Dehrthaa

A labelled map of Dehrthaa.

The land of **Dehrthaa** is a broad region in the west of Toraan occupied by the Dehru peoples. Its westernmost reaches are at the eastern edge of the Anchor mountains, knowns as the Qaywandar Highlands, while its easternmost extent is the coastline of Toraan. Its northernmost reach is the southern edge of the Weeping Plains, while its southernmost reach ends with the Muraymuna jungles. It's far southwestern frontier is taken up by the dangerous poisonous forestlands of Sumahna.

## Regions

The land of Dehrthaa is made up of five regions. These the plains of the Khadaar, the central hills of the Place Betwixt the Rivers, the southern jungles of the Muraymuna, the eastern mangrove forest delta of the Mimrabans, and the western Qaywandar Highlands and Lowlands. There are two major rivers that run through the region - the Dahuur and the Mur. The Mur flows into the Muraymuna, one of the main contributing factors to its jungle swamplands, and eventually flows into Lake Reiya. The Dahuur splits off into the Muhaddir and the Juhmar before converging once more as the Mudhindahuur, which then splits off into a mighty delta in the Mimrabans. There is an incredible diversity of animal and plant life across the region.

## Demographics

Dehrthaa's sapient population is made up almost exclusively of humans. Wild sylphi, akin to dryads or forest spirits, are present in the Muraymuna jungles and even in the Mimraban mangrove forests. Other species may be present on the edges of Dehrthaa, such as trolls on the peripheries of the Qaywandar or in and around the coasts (especially the Mimrabans and the coasts of Muraymuna).

Due to the invasion attempted by the plant-king known as the World-Conqueror, who came from the south-west, there may be a residual sylphi presence in the area between the Sumahna forestlands and the Qaywandar. The Sumahna may be home to a species of poisonous sylphi, but as people do not venture there it cannot be confirmed.

The people of the Muraymuna jungles likely do not venture either into Sumahna or the lands south of the jungles. Even if they wished to, the plain south of the jungles swiftly gives way to a vast mountain range that acts as a natural barrier. The people of Muraymuna are naturally disinclined to cross it.

### Dehrus

The Dehru are the native human population of Dehrthaa.

The Dehru people, with the exception of the Khadaar nomads, all boast black hair that is often compared to silk for how soft and straight it is. In men, beards range from straight and wavy to curly - such curls are at most large, rather than tightknit.

Eye colour is almost universally black, though again the Khadaar nomads tend to have a greater variety - amber, hazel, and brown. The Khadaar nomads also boast, along with black, brown and auburn coloured hair. While true black is not a normal human eye colour, the colour of Dehru eyes is just that.

Skin colours are generally quite dark - like the red clay from which the Dehru people believe they emerged. Those who dwell in the mountains tend to be the lightest of all.

The average height for men stands at 170 cm (5 ft 5 1⁄2 in) and for women at 160 cm (5 ft 2 1⁄2 in).

## History

### The Time of the Great Bloodletting (~1700-1000 BA)

> Know this, Mijaranta: the land of Dehrthaa is ancient, and so long as time and man have co-existed so has it been. But it was not always unified, and the people for long suffered beneath the yoke of oppressive shids who carved up the land into petty shidras and filled the world with suffering due to their constant warring and jealous feuds. They paid goodness and justice no heed and chased blindly after the fulfilment of their desires and ambitions, and so they killed and slaughtered, stole and raped, betrayed and conspired. And those were the times of the Great Bloodletting.
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> ...in those times most people were organised, not tribally or in rural settlements as was the case in even earlier times, but territorially – in units of land referred to, as I have said, shidras. Cities were emerging in the Juhmar river valley with diverse populations - different people coming from all over -, and there were also increasingly wealthy mercantile communities - traders, merchants! - and would-be rulers carving out important roles and large territories for themselves in and around such rising cities.
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> At the same time, however, these cities were not stable economic or political centres; changing lifestyles, political infighting, and disease reduced their viability. Amongst other things, there was heavy taxation on the peasantry and exploitation of the people by those in power.
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> —from *The Great Collected Piece for the One Who Shan’t from Knowing Cease writ that it may, at last, give such Valiant Seekers Peace* by Mijaranta the Scribe from the words of his sage and master Arahtura
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### The Sacred Ramshidra (~1000-500 BA)

