Li-Raz

Li-Raz was a city in the Plain of Horses of northwestern Kara-Tur or the northeastern Hordelands. It was a home and the capital city of the Fankiang tribe and was the largest and most peaceful, prosperous, and stable city of the Plain of Horses region.
==Geography==
It stood in the southwestern Chigidi Mountains, just east of the dry steppelands of the Chukei Plains. Roads led northwest to the subject city of Haxkhun and southwest to Jugicha.
==Government==
Circa , the qaghan of Li-Raz and the Fankiang tribe was the autocratic Chuqali Shilai, who kept the city stable and tightly controlled by his army. His strict administrative system was adopted by many other large tribes and cities of the region. In fact, Shilai had little love for administration himself and delegated most responsibilities to subordinates, and even ordered executions for administrators who pestered him with details and tasks.
==Defenses==
The city had a surprisingly large standing army: 12,500 mounted archers, 1,500 mounted swordsmen, and 1,000 mounted spearmen, all of them barbarians. During wartime or other crisis, the city could muster an additional 45,000 mounted archers, 3,000 mounted swordsmen, and 3,000 mounted spearmen. They had elite units known as ordo commanded directly by the qaghan and additional elite soldiers, she-li, with no dedicated commanders. The qaghan also commanded several units called keshig for his personal guard. One whole keshig was assigned to simply retrieving Shilai's precious silver arrows following a battle.
==Notable Locations==
Qaghan Chuqali reigned from a compound called the Tent of the Bows and Quivers, which was considered the grandest building in all the Plain of Horses.
The Temple of Seven Bells was the most renowned religious building in Li-Raz.
==Society==
Formerly, Li-Raz was rent by feuds and fighting between its various factions, until Shilai passed laws that divided the people into two different classes. The Western Court was composed of people who descended from the original settlers, while the Eastern Court was composed of people who descended from those hsing (clans) that had been subjugated or annexed by the Fankiang tribe of Li-Raz. The Western Court found unity through their shared contempt for the Eastern Court, while the Eastern Court had no power anyway and any revolts they attempted were swiftly crushed by the army. In this brutal way, the city was kept peaceful, orderly and stable.
To curb the growing numbers of excess, idle lamas in the city and growing less and less tolerant of them, the leaders of Li-Raz had a number of laws designed to restrict their activities. Here, lamas were required to gain permission in order to travel and were prohibited from speaking to women in public, while acolytes must be aged at least 14 and were required to attend government-sponsored lectures on how terrible and pointless being a lama was.
==Relations==
Li-Raz's main rival was Jugicha, the city of the Tsu-tsu tribe and second-largest of the Plain of Horses. They maintained a precarious state of peace.
The divided city of Haxkhun served primarily as a military outpost for Li-Raz and was the first line of defense against any attack on the Fankiang from the north or west. However, it depended entirely on Li-Raz for supplies and services. Moreover, although they were both of the Fankiang tribe, the people of Li-Raz looked down on the people of Haxkhun, who were resentful of their subordinate, second-class status. They let the people of Haxkhun simply fight amongst themselves, but when it got out of hand they dispatched their own soldiers to quell them. The leaders of Li-Raz also easily controlled the city's incompetent but cruel qaghan, Yitriq Rukku.
Qaghan Qaland T'akk of the Igidujin tribe bore a special hatred for the Fankiang tribe, Li-Raz, and Qaghan Chuqali Shilai and directed raids against their herdmen and caravans.
==History==
Around , a band of rebels split from Li-Raz. They desired to found their own community, and so settled Jugicha. This triggered a realignment of the hsing (clans) of the Plain of Horses, ultimately giving rise to the Tsu-tsu tribe.
Later, the Tsu-tsu sought to conquer Li-Raz. To this end, around , they made a treaty with the Kashghun and allied against the Fankiang, proposing they assault them from opposite sides. Although the Tsu-tsu attacked the Fankiang from the north, the Kashghun changed their mind. The Tsu-tsu were forced to withdraw.
In , the Tsu-tsu qaghan Shajji Hoijarek hatched a scheme to lure the Fankiang into a trap. He ordered forty camels be stained white, as white camels were held to be sacred by the Fankiang, and left to graze a day's ride west of Li-Raz, where they would inevitably be spotted by Fankiang scouts or herdsmen. Tsu-tsu horsemen then lay in wait to ambush any Fankiang who came to round up these apparently sacred beasts. Fankiang herdsmen sighted these possibly valuable camels and reported them to qaghan Shilai, who dispatched soldiers and adventurers to retrieve them. This ambush may have led to battle or all-out war between the two tribes.
==Notable Inhabitants==
* Chuqali Shilai, qaghan of Li-Raz and the Fankiang
* Jeorug Khalaga, high lama of Li-Raz and a popular local guide.
==Appendix==
===References===
Category:Cities
Category:Settlements
Category:Locations in the Chigidi Mountains
Category:Locations in the Plain of Horses
Category:Locations in the Hordelands
Category:Locations in Kara-Tur
Category:Locations on Toril
Category:Locations
Category:Year of Metropolises