Nevashi

People of Nevah
The Nevashi are a people that live in cities and moving caravans in the desert of Nevah'leh in the continent of Kere'leh, they specialise in export of herbs and spices they gather in the desert. The desert life is hard as well, this has shaped them to be very dedicated to overcome hardship in their lives, if something blocks their path they will get through it and they will strive to overcome any trials.

The Nevashi can be divided in two groups, the city dwellers and the desert nomads.

The Nevashi are ruled by a senate consisting of the noble families, each noble family controls one city. It's also worth to note that females often hold high position in their culture, both politically and economically. The military is dominated by males however, females in the military often serve as healers or representatives of the senate.

History
The history of the Nevashi is not well recorded. It is known that they first consisted of nomads moving over the desert from oasis to oasis, gathering resources to support themselves. They never amounted to a high population enough to be considered a nation and no cities could be formed. This is because of the Desert Devils, a small sand fish that will hunt down anything they can in large swarms that they can find. They find things using vibration and moving constantly like the nomads does creates a background vibration that confuse the Desert Devils, leaving them to hunt wild Akvener mostly.

The city dwelling part of the history started after some people started to hunt the Desert Devils using traps, once the population had been reduced cities could be formed. The cities did require a solid wall underneath the sand to keep any rogue Desert Devils out.

Once cities had been formed, the desert nomads started to export the herbs and spices they found in the desert using coast cities, this was something another kingdom did not like, as they also exported similar goods, but of a lower quality. The economic tension resulted ultimately in a war. Using the healing herbs the Nevashi manage to reduce losses to a incredible high amount and could simply overwhelm their enemies after a great war of attrition.

This use of the healing herbs did result in a high male population, which lead to females gaining power.

Government
The Nevashi are ruled by a senate consisting of the noble families of the Desert, each family controlling a city. The heads of the noble families themselves never go to the senate and send only representatives to act in their stead, only times of crisis will the noble leaders assemble, such as war or great disaster. The Goverment, the land and the nation is referd to as Nevah'leh.

The noble families enjoy great freedom when it comes to rule of their cities, they collect their own taxes and have their own share of the nations army. They also make their own law, but everyone is subjective to the senate laws, nobles and commoner alike. If a noble family is found to break the senate laws, they will lose their noble status, if they refuse, the senate will send the army to force them to surrender. As each family only controls a part of the army, the other nobles tend to gladly dispose of their economic rivals.

There is also a representative of the nomads in the senate who makes sure nothing decided will make life harder for the nomads. She has the power to veto any decision she wants if it's related to the nomads. Such veto power tends not to be needed however, as the nomad caravans tend to be the lifeblood of the cities and few nobles would ever dare to anger them.

Notable Noble Families:

 * House Nilar, noted for being incredibly wealthy. Lords of Kelvo
 * House Delor, controls the biggest export city. Lords of Dak-Vol
 * House Heri, personally controls the biggest school in the desert. Lords of Kelsi
 * House Gardi, own a considrible part of Nevashi cloth industri, Lords of Garker
 * [More to be created]

Laws
As mention, the nobility decides the law in their own cities and are free to do whatever they want as long as they don't break the law given decided by the senate. Punishment is also decided by the nobilities and can vary from fines, imprisonment, slave labor and executions. The senate law is very strict on murder, anyone who murders a visiting trader or another Nevashi will be sentenced to death. How is up to the nobility.

A common punishment for deserters is to be forced in to slave labor for the military and to be branded a deserter by a mark set by hot metal. Becoming a social pariah for the rest of your life, deserting is the same as abandoning your challenge and just running away. That is not seen as the proper Nevashi way.

Culture
The Nevashi treat strength in all forms as a mark that you have overcome great trials and challenges, be it raw strength, skill, wisdom, knowledge, or political cunning. The life in the desert is no dance on roses and the people is well aware of it. Your entire life will be challenges that try to stop you and if you are strong enough you will overcome them.