> The One Who Frowns looked on all this and there grew within him great displeasure, and his displeasure blossomed into wrath... but before the full flower of his wrath could manifest itself unto the world it gave way to mercy. And so he saw fit to send to these straying people a guide.
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> It was so that the Glorified Mojtha came into the world and caused the thousand wayward shids and all their confederates to flee in terror and humiliation. And his days were many and glorious, and all of Dehrthaa, even from the green plains of the Khadaar to the deep jungles of Muraymuna, knew peace and harmony beneath the shade of the glorified Ramshid’s sagacious and divinely-inspired rule. When at last he shed his worldly chains, he did not simply die like you or me - for it is not the lot of those such as he to perish into dust away - but his glories cleansed and carried him, and the heavens called and beckoned him, and the people venerated and magnified him, so that he ascended on high and suffused all below, and all voices praised and glorified him and all heads fell in worship.
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> There came in his wake generation after generation of heirs, and of them were those who followed in the way of their father and well their duties to their people kept. They called to goodness, ordaining probity and proscribing vice, and they guarded their people against external threats and internal chaos and strife: so that when the Okur-Durcan rode forth from beyond the Khadaar, on their million dircaan-steeds, those gloried and just Ramshids sallied forth and smote them utterly and sent them north away; and when rapacious, jealous shids rose up to tear away the unity of Dehrthaa those hallowed and watchful Ramshids were the waiting hammer and fury, guardians of their people they! Those were the well-guided and successful, their spirits mighty and wise, and the One Who Frowns was pleased with them and caused them to rise up with their glorified father in death so that all voices should exalt them and follow in their way into eternity. Even now they are remembered and known, their deeds and virtues recounted; and all know them as Those of the Great Spirit.
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> Then there came after Those of the Great Spirit generation upon generation of heirs who mixed mindfulness of duty with neglect, acts of probity with those of vice, and who followed the way of their first father only in form and ritual. These survived on the legendary edifice Those of the Great Spirit had erected before them, and so they were safe and the people neither prospered nor suffered.
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> Then there came after them generation on generation of heirs to whom wickedness was made to appear good, and the people groaned beneath their decadence. They pursued the pleasures of the world and viewed themselves as living gods. They saw that all were to serve them, that all had duties to them and they to none. And the people raised their hands up and called with a single voice on the One Who Frowns to avenge them, and when he descended from the mountain, to grant them their harvest, how odious was the morn of those who had sown wickedness!
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> —from *The Great Collected Piece for the One Who Shan’t from Knowing Cease writ that it may, at last, give such Valiant Seekers Peace* by Mijaranta the Scribe from the words of his sage and master Arahtura
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### The Shidrasta (~500-22 BA)

> And there followed chaos and terror and a great bloodletting. In the vacuum left behind by the Ramshids emerged power-hungry mayors, governors, hard-eyed and untamed hillmen, feudal lords seeking self-aggrandisement, tribal chieftains, and rebellious peasant leaders.
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> They emerged from every crevice and cavern and deep ravine, they descended from every mountain pass and rose from every valley and came on every great elephant and horse and dircaan to carve up the land of Dehrthaa into disunited shidras once more. The law was that of the fishes, and strife was the lot of the weak. The ways of the Glorified Mojtha and Those of the Great Spirit were thrown to the wayside and all sought only to fulfil their vain desires and ambitions as in the times of the Great Bloodletting the shids had done afore.
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> In that time there were brief - fleeting - cycles in which parts of Dehrthaa experienced some respite. The fierce foreign Plant-King, known only as the World-Conqueror, arrived at the banks of the River Mur during that period and decisively defeated a number of shids in the utmost southwest of Dehrthaa. He then set about preparing his troops for entry into Dehrthaa proper.
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> Because of the World-Conqueror’s death, the invasion never occurred; yet among those shids preparing to battle him was one Tahlan-Amujjirta of the tribe of Mupkinraya. Tahlan-Amujjirta had soon rallied to himself the largest army in the west with hundreds of elephants and tens of thousands of infantrymen. By either conquering or making alliances with the shids of other city-states he established an empire that stretched across much of West Dehrthaa: from the western Muraymuna, across the Qaywandar, and into the Khadaar, with the Rock That Would Not Move marking his easternmost boundary.
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> Tahlan-Amujjirta’s grandson, Mokrasha, led some unsuccessful campaigns against the shids of the Place Betwixt the Rivers, until after a particularly brutal battle on the southern banks of the Muhaddir he was moved to convert to the Mojthast Rejectionist creed, or, at least, to selectively appropriate the teachings of his Mojthast mentors. Under Mokrasha’s selective application of Mojathaya, the rudiments of a compassionate judicial system were implemented, non-violence and vegetarianism were encouraged, and various religious sects were honoured - however, monasteries were patronised and Mojthast principles favoured over all others.
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> Needless to say, Mokrasha came to be a subject of intense dispute amongst later Mojthasts, with some claiming he was a Seed of the Mojtha - for they do not believe Mojtha to be an avatar of great Misnaya -, while others view him as a great Mojthast but no Mojtha, and others yet hold him to have been yet another opportunistic shid who used the faith for worldly self-aggrandisement. After Mokrasha’s death, the unity of his shidra dissipated and the west reverted to city-states and smaller shidras. And across Dehrthaa, the cycles of darkness and blood drew out into decades, and it seemed to all that this Shidrasta would continue on into eternity. But those who neglect duty scheme, and the One Who Frowns schemes also, and his schemes emerge ever above what they contrive.
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> —from *The Great Collected Piece for the One Who Shan’t from Knowing Cease writ that it may, at last, give such Valiant Seekers Peace* by Mijaranta the Scribe from the words of his sage and master Arahtura
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### The Ramshidra of Birsas shib Hur (22 BA-10 AA)

> So in time it was the will of the One Who Frowns that Birsas shib Hur should be, and when he became he was made mighty and he was made glorious - so much so that some Mojthasts declared that there was planted within him the Seed of Mojtha. And when he grew, he grew strong and he was imbued with wisdom and his mind was honed. And the One Who Frowns bid him go, and he was placed where his power flourished and the flower of his destiny was made to blossom and all shids were brought low before him, and all of the land of Dehrthaa and her peoples bowed to him and praised him. And he ascended to the throne and was hailed as Ramshid, the coming forth of Mojtha into the world once more.
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> —from *The Great Collected Piece for the One Who Shan’t from Knowing Cease writ that it may, at last, give such Valiant Seekers Peace* by Mijaranta the Scribe from the words of his sage and master Arahtura
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### The Civil War (10 AA-Present)

