Shahzad

The capital city of the Al'Sherah. This was originally designed with the concept of being located on the eastern coast of Tanaris, but this is liable (and likely) to undergo changes. The city was divided into three sectors: The noble quarter, the foreign quarter and the outremer.

The noble quarter would house the palace of the Shah, as well as his advisors and the manorial estates of the richest Viziers, Triarchs and the Shah's descendants. Public gardens would also be located in the noble quarter, where all members of society would be welcome. A private, grand altar is also present within the palace - religious ceremonies for the nobility are held here, but sermons for the masses or public events are ran at the grand altar in the outremer. It would typically be on the highest location in the city's enclosed geometry, and be roughly circular with a southern exit - walled off from the rest of the city. It would also contain the barracks of the Royal Guard.

The foreign quarter would be in the center of the city, surrounding the outsides of the noble quarter and stretching out towards the docks. A church to the holy light (liable to change) would be present here, along with boarding houses for travellers, tourists and dockworkers. The market would also be located in the foreign quarter, and it would be the busiest location in the city.

The outremer borders the city's outer walls, and houses the rich traders. It also houses members of domestic service and the barracks of the militia law enforcement. People such as blacksmiths, greengrocers, jewelsmiths and butchers would be found here, as well as taverns and Guarim dens (narcotics). One particular section of the outremer would be walled off, containing the grand altar to Al'Akir and the Priests' garden. It would also contain living quarters for the Priests of Al'Akir.

Outside of the city walls and in the immediate surrounding area is the date and spice farms. Here, irrigation methods used and controlled by the priests of Al'Akir would craft artificial rivers and tributaries from the sea which farmers would use to grow produce. Only a small section of the land would be fertile, although this would increase as the needs and size of the population grow. Beyond the farmlands is the Wastes, which the Wastewander tribes roam.

Wastewander - PART OF THE ARMY

The Wastewander are essentially nomadic mercenaries that also owe their loyalty to the royal army - they are descended from the Sheikhs that did not accept Tavel's rule and instead chose to continue their nomadic lifestyle. Now, they are employed by the traders to gather rare artefacts or by foreigners to escort them on expeditions to strange locations such as Uldum. They are also sometimes used for underhanded purposes, such as ambushes, assassinations or the ruining of opposing businesses. They have a very traditionalistic lifestyle, and are perhaps more fervent in their worship of Al'Akir than the city-dwellers due to their dependence on his goodwill to survive. Wastewander chose their leaders by strength of arms - when the old leader dies, those who rise up and wish to lead must duel in combat and the victor will be the new Sheikh. There is no inheritant succession in the Wastewander societies.

Culture

The Tanari are sexually equal. Since both a man and a woman is required to make a child, they believe that both genders are given equal love and talent by Al'Akir. However, they also understand that chastity and fertility are a yin-yang that must be kept in measure. To represent this, the women are to cover their faces when in public places, so as to prevent the desire of men that they are not pledged to, and men are required to grow long beards. The beard, to the Tanari, represents fertility - for a man to have grown a long beard means that he has lived for a long time, and is a proven survivor of the challenges Al'Akir sent to test him.

In recent times, reforms to their lifestyle have been put in place by the preachings of the prophet Mamun Al-Asid. Whilst it was once believed that only the strongest could lead the Tanari, it has now changed - the Shah of Shahzad has been chosen by the divine will of Al'Akir to rule the Tanari, and now only the descendants of Shah Tavel I are permitted to rule over Sherahia.

