Ādhā-Sha
Ādhā-Sha does not refer to a nation or a specific land. Instead, it is the name for the peoples, the descendants of ancient Taḫūmu refugees. These scions wandered to the southern lands, led by the last court sorcerer of Taḫūmu. He established Ādhā, now revered as the Oasis of Peace. From this haven, he sent forth his descendants – his sha – charging them to forge new destinies far from their ravaged homeland. Centuries after the legendary sorcerer's passing, the Ādhā-Sha are divided into four distinct ethnic groups, comprising various nomadic tribes that do not always coexist peacefully. To maintain order among the children of the refuge, the Order of Judges serves as neutral arbiters, teaching the traditional ways of Taḫūmu.
Governance
A moving nation
The Ādhā-Sha operate as a loose confederacy of nomadic scion bands. The fundamental social unit is the Bayitt or bed, a mobile community comprising several families who live, travel, and work together. These beds are led by the eldest male scion, known as the Qayim or chief.
The leaders of the Ādhā-Sha are families of the noble caste. They control larger territories encompassing several commoner beds, all of which pay tribute to the noble family for protection and the right to wander within their territory. Each noble family has its own bed. Larger affiliations, known as clans, bind the ruling noble families.
The clan members trace their lineage back to specific regions of the former Taḫūmu empire. These clans encompass multiple families across various castes, bound by shared ancestry and distinct dialects of the Scion language. Due to the vastness of the original empire, some dialects can be mutually unintelligible. A High Scion dialect exists, primarily spoken by nobles for inter-tribal communication and diplomacy with outsiders. Noble families are led by an Al'Qayim or chieftain, a position inherited or elected from within the noble family's members.
Caste System
The society of the Ādhā-Sha is rigidly stratified:Ranabi (Noble caste)
The ruling elite. They control territory and resources and are the primary enforcers of the law. Only warrior-nobles are permitted to wield weapons made of metal. They are also the primary owners of slaves.
Sa'qāti (Judge caste)
Respected interpreters of law and tradition, operating with neutrality. While not wielding direct political power over nobles (unless presiding over a case involving one), they hold significant social and religious influence.
Mazmati (Commoner caste)
The bulk of the population engaged in herding, agriculture (where possible), and crafting. They are allowed ranged weapons (bows, slings) and natural defenses (claws, stingers), but metal melee weapons are forbidden. Crude stone or obsidian melee weapons are permissible for self-defense.
Aleudi (Slave caste)
Primarily arachs paying an "ancestral debt," but can also include Scions captured from rival clans or those in indentured servitude. Slaves have no rights, including property ownership. While nobles are the main slave owners, commoners can own slaves, which was rare due to the cost.
The stratification extends to rights and privileges. Only the Ranabi, members of the nobility, are permitted to forge and wield melee weapons. As such, many nobles pursue the art of smithing and it is seen as a reputable profession. Commoners may use ranged weapons like bows or slings but must rely on their natural claws and stingers, and weapons made simply from wood or stone for close encounters. Education is also stratified; nobles typically receive instruction in reading and writing, often from educated slaves, while formal education for ordinary folk is virtually non-existent. While the clans value teaching the tools of survival, like hunting, riding, or combat, teaching formal education is seen as a low-status profession outside of the Sa’qati caste.
Despite these divisions, child-rearing is a communal effort within the bed, fostering collective responsibility for the young. A unique symbol of noble status is the Haqrab, an immense, scorpion-esque creature serving as both a mobile haven for hatchlings and as a mount. These creatures are descendants of Taḫūmu's war beasts, intelligent enough to be trained to follow orders and remember their handlers, making them excellent protectors of the young. Only nobles can own these walking nurseries; taming one is a significant rite for a young noble aspiring to establish a new bed.
A place of Tranquility
Ādhā, the Oasis of Peace, serves as the spiritual and diplomatic heart of the Ādhā-Sha. Governed by ancient laws dating back to the founding sorcerer, it is a consecrated neutral ground – part temple, part bazaar. Within its bounds, violence is forbidden, and visitors must relinquish all manufactured weapons upon entry. This neutrality allows potentially hostile beds and foreign traders to interact, trade, and conduct diplomacy without fear of conflict. The Oasis is defended by its dedicated militia, the Bailiffs, the only individuals permitted to bear arms within its sacred precincts. While nobles and judges have access to advanced magical healing, commoners and slaves must rely on traditional healing methods due to the vast distances separating most beds from this central sanctuary. The Oasis also shelters individuals of other species seeking refuge; these residents, known as Clerks, often adopt a lifestyle mirroring the Judges' discipline and piety without being part of the official Order.