The people have great understanding as to how things must proceed in the desert in order to live, without the nomad caravans the cities will lose their export and without their export the caravans will lose a great deal of resources. The Desert Devil Hunters are also greatly respected for their service in making the desert safer, all parts must work together in order for the people to live. As such, being rude to someone else is seen in a very negative light. Being rude is a privilege to the noble families to be rude to other nobles, as they can easily be replaced and they know it. Politics is truly worse no matter where you go, they constantly plot against each other in order to support their own economy.

Women usually hold high positions in the desert, hailing from the old time of the great war, women would basically sell themselves as there was far more males around at the time after the war, this granted them a economic lead and after a few generations they were dominant in politics and economy. As women holds higher status than males in many fields, men are discouraged to speak up against them. Women don't have that however and are even encouraged to find flaws in other women's plans and orders in order to work themselves up the carrier and social ladder. Women who sit in very high position often have two-three assistants following her, assisting her in any way she might require and are there just to try finding flaws in her thinking so they can prove they are more worthy of the position. The only field were men are seen good enough to speak up against the female superiors is in the military.

Schools exist amongs the Nevashi but most only covers basic education, the only city that have facilities dedicated to learning beyond basic knowledge is Kelsi, creating the saying that 'all schoolars go to Kelsi, because there is no were else to go'. Figthing training is common in many schools but it's usually the father of the family who trains his sons in some light combat.

A small part of the Nevashi population have a deep red hair color, often only 10-7%. It is unknown when this mutation appeard amongs the people of the desert as the nomads don't have much of a recorded history outside of oral stories. People's oppinion on these red haired folk varies greatly, anything from bringing luck to secret pact with demons. Most people don't care however.

Marriage
Among the Nevashi, marriage is decided amongst the families head, usually the mother or grandmother of the family. Marriage is decided to enforce friendship and bonds between families. A marriage ceremony is one of the few reason the Nevashi have of celebration and is considered the biggest day for many Nevashi, as the Nevashi have no priesthood the ceremony is conducted by the mothers of the two marrying people. Marriage ceremonies is usually also one of the few times the Nevashi will dance in public, dancing being mostly a private pastime.

After a marriage is performed, it's common to give the newly weeded couple alone time for a few days, they will often work together and spend much time alone, this is so they can get to learn each other in private.

Bastards are treated differently, while bastards can join the greater family they can't carry on their families name or tradition. While they can work at their families business they are not allowed to become fully a part of it, they get to have no saying nor reap the benefits for it. The only way out of this life for the bastards is to leave and find their own way, many families won't allow their children to marry a bastard so finding marriage is a difficult task.

Names
The Nevashi have a first name and a family name or a house name. The different between a house and a family name is the house name implies nobility or close relatives of the nobility. A common way to refer to someone is their first name and then "family name' family". For houses it's their first name and then "of house 'house name'". Family and house names always follows the woman's lineage.

Beverages
The Nevashi have generally a low tolerance toward alcohol, thus they tend to drink tea instead. The alcohol they do have is generally mixed with tea to weaken it. Tea is also a important part of decision making, leaders usually drink tea while talking over the current decision that must be made. Some of the teas are: Alcohol is only drunk lightly, being both hard to acquire and only drunk during celebrations. Some alcohol's include: There is a special drink called Drakel. Drakel is made from mixing all Ves, Qua, Almn, Nobilities tea, Swesh and Swor in a specific way. You also normally drink spiced Keri before to clear your mouth. To be given Drakel is considered a great honor because of the time it will take someone to gather all ingredients to make Drakel. Most Nevashi will never even see Drakel in their life.
 * Ves Tea. Made from Ves leaves. Orange color if prepared correctly, otherwise brown. The most common tea.
 * Qua Tea. Made from Ves leaves and Manger roots. Dark green color. The healthy tea choice.
 * Almn Tea. Made from crushed Almn seed. Dark, almost black color and bitter. Considered a blacksmith's tea.
 * Nobilities Tea. Made from sun dried cacti and Ves leaves and mixed with Akvener milk. Light brown color. Expensive to make.
 * Swesh. Made from Sari desert fruits. Dark yellow color. Very sweet.
 * Swor. Made from Sari mixed with Harken leaves. Light green color. Called "Twin drinks" alongside Swesh.
 * Keri. Made from Keri berries. Red color. Drunk without mixing it with tea and before drinking you boil it with spices and wait for it to cool.

