Ashamsi

Ashamsi is the northernmost country on the southern continent, known by many as The Desert Continent. It is bordered on the north by the Boreasolan sea, and to the south by increasingly barren desert. It is known to the Empire via its trade, primarily in cloth and spices, but is also known as a source of academic texts containing new insights, and uniquely crafted swords. Most civilisation forms around the scarce sources of water: rivers in the north, with the largest and most populated being the Nahr, and oases further south, whose inhabitants are largely nomadic. The Ashamsi people are iligen, well-adapted to the bright sun of the desert.

OC inspiration

Real-world inspiration/reference for Ashamsi would be Islamic Golden-age Egypt. For the Ashambic language, Egyptian Arabic.

Insider Knowledge

The below information is generally only known to those with familiarity beyond the typical Hochlant resident. Those who have lived in the area, visited it frequently, or have relevant scholarly knowledge of the area, or one of the particular topics covered. If you are not creating a character with this knowledge, you may find it more immersive to not read further and learn from other characters in-game.

Language and Etymology

The language of Ashamsi is Ashambic.

While outsiders often refer to the continent as The Desert Continent, it is known in Ashamsi as Balad Annoor (often translated as ‘the Sunlit Realm’). There are no official land borders, as Ashamsi is actually the name of the people, taken to refer to the land by foreigners.

Economy and Agriculture

The rivers are the backbone of Ashamsi civilisation, being the main source of water in a land with scarcely any rain. The annual flooding of the rivers has long been timed by the positions of the stars, with a strong astronomical tradition in Ashamsi because of this. The floods recede to leave a floodplain of rich black soil - perfect for farming grain crops and flax. Large, sweet fruits which hydrate as well as nourish are also popular crops, including grapes. Some trees are adapted to the drier soil higher on the floodplain, such as date palms and carob bean trees. Ashamsi is one of the larger producers of coffee too.

The northern ports on the Nahr delta act as the main trade link between the northern and southern continents. The Empire having a seemingly insatiable demand for spices imported from further south. The true source of these spices is kept a secret among those that brave the desert by caravan, with outlandish and contradictory stories of their origins. Other exports to the Empire include cloth made from the local flax or imported from further south, as well as gold, iron and precious minerals from the mines out in the desert, salt either mined or evaporated from seawater on the sun-baked coast, the local hardy breeds of horses, and academic texts from their centres of philosophy.

Within Ashamsi itself is extensive trade between the agricultural river land and the open desert. Trade up and down the rivers is easy by boat, but to cross the desert is a greater undertaking. Travelling by caravan, with wagons pulled by the supremely desert-adapted camels, is the only reliable way to transport goods between the populated rivers, the mines out in the desert, and the mysterious sources of spice in the south. The journey is punctuated by oases, which themselves sustain small populations who make a living from the water source’s importance to these trade caravans.

Religion and Academia

Religion in Ashamsi is unusual in their worship of a single deity: Elmuhakam (The Judge). This strict deity encourages life to flourish despite the harsh climate of Ashamsi by emphasising the importance of education and rules. Theologians suggest they came about as an amalgam of Ceressus and Parenfalx, both of whom had previously been worshipped in the area.

Elmuhakam is a patron of the arts and philosophy, whose servants taught mortalkind logic and magic. They are personified as a stern but fatherly figure, but not depicted in a mortal-like body, instead being symbolised by light where necessary. Nurturing but stern, followers of Elmuhakam must understand the importance of self-discipline and improvement through learning. While education necessarily contains many practically-focussed elements, the pursuit of knowledge for its own sake and potential unforseen use is important too. As a god associated with law, they have divinely-mandated laws as well as holding to the importance for mortals to keep to their own laws.

The majority of mosques are shared buildings with schools or universities, some starting out as one and having space for the other added later. A gesture of particular prestige, from those with money who wish to make a show of wealth and generosity, would be to found a school. Even the humblest educational institution will have time set aside for prayers, which most worship consists of. Both ouvert prayer and quiet meditation have their place in worship.

The universities of Ashamsi lead the world in astronomy in particular. The utility of the stars as a way of timing agriculture and navigating the dunes of the desert gave an early incentive to understand them, and the cosmological history recorded among the oldest universities in Ashamsi is second to none. They have good schools of medical and anatomical knowledge, improved further in recent years by exchanging knowledge with Phylennos. Philosophy and Mathematics are also important educational foundations, underpinning the other subjects while forming schools of thought all of their own.

Clothing, Weapons and Armour

Clothing in Ashamsi is primarily concerned with protecting against the baking sun. Despite the iligen’s photosynthetic skin, covering up is still the best way to stay cool. Basking with skin exposed to the sun is done for rest and recuperation, or relaxation when water is plentiful, sunbathing being a popular activity during the inundation season. Thin cloth of linen, silk or cotton is used for long, loose tunics or robes often worn over baggy trousers. Additional layers are often rectangles of cloth worn as scarves, cloaks or shawls, to protect the head from the sun, for extra warmth, or as a carrying aid if made of a sturdy fabric. Bright dyes and intricate patterns are popular, though more plain clothing is usually worn during physical or messy work.

Armour is similarly light when used. Layered silks protect against arrows, with added pieces of leather or metal providing additional protection. Armour that is elaborately decorated denotes status, with brightly dyed silks and embroidery, dyed and embossed leather, and metal filigree or even embedded semi-precious stones for rulers.