> But when the mortal form of Birsas was quashed and his essence ascended to the One Who Frowns, there came after him sons who did not keep to his way. They allowed greed and the dereliction of duty to take root in their hearts so that there was a terrible bloodletting. And it did not cease until the sons of Birsas had all perished bar the one called Dagran - and now as I speak to you the Dehrthaa finds itself splintered between Dagran who rules in the Place Betwixt the Rivers and the shid Arkhus shib Mucazim, who has married himself to Muwayma the granddaughter of Birsas, in the southern Khadaar. In the northern Khadaar the nomads have broken free of their ties to the southern shids and united themselves about a great warlord called Shuhgumir. The shids of Qaywandar, like those of the Mimrabans, are divided amongst themselves and watch fearfully and cautiously what those mighty shidras of the Khadaar, Muraymuna, and Place Betwixt the Rivers do. And in the Muraymuna we have seen the rise of the One-Godders continue unchecked - they have established their state there, first under the Teacher-Sage Roja Karn and then - after his assassination and the cessation of the Teacher-Sages - under the powerful Shidilshid Muhabarat. The unity of Dehrthaa is once more shattered, and we stand at the cusp of a great bloodletting once again.
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> —from *The Great Collected Piece for the One Who Shan’t from Knowing Cease writ that it may, at last, give such Valiant Seekers Peace* by Mijaranta the Scribe from the words of his sage and master Arahtura
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The Dehrthaa civil war started off due to the death of ramshid Birsas shib Hur, who had united all of Dehrthaa for the first time in centuries. His death instigated a heated dispute between his three sons - in age order: Hernam, Dagran, Sahrur - and that soon erupted into a succession crisis.

Shid Arkhus shib Mucazim, the lord of the southern Khadaar, threw his forces in with the youngest of the royal brothers, Sahrur. Sahrur eventually bested Hernam, taking his head in battle, and seemed on the brink of victory over his remaining sibling. But one morning he was found strung up by the neck in his war tent. The remaining brother, warprince Dagran, claimed victory and the throne, but Sahrur’s loyalists - led by the aforementioned shid Arkhus - rejected his authority and instead enthroned Sahrur’s then-infant daughter, Muwayma shil Sahrur, as ramshida.

The war raged on, and some years later Arkhus married himself to Muwayma and declared himself her regent until the day she would come off age. By then the war had drawn to a stalemate with neither foe able to seek conclusive battles or pursue major offensives. Raids by the Okur-Durcan nomads who dwell beyond the northern frontiers of the Khadaar meant Arkhus could not pursue an offensive and leave the north unprotected. So he was satisfied holding the line at the River Muhaddir, the natural southern boundary separating the Khadaar from the rest of the Dehrthaa. The last all-out warfare occurred around 14-15 AA.

Now things are picking up again (30 AA) and the forces of Dagran and Arkhus are preparing to march against each other once more.

