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Gharu'ndim Introduction
Desert-dwellers who favor knowledge and trade over war and bloodshed, the GHARU'NDIM are an eminently honorable, formal culture, but they also have a reputation for being somewhat distant and proud. Preferring to talk before fighting whenever possible, they speak with great politeness and formality, peppering their speech with honorifics and references to their national hero, the poet Yasif ibn Salayyar.
HISTORY
The Gharu'ndim came as warriors.
Driving north out of the trackless Naqut desert, they laid waste to the ancient empire of Roulea, overwhelming half its lands under their Malik, the fearsome Rakhil al-Khur, and the warrior-poet Yasif ibn Salayyar. When the raiders laid siege to Tirethas, the City of Lore, however, Rakhil made the mistake of threatening to burn the books within her walls. Yasif struck down his king in rage, and the conquest came to a sudden end. The nation of Gharu'n was born.
Rather than succeeding the dead Malik, Yasif became adviser to Rakhil's son, Amul. Amul was a gentler man than his father, and with Yasif at his side he shaped a realm where learning was more prized than war. Trade flourished, and Yasif became revered for the wisdom of his writings. When the poet was captured and blinded by the king of Milantos, a hostile country to the east of Gharu'n, Amul avenged Yasif by forming the Zharalim, a secret order of assassins. The body of the Milantan king was never found. In his final years, Yasif dwelt within the Malik's fabled Palace of One Hundred Gardens, the al-Nafalt. There he composed his greatest work, the Alamakhaida. When Yasif died, the people of Gharu'n mourned his death for a full year.
Amul died heirless soon after, poisoned at his own birthday celebration, and Gharu'n fell into chaos. No fewer than twenty-five Maliks ruled over the next hundred years. The al-Nafalt was razed, and dark times fell over the land. From across the sea, the conquest-hungry kingdom of Viamont sent armies to invade. They set up a petty lord, Zahir ibn Ma'mun, as a puppet while they ruled Gharu'n from afar. One by one, Zahir murdered his rivals – all save a young lord, Jawhar al-Shamshir.
Seeing what had become of his homeland, Jawhar traveled the desert in secret, banding together the people. In the end, Jawhar defeated the puppet king and drove the Viamonters from the shores of Gharu'n. He became the new Malik, returning his kingdom to the glory it had known in Yasif's time.
Now, led by their queen, the Malika Qadira bint Balj, the Gharu'ndim are a proud and prosperous people. There is always the threat of war, from both Viamont and Milantos, but the desert kingdom is once again a place where the sharpness of a man's mind is far more valuable than that of his sword.
When they first came to Dereth Island, the Gharu'ndim found it already occupied by the Aluvians, another people from their world. There was little conflict, however, for the Gharu'ndim were glad to live in the island's badlands and deserts. They have maintained peaceful relations with the Aluvians, as well as island's newest occupants, the Sho. As they try to find their place in this strange new land, the Gharu'ndim look to the proverbs of Yasif ibn Salayyar for guidance.
THE GHAYARAQA YADINA (THE DOZEN ROADS)
The Alamakhaida, Yasif ibn Salayyar's greatest poem which codifies the Gharu'ndim system of honor, is over a thousand lines long. Philosophers have boiled it down to twelve fundamental precepts, called the Ghayaraqa Yadina, or Dozen Roads. These Roads, which all Gharu'ndim strive to follow, are:
Love those who do you good.
Welcome those you do not know.
Honor the land, sky and sea.
Take pleasure in that which is pure.
Avoid that which is corrupt and sinful.
Harm no innocent, for those who do so harm themselves.
Place your lord's life above even your own, so long as he remains just.
Let your vengeance be swift, and take no pleasure from it.
Speak with respect, to friend and foe alike.
Use your mind before your sword.
Let your death have meaning.
Seek friendship before wealth, for friendship lasts longer.
