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Introduction The man stood with his back to the barren valley. Hot winds rolled across the rocky desert, whipping up dust and plastering his eyes with grit. Nevertheless, he still did not blink. His iron gaze swept across the masses of nomads below him. He was Ara Dharjrellik. They had come hereupon his urging. Thousands of the Chosen people gathered here to begin to take back the land that the Eldorians tried to take from them. The Chosen of Fahrom would not surrender the land and the gifts that had been given to them.
Below, a lone standard bearer pointed up the rise at the lone silhouette that Ara cast against the darkening sky. The masses below gradually fell silent, waiting. Ara nodded to his Angora, who mumbled a few words of a spell. Ara Dharjrellik's voice, amplified by the magic, boomed out across the valley. It rose as a sandstorm. At that signal, the House Dharjrellik crested the rise, and their voices joined his. The multitude below began to shout, as thousands of voices took up the call. It was a call of pride, of strength, of rage, and of justice. Had any foreigner been fool enough to witness this spectacle, it would have been a call of fear. It was the call of the Fahrom, the call of the wanderer, the voice of the desert. History 
For a long while after mankind shed the lizard skins of their forefathers, they wandered homeless across the continent. A small band of these lost their way in the deserts of Carboth. Dying of hunger and thirst, this wretched band called out to the higher powers to give them succor. Only one heard their cries and listened. Fahrom the wanderer reached down and touched a young woman in the band across the eyes. For a moment, she was blessed with divine sight and knowledge. She understood the skies, the rocks and the land. This young woman led the band of ragged travelers across the hard, rocky desert to a spring. The people were amazed. They fell upon their knees and gave thanks for this miracle. When the young woman told them what had happened, they promised their fealty to Fahrom. The young god showed himself, but consumed with the wanderlust, could not force himself to stay for very long. He promised what aid he could when he was able and promised to return to them. The people named themselves the Dharja'shan, "the Chosen People." They vowed that they would have no home but the desert in which they were saved. Thus began the Dharja'shan, the desert wanderers. Having few resources to draw upon, the small band of ragged travelers used what they could find at the spring. The traditions that they began there still carry true to the present. As they wandered the desert, the people began to first hunt, then raise the creatures that they found. The Dharja were fertile, and spread at a rapid pace. They claimed the desert for their own, but welcomed visitors, who provided them with goods to trade. In 1504 BC, the Great Plague spread to the Dharja'shan, contracted from a Soulmeliti travelers. The Dharja fell in great numbers. From this time forward, they looked upon foreigners with increasing distrust. It took almost 200 years for the individual tribes to regain the levels of population before the plague. In 1269 BC, a different plague fell upon the Dharja'shan. A great winged serpent appeared and began destroying tribe after tribe. Naming itself Strax, the beast demanded tribute from the desert peoples. The price upon the tribes was more than they could bear. Warriors arose in arms against the beast only to fail. One, however, did not simply attack. He watched the beast for many months, observing its fighting style, tactics and strengths. After careful preparation, he went forth to meet Strax in combat. In a tale told elsewhere, the warrior slew the beast. Being intrigued, he set out with a war band to find the creatures origins. They ranged far and wide, and eventually settled in the Rhuethengage mountains. There, the warrior, named Keldon the Great, founded the order of Drakshal monks, whose fighting style derives from that of the dragon he slew. They withdrew from Dharja'shan society, and cut themselves off to achieve true wisdom. The Dharja'shan continued to grow. Over time, the individual tribes began to form loose alliances, whether through warfare or trade. These organizations were the first Houses. Apart from that, the Dharja'shan society remained mostly unchanged, keeping with ancient traditions. It was around this time that the Dharja began physically adapting to their environment. They did not wander far from the desert, and were content with survival in the tradition of Fahrom. However, outside forces began to take interest in the Carbothian desert. While the Dharja kept close to their traditions, the rest of mankind was changing. The Eldorians began to expand their reach, constructing the city of Carboth on the edge of the desert. They began expanding their empire into lands that were sacred to the Dharja. The tribes grew resentful of this, and, in 179AC, several houses attacked the city to reclaim the lands as their own. Three years later, the Eldorians returned and attacked the Dharja'shan in the city and surrounding area. Over the next 60 years, this war declined into countless skirmishes and raids. The Eldorians continued slowly to expand their empire into Dharjan soil. So it came as no surprise that in 254, Ara Dharjrellik, leader of the most powerful of the houses, summoned the houses to meet at Remel Flats. The alliance forged there became known as the Emirates of Carboth. They drove the Eldorians from the desert. The Eldorians gave them the right to home rule and the twelve houses formed a military alliance with the Eldorians. This lasted but 40 years, when Sidir Dharjrellik, successor to Ara, convinced the houses that the Emirates were strong enough to stand on their own. From there, the Dharja'shan entered another period of isolation that lasted through the window of fire, until 481 AC. Fahrom has not shown himself in many years, and the number of Wella priestesses had been declining. Curios as to his whereabouts, the Emirs have sent out some of the best equipped of the Dharja'shan, who now wander Tarien in search of signs of their patron. Geography
The deserts of Carboth are not the typical deserts. Sand exists, but not in great quantities. Instead, it is a rocky, dry land. Water is scarce, and watering holes dry up with little indication of when they will do so. The holes always exist, but due to climate changes, water levels are constantly shifting.