Maintaining order and upholding the traditions of Taḫūmu across the disparate tribes falls to the Order of Za'qāti, the Order of Judges. These individuals function as neutral arbiters, interpreting the ancient laws and acting as intermediaries with the ancestor spirits that guide Scion society. Their influence is primarily judicial and spiritual rather than directly political; while highly respected, they do not hold authority over nobles except when presiding over a legal case involving one. A noble child who disgraces their family might be sent into judgehood as a path to redemption.
The Order has a defined structure:- Simu (Jurors): The lowest rank, responsible for the upkeep of temples like the Oasis of Peace and performing necessary labor for the legal system that doesn't involve sentencing.
- Surabi (Bailiff): The dedicated militia of the Oasis. They are specially trained in martial combat, with a focus on non-lethal methods. The Bailiffs are also the only individuals permitted to bear arms within the Oasis.
- Dyanu (Judges): The law interpreters responsible for settling disputes and determining appropriate judgments based on precedent and spiritual consultation.
- Tābi (Executioners): The highest echelon, attainable only after long service demonstrating unwavering impartiality. They alone hold the authority to pronounce and carry out sentences of death.
Judges undergo rigorous and extensive education, utilizing ancient texts salvaged from Taḫūmu. They are expected to become proficient in High Scion and the major ethnic dialects to communicate effectively across the confederacy. To ensure neutrality within the Order, every noble family must send their third child (with some flexibility regarding inheritance) to join the ranks of the judges. Many initiates are raised within the Oasis of Peace, often without knowledge of their birth clan, fostering loyalty solely to the Order and its principles.
Ethnic Diversity and Inter-Group Relations
The shared lineage of the Ādhā-Sha branches into four distinct major ethnicities, each shaped by their primary environment and the lifestyle it necessitates. These ethnic distinctions are reinforced by dialectal variations of the Scion language. While Judges and nobles utilize High Scion for broader communication, the cultures of the individual groups have diverged over centuries.
Relations between different ethnicities and beds can be tense, often marked by rivalry over resources and territory, necessitating the mediating roles of the Judges and the Oasis. Views towards outsiders, like the Kamarans, range from seeing them as invaders to valuable trade partners, varying greatly depending on the specific bed's experiences and values. A significant societal issue is the ingrained prejudice against the Arachs, institutionalized through the concept of ancestral debt and slavery, fostering mutual resentment.
The Judges themselves represent the culture closest to that of old Taḫūmu, having consciously preserved its traditions. Scions that enter the Order of Judges strip off their former lifes and cut all ties to their families to ensure true neutrality. As such, the Ādhā-Sha consider the judges to not be part of any ethnicity.
The Echoing Way
The prominent religion of the Ādhā-Sha is the Echoing Way, and its followers are called Wanderers. The spirituality of this religion diverges significantly from the broader pantheons worshipped elsewhere, centering instead on ancestor veneration. Zaqātu's death dispersed his divine essence across the Sea of Sand. This lingering presence has a profound effect: it tethers the souls of deceased scions to Alvandis, preventing them from moving on and allowing them to persist as ancestor spirits. The dead god's residual fragmented power enables communication with these spirits.
Scions pray directly to their ancestors for guidance, protection, and boons relevant to the ancestor's life experiences – seeking a warrior's strength in battle or a farmer's wisdom for crops. The Judges act as crucial intermediaries, consulting these spirits for their wisdom and opinions, or to inform legal rulings and interpret tradition. Ancestor spirits can also be bound to physical objects like totems, allowing their influence and the practice of clerical powers even outside the spiritually charged Sea of Sand.
Proper burial rites are paramount in their culture. Correctly performing these rites is believed to protect the deceased's spirit from being claimed and corrupted by Arachnida, the entity regarded as the ultimate evil. Arachnida, herself a scion corrupted into a harbinger of destruction, embodies selfish evil, and her image is deeply reviled. Wanderers on the Echoing Way believe that spirits twisted by her become the creatures known as Shadewoven, which are viewed as demonic entities. Highlighting the significance of physical remains is burying specific body parts or chitin fragments of particularly virtuous individuals in designated locations to bless the area or crafting protective talismans from their remains.