### Addendum

#### The One-Godders

> I will tell you now of the One-Godders of Muraymuna and how they came to be. This movement came about in the late-Shidrasta. It was initiated by Ghinkulo the Teacher, whose simple message was spread through his prolific writings and extensive travels in all directions: God is one and supreme, he said. He is the all-pervading Creator — fearless, timeless and self-existent — who can be realised only through His own grace. All men are equal; discrimination on the basis of one’s position in society or creed as well as the suppression of women is to be denounced.
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> Ghinkulo advocated the righteous life of a householder against that of the ascetic. He declared that this world is a reflection of divine purpose and so man’s duty is to improve the condition of his fellow beings through, love, compassion, and right conduct. Practical virtue, rather than abstract piety, is the preferred way. Honest work, charity and the remembrance of the true God’s name is the path to salvation and release.
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> While being clear that his belief system was a break from Dehru tradition, Ghinkulo preached that one’s soul would reincarnate in this universe unless it attains release, which is to be achieved through the grace of the God. In its corporeal attire, the soul passes through cycles of birth and rebirth. Through Divine Grace, it can merge back into the Cosmic Soul and escape the cycle of life and death.
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> Ghinkulo denounced the oppression and tyranny of the ruling classes, protesting against the conquests carried out by the Mupkinrayas who had ‘stormed across the land with their wedding party of sin from Sondarba’. He lamented the suffering inflicted by the shids on innocent citizens, particularly the womenfolk. His reaction was not just of an eyewitness but also of a philosophical sage, a visionary and a poet. The shortcomings of the age, the profligacy of rulers, the nature of the divine will, and the suffering that mankind has to endure when the whih principles on which the world rests are ignored were all brought out in his compositions which are renowned for their spiritual depth and literary beauty.
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> This protest can be regarded as the genesis of the clash of the One-Godder faith with the shids.
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> When Ghinkulo settled down in Sokalkapur on the southern banks of the River Juhmar after more than thirty cycles on the road, he gathered around him a congregation which was a precursor to the community that was to follow. Here he taught the ways of the true worship of God, the practice of true whih – which he defined as duty – the discipline of true reflection and meditation as well as the rejection of outward form and false status based on one’s position in society or wealth. Here started the practice of singing the praises of God. Here too were seen the beginnings of the institution of the communal mess hall. A new community with its own tradition of companionship, values, and beliefs was thus born at the southern bank of the Juhmar. For Ghinkulo and for One-Godders, the lowest is equal with the highest in race as in creed, in social and political life as in religious hopes.
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> After Ghinkulo’s death, the head of the community who followed him came to be known as the Teacher-Sage. One of these, Buhra Letfu, made very significant social innovations that were to form an important aspect of a distinct One-Godder cultural identity, including the prohibition of the practices of wide immolation for women, as well as the propagation of widow remarriage and marriages between people of different positions in society.
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> The Teacher-Sage after him was Shurdas, his devoted disciple and son-in-law, who chose to build a town where the River Mur flows into Lake Raiya in Muraymuna. This town would get the name of Shurdaskan, later renamed Rutsa-kul; Lake Raiya would house the Temple of the Hundred Pillars. The One-Godders were encouraged to make contributions in coin, kind, and service for the growth of the town; in fact, the spirit of voluntary labour remains strong among One-Godders to this day.
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> The Temple was completed by the next Teacher-Sage, who asked a well-known Theistic Mojthast monk to lay the foundation stone. The simple and modest temple, as it then was, had none of the trappings of extravagance usually associated with such buildings. It was lower than the surrounding land and not towering above; it had five entrances and was thus open to people of all positions in society. The Temple was to undergo destruction and desecration many times at the hands of conquering shids, and would be given its present spectacular form by Shidilshid Muhabarat after the death of Ramshid Birsas and the rise of the independent One-Godder state.
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> Due to the martyrdom of a number of Teacher-Sages at the hands of shids, and as the One-Godder community came to realise that the non-violent martyrdom of sages would not awaken the comatose conscience of the oppressive regime, a martial spirit came into existence under the auspices of one Teacher-Sage Rhugaham. The One-Godders were taught to take up arms, but only in self-defence and for the right cause. Wearing two axes around his waist — one for spirituality and the other for temporal power — Rhugaham gathered a body of soldiers around him and spent much time on martial exercises and hunting.
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> These developments were a challenge to the shids. The fledgling army clashed with marauding shids on several occasions and emerged victorious, showing that the seemingly all-powerful warrior-ruler class of shids could be successfully challenged. A new spirit of armed defiance and pride in their prowess had entered the consciousness of the One-Godders which was celebrated by the singing of heroic ballads, accompanied by the blood-stirring strains of the sarangi at the Court of the Temporal Throne, the new temporal seat of the faith built right across from the Temple of the Hundred Pillars (which had become the spiritual centre).
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> Matters came to a head when a delegation of Shedder Rejectionists came to Teacher-Sage Marukbam, requesting him to save them from the conversions being enforced by one shid Fuhara’s priests. After deliberating over the matter, the Teacher-Sage declared that if the shid could convert him to Reformed Ritualism, the Shedder Rejectionists would follow suit. This was a direct challenge to Fuhara who ordered that Marukbam be brought to his seat at Palukban in fetters. Marukbam did not wait for his captors but began moving towards Palukban of his own accord. When finally arrested, he was brought to Palukban in a cage of wood and bamboo.
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> The priests challenged the Teacher-Sage to perform a miracle or convert to Reformed Ritualism. When he refused, three of his close companions, who had joined him, were killed in his presence. Thereafter, the Teacher-Sage himself was beheaded in the market square; there stands today a One-Godder temple known as the Bloodhall of Marukbam the Saint. It is said that a terrible storm then raged through Palukban and, during the storm, a humble One-Godder recovered the Teacher-Sage’s head and took it to Rutsa-kul, where Marukbam’s son Roja Karn was. The body was similarly smuggled away by another follower to his own hut at a place called Gulik Hill, and the hut was set afire to cremate the body. A solemn memorial made of white marble was later built on this site, the Gulik Shrine.
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> The jungle shids of the Muraymuna then watched Roja Karn’s growing power and influence with consternation, though the coming of Ramshid Birsas ensured peace. With his death, the One-Godders were unleashed under the leadership of first Roja Karn and then, after his assassination and the cessation of the Teacher-Sages, under Shidilshid Muhabarat. Now all of Muraymuna is in the hands of those unyielding One-Godder warriors.
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> —from *The Great Collected Piece for the One Who Shan’t from Knowing Cease writ that it may, at last, give such Valiant Seekers Peace* by Mijaranta the Scribe from the words of his sage and master Arahtura
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The One-Godders were traditionally ruled by Teacher-Sages believed to be in some kind of communion with the god. The last such Teacher-Sage was called Roja Karn and was assassinated relatively recently (~11 AA). Since his death, the Teacher-Sages have ceased in their traditional form and the rulership of the One-Godder community-now-state has fallen to a temporal ruler dubbed the Shidilshid (King of Kings). The current Shidilshid, who has reigned since Roja Karn's death, is named Muhabarat.

Following the fall of the Ramshidra, Roja Karn led the community against the shids of the Muraymuna, defeating many and swiftly expanding the nascent state. Following his assassination, Muhabarat continued this - proving himself a particularly gifted military leader and statesman - cleansing more or less all of Muraymuna of shids.

The One-Godders have not, as of yet, shown any sign that they seek to militarily expand beyond Muraymuna, content to continue consolidating themselves in the jungle, although their religious presence is being felt more powerfully now that they have the patronage of a large and militarily powerful state.

