Races

Humans of Imarel and Ishaela - by T.A. Saunders ©2009 v1.7

Racial Articles Humans of the South (Tashrani)

The name People of the South is something of a misnomer; while a great deal of the territory these people occupy isn't necessarily ‘southerly' in direction, being that Tashran is located in the Mid- southeast of Tal`Rah, It is simply a moniker given to their kind by the Brookshire settlers that eventually formed the populations of Vale and Sundown.

The Tashrani are swarthy people, who tend towards dark hair and dark eyes, though rarely the light-eyed Tashrani can be found, hinting at possibly Northlander or Hillsman ancestry in their past. They are average in height for Humankind, lingering around the six foot mark for men and five feet, five inches for women. They are generally wiry, though the easiest way to tell a Tashrani who leads a good life is by the swell of their stomach.

Nearly any example of song, music or dance also comes from the peoples of the South, who have maintained the heritage given to them by the Elves so many eons ago on Ishaela. Great fire dances, plays and story-telling are all staples of these fine and tradition-centered people. Because so many of them are nomadic, their shared history is told through songs. The oldest of these songs have more than a few words that were derived from the Elvish tongue.

The Humans of the South have earned the nickname ‘gypsies' earnestly and there are many to this day that retain that heritage by only lingering in cities for a short while to trade, but preferring to remain on the deserts and open plains of eastern Tal`Rah. These gypsies in particular enjoy trade with the Shar`Vaire, who find them amusing. While they enjoy great fortune in traveling through some of the greater cities in the Sovereignty of Anthalas, they also risk great peril in their treks across the edges of the Burning Lands to make the best coin and to scavenge ancient Asyndi relics lost in the desert.

The long-standing tradition is that the gypsies will dance and sing for Shar`Vaire warriors and sorcerers they encounter and in turn, the Shar`Vaire will almost always give the gypsies a bit of sorcerous weaponry or trinket to trade amongst their kind. The Shar`Vaire are particularly fond of Tashrani foods and wine.

It is also somewhat common for a Shar`Vaire to pick the prettiest girl of the Tashrani camp to take as a ‘pet'. While this sounds degrading, the Human girl is treated incredibly well and given every manner of adoration for as long as her age keeps her attractive. This relationship is considered a blessing to most all Tashrani families and to interfere with such a relationship is considered a great insult.

When such girls grow too old to dance and pleasure the Shar`Vaire, they are always returned to their Tashrani families with a large sum of gold and possibly one or two Half-Shar`Vaire children (depending on the age of the children they may be old enough to opt to stay with the Shar`Vaire father, though most tend to return with the mother, to ensure her safety).

While this is considered a position of high honor amongst these traveling gypsies, it is frowned upon throughout the rest of the Windsong Republic, as it is thought of as slavery. Tashran, Bladefall and Kasyr are the exceptions of this as these cities are populated by many of the desert-roaming gypsies that have grown weary of the traveling life.