Religion

The faith of Al'Akir will be based upon, as the rest of the guild's detail has been based on the culture deriving from, peaceful islam. The sun is seen as a figure of neccessary evil - it gave life, but also stole it. It was also seen as a heathen worship due to the influences it had on the Trolls' religious beliefs. There was some awareness that Al'Akir was a construction of the elements and therefore not "real", but the Al'Akir worshipped by the Tanari bore very little resemblance to Al'Akir the Wind Lord. Al'Akir was seen as a figure of almost messianic qualities, as he could command the wind and shape the desert sands to his will - in this respect, the Tanari religion is certainly monotheistic - but it is also understanding of the natural elements which give Al'Akir his supposed strength. It is a possibility that the pre-sundering landscape might be hinted at in folklores, legends and myths. Tales of a xanadu, a once-lush land, destroyed by the vile Trolls and their devious Deities, when the sky rained fires and all was to dust. The War of the Shifting Sands saw the Night Elves arrive and have minimal interaction with the Tanari - they will have been seen as, perhaps, angels of Al'Akir - servants of his will, or remnants of the Eden lost after the sundering. Marriage may only include one spouse for either sex, and it is strict and binding - breaking wedlock is taboo. Sexual interaction is seen as a form of engagement, and by conducting intercourse the two participants effectively pledge a bonding relationship between each other; however, it is generally believed that it is more "ethical" to bind in proper marriage before entering sexual intercourse. It is not taboo, but certain traditionalists may be displeased by hedonism.

What would be classified as a Mage in Stormwindian Society is, in essence, seen as a Priest and a conduit of divine will in Tanari society. The study of the arcane arts is a privilege reserved for only those who pledge themselves to Al'Akir's service; in this respect they could be seen as European monks, but such would be an ultimately inaccurate description - they are also allowed public freedom to do as they please within certain restrictions (those educated "officially" in the city are not allowed to join the Wastewander tribes, for example). Priests can often also be invited into the Shah's court as advisors, either to the Shah himself or his advising Triarchs. It is commonly believed that the gift of magic is given directly from Al'Akir, rather than being seen as a force of energy like in other societies - recent exposure to the powers of the Light, Fel and other magical sources has given rise to a movement that has begun to question this initial belief that magic is sourced from Al'Akir.

The Order of Al'Akir has two main functions - the first is leading public religious sermons, and the second is the management of the outremer's irrigation systems. The lowest rank in the order is the Mullah, or Monk, who has little to no magical power. A Mullah will dig trenches for irrigation, tend to the public gardens and tend to the Order's libraries, all the while obeying the orders of the Shaikh. The Shaikh is the taskmaster of the Mullah, and both recruits new Mullah and selects Mullah to be promoted into Ulama. Ulama are Mullah who are naturally gifted with magical power, and are promoted to learn from the Hafiz. The Hafiz is the Temple Mage, who is skilled in the arcane arts (as far as the Al'Sherah go; to a Dalaran Wizard, the Hafiz would seem quite mediocre in ability) and performs the rituals to bring life to the ground that the Mullah tend. The Hafiz trains the Ulama to harness their magical potency, and they aid the Hafiz in his rituals. The Ulama are also nominally trained in combat-magic, in the defense of their faith - but in recent times this has taken priority due to the war-footing that the Al'Sherah have been forced to.

With the declaration of the one-faith edict by the Emperor of Stormwind, the Tanari have been forced to take defensive religious actions. All presence of the Holy Light within their city has been dismissed, and the missionaries therein banished to the Eastern Kingdoms.

Politics

The governmental system of Shahzad is, in some ways, elective. Though nominally the Shah is the supreme authority and descended from a sole dynasty, he is not permitted to make actions of state without the approval of his Triarch council. There are 3 Triarchs in the council, elected each half-year to advise and direct the Shah. The Triarchs each come from 3 sectors of life - one is the Plebeian, elected by the lower-class public, another is the Aristocrat, elected by the nobility, and the last is the Marshal - the commander-in-chief of the Army also serves as the Marshal in the Triarch council. The head Triarch is the Aristocrat, who is alone permitted to officially dictate to the Shah.

One curious factor concerning Tanari politics is the fact that Nobles can actually be stripped of their rank by unanimous vote - either by majority of the rest of the Noble council, or by vote of the Public. When a Noble is removed from power, two thirds of his/her treasury is given to the Shah alongside his/her landed assets. Shahzad is divided into "districts", to which each Noble possesses at least 1 district. Nobles can levy a tax on businesses operating in their district, up to a total of 10% of the business' profits. The Shah may then, in turn, levy a tax of 20% of each Noble's profits to add to his personal treasury. The Shah is obligated to give any districts seized by the crown from a disposed Noble to a new governor.