Internally the One-Godders are relatively tolerant of other creeds, generally permitting practice so long as it is not at complete odds with One-Godder morality (thus they do not accept things like having the wife sacrifice herself if she is preceded in death by her husband, excessively cruel treatment of slaves, attempts at rigidly enforcing social hierarchy). The state is quite centralised and cohesive as far as early bronze-age realms go, probably aided by religious zeal's chilling effect on corruption.

As an important note, politically it is quite unstable - previously the handover process from Teacher-Sage to Teacher-Sage was quite clear, but now that rule is purely temporal there are no clear laws or norms for succession.

#### The Khadaar Nomads

The Khadaar nomads traditionally swore allegiance to the lords of the southern Khadaar, and their primary role was to keep the Okur-Durcan checked. Naturally they raid the Okur-Durcan and are also raided, and it is not infrequent for nomadic bands to set off and raid southern Khadaar villages or lie in wait for Arrak caravans. Since the collapse of the Ramshidra of Birsas they have slowly gained greater independence from the lord of the southern Khadaar largely due to many of the tribes coming under the sway of a powerful warlord named Shuhgumir.

The Khadaar nomads, though uniting under their warlord, are likely too busy with Okur-Durcan to commit to either side of the civil war.

#### The Okur-Durcan

The Okur-Durcan are not a Dehru people. They are nomads who inhabit, at the very least, the stretches of the southern Weeping Plains, and are known for riding dircaans (indeed, Okur-Durcan means something to the effect of Dircaan-Riders and is the Dehru term for them rather than what they call themselves.)

#### Shids of Qaywandar and the Mimrabans

There are many petty lords in Qaywandar and the Mimrabans who swear loyalty to either Arkhus or Dagran but are pretty much independent. Notably, the eastern parts of the strip between Qaywandar and Sumahna is considered Dehru Marcher Shid territory. These are likely the most powerful petty shidras in Dehrthaa. Though naturally not quite on par with major actors on their own, any unified action between them is to be reckoned with.

These marcher shids seek to carefully manage the flow of people and goods into Dehrthaa - they impose harsh taxes, but not so harsh as to make the journey to Dehrthaa unprofitable for merchants or to call on themselves retribution from powerful heartland shids.

#### The 'World Conqueror'

What the Dehru people call 'the World-Conqueror' plant-king who came with a massive army may not have actually been a king. It is likely that he was an Explorer or a mercenary leader of some kind. Due to this invasion, viewed as a time where the very existence of the Dehru people was threatened, the eastern parts of the strip between Qaywandar and Sumahna is considered Dehru Marcher Shid territory. There have been, ever since that time, a few powerful marches in place over the region. These seek to carefully manage the flow of people and goods into Dehrthaa - they likely impose harsh taxes, but not so harsh as to make the journey unprofitable or call on themselves retribution from powerful heartland shids.

The fauna and flora of this area consist of red foxes, wolves, dholes, wild horses, leopards and golden cats as you get into the foothills, wildcats and boars, various deer species. There are also likely goat and cattle herders about. It is likely very lightly forested - more of a grassy plain until it gets into the foothills where you begin to find thicker trees.

## Religion

Dehru faiths exhibit an almost universal belief in reincarnation and near enough every creed believes that escaping reincarnation (achieving 'soteriological release') to some kind of 'paradise' is the ideal. The only exception to this are certain atheistic sects that believe in neither reincarnation nor paradise.

Creeds range from polytheistic belief in the gods as real, personal entities that actually and physically exist, to an understanding of the gods as representations of abstract concepts and ideas one is to live by, to dualism, to purist panentheistic monotheism, to wholly atheistic beliefs.

The traditional religion of Dehrthaa is the ritualistic worship of the Serene Lord, the One Who Frowns, and the Thousand Terrible Things and Faces. This ritualistic religion is organised and led by a class of spiritual teachers known as Priests. Priests can generally be found in every locality and are organised in great temples in major cities. Such temples are usually built on sacred spots, which are identified either through written or oral accounts of the history and mythos of that spot or pilgrimage site, generally telling of the exploits of a deity at a particular place and of wondrous deeds done by worshippers and pilgrims to it.

While ritual remains of great importance across Dehrthaa and the Priests benefit greatly from this continued importance, there is a powerful anti-ritualistic stream, known as the Rejectionists - that is, those who reject ritual. The Rejectionists emerged in the pre-Mojthaic period as a result of the forest movement - this was a movement that saw the “forest” as a place of refuge. Not only were there still heavy forests from Muraymuna to the Khadaar when it arose, but the “forest” also became a metaphor for the life of seeking and reflection, a haven from urban problems and a liminal space for finding the “truth”. The life of contemplation and asceticism was viewed favourably by those who spearheaded the movement and they tended to combine understanding with disciplined action. The Rejectionist stream of religious thought eventually developed from it. One may from time to time find pure forest ascetics, but they are a rarity now.

Beyond the Ritualists and Rejectionists, there is the One-Godder belief system, which is a recent break from the Dehru tradition. There is also the Laugh-Silence Dualist belief system, which perceives the One Who Laughs to be the primal creative force or living spark, without whom existence would not have come into being and so is worthy of worship. There are also innumerable local tribal religions such as the Sky-worship of the Khadaar Nomads.

