Sairundan
Sairundan is a land far to the southwest of the city of Orussus, a loose federation of several seminomadic tribes, supposedly founded by djinni.
Currently, 13 tribes exist, each named after a storm or wind. These are the Aeolus, Bayamo, Boreas, Coromell, Etesian, Haboob, Hurakan, Kadja, Kohilo, Monsoon, Notus, Sirrocco and Zephyr.
Two tribes that have existed a long time in the past, but joined with other tribes are the Typhoon, who joined the Hurakan, and the Eurus, who joined the Monsoon.
Sairundani tend to be open-minded and friendly, and embrace change in a way that can be confusing to outsiders, but is actually a tradition for them. They love singing and dancing, and they enjoy travel and excitement.
Sairundani usually have a large and slender build, and fair or tanned skin. Brown and black hair is the most common, with occasional streaks of white or blue, while eyes are usually gray or blue. Sairundani of Sirocco descent often have red hair or brown eyes.
The language of the Sairundani is based on Auran, the language of air creatures. It is a soft, flowing language that lends itself to song and poem, and, like Auran, uses the Draconic alphabet.
Sairundani do not use clan or last names. Instead, they name themselves after their parent - usually their father. Males use ai (son of), and females yn (daughter of). Great heroes are sometimes awarded the honor to be called a son/daughter of their tribe, such as ai Monsoon. A few legendary heroes have been called ai Sairundan.
History and Legends
Ages ago, according to the legends, the djinn ruled the lands surrounding the Tower of Air, not by force, but by advise. Fourteen nobles were the advisors of fourteen human tribes, and the humans aimed to emulate both the power and the kindness of the genies. Other djinn similarly advised the other races that lived in the region. The advise given usually prevented large scale combat, but small skirmishes still happened.
Then, from the hobgoblins arose warlord Kar’Talagh, and he rallied most goblinoids under his banner, with the goal to overthrow the djinn and their “random tyranny of kindness”. The goblinoids marched against the djinn, but were utterly defeated, and scattered into all directions. Kar’Talagh, however, did not want to give up so easily, and tried to gather a new force from the east. He failed to enlist any new ercruits, however, and in his desperation, continued ever farther to the east, and into the desert surrounding the Tower of Fire. Miraculously, he managed to get closer to the Tower than any mortal before, and the Efreet of the Tower granted the dying warlord a single wish. With his dying breath, Kar’Talagh muttered “Revenge...Djinn... .” Bound by the wish, but also gleeful to get a chance to fight their hated cousins. Transporting armies of humans to Sairundan, the Efreet gained early advantages, but long, there was no decisive victory for either side.
The Sairundani, always lovers of freedom, did their best not to kill their opponents, but to free them from the grasp of the Efreet. More and more, they suceeded in doing so, and along with warriors of other tribes, the freed people became known as the fifteenth human tribe - the Sirocco. It was the Sirocco who realized that this tactic could be decisive in the war against the Efreet - as an old saying goes, “Fire is the most dangerous element because it cannot be destroyed. Fight fire not by fighting it, but by fighting its fuel.”
It did not take long after that, and the fifteen tribes marched together, united by a powerful war song, known as the “Song of the Storms United”. The Efreet and their armies were scattered as the goblinoids had been, and they retreated to the east. However, the Djinn also had suffered great casualties, and left Sairundan, supposedly to the Tower of Air.
The loss of their advisors hit the Sairundani, but they quickly adapted to the new situation. Over time, a few tribes joined or new tribes were formed. Only once was the Song of the Storms United sung again, as the tribes united against an orc horde that emerged from underground 700 years ago.
Outlook and Society
For a Sairundani, life is an adventure waiting to happen. Many Sairundani seek change and excitement, and travel the near lands. They do keep close ties to their tribes and families, but otherwise value their freedom and grant others their right of freedom, too. The most exemplar of this style of life might be the dervishes, who even sever the ties to their tribes.
Sairundani tribes are usually represented by a patriarch or matriarch who is aided by a small group of advisors. Anyone can become an advisor, and any advisor might be appointed to be patriarch should the current patriarch step down or die. Many patriarchs enjoy political bickering with their peers, stalling little, non-vital decisions in patriarchical council, but usually have the sense to quickly decide vital actions.
While many tribes travel the lands of Sairundan, a few tribes live in the cities that survived the wars against the Efreet. The largest city, Helatia, currently houses the Hurakan, while the Zephyr live in Baras, a small town. As it might be expected, several tribes have left a city they lived in for the change this step brings, and a tribe that leaves a city invites another tribe into the city. Most times, the invited tribe passes the invitiation to a different tribe, and so on, until a tribe does accept and moves into the town. Only a few tribes refuse to live in the cities entirely, namely the Sirocco and the Boreas.
The Sirocco have retained a few tendencies for stability from their enslavement to the Efreet, and their patriarch Harmattan may well be the oldest and longest-“ruling” of all patriarchs. Their education puts more emphasis on the value of freedom than the joy of life, and some Sairundani regard this as a flaw.
Characters
Sairundani have a long tradition of combat, and of the battle-related classes, fighters are the most common, quickly followed by rangers. These two classes are the most likely to pick up the traditional fighting style of the Sairundani dervishes, blending dance and fighting with two scimitars. Barbarians are a bit rarer, and paladins and monks almost non-existant, except among the Sirocco. Clerics and druids are equally uncommon, and most rever deities or forces of air and storm. Rogues and bards are quite common among the Sairundani, as scouts, advisors, emissaries and warsingers. Especially bards are well-liked as advisors. Wizards and sorcerers are rarer today than during the age of the djinn, with sorcerers being somewhat more common.
