Benayouns

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 ### Region

 Malfearn Desert

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Roamers of the **Malfearn Desert**, the Benayoun people are a nomadic nation that generally not recognized by the Aquilan Empire and other developed countries, aside from those residing in the Kajaar states. They are made of some 280 clans, each vying for power and notoriety in the largest desert in the world. Aside from the **Seven Tribes**, most clans number anywhere between 500 to 7,000 people.

## Origins

The Benayouns are an ancient peoples, tracing their heritage back to the times of the Umran Empire.

## People

The Benayoun are thought to be a gruff and untrustworthy people by most western Aventines. Indeed their customs and lifestyles might seem primitive compared to those of developed nations, but this is an existence perfected to brave the treacherous lands of the Malfearn Desert.

### Seven Tribes

Also known as the **Seb Dual**, the Seven Tribes are the largest nomad clans in the region. Through diplomacy and battle, they keep vigil over the moving sands, watching their borders ebb and fade with the winds. Tradition and ritual remain strong among the young and elders alike, while modern and foreign ideas are often spurned or attacked on sight. These tribes believe they follow the "true way," that of the Masar faith.

1. **Umqadim** - Known as the **Old Clan** by fellow tribes, it is said that the Umqadim are direct descendants of the ancient empire-builders of Umran. This brings great honor and reverence from the other tribes that see themselves as splinters or descendants from the one old clan. During the **Rahab**, the chiefs of the Umqadim are offered the finest seat in the meeting and are often called on to speak first.
2. **Sareen** -The largest roaming clan known for their violence and led by a bloodthirsty leader named **Adda** **Raz**. They hold claim to the central region of the desert and have been known to successfully rally other tribes to their side against their enemies. Bold and reckless, they led to the fall of Percival’s Folly.
3. **Hakaj** - Respected for their honor and loyalty, the Hakaj make a living as guides of the Malfearn desert. It is said that once a deal is struck, they will bring you to your destination, dead or alive. They are some of the only ones respected by the Kajaars when entering the Kajaarites.
4. **Ashtun** - The sage ones, the Ashtun seers are known to be the most in touch with "the way of Masar." During the Rahab, they perform the opening and closing rituals, and offer guidance in otherworldly matters. Due to their piety, they have been trusted mediators and have been instrumental in stopping wars and forming alliances. Poets and songwriters, many of the known Benayoun arts derive from the Ashtun. They are led by the **Great Alra-ee**, **Botros Faraj**.
5. **Rasga** - Born from the Rasgula Mountains, the Rasga clan are masters of the cliffs. Known prominently for their goat husbandry, they provide a major source of meat in the region. The Rasga cuisine is also something to known widely through the Malfearn. For the Rasga, no part of the animal is wasted.
6. **Dezrek** - A formidable warrior clan that reside in the foothills of the Sargozian Mountains, the Dezrek are said to begin their training at a young age. For them, the protection of the clan outweighs everything else, and they have been known to fight to the bitter end; even when hope has long been gone. The Vernese call them "Les Intrepides," the fearless ones. Many Dezrek fill the ranks of the Vernese and Kajaar elite guards in return for great salaries.
7. **Eftaam** - Known colloquially as **water dwellers**, the Eftaam are known to settle down in an oasis for months on end, replenishing their livestock and their bellies. Once exhausting the benefits of the oasis, or attacked by local clans, they pack up and move to the next watering hole. Due to their parasitic lifestyle, they've been compared to locusts.

### Kajaars

With western ideas flooding in from the western Aventine, some of the biggest Benayoun clans came together to form Kajaar states; permanently settling in the coastal regions of the Malfearn Desert. They are a direct result of alliances made with western and northern Aventine countries during the **War of Nations**.

1. **Jaar** - Formed with the aid of Trinev in 597AV, the state's main purpose was to act as a buffer between Trinev and Tallin. The Khar, **Ablosh Beita**, was given modern arms and training from Trinevi and Vernese military instructors. To this day, they are a formidable state that offers military patrols into the desert.
2. **Mieret** - On the borders with Jaar and Tallin, Mieret exists in the unenviable position of having to defend the coastline and desert from the encroaching western threat. An ongoing border dispute with Tallin, which it seceded from in 608AV, has led to great swaths between the nations to be fortified and mined. With various ethnic groups and clans vying for power and acceptance in the state, it is a nation on the verge of civil war.
3. **Benaehan** - The oldest surviving Kajaar, formed in 592AV, the Benaehan have always had a good standing with other clans. Their name literally translating to "good men," the Benaehan have held onto their lands with peaceful neutrality towards other Benayouns and foreigners alike. Their position and welcoming demeanor has made the Kajaar an important trading post the world over.

### Smaller Tribes

1. **Ishaan** - Once a great clan, the Ishaani inhabited the coastal lands south of Tallin. They were a proud people led by **Khar Elkir Takrit**, who took Tallin lands with the help of Benaehan and Aquilan forces in **Operation Sandstorm** and established the Kajaar of Ishaan under his rule in 594AV. When Khar Takrit took control of Kharga Oasis and declared himself ruler of all clans in the Rahab of 614AV, the other clan leaders assassinated him. They banded together and turned on the Ishaani at their capital of **Eazim** in what is now known the **Shatter of Ishaan**. Since then, the Ishaan are a fraction of what they used to be. Splintered and cast to the winds, they roam the endless sands seeking work and patronage. The **Ruins of Eazim** stand as a lasting reminder of the might of the Benayouns.
2. **Dalmat-Qeu** - Literally means “blueface.” This reclusive clan keeps to themselves and wear blue facepaint. Caravans have reported being stalked by Dalmat riders for many miles before disappearing into the dead of night.

## Politics

### Rahab

The **Rahab** is an annual meeting of all the clan leaders at the sacred landmark known as **Artep Mount**.

### Clan Structures

Though clan structures vary from clan to clan, the Benayoun saying, "I face my brother; my brother and I face our cousin; my cousin and I face the others," clearly outlines their patriarchal hierarchy from nuclear family to clan. The general structure consists of a leader known as the **Hakh**, or **Wise**, mediating rule between members.

## Military

### Benayoun

The clans that continue to adhere to their traveling lifestyles have continued to maintain the rituals and traditions passed on from parent to child. For personal defense, bladed weapons like the **Saif** and **Hancer** are the basic weapons used. Passed down generations, they are heirlooms to those who carry them.

**Pistols** are a rare sight as most Benayouns prefer the distance a **Rifle** provides. Thousands of rifles from foreign lands have ended up in Benayoun hands through the War of Nation and other proxy-wars. They are a symbol of the desert and of the clans. So proficient are the Benayouns with rifles that it is said they can fire on horseback and hit a target 300 yards away.

Other weaponry like **Machine Guns**, **Grenades**, and **Anti-Aircraft Cannons** are fewer in number and usually only found among the bigger clans for defense against foreign air threats.

Tactically, the Benayouns fight en masse in large cavalry formations. The horse, or camel, is their greatest advantage. Able to traverse the sandy terrain with haste, clans fight in guerrilla hit-and-run tactics. Strategy is considered less of an importance, with brute force, courage, and the belief in Masar seen to be the only necessary virtues for a true warrior. There are exceptions.

The Dezrek, for example, hold strategy and good leadership as a key elements to victory. A formalized military structure exists, dividing the warriors into platoons led by a captain, the **First** or **Awal**.

### Kajaar

With a strong influence in military technology and training from the west, the Kajaar states support state-of-the-art ships and weaponry. Foreign military advisors, either from allied nations or hired mercenaries, train officers in the tactics and strategies of the day.

Military structure and hierarchy are similar to those of other developed nations.