Principal Nations of Northern Gondwana

The Kiresh

Kiresh tend to be swarthy ranging from an light olive to a bronze complexion with eye color ranging from grey to dark brown. They tend to be of moderate height and build, although some taller Kiresh have reached over 6' in height. The Delta, like Muerrinstan is an affluent land. Just as Muerrinstan is the land of milk and honey, The Delta is the gebesh-tuhul-kamutkush, Black earth land of ripening grain. It is a land of commerce, industry and craftsmanship. What you do is what you are in the Delta. Temperance and moderation are a virtue to the Kiresh, but Fidelity is the watchword of the Kiresh soul. Loyality to family, faith in the gods, duty to one's city and respect for one's occupation or craft are vital to most Kiresh. The Kiresh are dominated by their artisan guilds. Reputation, contacts and patronage are critical in Kiresh society. The Kiresh tend to be a bit fatalistic about destiny and as the dervish like to say, civilization is the yoke on the Kiresh soul. Those Kiresh who cannot accept this charted destiny in a Land of Fate, form the rogue fringe of Kiresh society as adventurers, mercenaries, criminals and/or gamblers . The last ten years have brought chaos to Kiresh society and left a society built on order and industry spinning out of control. Everything is topsey-turvey in the Delta these days, for it is those who who seize destiny by the throat and make their own rules rather than bend the knee to the established traditions who dominate the Kiresh these days. Oppurtunties are now stolen rather than crafted. "The hyenas are loose" is how the typical stolid Kiresh citizen describes current events in The Delta.
Kiresh Overview

The Zharzhanjah (Dervish)

Dervishes tend to be wirey (muscular but not bulky) of build and slightly shorter than the average Kiresh male. They are swarthy of complexion but not exceptionally dark, and hve dark eyes and hair. Unlike the other two nations of men in Northern H'kartha, the dervish nomads live in a harsh environment where existence is a constant struggle. Zharzhanjah while stoic in the face of tragedy and hardship, are not fatalistic like their Kiresh cousins, for to yield to destiny is to expose your flesh to the bite of the grains of sand in a storm. Will the desert ultimately win, of course the Zharzhanjah will conceed "but let the desert take me with a dagger in my hand" they will say, it is not the Zhartzhanjah way to go quietly. They are also a rather eglitarian society. A free-spirited people who bridle under authority. Their leaders must earn their position and must keep it by deed. As the Illithid Marghash of the Pelai is reported to have said "The Muerrin make good wine, the Kiresh make good slaves, the zharzhanjah make good corpses." Brigandage and raiding is part of dervish culture. The caravans that cross their desert represent sources of loot through attack or extortion. Feuding and vendetta are another aspect of their culture, and one's personal, family, clan and tribal honor are critical. Even those percieved by other dervishes to be individuals or clans of no honor have a strict if perverse sense of honor. "A society built on blood and eggshells" is how one Kiresh explorer once described the dervishes. Hospitality and the rituals involved in guesting are another key to dervish life, genorosity in the midst of privation. There are twenty such tribes each with 5-12,000 members and each comprised of 5-8 clans. The tribes are named for the twenty winds that flavor the Northern Gondwana region: Njari, Zephyr, Talijaru, Khiskhanothe, Remaaru, Leukhaash, Ma'daara, Bhazakh, Muru, Ghozhan, Uijol, Yudalikhe, Neduari, Zatal, Qaazikh, Erambo, Baarderuk, Bhaida, Veda, and Popolik. Dervish clans can transcend tribe and form a network of kinship useful in negotiating an end to feuds. Still such ends to hostility typically are only truces before another round of feuding, " sands may cover for a time, but the memory of the desert is long" is a traditional proverb among the Zharzhanja.
Zharzhanja Overview:

