Amsha

## Description

Amsha is a desert land where fate is the rule of law and genies are lords. The people in general are fairly peaceful in nature. Races of all types are fairly widespread among the people and they get along without many of the racial prejudices and hatreds that are common in other lands. The people of Amsha see an elf to a human the same as one might see someone with brown eyes to someone with green. This utter lack of racial tension leads to some rather diverse populations and circumstances. The city of Bahira, for example, has been under the rule of a steel dragon for the better part of a millennium. Many cities have genies as officials or other strange creatures.

Genies are highly revered among the people of Amsha. It is believed that Amsha is their land and that they are always watching. They may not be ALWAYS watching, but you never do know when they are. Genies have gained a reputation of placing the evil eye on those who are overly boastful. There is little worse than being cursed by the evil eye.

Among the people of Amsha are two major groups: the Al-Badia and the Al-Hadhar. The Al-Badia live in the most hostile regions of Amsha and constantly move with the sands. They are nomads with little belongings, but they consider themselves wealthy beyond measure. This is because above all, they value their independence. The Al-Hadhar consist of all who live within city walls. These people take up formal farming and enjoy the comforts of stationary living. They measure wealth through riches and station. They consider the Al-Badia to be somewhat backwards. Obviously neither of these people see eye to eye, though they are generally peaceful towards each other. This is likely due to the fact that they have very little interaction with one another as well as the necessities of trade which brings about the little contact they DO have with one another.

Even though Amsha’s people do not tend to clash with each other all that much, there is little unity among them. Yes they consider themselves all to be of Amsha. Yes they call themselves the enlightened people. Still, they do not have any unifying government. While Al-Ahmar has long been the heart of Amsha and is as close to a capital as any city is, the desert is simply a collection of largely independent city-states. Most cities offer some loyalty to Al-Ahmar and the Grand Caliph, but they are independent enough that they do not absolutely need its support. They do keep a fairly unified view of outsiders however. In their opinions, everyone outside of Amsha is barbaric and dangerous. Many religious groups drive out the “infidels” from time to time. This has given Amsha a reputation of being inhospitable to foreigners.

This is actually a misconception put forth by the zealots. The people of Amsha are actually very hospitable and many merchants go by ship to see far off lands. In fact, they are often judged on their hospitality. When someone shows up at their home, they are honor bound to offer a place to stay. When this is done, the host shares coffee or salt with the guest. This is a sacred tradition. From then and for the duration of the stay, the host will protect the guest from any harm, and the guest is supposed to reciprocate, even if they are bitter enemies. The guest, however, is expected to stay no longer than three days. This is supposedly how long it takes for the salt to pass through the guest’s system. This is illustrated by the saying, “Guests are like fish, after three days, both stink.”

Religion is very important to the people of Amsha, though the specific religion one follows isn’t as important as the fact that someone HAS a religion. The vast majority of priests are not devoted to a specific god, but to a general pantheon. Pragmatists, ethoists and moralists are the most common among them. Among nomadic tribes and small villages, hakima and khanin are somewhat more prevalent. In the minority are various groups who worship the Egyptian and Indian deities. The people who worship these gods never have terribly large followings or expansive temples. They are not persecuted in any way, they just don’t have enough of a following to gain much power.