Calimshan
Lying along a planar fault line is Calimshan, an ancient magical region that traces its origins as far as nine millennia to a time when two evolved genie Sultans- Calim and Memnon, who brought their war to our world. Their conflict transformed south-west Faerun into a battlefield and introduced humanity to the realms; however, in time a great kingdom would rise from the ashes while other kingdoms in the Realms were in their infancy.
The elves were custodians of this land countless years ago but were driven out by the genies in ancient times. Those few that remain prefer not to be noticed in human lands. Calishites, distrust the elves because of their secretive nature, but also envy their facility with magic.
The only exception to this are the high elves, the Eladrin, which for some unknown reason Calishites considers Eladrin equals.
Native Calishite Halflings owe their origins to the genies who, among humans, kept halfling slaves. Those that remain are wealthy, frugal little merchants or can be found in the employ of influential pashas.
Calishite Halflings are typical of other halflings save for their shrewdness and callous business dealings.
Dwarf
Dwarves have been scarce in Calimshan for most of its history. A few can be found in the cities, where they are recognized for their superior metalworking or mercenary skills.
There are Dwarven sabbans in every major Calimshan city.
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Calimshan natives are humans with deeply tanned brown skin, and brown eyes. Uncommon are purple or sometimes silver eyes. Hair is always black straight or wavy that turns silver with old age.Men are typically 5’9” – 6’ 3” and commonly hold positions of power in Calimshan at nearly all levels of society even among demi human races. There are exceptions, women who are taller than average (over 6’) are said to be ‘touched by the gods’ can be found in leadership positions. However, most women are 5’ 10” tall or under.Harem women are required to wear brass wristlets or a ring as a sign of their obligation. Both sexes prize clothing as a way of expression so colorful dress and rich dies are status symbols. Headdresses such as large turbans or keffiyeh are commonplace while women cover themselves with veils and abbas.Weapons and fighting disciplines are also a form of expression for nearly everyone who carries a blade. Wielding a scimitar over a jambiya says something about that individual, including the style of one’s armor too.
Half-elves in Calimshan tend to hide their heritage, pretending to be fully human lest be regarded as second class citizens. With attention to appearances half-elves are usually indistinguishable from humans or sylphs save for their bright green or ice blue eyes.
Genasi are more populous in Calimshan than in any other realm of Faerûn making them the second in population behind Calishite humans. During the Second Genie Wars, (the Calimshan Time of Troubles), genasi from around the world shed themselves of their human guise and returned to Calimshan en masse. It was a return of power for the genasi during this time.
Mysterious undine genasi are a rare sight in Calimshan outside an ocean port city. Oread are likewise rare but are said to reside in the Muzad in numbers. It is the mighty ifrit and the affluent sylph genasi who are by far the most common of the genasi in Calishite society.
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These individuals whose ancestry can be traced to beings of elemental fire: the efreet, Ifrits are a passionate and fickle race. No ifrit is satisfied with a sedentary life; like a wildfire, ifrits must keep moving or burn away into nothingness. Ifrits not only adore flames, but personify multiple aspects of them as well, embodying both fire’s dynamic, ever-changing energy and its destructive, pitiless nature.
There are many known ifrit tribes that roam the Calim desert. In Calimport ifirt houses are great metal forgers and run Hammersing Hall. Owning a suit of enhanced ifirit forged armor is a symbol of prestige in some social circles. They are also brutal fighters with many arena champions being ifirit combatants.
Sylph 'Sons and daughters of Calim'
Born from beings of elemental air, sylphs are a shy and reclusive race consumed by intense curiosity. Sylphs spend their lives blending into the crowd, remaining unnoticed as they spy and eavesdrop on the people around them. They call this hobby “listening to the wind,” and for many sylphs it becomes an obsession.
Sylphs are great information gatherers and are said to be well sought after diplomats and can speak any language after hearing it. Sylphs rely on their capable, calculating intellects and on knowledge gleaned from eavesdropping to deliver them from danger.
Sylph houses in Calimshan are known for their fine hookah parlors, inns and gaming houses in many wealthy drudachs.
