Arridea

The Nomad's Last Journey

Species: Human (dominant), Gnome, Saurian (Desert Clutch), Goblin (Eastern Horde), Fire Giant, Elemental

Era: Feudal

Paths: Ossitan (Desert), Saka (Gorge), Khaenan (Desert), Xibalba (The Boglands), Sea of Nodos

Contacts: Sahaaba, Amenthes (Trade)

Enemies: Saka(Northern Raiders), Ossitan (Border Dispute), Lataine (Holy War), Khaenan (Manifest Destiny)

Government: Theocratic Monarchy; Her Divine Guidance, Qahadi Safiya II

Capital: Holy City of Kalaba'al

Origin Languages: Arridean, Pernian

Typical Encounters: Apothecary, Apprentice, Attendant, Cutpurse, Damsel, Devotee, Entertainer, Fortune Teller, Guide, Outrider (w camel), Scholar, Servant (Slave), Worshipper; Burrowing Behemoth, Camel, Chimera, Royal Dragon, Elemental, Horse (Race, Riding), Imp, Kobold, Lamia, Manticore, Myrmidon, Salamander, Scavenger Worm, Shadow Beast

Keyword Qualities: One god and one prophet, a land of great deserts and great cities, nomadic tribes, sometimes a camel is better than a horse, the scent of spices and cannabis, beauty behind many veils, coffee-addicted merchant princes

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The peoples of Arridea first appear to history in the oral record of the Talisman Cycle as the 'Haridin'; a nomadic people who served as irregulars in the army of the god Toluk.

Building their cities upon ruins left behind by the declining Saurian domains, this land became dominated by the people known as the Pernians, who were fierce rivals of Quardith and later the Sallustrians. Originally the Pernians were of a serpent cult, but by the time of the Sallustrian Republic they had shifted to building temples to worship the fire goddess Onihime.

Roughly three centuries ago the long Pernian domination of this land was challenged by nomadic desert-dwellers called the 'Arrideans'; worshiping Ieores (or Al-Jerah) as the one god truly worthy of worship, their disparate and oft-warring tribes unified to conquer the cities of the Pernians and destroy their hated fire temples.

The capital of the former Pernian dominion was then transferred to the Holy City of Kalaba'al; within the city itself all of the idols of the central temple of Daira ('The Circle') were destroyed, save that of Al-Jerah himself. To this day only the highest-ranking initiates of the faith or the descendants of the Prophet are allowed to gaze upon the holy idol within.

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Although officially the conquerors and destroyers of what they considered the decadent Pernian civilization, it is better to think of the Arrideans as the inheritors of their legacy instead. The scholarship and learning of the Pernians were transferred into Arridean hands; and to this day the best and greatest writers, historians and artists tend to be of Pernian heritage.

Likewise, most of the vices of the Pernians have been inherited as well; although strong drink of any kind is considered inappropriate by devotees of the One True Faith, the use of coffee and cannabis is widespread and common, especially among the well-to-do.

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The Arrideans believe that as practitioners of the one great faith it is their destiny to conquer all of Vistria and thus spread truth throughout the lands. To this end they have expanded to the south into Khaenan as far as the Fortress of Meggadonar, and to the west into Ossitan, ruling most of it as 'Al-Assan' until pushed back by a combined efforts of the Latainian Paladin Orlande and El Tizon of Asteon. For over a century now they have fought bitterly over these contested lands, both sides feeling that the have the divinely-guided right to victory.

What the gods truly think of this extended conflict is anyone's guess, but priests and scholars on both sides continue to voice their certainty as to the respective rightness of their opposed causes regardless.