Bessine

The **Bessine** are a human race originating in the desert region of Avistan in southern Nova Core. They are distinct from the coreshti who dominate the rest of the continent, and have a culture and civilization that is quite different from anything found in the area.

## History

### Arriving in Avistan

The history of the Bessine predates the history of the coreshti by many hundreds of years. The predecessors of the current race came to Avistan from the far-away land of Zubatha during an ancient period known as the Legendarium. During this era, the Dragons ruled over Nova Core and there were no other civilizations in the area. The early Bessine settled in a few pre-existing settlements, such as the desert city of Bahizhare, which still exists to this day. Later, they spread to the rest of Avistan, but never crossed the Beacons to explore other areas of the Sunlands. Seeing as the Bessine are descended from the people of Zubatha and the coreshti from the people of Caescir Urtis, the two races are not even related beside he fact they're both human.

### Developements and contact with other races

When the Aen Selhaine of the Sun Kingdoms settled in Nova Core, the two peoples agreed to leave each other alone, which allowed the Bessine to further develop their culture in isolation. Their capital in this period was Sassara, which is recorded do have been one of the most beautiful cities in the history of Nova Core. Sassara was abandoned when the Bessine got into a dark age thanks to internal strife, and when the race managed to finally recapture part of its former glory after hundreds of years of stagnation, no one was alive anymore to tell where Sassara was located. Almost all recorded mentions of the city had been lost to the ages, so the Bessine could not find it anymore despite searching for many years. Even in the current age, the vanishing of Sassara is still a great mystery. The lost city is one of the most searched for locations in Nova Core, together with ruins like Elith and Thesandoral, and a lot of stories surround mythic Sassara. When the coreshti started to expand themselves after the Sword Wars in the Korbathean Confederacy, they initially did not intervene with the Bessine. However, later they started to establish settlements in eastern Avistan around the Bay of Ternakos. This caused quite some conflicts with the native Bessine, who saw the coreshti as intruders.

### Current situation

Currently, the coreshti in Avistan control much of the fertile lands around and east of the river Kerwis, in cities such as Peris Perocis, Izhiyin and Jabahsa. They also control the metropolitan Palisay Peninsula, which includes wealthy cities like Morgentina and multicultural Rafiyye, giving them easy access to the Shimmering Isles and the Golden Gulf. The coreshti have always had a feeling of superiority towards the Bessine, and have treated the natives as lesser citizens in their own home country. To add insult to injury, coreshti caravans often travel to the Golden Desert to raid Bessine villages and take slaves, which they trade in hubs like Siripor and Tarkonos. For many ages, the Bessine have not taken any action to combat this, seeing as the race is divided into many different peoples and settlements. However, a group calling themselves the Starfall Insurrection, led by a young woman called Messana and based in Starfall, have recently taken to fighting the coreshti, and have promised to take back the banks of the Kerwis.

## Description

### Living areas

The Bessine almost exclusively live in the regions of Avistan. There are some of them who have come to live in large coreshti cities such as Zenith or Parsedine, but they are always very small minorities there. However, the people of the Shimmering Isles and the cities of the Golden Coast have quite a bit of Bessine blood flowing through their veins, seeing as they are descended from a mix of Avistani and Matani ancestors. Within the Bessine race, there is a split between two population groups, which are quite different. On the one hand, there are the city dwellers living in large settlements such as Bahizhare, Samitayah, Sarkand, Duhaydina, Eribaid, El Zabban, Lazharkan and Fasharmu. They are usually more open and less traditional, and have a society with a clear hierarchy. On the other hand, there are the nomads who travel through the deserts, live in smaller, more traditional groups and are closer to nature. The two Bessine types have sometimes been described as two distinct peoples, and usually are fundamentally distrustful towards each other.

### Religion

The Bessine do not believe in the Architect like the coreshti do. Instead, they have their own distinct religion called Illumination. It is one of the most ancient faiths of the known world, having emerged during the dawn of civilization in Zubatha long before the coreshti even came to exist. The Bessine share a common pantheon of a few deities called the Enlightened Gods, with the supreme god being Khayond and other deities being Eusara, Berseh, Sepetra and others. Furthermore, individual settlements or cities usually have local gods, with the nomads being more in tune with natural forces and the city dwellers having a more organised religion. The religion also has gods who represent evil, such as Mukaydah, Makindah and Karhajim. Illumination is based on the teachings of a person simply called The Prophet, who supposedly lived in ancient times and provided the emerging humans in Zubatha with guidance to bring good to a world filled with evil. There exists a divide within Illumination, seeing as the nomads in the desert practice a looser, more personal form of the faith than the city dwellers, who have a heavily organised religion with a strict hierarchy and many rules. These rules are made by the Congregation of the Enlightened and enforced by the feared Mahadjine, which is led by Zhakodin Jadikk. Religious workers are usually clothed in white and black gowns.