Asheratis a people who live below the sands of Calimshan, rising to the surface to hunt for food, socialize and trade with the ifrit or the sylph, and make war upon their human enemies. As merfolk are to the sea, asheratis are to the sands.
An asherati appears as a humanoid with smooth skin the color of rust. An asherati can make its skin glow as if with an inner fire, giving off a piercing illumination that suffuses through sand. An asherati has no body hair and eyes the color of ivory. The lithe asherati is a graceful swimmer of the dunes, and thus eschews excessive clothing or equipment, wearing only hide armor.
Society
Calimshan society is a great lover of art, music, wealth and magic. Toward that end, there certain constants in high society every Calishite works toward: profitable business, entertainment, servants, and magic.
The evening meal begins (and sometimes ends) with a chicken or fish broth, full of vegetables and roots, with a side of hot bread. For those who can afford it, broth is followed by a meat course, usually mutton, fish, or chicken, seasoned with onions and garlic, and consumed with pickle paste or yogurt. Chicken sausages are also popular.
Vegetables accompany the meat dish, including white beans, lentils, chickpeas, eggplants, peppers, cabbage, squash, carrots, spinach, and many others. Desert consists of pastries, date and fig cakes, and whatever fresh fruit is available. Popular with all classes is the honeydrop, a thumb-sized candy made of honey mixed with an edible gum. Many Calashites maintain their own household garden.
A typical day for a Pasha: mornings include routine stretches and yoga at sunrise followed by prayers then a morning meal with coffee. The later morning is spent inspecting one’s business interests then in the afternoon, the pursuit of new opportunities including family and business meetings.
Late evening typically involves a massage at a bath house sauna followed by a visit to the hookah parlor or some other form of entertainment feast hall for an evening meal.
Entertainment comes in all kinds of forms from feverous spontaneous street music and dancing, martial sparring, street plays and dramas, gambling at the arenas, and games of domino in smoky hookah parlors. Calishites are known to debate how best to spend their late evenings.
Tradition states one should never start eating until the eldest person at the table has downed his or her first bite of food.
Clothing
Calishite clothing is always loose and airy because of the heat. It is common to wear a headcloth, called a keffiyeh, to protect the face, head, and hair from the wind and sun. Some prefer a turban to a keffiyeh.
Cotton trousers and muslin shirts or tunics are the standard clothing for the lower and middle classes. This is usually complemented by a decorated cotton vest, with more elaborate decorations indicating greater status. Bright colors are the norm, even among the poor, with green, yellow, pink, blue, and red all common.
In poor weather, a light cotton robe called an aba is added.
Upper class clothing is similar but more likely to be made of silk, fine linen, velvet, and satin. Those with money often wear a kaftan, especially on formal occasions. Deep, strong colors are preferred by the wealthy, including gold, crimson, royal blue and purple. Gold and silver thread are used to create fantastic patterns on all clothing.
Sandals and slippers are worn throughout the land, with boots reserved for those engaged in dangerous activities, such as soldiers and adventurers.
Travel within Calimshan
Most of Calimshan’s major cities and towns are accessible by water, hence a lot of travel within the country is done by ship.
There are merchant caravans regularly journeying between all major population centers. Sand Ships are also used by desert tribes, raiders and some exclusive merchants. It is also possible to hire a flying carpet in Calimport, though there is a single vendor supplying this service, and patrons must be “people of note” in Calimport or carrying letters of recommendation from the same.
Leadership
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In Calimshan, the Syl-Pasha rules over all. He is king, warlord, and emperor by all accounts. Hand-picked by the Syl-Pasha is the Syl-Vizir a chamberlain that handles the Syl-Pasha’s daily affairs and the royal budget, the Syl-Vizir is also the Sultan of the Palace Ward and sits at a Table of Sultans.
Each of Calimport’s wards has its own system of governing: a military chain of command, elected council, or by plutocracy, each ward has a Sultan (Governor) or designee who answers to the Syl-Vizir at the Table of Sultans.