Were one to ask a Dehru of any sectarian persuasion as to the core of religion, the most likely response (with some exceptions) would be that it is whih. The term whih implies a sense of reciprocity between tibaya and each individual within nature. Tibaya is understood to be nature or cosmic law, the cosmic processes as a whole; the ultimate truth which regulates and coordinates the operation of the universe and all in it. This larger cosmos supports all beings within it, and so all beings are obliged to support the cosmos. Whih is carrying out actions that uphold cosmic ‘balance’ and so prevents chaos. In this sense, it pervades all aspects of an individual’s life and pertains to things such as fulfilling of social, legal, and ritual duties in a manner that does not disrupt the cosmic balance. It entails, for instance, a reverential attitude toward life, right conduct toward one’s parents, siblings, and children, right conduct between spouses, and right conduct to people at large. Whih is thus not so much a belief in a deity or performance of rituals, but is a way of existing in harmony with nature.

Ultimately, however, one must seek release from all the world’s processes, a soteriological release into the great silence (in atheistic belief systems) or into the Serene Lord (in some theistic belief systems). Without it, one has nowhere to go and must continue in the world forever in a cyclical process of death, life, devolution, and renewability. This world of suffering, change, and disquietude is the arena from which one seeks release into the utter harmony of either the silence or the Serene Lord. This is natural, for existence emerged from a disruption of the original and sublime silence of pre-existence, and so all beings - and existence itself - yearns for a return to that silence.

The law known as the Law of Cause and Effect is a fundamental logic to this universal process. Those who maintain the balance in their thoughts and actions can expect good to happen to them, while those who disrupt it will reap what they have sowed. One could “use” the Law of Cause and Effect to bring about desired results, including one’s own soteriological release. With time, this law has come to be used in the hands of the powerful as a legitimation of status and power: *our status is the result of our good past cause-acts; while their low status is a result of their bad past cause-acts*. Yet many creeds refute this: for just as there is a logic of cause and effect to the universe, so too in human affairs; good cause-acts can bring about good consequences, no one is locked-in to the results of the cause-acts of previous lives. One's actions will affect their present life too, not just the next one.

Different spiritual teachers have prescribed different paths that lead one towards observing whih and so towards living in accordance with tibaya. Lists of things to abstain from and things to do (Abstentions and Actions) appear in both Rejectionist and Ritualist schools.

* In the polytheistic beliefs of the **Ritualists** and in local beliefs, like **Khadaar Nomad Sky-worship** and others, the god known as the Serene Lord tends to be treated as the ultimate god, though he is largely considered to be far removed from the affairs of mortals or even the affairs of the other gods. Most view all the other gods as being lesser gods relative to the Serene Lord, while some believe that some gods - particularly the One Who Frowns, though the One Who Laughs is sometimes included - have ascended to such a level as to be his equals. The One Who Frowns is believed to have emerged in pre-existence when there was nothing but the Serene Lord. When the Laugh cleft through pre-existence, the Serene Lord opened his eyes and frowned, thus releasing the One Who Frowns into the world to chase down the one who had caused the Laugh. How the One Who Laughs came about is unclear, and there are many different beliefs surrounding the matter, but it is accepted that the world came about as a result of the lengthy chase and wars that took place between the two gods. The war has not come to an end, but the chase ended when the One Who Frowns caused Qaywandar to emerge from the earth and took it for a throne. He now sits atop the hallowed mount and watches over the silk-haired and clay-fingered people, and from there he commands his host of lesser gods known as the Thousand Terrible Things and Faces (the One Who Laughs similarly has a host of such lesser gods). For Ritualists, the Glorified Mojtha is believed to have been an aspect or avatar of the One Who Frowns through Misnaya, one of the lesser gods known as the Thousand Terrible Things and Faces. He came into the world to restore balance and order, and when he returns to the world he returns as an avatar of Misnaya under any name and not necessarily as the Mojtha. The Mojtha’s greatness, for them, lies in his having been an avatar of Misnaya.
* **Mojthast Rejectionists** are a diverse religious group who can be broadly split into Theists and Atheists. Theists believe the Glorified Mojtha was an anointed mortal who achieved godhood due to his spiritual and material struggle. Atheists, who do not believe in material gods, believe that the Mojtha was an elevated spiritual teacher and master of men, the first in existence to achieve soteriological release. For Atheists, anyone who achieves release is a manifestation of the Mojtha. For them, Those of the Great Spirit are all Manifestations. Theists believe that the Mojtha himself is reborn into the world in times of strife to bring about his glorious and harmonious rule once more. For them the world is a cycle, the high point of the cycle is the rule of the Mojtha while the low point is the disintegration of it all in preparation for the next coming of the Mojtha and re-establishment of the Mojthaic order. Such is the cyclical nature of all things in existence, from the smallest living creatures to the broad movement of history and the world. Atheists believe that the seed of the Mojtha may be planted within anyone at any time if they are: a. mindful of the way, b. the condition of the times demands the Mojtha, and c. they take an active role in counteracting the prevailing corruption. It is important to note that Theist Mojthasts believe Mojtha to be the ultimate god and do not believe in the Serene Lord or the One Who Frowns, and the pantheon of gods beneath the Mojtha is made up of those who have achieved release.
* Like Theistic Mojthasts, **Shedder Rejectionists** have their own pantheon made up of Forest-Teachers and those who have shed “anti-motes” and so achieved release. They are not active gods, but are the embodiment of perfection and the release to which all yearn.
* In **Laugh-Silence Dualism**, both the Serene Lord and the One Who Laughs are treated as equally powerful opposites. In their belief, the One Who Laughs is the creative force and living spark, energy and vitality; the manifestation of sound. The Serene Lord is death, cessation (as well as thought and wisdom); the manifestation of silence.
* **One-Godders** believe in one god only, who is both transcendent and immanent, meaning that he permeates both within and without the cosmos. The universe is his own emanation, an aspect of himself. While he is thus all-pervasive, he remains separate and distinct from creation. They are, in this sense, panentheistic. While some One-Godders have no qualms referring to their god as the Serene Lord, others do not do so because that name implies a gender when their god is genderless, and they also wish to differentiate themselves from other beliefs and to make clearer that the One-Godder belief system is a break from Dehru polytheistic and atheistic traditions.