Military tactics in Ashamsi rely on their cavalry. With excellent horse stock, their cavalry is highly mobile. From a distance, archers are able to rain down arrows, while still being able to move to avoid retaliatory infantry. When they do engage in close-quarters, it is usually a surprise attack on the rear of the enemy, cutting down troops with their curved swords. The curved scimitar swords are a status symbol, with those of less militarily-linked status having the more elaborately sculpted designs, while those who intend to use the sword in battle favour a more practical, but intricately decorated, weapon. Those which, in war, cannot afford a warhorse will still use the bow and scimitar, or paired scimitar. The paired scimitar is a subtly different design again, most often seen in performance swordplay, including dancing, or even juggling. But those who do wield the dual scimitar in battle have a reputation for both grace and violence, using a tool designed for an artful slicing action, and choosing to engage in close combat, forgoing either horse or bow.

Plants, Beasts and Monsters

Most of the plant life in Ashamsi grows around the rivers. The most fertile land near settlements is taken up mostly by agriculture, including unique plants wild to the region which are still useful for food, such as the towering date palms. Where there is less water, hardy trees grow such as the spiky acacia, whose thorns are hollow and play home to stinging ants. Other plants which live with so little water are shrivelled and spiky shrubs and grasses, or tiny stone-like succulents, all built to lose as little water as possible. There are some plants, however, that can withstand the drought only as seeds. It is these that cause the desert to bloom into brilliant colour after a heavy rainfall.

Camels are the most significant domestic animal in Ashamsi. Even more adapted to desert conditions than the native iligen, or even the local elves, camels are able to easily go days without water, and replenish their stores rapidly. They are uniquely placed to pull caravans along the desert trade routes. Apart from this, they are important for products such as milk, meat, hides, and dung for fuel. They have a reputation among foreigners for utter bastardry - being loud, grumpy, and tormenting passing people whenever possible. Many attest that they cannot be mundane beasts and are instead a variety of unwisely-domesticated aberration. The locals however know better - they are loud and boisterous, but intelligent enough to be kind and patient when treated with respect, and enjoy teasing ignorant foreigners, particularly the small and easily startled humans.

Ashamsi is inhabited by a startling variety of creatures from the perspective of those from the Empire. Many large birds of dazzling colours or unusual shape flock to the various sources of food they consume, including the soaring carrion-eating vultures, and large heron-like bright pink flamingos. Tiny rodents feed on hardy grains, and venomous serpents feed on the rodents. Lizards eat the flies and beetles which all come in jewel-like colours. Gazelle with twisted horns graze on the hardy grasses of the plains, and are food for the monstrous lions - cats larger than a mortal with great manes of dark fur, and laughing hyenas - the striped bastard offspring of hounds and cats.

It also hosts monsters that are not found on the northern continent. Great, crawling lizards called crocodiles lurk beneath the water of the Nahr, waiting in ambush for gazelle or unwary mortals. Their jaws are elongated and lined with sharp teeth for rending their victims asunder as they pull them under. Fearing not even these creatures, hippos are great rotund beasts that spend much of their time concealed in water. They are much stockier than a horse, but can charge with the speed of one. Their gaping maws house great broad fangs which are capable of killing even a crocodile. They do not eat meat routinely, but are easily angered to attack, often sinking fishing boats.

The Sha is another such unique monster, but lives away from the river, in the red lands of the desert. They resemble a jackal (a desert dog), but with dark red to black fur, longer ears, an upright forked tail. They delight in causing chaos, being a nuisance and creating problems for seemingly no gain but their own amusement. They are both solitary and territorial. Another notable monster that is native to Ashamsi, but not unique to the continent, is the dragon. Lizardlike, they have membranous wings instead of forelegs, walking low to the ground. They are lazy and unintelligent, spending much of their time basking in the sun or scaring intruders away with their poisonous breath. Normally only active in the summer months, in Ashamsi they are active year-round due to the abundance of sunlight.

Other Entities

Elephants are a strange beast, enormous and grey, with huge ears, a long nose, and great curved tusks. But what is most strange about them is their intelligence and culture resemble that of mortals, famously proven long ago by a user of Mind magic, yet they are not capable of Gnosis like mortals, or even Fey, are. They are viewed as powerful as monsters, but the wisest of beats, something ancient and sacred to be given a respectful distance.

Djinn is name that refers to entities dwelling in the parallel world (the Aether). Most of them would be considered Fey by Imperials. These Djinn are considered akin to mortals, but just outside truly being mortals because of their close bond to magic. They can be reasoned and bargained with, and are sometimes helpful or generous, but just as often their whimsical actions can become cruel and vicious. Others are truly malevolent entities, seeking to subvert the wills of mortalkind in their battle against Elmuhakam. They may promise power and other such boons, but they only seek to harm and enslave. These are Demons.

The Ashami were the first to identify demonic undead: Ghouls. These are corpses animated by being possessed by demons. They also have a unique kind of elemental undead: sand mummies. These are the corpses of those that died in the desert, desiccated by the harsh climate and animated by the energies of Storm, they emerge from the desert during sandstorms to deliver their rage against mortals.

Sun elementals are far more common in Ashamsi than elsewhere, where they almost never appear naturally. Usually found wandering the desert, those which act with any kind of benevolence are understood to be messengers of Elmuhakam.