Wailing Desert and the Jooish Clans

Between the southeast of Azan and the hills of Oront, just north of the lands of the trolls, is the **Wailing Desert**, a region long considered uninhabitable beyong the coasts of the lake, but nowadays inhabited by a cat-like people known as the **Joos**. The Joos live in small family clans, and are mostly nomadic traders that form migrant caravans.

## History

The history of the Joos is well documented in Zorah, their holy scripture, although its historical authenticity has been challenged by some scholars in Azan.

According to the Zorah, the Joos were originally humans that lived on the outskirts of the Merfolk Empire, close to the ratfolk of Luden. Unlike the rest of the Empire, the Joos refused to follow the faith of the Merfolk (consisting of Uun and other lesser gods), and for that reason, they were considered as outcasts by the rest of the Empire's inhabitants.

The Joos were seen as pariahs and outlaws by the Mourndarians, and when catastrophe struck and Uun cursed the whole Empire, the Joos were used as scapegoats, seeing their defiance towards Uun the reason for this divine retribution. After a series of progroms by some of the Empire's last remaining sane citizens, the Joos had no chance but to run away, travelling to whichever realm that would host them.

From that point on, the Joos lived a nomadic life, using their caravans and cantirs (big tents that serve as houses) to travel around. They initially made their way southwards to Drunigzar, but were blamed by the King after a deadly fire broke out in one of the biggest lighthouses of the land, and were once again expelled. This once again occured with the Khenomerics, as the Joos were branded as Magoclergy collaborators, and facing imprisonment and death, fled once more.

It was during their hardest journey, trekking through the Ogabo Desert, that one Joo - Mohan Sinar - saw a vision, bestowed upon him (as the Zorah states) a messenger by god. In that vision Mohan saw a wondrous mountain and a surrounding valley to the far west, where the Joos would be free from all their oppressors.

The Joos were overenjoyed with this revelation, and despite being battered by both nature and the local tribes in Ogabo, suffering great losses, they made it to the lands of the Snoloths, crossing into Witchelven territory.

The Witchelven state at that time was still a rising power, and had made a name for themselves as ruthless slavers. The Joos learned this the hard way, as they were misled into the The Great Bonefort, being imprisoned this for nearly a decade. This last for almost a decade, until Mohan Sinar, now the de facto leader of the various Jooish clans, but also old and withered, casted a spell from his oakenwood staff (shattering it in the process), killing the Witchleven Matriarch, and orchestrating a miraculous escape for his kin.

The Joos then made their way into Hasteria and into Oront, and it was then that they learned about the existence of the Big Rock Candy Mountain, a fabled mountain that was supposed to exist in the Valley of Zion and the Big Rockies mountain range. Mohan Sinar, before his death, was bestowed with yet another vision. The God of the Joos demanded that they were not to settle in the valley or the mountains of Zion, but instead in the surrounding lands, mainly the plains of Aelysia. This land was under the rule of Azan, and the Joos agreed to become vassals of the Empire, as long as they were allowed to live there freely, alongside keeping their religion and customs.

This co-existence went on for two centuries, until tensions arose between the Azaneese and the Joos. According to the Zorah, it was the Azanese Emperor of the time, Teodoro II of House Gepeto (belonging to the Eighth Dynasty of Azanese rulers) that betrayed the Joos, and used his court mages to cast a curse on these nomads, turning the fields of Aelysia into a desert, and the Joos into repulsing beastfolk, due to their persistent heathenry. Even though Azanese historians dispute this version of the story, it is true that the Joos were becoming increasingly unpopular in the urban centers of the Empire, due to their strange customs and religion.

The Azanese archives follow a different version of the story, stating that Teodoro II called upon the Joos to fight against the Drow Empire, and the Joos cowardly refused, hiding in their caravans and tents, while some other Azanese scholars claim that the Joos used to be allies of the Bog Witch. For one reason or another, the Emperor cursed them, turning them into what they are now.

To this day, the Joos are still roaming around most of western Giantstep in their caravans, although most of them still reside in the wailing desert. Upon their transformation into catfolk, the Joos became even more mistrusted by the local populace, and for that reason rarely are Joos allowed to enter in most cities, instead being content in running their merchant caravans outside of them.