### Ritualist Pantheon

The pantheon of the Ritualist is split into three tiers. At the top is the god known as the Serene Lord. On the tier below are the two gods known as the One Who Frowns and the One Who Laughs (for some both are on the same level as the Serene Lord, and it should be noted that the One Who Laughs is considered a personification of evil by most). The final tier is made up of gods who emerged due to the conflict between the One Who Frowns and the One Who Laughs; these are called the Thousand Terrible Things and Faces and are the gods most involved in the daily lives of mortals.

* One of these gods is Riorga, a warrior par excellence, patron of warriors, and celestial counterpart to the warrior-shid, the perfect warrior ideal. As he is red, he is also linked to the priestly sacrificial tradition of Hunara (Evandra-Neiya), the Terrible Thing and Face associated with fire, fertility, love, beauty, marriage, children, devotion, divine strength and power; and who is the cosmic embodiment of the feminine creative force. She is the unnamed goddess often worshipped by the sedentary peoples of the southern Khadaar, and for whom animals - and sometimes even humans - are sacrificed.
* Another god is Muikwinda the war god, the image of youthfulness and wisdom, described as the son of Riorga and Hunara. He also embodies seven folk heroes (his avatars) and so he naturally also reflects heroism.
* There is also the god Misnaya (Gibbou-Tekret), the god of protection, balance, order, justice, sustenance, law, and mediation. His avatars, such as the Mojtha, are thought to come into the world to restore balance when chaos reigns supreme. The Glorified Mojtha is considered a deity in his own right by many and is perhaps the most important figure in Dehru history as well as being, beyond his historical person, the driving force behind some of the most important concepts in Dehru religious thought.
* Ylludraa (Illyd Dyll) is the golden-skinned, flute-blowing god of the harvest, rain, crops, and father to the gods of the seasons. One of his daughters is the blue-skinned, white-haired goddess Zuarshima, Queen of Winter, who famously despises men and is the goddess of winter, mountain glaciers, storms, wind, and snow. She was wooed by Qaywandar the god of mountains and stone and became his consort, mothering by him the river goddesses Dahuur, Juhmar, Muhaddir, and Mur. These river goddesses are all the consorts of Shirmundhar the great ocean god and lord of the Sea of Mimarba. They famously cannot satisfy him no matter how mightily they flow. While the goddess of the Mur once flowed into the sea also, she no longer does because she grew so jealous of having to share Shirmundhar with her sisters that she eloped with Raiya, god of Lake Raiya and one of the innumerable sons of Shirmundhar.
* The great Mihanna is one of the chief goddesses of Reformed Ritualism and is the goddess of magic, alchemy, knowledge, learning, writing, fortune, prosperity, and wealth. She is often depicted as a stern, many-armed woman with a great halo of magic behind her. She holds scales with coins inside them in one hand, a palm manuscript in another, reed pen and inkwell in others.
* The god Ahthaaruhs is another chief god, being the god of whih, soteriological release, death, and paradise. Whih and release are perhaps the most important concepts in Dehru religions, making Ahthaaruhs a central figure. He is not considered a teacher of whih, however, and does not help along the way to release - that is for other gods. Rather, he presides over the great cycle of life and death and makes the final judgment on whether a person has lived in accordance with whih and so can be permitted to escape the cycle. Bodies must be burned to appease him and avoid the coming of his horrendous servants, who consume the bodies of the dead that the soul may fly free.
* Orjarnibapti (Genesis) is the green-skinned plant-god of the strange plant-people who dwell in the regions south-west of Dehrthaa, and is also the glorious god of forests and nature, as well as being a god of wisdom. He is also the god of outsiders, associated with cemeteries, forests, and non-urban places, and so is depicted as the ideal spiritual teacher.
* Hertaramfti is the bee-winged god of work, labourers, construction, engineering, architecture, civilisation, and time.
* Hivilarti is the great god of the sun, day, goodness, light, life, preservation, justice, and of great open expanses. While he is not considered the creator god of mankind, he is the one who maintains their life and the life of all else, and is considered to be involved and concerned with even the minutiae of human life. When all other gods fail those who invoke them, it is known that Hivilarti will not.
* Lukimbashi (Lucia-Meghzaal) is the beauteous goddess of music, dance, poetry, art, tattoos, speech, beauty, and mysticism. She is also the other god of wisdom, along with Orjanibapti. She is often depicted as an ebony-skinned, golden-haired woman of slender build boasting golden tattoos across her form.
* Nirjurti is the god of stars, guidance, journeys, nomadism, ascetic wandering, constellations, and astrology. When the augurs are called, it is Nirjurti they invoke, and no journey begins without calling on his aid and none end except that he is praised. Mendicant-ascetics can often be found wearing tokens with his symbols on them, which are known to safeguard one's travels and ensure you arrive at wherever you are meant to be - important for ascetics who wander aimlessly for the most part.
* Malmatuli (Yamat-Fe'ris-Ganglion) is the demon-god of violence, bloodshed, sacrifice, chaos, battle, misfortune, and strife. Human and animal sacrifices are practised, amongst other things, as a way of appeasing him.
* Arurkalti (Aicheil-Firinn) is the retiring god of meditation, dreams, truthfulness, destiny, and guardian of the barrier between the world of suffering and the world of release or paradise. In this sense, he is the first judge of whether a person may be permitted release from the cycle of life and death, while Ahthaaruhs is the final judge. It is thought that he speaks with people in their dreams and causes lies to come unveiled.