The deserts have two seasons. The first is the dry season. This lasts for most of the year, usually between nine and 10 months. The only precipitation is occasionally found in the form of dew in the early pre-dawn and early evenings. For two months however, there is a wet season, where the dew occurs daily and actual rain falls in the higher locations. These two months bring about rapid growth. The most important, to the Dharja'shan, is the growth of the Khalni bush. This small shrubbery grows along the mountains that surround the desert and occasionally in isolated areas of the badlands. The Khalni bush grows to maturity in one month. Its leaves, when smoked are a powerful stimulant. The bush also produces berries in the second month of the rainy season. These berries split open at the end of the wet season to release small microscopic seeds that float in the winds to another location, often far off. The berries can be harvested before they burst and used to brew the strong coffee that is the trademark of the Dharja culture. Thus, the Khalni bush is a sacred plant. It provides them with luxuries, but never grows in the same place two years in a row. Finding the Khalni patches is often accomplished with the help of the Wella priestesses, as they are almost impossible to locate without aid. The Deserts of Carboth have no major cities. All the tribes are nomadic. Society
The Dharja'shan are a nomadic people. They have no permanent homes other than their tents. This creates a strong family bond. Their society is also a closely bonded thing.
The basic social unit is the family. A family consists of a man, wife, concubines, children and in some cases, servants. The man controls the family, and represents them in all things. His title is Rana. The wife is the head of the household, and runs the domestic areas. She also has the right to approve or disapprove of new concubines the man chooses. All other members of the family report to these two. It is very rare that a single family can exist in the desert alone. Therefore, several families band together to form a tribe. Each tribe is run by the head of a single family. The position is hereditary, and usually goes to the son of choice, not of birth. The tribes often consist of 4-6 families and number between 40 and 100 people. The head of each tribe receives the title of Pashiir. Each tribe is also part of a house, led by a hereditary tribe. Houses consist of 12-18 tribes. The leader of each house is the Emir. The leaders of each tribe meet every three years to hold council, but representatives go each year to the Grand Emir, or first house, to report yearly status. Although they pay not taxes or any tribute, the Emirs are seen as the heads of Dharja'shan society. In addition to the titular members of each unit, each house and tribe possesses two, possibly three important figures. The loremaster is in charge of the oral traditions and of passing the knowledge onto the children. He is often a priest of Fahrom. There is also a weapon master, who must defend his title yearly. He may spend as many as two months per year in other tribes, learning the fine arts of combat. He is also in charge of teaching the arts to the youth. Approximately 70% of the tribes have a Wella Priestess. She is a sign of favor from Fahrom. Religion The Dharja'shan are a people based upon a God. They look to him for life, but are not particularly vocal about it. Fahrom however, act like more of an absent father, and although he supports his clerics with powers, pays less attention to them than their faithfulness would seem to indicate. The Dharja'shan themselves have simple worship services, once per week. Fahrom is given prayers in the form of morning coffee, which is a daily symbolic offering to him The smoking of the Khali leaves after dinner is also a sacred rite. The Dharja'shan have one special racial benefit that no other followers of Fahrom gain, the Wella priestess. Named after the woman from the original tribe of humans, Wella priestesses are not service oriented clerics. They worship entirely by themselves and rarely speak of their faith. They perform three main functions. First, they are fearless warriors. They lead the attack against non-Dharja enemies of a specific tribe. Second, they have the ability to find water in the dry desert. Finally, they can find the Khali bushes which are vital to the economy of the Dharja'shan. However, there are very few priestesses, and less than 70% of the tribes have them. They sight is a sign of favor from Fahrom. The Wella are hereditary, and cannot be learned. At age ten the Dharja'shan children become official members of the tribe. If the girl, when introduced, manifests a blue tear-shaped tattoo glowing from within, it is the sign of a Wella priestess. The girl is taken and given special training in the ways of Fahrom. Politics The Dharja'shan are not a particularly political people. This comes in part from their attitude that the race is more important than the individual. However, raiding and warfare between tribes or rarely houses are often common. There is however, a hierarchy among the Dharja. The dara of each family is the least official position. They report to the Pashiir, or head of the tribe. The Pashiir are subservient to the Emirs of each house. The Emirs rank equally among themselves. The Houses themselves have a ranking that is in existence for purposes of honor. There is no taxation because each family must support themselves. There is also no bureaucracy, but families at the heads of the leading houses often take people from other houses as an honor guard, which is seen as an honor to their own families. Economics The Dharja'shan make their living, other than as raiders, as herders. Each tribe has two main types of animal, horses or camels, and sheep or goats. Poorer tribes only posses one, usually sheep or goats. The riding animals are of fine quality, and are traded, but scarcely. The herd animals are freely traded. The other main staples of trade include the products of the Khali bush, both beans and leaves. Each tribe harvests enough of each for both themselves and for moderate trade. Each tribe makes a yearly trip, led by the Wella priestesses to make the harvest. These trips are closely guarded secrets of the tribe. The Dharja'shan do most of their trading to the city of Carboth. Each tribe makes their own trip, and occasionally make this trip together. Cities The Dharja'shan have no cities. Tribes are nomadic groups that travel in a single area of the desert. Most of the tribes in the same house stay in the same area. This does not mean that this precludes within-house raiding. Each Tribe is a collection of tents, carts, and animals. This small city moves whenever the food supply for the herd animals dries up. International Relations
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If it had been any normal day, these men would have been home tending their herds... But when outside forces threatened their traditions, death take any who would stand in their way.