## Society and Culture

Even though there are various Jooish clans, they all speak one language, known as Tlemani, which is different to any other human language found in the west. These Jooish clans existed since before their expulsion from the Merfolk Empire, yet during their time as humans, had little differences in appearances. Nowadays, these clans can be differentiated by their appearance, as some Joos tend to look more like the typical sandcats of the wailing desert, while others, belonging to the more famous caste, hailing from Mohan Sinar himself, are more tigerlike in their looks.

These clans, although each one being independent from one another, are still vassals of Azan, and pay taxes to the Emperor from time to time, although are self governing in all but name, since Azanese authorities seldom wander in the wailing desert. The majority of Joos are nomads, with very few of them permamently residing in cities in Azan, the Witchelven Empire, Changrila and the city of Gulam in Urgun, operating as money lenders and merchants.

The Joos are well known for their love of music and weaving tapestries and carpets, as well as for their use of a hallucinogenic drug, known as Semiuta, that is said to be able to put them in a state of absolute tranquility. Rarely has a foreigner ever lived with the Joos in order to document their customs in detail.

## Economy

The Joos hold a reputation as greedy people, driven only by their desire for earning coin. Most of Jooish caravans help facilitate land trade between it and Oront, the Witchelven empire, the Furlani cities, the people of the golden hills and more, while those residing in cities indulge themselves in the art of money lending, insurance broking and selling other goods. In many cities, their entry is prohibited upon the penalty of death, due to many Joos earning a reputation as smugglers, disturbers of the peace, as well as drug dealers.

Some Joos even offer themselves as mercenaries, although they are seen as generally untrustworthy, even compared to other sellswords.

## The Joos

The Joos have the appearance of a humanoid feline, ranging from ones looking like housecats; no bigger than hobbits, to others being similar to tigers, dwarfing even the biggest humans in height and muscle. These incredibly differences in appearance are more important to humans than to the Joos themselves, whose culture and society is relatively homogenous, with few instances of inter-species racism and discrimination.

For example, the Azaneese are least trustful of the Enneki (Joos that are of small stature and look like Lynxes) due to their history of being hired by assassin guilds, the Orbelah, sandcat looking folk that are seen as greedy and distrustful, as well as the Raht, huge tiger-looking folk who even though are considered more honorable than their lynx and leopard kinsmen, are considered dangerous thanks to their uncharacteristically non-Jooish like ferocity and strength.

## Religion

Perhaps the most defining aspect of the Joos, apart from their cat-like appearance, is their religion, which, even though poorly understood by most, has been the cause of tensions and controversies for more than a millenium. The Joos believe in the existence of one God, who is to remain unnamed, responsible for the creation of the world as well as all its creatures. This God, speaking through his two mistresses; the sun and the moon, spoke to His chosen people, the Joos, choosing them to act as His shepherds, guiding the people of Giantstep against blasphemy and false gods such as Uun, whom the preaching against earned the initial mistrust towards the Joos in the Merfolk Empire. The Joos are extremely pious and many have died as martyrs, refusing to give up their faith.

This Jooish faith experienced a schism around the time of their transformation to cat-people. Originally, it was believed that this that occured to them was a curse (as written in the Zorah), while others, came to be known as the "New Order", believed that their appearance was not a curse, but a divine gift bestowed upon them by God, who intended for that to happen in order for them to continue His work. As the new order gained more and more supporters, lines of the Zorah were seemingly rewritten, and the supporters of the original belief (known as purists) are now relegated to one lonely lion-like tribe, the Amaritans, who live isolated in one of the most mountainous areas of the Wailing Desert.

All Joos are required to perform a religious pilgrimage to the Big Rock Candy Mountain, their holy site, showering it with gifts in order to be rewarded with the mountain's unpredictable treasures and wonders, which doesn't always occur.

## Geography

Porous bedrock which absorbs all rainfall combined with vicious mountain winds make this one of the most uninhabitable regions in the Azan Empire. The wailing desert is also ripe with numerous sand dunes, who when stepped upon by many people at once, are known to cause landslides and sinkholes beneath them, creating a sound not alike that of wailing, giving it its name.