The Ishandeshee

Sea-elves are moderate of height and build, wiith upswept ears andwebbing betgween fingers and toes. Golden to green-golden haired with blue or green eyes they are fair of complexion. The sea-elves are fisherfolk, kelp farmers and notorious pirates. "Philosopher pirates" is what Muerrin call them. Their homeland, the atolls of Sorenso are named for the Ishandir word for "most serene land". There is a serenity to Ishandeshee society that belies their piratical pursuits and their constant wars against the Sahuagin. It likely comes from their long lifespans. Ishandeshee in many ways are very individualistic, but they possess a very personalized sense of order, responsiblity and sorensottial , the road to perfect serenity or bliss. Even their wars against the Sahuagin are structured in terms of sorensottial aand are steeped in ritual and pattern. The point of these wars is for the capture of prisoners who are sacrificed, the Ishandeshee make sacrifices to the god Ares and feast on the blood and flesh of their Sahaugin enemies. Such barbarism often shocks visitors to Sorenso as it is in contrast to the delicate and refined demeanor normally shown by Sea-elves. As pirates against humans, the Ishandeshee show a chivalry, decorum and grace not found among their human counterparts. They ransom those whom they capture, entertaining and showing hospitality to their prisoners which is without par. Those whom are not ransomed are allowed to earn their freedom, although such prisoners are not slaves in the conventional sense of the word. Sea-elves despise slavery and attack slaver ships without mercy, killing the slavers and freeing the slaves. Until about 10 years ago, Ishandeeshee overlords ruled the Delta for 1000 years, and the art and architecture of the Delta shows their influence. While the natural unity with beauty, refinement and grace that marks the sea-elves has rubbed off only slightly on the Kiresh whom they use the nickname fidyushayenne (clay golems), they have at least inspired a more generous appreciation of graceful graftsmanship and artistry in Kiresh artisanry. Human legend states that sea-elves are the product of ancient union between Mermen and Eldarrin sidhe. Ishandeshee reject this. In response the Ishandeshee usually give a sly smile and remark how "creative byonedyruthe (round eyes) can be. Ishandeshee (Sea-elves) Possible Classes: Cleric, Fighter, Mage, Thief, Ranger, Fighter/Mage, Fighter/Thief, Fighter/Mage/Thief, Mage/Thief Free Languages: Gondwanapal (Kireshku), Ishandir
Ishandeshee Overview :

Kiresheena

By product of mixture of Kiresh and Ishandeshee. Uncommon, and typically sterile.

Vashaleyneshee

Sand-elves are very dusky in complexion ranging from bronze to ebony with hair color ranging from a sandy brown to a shocking white. They are taller and larger built than the Ishandeshee. The sand elves are known to their sea-elf cousins as the "Mad Children". Originally a race of sylvan elves, their forests were destroyed suddenly in a great cataclysm. The surviving elves were all children and adolescents, producing a "lord of the flies" situation that has left a legacy to this day. As elves go, the sand elves typically have lives brutish and short, most dying before their 150th year. They are fierce desert clans whose life is built on raiding and vendettas. They have also became adapted to the desert the way their forebears were adapted to the woodlands. There are more noble sand-elf clans who while fierce have some of the elvish character of old. Others are little better than brigands. The sand elf is a paradox. They can be violent, aggressive, ruthless and cruel, as well mirthful, gracious, generous, forgiving and kind. To make a sand-elf your friend is difficult, but once such a bond is made, it is not easily broken. Desert proverbs reveal the forgiving side of sand-elves. "Make a sand-elf your friend and he is a friend for life, make him your foe and he is like a sandstorm furious for a time and then calm." or "Sand-elves forgive, the desert does not." Sand-elves unlike their elvish cousins and human desert counterparts show little interest in the past. They are focused on the present and the future. They prefer to sing and tell tales of current events and dreams for the future rather than dwell on the glories and tragedies of the past. They are often employed as trackers to find folks lost in the desert. Human legend tells that the sylan elf ancestors of the sand elves were the products of unions between humans and dryads. The sand elf's merely smile crypticly when this tale is told in their presence, neither willing to confirm or deny the veracity of the tale. Unlike their dervish counterparts they are not given easily to offense and will take liberal interpretations over matters of honor. However they will become enraged by what they regard as blantant abuses of hospitality or lack of courtesy. Sand-elves like to raid, but such raids are typically to acquire sheep and goats or to rob caravans, rather than for the purpose of murder and mayhem. However if attacking out of revenge or retribution, the sand-elf has a reputation as being pitiless and savage. While tales of sand-elves torturing prisoners and mutilating enemies are oft told in the desert,it is typically humans who are at the root of the uglier clashes with the sand-elf clans.
Vashaleyneshee (Sand Elf) Overview:

Zharjevashe

By product of mixture of Zharzhanja and Vashaleyneshee. Uncommon, and typically sterile.