Magic, Lore, Superstitions and Faith
While arcanists are much rarer these days in Sairundan than they were during and shortly after the era of the Djinn, there is still a healthy tradition of elementalism among the wizards and sorcerers of Sairundan. Most spellcasters choose spells of air, cold and electricity natures, and sometimes sonic spells. Spellcasters wielding primarily fire spells are rare, and frowned upon. The druidic spellcasters share many likes and dislikes of the arcanists, but are usually faster to use fire spells as long as they don’t hurt the surrounding area.
The bardic tradition is propably the largest tradition of spellcasters in Sairundan, and several of their songs have spread over the world. The most widely traveled song is propably the Song of the Winds United, which some people mistake for the Song of the Storms United. Some people wonder why the Song of the Storms United is not sung except in great wars, and the typical answer is that the songs means too much to use it frivolously, but there is also the fact that the song cannot be sung with only a few people and do it justice.
Among the Sairundani, four small poems sum up the superstitions many feel regarding the elements. Many are aware that most of it is superstition, tinted with believes of genie habits, but will still tend to quote these poems in appropriate (or unappropriate) situations.
Wind is strong, not smart.
It is swift, not enduring.
It is persuasive, and easily persuaded.
Wind is the most dangerous element because it cannot be contained.
Fight wind by being more enduring than the wind, by being as hard as rock.
Endure the strikes of the wind as it tries to persuade you to leave, and you will be victorious.
Wind is whimful, but life-giving. Without wind, there would be no air to breathe.
Fire is smart, not strong.
It is swift, and easily persuaded.
It is enduring, not persuasive.
Fire is the most dangerous element because it cannot be destroyed.
Fight fire not by fighting it, but by fighting its fuel.
Cause fire to hunger and follow your commands, and you will be victorious.
Fire is life-giving, but insidious. Knowing its necessity, it will try to burn your tents when you are careless.
Earth is strong, not smart.
It is enduring, not swift.
It is strong of will, not persuasive.
Earth is the most dangerous element because it cannot be avoided.
Fight earth by being swift, always a step ahead.
Be as the wind as earth strikes against you, and you will be victorious.
Earth is wrathful, but live-giving. Without earth, food could not be grown.
Water is strong, not smart.
It is enduring, not persuasive.
It is swift, and easily persuaded.
Water is the most dangerous element because it cannot be predicted.
Fight water not by fighting it, but by controling it.
Cause water to regard you as itself, and you will be victorious.
Water is live-giving, but careless. It will wash you away as quickly as it quenches your thirst.
Among the Sairundani, deities of Air and Battle are held in the highest esteem, and Phyrah and Grendath are among the most revered gods. Among the first Sirocco, Mongrel was very popular, and continues to be a major deity today. Taka has a number of hidden worshipers, and it is not uncommon for them to assume the position of an advisor. Sairundani also revere Chennet’, as he shows one great way to control the insidious powers of fire and turn them into weapons.
The displaced Sirocco introduced the Sairundani to a few deities as well, namely Ayratha and Geoth, but only Geoth gathered much worship. Some people say that Geoth, Mongrel and Phyrah were especially concerned about the fate of the Sirocco, and created what is today known as the Wanderlust Inn as a way for those who wanted to meet their family and friends again to do so.
A few people pay respect to the Delanor, Antonidas and Shurassa, who embody aspects the Sairundani respect, but are overall not as important to their daily life. Some people silently invoke Jareth before a game of Dervish, but it is more common to invoke Grendath or the Green Eyed Lady.
Relations
Perhaps surprisingly, Sairundani have a traditionally good relation to dwarves of all kinds, and it seems likely that the dwarves introduced the Sairundani to Chennet’ and Grendath. Dwarves also are the only small race common to Sairundan. Gnomes and halflings are practically unheard of. While not particularly common, elves are a welcome sight in Sairundan, and a few tribes have a sizeable population of half-elves. Since their invasion 700 years ago, orc have grown more and more common, and are being accepted into society, but not really liked. Half-orcs are rather uncommon.
Goblinoids of all kinds have kept away from Sairundan ever since the Djinn drove them out, and most Sairundani only know them from highly inaccurate Dervish pieces.
Several creatures of elemental air make their home in Sairundan, due to the proximity of the Tower of Air, and storm and cloud giants sometimes deal with the tribes. Djinn are virtually gone, but every once in a while, rumors spread that a particular patriarch, advisor or hero is in fact a djinni.
Equipment and Animals
Sairundani prefer to travel light, and refrain from overly heavy equipment. Armorwise, they usually keep towards leather armor and chain shirts, and mithral armor is considered a blessed possession. The traditional weapon of the Sairundani is the scimitar, and most warriors possess at least one. Those who seek to become dervishes train at a young age to wield two scimitars at once. Besides the scimitar, archery is a very popular combat style, praying to Phyrah to let the wind guide the arrow.
The Sairundani enjoy a game named Dervish, which is based on chess, but has been changed to fit the tastes of the tribes. It is played on a 10x10 board, with 20 pieces for each player, chosen from a total of 30 unique pieces. The game is won by scoring a number of points, either by killing or capturing the enemy pieces. The rules of the game can rapidly change from round to round, depending which pieces are on the board and which are not, and what happens to various pieces. For example, the Patriarch allows pieces to capture other pieces, but if captured itself, it gives so many points that it is hard to recover; the Dervish can use any movement rules of its allied pieces, and the Hobgoblin can bring in one of the ten remaining pieces if captured or killed.
The Sairundani love animals that exemplify freedom and the wind, and often keep cats, falcons and horses in their tribes, who usually are allowed to do as they please. They would rather not limit their movement, but they make sure that the animal is properly trained to return to the tribe. A number of more excentric Sairundani, especially among the Hurakan, have attempted to train arrowhawks, but few have managed to realise that arrowhawks are as intelligent as humans, and made them friends.
-Created by Knight Otu