Below the Sultan, each ward has a Vizir or magistrate who sees to the day to day affairs of the ward in addition to administering the Sultan’s commands. A Vizir is also the court of law for their ward. Below a Vizir is a Sabbalad or mayor of a sabban. Finally, lower in rank than the Sabbalad is the Druzir, the alderman for the drudach.
Second Era of Skyfire
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The godswar or the time of troubles lasted one-hundred and one year and wrought havoc, upended governments and in some cases changed the typography of the world.
In Calimshan the godswar saw the return of the genies Calim and Memnon and their renewed war for power between the Sultans. Genasi from all over the world assembled in Calimshan to join the fray, full of elemental power and shed of their human heritage.
In the final conflict it was the avatars of Nature, Order, Wrath and Darkness who prevailed over Calim and Memnon and delivered the people from the genie lords.
After the time of troubles the god-powers ascended to their divine courts, diminished in some ways but with renewed covenant with their followership. A reciprocal relationship between god and mortals.
The day after the Ascendancy the new god-powers appeared at the Plaza of Divine Truth and presented Calimshan with the Codex of Customs: a collection of onyx stone tablets streaked with platinum veins that contain the laws and the commandments by which all Calashites conduct their lives.
It has been twenty-seven years since the time of troubles.
Codex of Customs
After the time of troubles, a collection onyx tablets called the Codex of Customs was handed down from the Divine Palace by the Ascendency as a framework for the laws and daily customs of Calimshan and its people. It established a legal structure, demanded daily prayers, and reinforced old customs such as restricting the wide use of fire save for cooking or religious practice and outlined rules of engagement regarding domestic merchant house warfare. (See below)
The Ascendency are the pantheon of Calishite gods that triumphed over the return of Calim and Memnon during the Time of Troubles.
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Daily Prayers
Twice a day, between the hours of 6-7 am and 6-7 pm, the native Calishite population, and the secular community stop all daily activity and chant prayers toward the direction of the Plaza of Divine Truth- the location of the Celestial Stairway. Nearly everyone prays in the morning however for most, prayers in the evening are impractical and sometime interfere with business.
So that individuals do not have to carry prayer rugs around (though some do), all business and public areas have, prayer rugs to use.
Law Enforcement
Each ward in Calimport employs a group of city guards known as the Amlakkar or “Armed Watch” under the command of the ward's Vizir. The number and quality of guards depends upon the wealth of the ward. The Amlakkar exists to keep the peace and to ensure tax collection goes smoothly.
Amlakkar guards do not investigate crimes or apprehend criminals. Rather, each citizen has the right to arrest and prosecute anyone who interferes with their property or person. Since not everyone has the ability to apprehend an assailant, it is common to hire private justicars (also known as “thief takers”) to effect the arrest.
The arrested party is taken before the local magistrate who hears the evidence and makes a pronouncement on the case. The magistrate is always the Vizir of the Ward or his designee.
Magistrates judges cases using a combination of local traditions and the Codex of Customs. There is no formal appeals process, but a Sultan can set aside the judgement of any Vizir.
There are strict laws regulating the use of fire and nearly all evocation magic. Compulsion and mind affecting magic are bad for business and therefore illegal.
The magistrate can impose fines, order immediate public corporal punishments, or even sentence someone to death. Long-term imprisonment is generally not an option in Calimport.
Rules of the Land...
- Codex of Customs is the order and laws etched on onyx tablets handed down by the Ascendency at the Plaza of Divine Truth.
- Living tablets that convey the gods' will and divine guidance.
- Compulsory magic and other mind affecting magics are illegal in Calimshan.
- Necromancy and animated skeletons are accepted in some circles.
- Vizirs are Magistrates who administer the laws as set forth by the Codex.
- Theft/burglary | 20-40 public lashings, confiscation of personal property
- Disorderly conduct/ public mayhem | 20-40 public lashings + 2-4 days in the stockade and confiscation of personal property.
- Assault/destruction of property/magical crimes. | all above plus branded.
- Murder | all the above plus exile from city where offence took place.
- Multiple Murder or Repeat offenders go to THE ISLAND\
1 comment:
Well done, great pics
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