Darakhghar

The clans of the Darakhghar are reknowned for their fierce bezerker warriors. Based in the Mountains of Madness, they roam and raid the Jholith desert. The Mountains of Madness are so called because of the the fierce, irascible and unreasonable Dust Dwarves whose temperments are largely colored by their dependency ont he Janiz root, a narcotic chewed by the warriors of the Darakhghar clans. Dour, xenophobic and frequently greedy, the Darakghar have a poor reputation among other races, yet those who have learned how to approach these dwarves in the right ways, have found a side of them that is honorable, generous, loyal and hospitable. Dust dwarves love to revel and can be won over by gifts of alcohol, displays of dance,music, oration, drinking and wrestling contests and recitations of epic poetry. The desert proverb "To give mead to a Dust Dwarf" is very telling about their character. For it means to walk a fine line. For while a a gift of mead or date wine will endear a Dust Dwarf to the giver, a drunken Dust Dwarf is a volatile and dangerous creature. Darakhghar have been known to live as long as 650 years. Dust dwarves are fairly egalitarian without clearly defined hierachies, their chieftains hold a postion of first among equals and command respect by achievements rather than position or birth. They tend to fight barbarian style as a collection of individual warriors rather than as a cohesive unit. This has kept them from dominating the desert regions, as warriors, the dust dwarf has few peers. Human legend has it that Dust Dwarves are the byproduct of unions between human and a Dust devil, but anyone repeating such a tale in the presence of a Darakhghar is likely to be sucking on a mailed fist within seconds.
Darakhghar (Dust Dwarf) Overview:

Dorn

The mountain dwarf is an industrious, orderly and largely peaceful race of craftsmen, miners and merchants. They are as different as night and day from their cousins the Darakhghar and regard their cousins as uncouth barbarians and an offense to dwarvenkind. A very hierachical society, the Dorn values order,stability and obedience above all things. Divided into clans called hearths,the Dorn are united into a single KIngdom called Tavreikreig. The Dorn are neither expansionistic or aggressive. While fierce on defence, they show know interest in attacking their neighbors and will bit pursue a fleeing enemy considering that such pursuit to be dishonarble. Xenophobic, reserved, and rigidly in control of their emotions, the Dorn are as the desert proverb says "like the emotta nut,difficult to crack open", that is to say hard to get to know or develop a repore with. Surprisingly the Dorn get along reasoanbly well with the Zharzhanjah of the Oasis Emirates with whom they trade, even though the two nations are very different. Unlike their cousins, the Dorn spend much of their time below ground. Females tend to the fungi gardens and gather surface plants as well as forming the priestly class. Males are the warriors, hunters and merchants. The zharzhanjah nickname for Tavreikreig is the "ant-hill". Human legend claims that the Dorn are the byproduct of unions between humans and earth elemental spririts, but the Dorn take instant umbrage to such speculation.
Dorn (Mountain Dwarf) Overview:

Kyprosi or Kypros (Halfling)

A quirky race whose origins are unknown save that they came to Gondwana from the isles of Kashimai, the Kyprosi are entertainers,fortune tellers,tinkers, musicians and rogues who are organized into clans called "troupes" and who travel in circuits around the various Kyprosi encampents and villages of the Delta. They make this trek in colorfully decorated and intricately carved wagons. Kyprosi can be found in villages and encampments located outside the major cities of the Delta. These halflings have a strong and secretive code of conduct and ritual. They hold the laws and dictates of the "big ones" in contempt. Their philosphy of life with its concepts such as "expansive reality" and "organic redistribution" has branded their kind with a reputation as charlatans, rogues and thieves. Their secretive nature is a reaction to occassional persecutions through the years. They have a hierarchy, that is hard for outsiders to understand as the Kyprosi are very individualistic in general nature. Young headstrong Kyprosi are often sent out on "meanders" where they can learn about the world and its ways and thus better understand the strictures of Kyprosi society
Kyprosi Overview:

Uruk-khoz (Orc)