### Augury

There are many augury-related practices. The Khadaar nomads, for instance, carry out ritual horse entrail readings. There is great regional diversity. Not all augurs are actually carrying out true augury as taught by Sirius - some may be sincere but misguided while others may be intentionally lying. There are, however, enough true augurs to mean the practice is generally trusted and widespread.

### Sacred Architecture

#### Roadmarkers and Roadside Shrines

The roads of Dehrthaa, oft-travelled by ascetic-mendicants, boast roadmarkers and roadside shrines. The former are to be found on little-travelled roads and are generally a number of stones piled on top of each other (bigger flat ones at the bottom, smaller ones as it rises), while oft-travelled or major roads boast shrines. These markers and shrines came about as a way of blessing roads and are often associated with the god Nirjurti by Ritualists (though all mendicants, including Rejectionists, contribute to them for varying reasons).

One who comes across a roadmarker either leaves behind a stone or straightens it up if it is has fallen. Shrines, meanwhile, generally come about due to a rich person's patronage, often developing from particularly large roadmarkers on busy roads. These are carved and decorated by passing ascetics, and it is not uncommong to find several roadmarkers - generally intricately carved and decorated - in a shrine's vicinity.

#### Ritualist Temples

Temples are generally structured in four parts. The first is the entrance, usually a down-leading stairway with carvings of spirits and birthing - this represents the journey into life. It leads, through a door or entryway, into a great chamber - usually the largest - which boasts highly carved walls and ceiling. These are carvings of life's many pleasures and sufferings. This chamber represents life; there is generally a route leading right through it towards a rising staircase. In particularly impressive temples this may be a winding route that rises and falls to represent life's tumults. The staircase out represents rising above life after seeing it for what it truly is - the doorway out is not quite visible, but that is usually the case when one begins their ascension above life.

Once through this second doorway, one enters into a small sanctum containing many statues of the gods. These are generally quite large and dyed or inked. Across from the entry-door is another door leading into a usually short hallway. One standing in the sanctum would see the end of this hallway as being pure light. Once one walks through the hallway they enter an inner sanctum with a huge statue of the Serene Lord; the ceiling is extraordinarily high and for an outsider looking at the temple it generally like a small mountain rising up at the rear of the temple. This is usually impressively carved and decorated from the outside, as is all of the temple.

To exit, one circles around the statue of the Serene Lord to find a doorway out.

## Politics

The region is currently experiencing a civil war that has seen the once-united nation split into four major factions and numerous minor ones. The four major factions are:

* The Khadaar nomads of the northern Khadaar, led by the great warlord called Shuhgumir.
* The sedentary peoples of the southern Khadaar, led by lord Arkhus shib Mucazim, who is married to the deceased ramshid's granddaughter.
* Warprince Dagran shib Birsas, who rules in the Place Betwixt the Rivers and is the son of the deceased ramshid Birsas.
* King of Kings Muhabarat, who rules the One-Godder state in the jungles of Muraymuna.

The minor factions include countless fiefdoms and duchies in the Qaywandar Highlands and Lowlands and in the Mimrabans.

## Misc.

### Paper

The people of Dehrthaa use palm leaf sheets for paper. Text is inscribed with a knife pen - similar to a stylus - on rectangular cut and cured palm leaf sheets. Colourings are then applied to the surface and wiped off, leaving the ink in the incised grooves. Each sheet typically has a hole through which a string can pass, and with these, the sheets are tied together with a string to bind like a book. A palm leaf text thus created can typically last between a few decades and about six-hundred years before it decaying due to dampness, insect activity, mold, and fragility. When this happens, the document has to be copied onto new sets of dried palm leaves.

Papyrus is imported and slowly entering greater use due to the greater simplicity and swiftness afforded by being able to directly apply ink to the surface of the page while writing.

### Perceptions

Outsiders likely perceive Dehrthaa as a land of many strange cults and creeds, forest ascetics who teach mysterious knowledge and dark-eyed priests in great, forbidding temples. The nation is likely quite renowned for exotic spices, giving an impression of great wealth and agricultural plenty. Those closer to Muraymuna may have their impressions coloured by that and believe them to be the Dehru norm - wild naked men, similarly (un)clad alluring forest women. Those closer to the Khadaar may perceive them as horse nomads who raid and ride.

Of particular note would be the idea that their hair is universally black and their eyes universally obsidian (the latter is not true as the Khadaar nomads have a variety of eye colours). Dehrthaa is also probably perceived to be one powerful, unified realm under the rule of a distant emperor of some kind - the foreign adaptation of the title usually being some play on 'Ramshid'.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 https://www.roleplayerguild.com/posts/5186662