Military
The Nevashi's army is divided in to several regiment, each regiment is located at one city and is controlled by the Nobility in charge of that city. The regiment serves as military, city guard and defenders against dangers of the desert against the city with the expectation of the Desert Devil, the Desert Devil hunters deal with them.

The military consist of recruits from the civilian population, recruits is first put through a trial to see their combat potential, after they become Ve'leh. The Ve'leh is pushed harder, given more tasks and walk first in to combat. If they survive the ordeal for long enough they lose their Ve'leh rank and join the regiment as a normal soldier.

Each regiment is ruled by a general. While the nobility often have their own representatives, the representatives is just there to tell him what need to be done, the general decides how this will be done.

A common way for soldiers to measure skills is to perform a Haken'tol duel. It's not uncommon for officers to perform Haken'tol duels to prove that they are worthy of a promotion or to show they are worthy of holding their position. Officers also encourage soldiers to duel when there is low activity.

Armament
The Nevashi greatly favors sword as their weapon of choice. In the desert any wood produced or imported is used for construction and most importantly, wagons, so production of bows, spears and arrows is out of the question. Shields exist but are rare and often reserves for officers when present.

Instead of a shield, the nevashi use something called bracer-shield, a large, well armored bracer used to block enemies attack. This focus on close combat have made the Nevashi great fighters and duelist.

Bows and arrow still exist, instead of being made of wood however they are made of bones. The bones are treated so they can be slightly bended, while they don't measure up to wooden bows in quality, they are significantly more sturdy and can even be used as a melee weapon should enemies get close. A tactic used by the Nevashi is to load their wagons filled with archers and have them move around the battlefield, arches are often trained to be able to stand on a moving wagon and shot accurately.

The armor the Nevashi use is a combination of metal, leather and desert devil scales. There are several design using different combination of these three materials but a regiment usually only use 2-3, one for arches, and one or two for infantry. Two different regiment can use different armors even, there is no national standard set.

Desert Devil Hunters
The Hunters usually have very refined, improved and fine armor, a set that you would normally find a officer wear is something a hunter use every day. While the hunters use the same weapons the army use, they often use tools in order to hunt the desert devils that is unique to them. Their main tactic is to fool the school of desert devils to split up or travel to areas that favors the hunters.

Economics
The majority of the Nevashi economy is in export of herbs and spices in the coast cities. They also import a great deal of goods as the desert is, well, a desert in resources. The little they have they usually use up themselves. Cities that are not coast cities usually grow herbs themselves to export to coast cities via oases. Not all desert herbs can be grown in a farm however and usually the most valued once are only found by the Nomad caravans as they travel through the desert. Some caravans relies only on traveling between cities, carrying farm grown herbs to the coast.

Some of the herbs grown are medicine herbs and some are spice herbs, there are even some narcotic herbs that are exported.

The coinage of the Desert is known as a Relik, a Relik is a silver coin with a golden core, the coin have no symbol on it what so ever and the only thing you feel on touch is the fact the center is made from a different material from the rest of the coin. This was a result of the senate could not agree on where the coins were to be minted, as every noble family is now forced to mint coins as the senate demands it (no single noble family wanted to accept the cost of minting all coins). The noble families could not agree on even a single design, so the coins are blank. This do make them easier to spot in the desert sun however.

One secondary export the Desert nomads do is gems, occasionally, the nomad caravans can find a gem or two in the sand. These are then polished, cut and made to beautiful jewelry.

Religion
The Nevashi worship a pantheon of gods, each god act as a judge for the nomads to see if they have become as strong, cunning, wise and so on as they could have become.

Temples are unheard of among the cities, shrines are enough for the nomads and they are usually located on the walls. Any religious activity is personal based and there is no organized order of priests and clerics.

Content Links

 * Original Post
 * Culture AMA
 * House Heri
 * Red Hair
 * "The Wedding Gift"
 * Name of the Nevashi
 * Name of 4;th continent
 * House Gardi
 * Expanded Culture
 * More Culture
 * Ve'leh recruits
 * Nevashi executions
 * Nevashi Beverages 1 and 2