The orcs were the ancient inhabitants of the Western Delta until driven into the Fel Marshes or Khu'k'uk-k'ain-khore (Place of Our Sorrow) long ago by the Kiresh. Driven into the deep heart of the marshes t he orcs after their defeat by the Kiresh, fell under the domination of the Demon-lord Gruumish who to this day rules the Uruk-khoz with an Iron hand from the citadel Kiresh call Fel Gador and orcs call Gruumiskk Paaltar. Volatile, violent and often cruel, the Orc is animalistic in nature given to free expression of their id, and not given to long-term or strategic thinking. The orcs while hierarchical, are undisciplined because of their eagerness to seek immediate gratification. Thus while larger and stronger than humans, they have been repeatedly defeated by the more cohesive forces of their Kiresh neighbors. Some Kiresh regard as inherently evil, but in fact they are no more so than the wild boar whom they superficially res emble in their facial features. Human legend in fact states that the Orcs were originally a race of were-boars or beastmen created by evil wizardry. The orcs have no love for their demon overlord whom they hold in as poor regard as they do the Kiresh. They however fear him. orcs because of their size and strength are often employed in the Western Delta as mercenaries, enforcers, guards and bullyboys, but their irrational and violent natures make them problematical employees.
Orc Overview:

Uruk-khesh (Half-Orc)

Uncommon by product of unnatural Orc and Human mating, typically the rape of human females by orcs.
Half- Orc Overview:

Haz (Desert Lizarman)

The Haz are an ancient reptilian race. The Haz are great traders and explorers. They bring exotic items from the lands of the Atyri on the southern tip of the continent to the Coastal Kingdoms. They are said to have ranged deep into the Faraka Wastes and discovered miraculous treasures and ancient knowledge. They are a secretive people however and why willing to trade are distrustful of other species motives. A largely mercantile race, they are said to have powerful mage classes unique to their race. They have powerful shaman priests as well. There are evil Haz tribes that worship Sethu and are known as Jharghaz-Haz
Racial Traits: * +2 Strength, +2 Con , -3 Charisma -1 Int. * Large-size: * Base speed: 30 feet * Infravision: 60' * Possible Classes: Barbarian warrior, Shaman, Sand Mage, Worm Lord, Warrior/Thief (Scout), Shaman/Tribal Lore Master (Bard). * Free languages: Gondwanapal (Zharzhani) and Hazkhat. Must purchase Common, (Gondwanapal-Kireshku)

Akati (Aquatic Lizarman)

The Akati are an ancient reptilian race. They are sailors and are said to have powerful mage classes unique to their race. They have powerful shaman priests as well. They hate Kiresh with a passion.
Racial Traits: * +2 Strength, +2 Con , -3 Charisma -1 Int. * Large-size: * Base speed: 30 feet * Infravision: 60' * +2 vs. Kiresh * Possible Classes: Pirate (Fighter/Rogue), Sailor (Fighter), Shaman, Hydromancer, Marsh Mage, Shaman/Tribal Lore Master (Bard). * Free languages: Gondwanapal (Muerrin) and Akataitaiske. Must purchase Common, (Gondwanapal-Kireshku)

For the Kiresh there is no formal surname structure and different surnames will be utilized by a single character depending on context. Kiresh for example will use their guild or city preceeded by the word al- (of the place of, of the people of). At other times they use nicknames describing a physical feature (big nose, club foot, raven hair), accomplishment or other personal attribute. At other times they will use their profession.

Muerrin will most commonly give their father's name preceeded by ibn (-son of)or bint (-daughter of. Sometimes they will use titles, special honorifics granted by official decree(e.g., Jewel of Farour), or offices. Muerrin tend to add a status signifier when addressing others of superior rank by their given names (see below). Such signifiers include a prename signifier typically "Most Excellent" and a signifier following the given name involving an elaborate sycophantic compliment such as "whose light eclipses the sun". The higher the status difference the more elaborate the signifer, the more subtle the difference the more restrained. To over compliment one reduces the prestige and esteem of the complimenter.

Zharzhanjah typically use their clan or tribe or family line as a common surname preceeded by the conjunction al- which means (of the clan, of the tribe, of the line of). When the -al precedes a given name as part of the surname, it means of the line of [lineage ancestor], referring to either the main or cadet lineages of a given clan. When the -al is used before a given name rather than a surname such as "al-Ariq" it indicates illegitimacy. Sometimes a proud Zharzhanjah parent will adopt as a surname, a reference to one of their children who has accomplished great things preceeded by Abu - father of or Umm - mother of. Sometimes in soem contexts a zharzhanjah will simply use one of these possible surname's as a given name.

Elves infrequently use surnames and if they do they usually use the word methe(Ishandir form) or myiuthe (Vashale form) followed by the name of one's mother

Dwarves infrequently use surnames and if they do they invariably use the word ubbikkik followed by their clan name.

Kypros infrequently use surnames, and typically use the word ilya- followed by the name of their troupe as a surname.

Uruk-Khoz do not use surnames.