Intriguingly, generations of sustained ancestor worship and evolving tradition appear to stabilize Zaqātu's shattered essence slowly, and stories describing the phenomenon of the Spirit Nights, where visible, glowing ancestor spirits wander the desert sands, spread throughout the Ādhā-Sha. Furthermore, many Judges talk about the feeling of trying to remember something that is always slightly out of reach. Some wanderers on the Echoing Way believe that if enough spirits find enlightenment in death, that a new god, the “Dead god who yet lives”, will rise.
Economy
The Ādhā-Sha economy is primarily shaped by their nomadic pastoralism and a strong emphasis on trade. Although the harsh environment limits overall abundance, they have developed specialized knowledge for exploiting niche resources. Their livelihood relies heavily on livestock, including hardy domestic animals, specialized insects like cochineals, and unique magical beasts that might produce resources, such as cacti, directly from their bodies. Different beds often focus on the husbandry of specific creatures. Cattle serve as a primary measure of wealth, with ownership concentrated among the nobility, while commoners typically tend to the cattle of their noble leaders. Key products include meat, milk, eggs, hides, and processed chitin, which can be formed into a durable, leather-like material called "chitinweave."
The favored beast of burden of the Ādhā-sha is the Raq'tama, commonly known as the Dewback. These giant beetles are native to the Sea of Sand and were already domesticated during the Taḫūmu in the Age of Order. Dewbacks can collect water on their chitin from the cooler morning winds, making them excellent sources of fresh water in the arid desert conditions of the Parched Expanse.
Trade is actively pursued both internally between different beds and externally with other nations. The bazaar at the Oasis of Peace serves as the central hub for this activity. Significant trade relationships exist with the Kamaran colonies, where they exchange livestock for agricultural goods, although diplomatic relations can vary between different beds. Additionally, the Ādhā-sha act as expert guides for traversing the treacherous deserts, particularly assisting snail merchants, providing another vital income source.
Decentralized Defense and Ritual Combat
The Ādhā-Sha lack a unified, standing army. Instead, combat readiness is widespread among the populace, with organized military strength existing primarily in the form of militias loyal to individual noble chieftains. Leadership of these forces often falls to a designated noble, such as the chieftain's second son. A code of honor, believed to be a simplified remnant of Zaqātu's original teachings, emphasizes minimizing bloodshed in conflicts between scions. This can lead to the practice of formal duels between nobles or chosen champions to resolve disputes that might otherwise erupt into costly inter-bed warfare, embodying a principle of leaders settling matters personally rather than sacrificing their followers. The nature of military organization varies ethnically: Desert soldiers often double as hunters and are less formally structured; River and Coastal forces tend to be more organized due to frequent conflicts over resources or defense against external threats; Mountain Scions, initially reliant on terrain for defense, have been forced to develop a more dedicated military in response to Ember Empire incursions.
Gender, Family, and Cultural Expressions
Ādhā-Sha society exhibits patriarchal tendencies, with males predominantly occupying leadership and warrior roles. This is influenced by physical dimorphism: females are typically larger and more robust, traits advantageous for the demanding tasks of shepherding, construction, processing resources, and enduring the harsh climate, while males are slighter and more agile, suiting traditional roles as pathfinders and warriors. While gender roles are distinct ("masculine" and "feminine"), neither is inherently viewed as lesser, reflecting a complementarity necessary for survival. Both genders are eligible to become Judges, who are expected to operate with neutrality, transcending traditional roles.
Inheritance laws reflect this structure. The eldest child inherits noble property, but leadership passes through the male line – either to the eldest son or, if the heir is female, to her chosen husband. This gives noble daughters significant indirect influence through their marital choices and ensures lineage continuation even if an eldest son enters the Judge Order. Leaders often practice polygamy, and noble families face social pressure to produce at least three children to fulfill their obligation to the Judges.
The Enduring Lineage Type
Geopolitical, confederacy Population/Inhabitants
90% scions, 8% arachs, 2% Other Demonym
Ādhān Government System
Tribal Confederacy Official State Religion
The Echoing Way Dates Active
1 AC - today Important Locations
Oasis of Peace, the Parched Expanse Notable Members
Tābi'sayyaf Aman, Al'Qayim Borzûk
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