the nomad; the man of the swift steed, the white tent, and the restless herd. He also found the winter grazing land, and the spring rains, and the summer grottos, the watering holes of the fall, and his herd thrived and he was happy. Many of the nomads settled in the grazing land, around the oases and spring rivers and they became the hazar; the house dweller, the cultivator, and the builder of cities. Many chiefs and emirs ruled these nomad and hazar tribes but chief among chiefs is the Sultan who saw what they might do together for the dream of justice and honor. To survive allowed them to exist where others would perish, to go where others feared to go and to claim that which would otherwise be left unused and unappreciated. To know the mercy of the desert though, you must first know her cruelty, a lesson all Parracians know all too well.— Haku, Master of the Desert Wind
Parracia is a land dominated by the deserts, a few fertile valley areas where life flourishes between seas of ocean and salt. Wedged between the waters of the seas bordering the Imperial Senate of Dannor to the south and west and the Far East region of Lungshi, the region of Parracia is comprised of three distinct sub-regions.
The most widely known is The Emirates to the south followed by Kh-Ara to the north and between them and the Far East region of Lungshi is the vast black sands of death called The Deep Desert. The Emirates are ruled by the descendants of the great Sultan in the southern half and the fertile lands of the Pharaoh to the north.
Waters around Perracia are bountiful with pirates and corsairs. It is a land full of secretive cities, unwelcoming to travelers, huge deserts, lush oases and powerful genies, though in theory, ruled by a theocracy headed by the Caliph. Not much is known about The Deep Desert besides it’s name and the fact that it is the barrier of sands between the lands of Parracia and the Far East.
A dominion of extremes, travelers may cross seemingly endless dunes, cresting wave after wave, and then suddenly find an oasis as lush as any imagined paradise. Snow-capped mountains soar above and the deadly pits, The Pit of the Ghuls, whose murky depths plunge well below the level of the Platisia Ocean. Intermixed between these varied landmasses are cities, towns, and structures comprising the Six Emirates, The most northern Emirate of Kh-Ara better known as The Kingdom of the Pharaoh, and of course the lands of The Deep Desert.
The Parracians are honorable, if harsh, people. They value loyalty, piety, respect for the traditions and wisdom above all. They are shrewd merchants, great caravaneers, and masters of oration, but above all, they are courageous warriors and great horsemen. A substantial minority of the Emirates’ people are of Dannoran or Nydeisian descent, but they have completely integrated with Parracian society. A much smaller minority in the northern Emirate belongs to the Kh-Ara Empire, The Kingdom of the Pharoah.
Every town has a dwarven quarter, and dwarves are the most common foreigners in the Emirates. They are not considered friends, but the people of the Emirates do respect many of their qualities. Other foreigners are uncommon, and it is not unknown for some to be attacked on sight based on ancient enmities, elves are mistrusted and widely suspected of practicing dark magic responsible for much that has gone wrong in the world and fare little better.
The Emirates are ruled by a Caliph, advised by a Council of Preceptors. The local rulers, Amirs, and lesser nobles swear fealty to the Caliph and receive their power from him. Each ruler keeps a large bureaucracy, supervised by viziers, who act as ministers. The central bureaucracy in a gigantic machine whose efficiency is surprisingly high.
Most follow the Eternal Truth, a faith created after The Godswar, based upon the traditions of the dervishes of the desert, which constantly push the worst habits of their ancestors, like banditry and raiding, and to work for the betterment of the nation above all else. The followers of the Eternal Truth are often intolerant towards nonbelievers.
The Ambassador of the Ancient Noble House of Kinn, based in the Emirate of Abbashan, has openly asked for foreign trade to be interrupted. Supporters of this Kinn faction are currently fighting efforts of the ruling Preceptors faction to continue business as usual and support the claim to the throne of the blood heirs of al-Kalim against the adopted heirs named by the Council. This could boil into open conflict as hidden agendas and the Caliph's struggle for control currently appear to need but a fan to light the fires of revolt from Alasiya to Abbashan, to Makistan to Nacostenia, to Dythestenia, to Kh-Ara and back again to ingulf all nations within the dominion of Parracia.
Comments