House Ashraf

"Beware the Desert"

## History

House Ashraf was first Great Tribe Maldir. The people of the Endless Deserts were initially separated into hundreds of petty tribes who often either feuded with each other for land or resources or launched raids to the North to take what they wanted before retreating back to the deserts where their pursuers wouldn't dare follow.

That ended during Rannard's Reign in which their way of life was endangered by a foreign king leading men in plate armor, he himself riding a great white, horned steed. That is when the tribes of the Northern Endless Deserts convened in a great feast in which tribe Maldir was chosen to lead them as Great Tribe Maldir. With the full force of the Northern Deserts they met Rannard in their territory, the ever shifting sands. Constant raids pecked at their sides and their rear, the heat and exhaustion caused the knights to shed and leave their armor behind. The smaller, lightly dressed mamalukes and horses were perfect for this territory. That is until they became too arrogant from their continued victories and were caught unaware when a division of pegasus riders came down and separated tribe Maldir from the others in while in camp. The head of the tribe, Kanaan Maldir, was captured along with much of his family and a follow up attack dashed the camp in all directions.

While the rest of the tribes could not reconvene after the travesty they were each prepared to fight to the last in their own homes, to fight using the desert's attrition until either the invaders or they were dead. That is, they prepared for a fight that never came. In the meanwhile, Rannard the First convinced Kanaan that their fight was lost and a siege would only bring meaningless suffering before allowing him to go home to convince the rest of the tribes to put down their arms. This was only partially successful however as many tribes opted to keep the fight going and that they did until the Garland military came down with its full might, pushing them even further down south into the The Endless Deserts.

Kanaan was given the entirety of the Northern Deserts and became the first King of Sands in exchange for swearing fealty to Rannard, although many mock him as the Snake of the Sands with artwork depicting his kneeling as groveling on his belly, and now he and his people are charged with maintaining a string of forts titled The Great Wall of Kanaan against both tribal desert raiders and the creatures that dwell there. The nature of The Endless Deserts makes the people unsure, but they believe both to be great in number and power, soon to wash over Urialyn in a great desert tide which will cover all in sand.

When made into a house, they took their sigil as a desert covered in fire with their house motto being, "Beware the Desert" to create two warnings. The first being to remind the world that Desert raiders and monsters are always a threat and who to thank for keeping them safe. The second to remind the world that although they've been conquered, they still are desert, and sands are always shifting.

## Culture

The culture of The Endless Deserts people is very distinct from their Northern counterparts. While they speak their language, their own linguistic culture remains, often interjecting foreign words into the tongue and many still speaking in their own language, especially as you travel down South.

They do not have knights nor chivalry like their northern counterparts, instead hosting mamelukes as their cavalry, lightly armored men who ride on camel back. Their military also tend to be more lightly armored and have a larger base of skirmishers, as is most effective in a desert environment.

Their villages are often created around either rivers or oasises, their economy being based around the trading of spices and minerals in that order.