Sihr

### Population

80,000 (Human 20%, Half-elf 19%, Sea Elf 11%, Locathah 10%, Elf 9%, Merfolk 8%, Gnome 7%, Triton 4%, Dwarf 2%, Halfling 2%, Other 8%)

### Local Pantheons

Primarily Enlightened, though many racial gods are worshiped in small numbers. The Neteru and Vedic gods all have small followings here too.

### People Of Note

Miraja bint Soma al-Shien, Jibril bin Muhib, Captain Qutb Ra’id al-Rushdi

Somewhere within the Amshan Sea is the floating city of Sihr. The city itself consists of two halves, one above the waters and one below. It is in this city that peoples from both of these worlds meet and trade magical secrets the likes of which are unheard of anywhere else in the world.

The city is ruled by two genies. Sultan Akbar al-Ladin, a djinni, rules the surface half of Sihr while Sultana Ariana bint Rajah rules the underwater half of Sihr. These two genies have ruled over Sihr for about as long as it has existed and they will likely continue their rule forever. Akbar is a firm leader who emphasizes trade and is highly popular among the merchant classes who tend to deal in magical goods, shipping them throughout Amsha and as well as to many peoples below the seas. His chief advisor and wife is an elf by the name of Miraja bint Soma al-Shien. She has been at his side for three hundred years and always offers sound advice. It is said that he asked her to be his wife once every five years for a hundred years until she finally accepted about one hundred years ago. She is a powerful sha’ir, originally from Rabbani, who has always had a good relationship with genies. She is highly respected among the genie world and their marriage was fully endorsed by the Genie Court.

Ariana is a lover of the sea and all her decisions are made based on what is in the best interests of the various peoples of the sea. She has never married, though she does keep a fairly extensive selama (equivalent to a harem) full of males from many races. Most of them are sea-based such as sea elves, mermen, locathah, marids, and tritons, but she does also have a wide variety of land-based men such as ogres, orcs, humans, dwarves, elves and others. It is rumored that her prized male slave is a sahuagin prince, though none have actually seen him to verify this. Occasionally she takes to the ocean currents, secretly leaving Sihr behind for months or even years at a time as she seeks some adventure in a far-off land. While she is gone, her vizier rules in her stead. The vizier, a middle aged jann named Jibril bin Muhib, usually makes any public appearances and announcements for Ariana anyway, so when he does this in her absence, none really question it and assume any decrees he gives are from the sultana.

The city is highly magical and is considered to be one of the biggest magical centers of the world. In Amsha, only Sana comes close to having as large a concentration of magic. Sihr is hard to find because of an ancient enchantment which protects the city. Enemies of Sihr always seem to point their ships in the wrong direction when they wish to sail for the city. Those who do not know where to find Sihr are similarly directed elsewhere. All forms of divination when used to find Sihr lead the scrier elsewhere, usually somewhere dangerous. Those not specifically allowed to teleport into the city find their spells fail (at best) or possibly go disastrously wrong. Only with the guidance of one who is a friend of Sihr that knows here he is going can one ever make it to the city.

Once someone arrives they are greeted to a vast city with creatures flying back and forth on carpet transports. One can always find magic carpet transportation within the city. They need only stand outside with a hand up and within minutes a person will land a carpet and offer a ride to anywhere in Sihr for a reasonable fee.

The police force of Sihr consists primarily of imps. Small, invisible and capable of flying around anywhere, these imps make a highly effective police force. They rather enjoy the power this position gives them so they take their job VERY seriously; putting away their normally evil agendas for the power and prestige that being in control of the law allows them. They are also required to submit to a geas stating that they will uphold the law to the best of their ability. This is mostly a formality as most of the imps do this anyway. Nothing escapes the eyes of the imp patrol.

While the imps make effective police, they are relatively small and weak so they do have trouble dealing with some larger, more dangerous threats. A mamluk division consisting primarily of ogres (though many other humanoids also are part of it as well as several golems) forms the enforcement arm of the law. These trained soldiers are rarely needed, but when they are called upon, they are specially trained in defeating magical threats.

The current head of the guard is Captain Qutb Ra’id al-Rushdi. He is an illithid who has held the post for the past twenty years. While no one particularly likes him, none can say that his methods are not effective. He has personally trained an elite group of illithids, diviners, mentalists and other studiers of the mind. This group is known as the Eyes of Truth. They are the top investigators of corruption and misdeeds in Sihr. When whispers of wrongdoing come to their ears, they always find the truth of the matter and settle it quickly. They are a force that is both highly respected and highly feared because even if you are innocent, these investigators quickly learn every secret you have ever held dear. Often the Eyes of Truth find out about crimes in their investigations that they were not initially aware of.

The biggest trade in Sihr is magic. There are several magical schools and hundreds of magical groups. Magical shops of all types are fairly common, though scrolls and potions are by far the biggest sellers. Such things are shipped out all over Amsha, though some do make their way to other lands as well. Food is largely imported or created magically, though there are some who fish or tend their own gardens. Those who garden often do so through magical aid such as magical fertilizers and spells that make their food grow faster, larger, and tastier. The people of Sihr often complain about the blandness of food abroad and few natives ever have any desire to move away or even travel.

## People

Magic is second nature to the people of Sihr as they are always surrounded by it. Perhaps their biggest problem is that they have such a constant, overwhelming stimulus of sensations. Even the most fantastic of creatures and impressive magic seem as commonplace as the rain to them. Almost nothing can impress a native of Sihr. Reactions to such things range from absolute boredom to politely feigned interest. This often grates the nerves of most other cultures.