Yahebah
From Mizahar Lore
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This article is about a location with its own forum to roleplay in. You can find it here. |
| Region | Eyktol | ||||
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| Races |
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| Languages | Common, Shiber |
Contents |
The City
Yahebah is a city of pale stone and mud bricks. Its walls are high, hung with banners of white and scarlet and its gates are cedar and iron. The streets are mostly packed dirt, shifting to pale cobblestone only in the finer quarters. Roofs tend to be flat or domed. Flat roofs support small tents and awnings, where inhabitants hang laundry or families escape the heat of small spaces while they share a meal.
Most interiors are tiled. If not the walls, at least the floors are turned gem colored by squares of glass and polished stone.
Little plant life exists apart from potted palms and a few cultured orchards. Water comes from communal wells, and existence is afforded by a nearby oasis.
Streets are busy affairs full of brown skinned Benshira, wandering traders drawn by the port, visiting Chaktawe and any seeking shelter in a cruel land. Women carry pots of water, camels transport goods and barefoot children weave through grown-ups legs. Yahebah is a safe city, a refuge to the desert traveller. It lacks the glory and pomp of Ahnatep's tall columns and palaces, but there is stunning craftsmanship and elaborate designs on smaller scales: carved screens, mosaic benches, vessels of dimpled bronze, bright fabric. It is a place of welcome reflecting the heart of a generous people.
While Benshira are the dominant race in Yahebah, and the city reflects their cultural mores, they are not the only inhabitants. To be considered a citizen of Yahebah, one must be born there or be "adopted" by the High Masha after fulfilling certain requirements. Citizens are afforded certain privileges and support not granted to visitors.
Weather
Yahebah has a more temperate temperature compared to the rest of the desert region due to its location near the southwestern coast.
Summer heat is extraordinarily high with more humidity than the rest of Eyktol, resulting in morning fog and occasional evening dew.
Late fall brings the seasonal winds from the coast, stirring sand one to six feet off the ground for as long as a month. Farmers tend towards an early fall harvest to avoid the winds roughly stripping the fruit from the vines and branches. Hika-Zulrav, the fiercer sandstorms, do not usually reach Yahebah from the interior of the region, but if they do, they arrive in fall.
Winter is surprisingly brisk. While snow is a rarity, ice and sleet are not unheard of. Scarce rains begin in late winter and may lead into spring.
With spring comes a brief brown haze of dust and sand over the usually clear skies. After this initial "fog", the season turns warm and bright. Spring is considered to host the nicest weather in the year.
History
Yahebah is located on the site of an altar to Yahal made by the Benshiras' great patriarch. Many generations after the patriarch, a governor, Eliajon, instigated the construction of Yahebah, turning away from a city of tents to houses of stone. A beautiful temple to honor Yahal was in the city's center. Eliajon's time was marked by prosperity and learning, and Yahal looked on him favorably. The city was meant to be a place for those who believed in the high ideals of purity and faith, a sharp juxtaposition to the other cities in the region who were built on principles of commerce and power.
During the Valterrian, a son of Rapa named Emiah told the people of Yahebah that Yahal wanted them to hide in his temple during the cataclysm. Some of the people refused, choosing the wealthier and seemingly safer city of Hazahdar. In the midst of the Valterrian, the earth shook and Hazahdar collapsed, killing most who sought shelter there and all of the governing line. Much of Yahebah fell to ruin, including a part of its wall, but the temple remained standing.
Those who were always shepherds and the families Yahebah's ruins could not hold returned to the life of nomads. Those that remained began to rebuild the city stone by stone. Since then, the city has become a place of community and shelter. It is open to all travelers who are willing to abide by its laws.
Politics
Yahebah's politics are mostly a family affair, with the heads of households or "Tents" serving as the main adjudicator of difficulties and the primary dispenser of resources. Only when a problem grows beyond the scope of a family do higher entities step in.
The Prophet
The Prophet or Prophetess is the closest entity Yahebah and the Benshira people have to a centralized ruler. He commonly resides at the Arches of the Prophet, but it is not unusual for him to be traveling abroad to deal with the nomadic Benshira. The Prophet Ahmas is the current leader.
After the collapse of Hazhadar and the death of the noble lines, the Benshiras looked to Yahal for guidance. He appointed a Prophet that served until death. If the Prophet was true to Yahal, he would appoint his successor by giving him a handwritten section of the Penita Scroll he found comforting during his time as a Prophet. If the Prophet turned away from Yahal, Yahal would strike the Prophet dead, then appoint another Prophet through divine signs. A Prophet can come from any line and be of either gender. These Prophets are the informal leaders of the Benshira, and serve as the voice of Yahal. Stubborn as the Benshiras are, they do not always listen to their Prophets, and heads of families will defy them. Rebellion can prove disastrous if the Prophet was truly speaking the word of Yahal. The divine consequences are sometimes immediate or visited on the offender's children.
Sons of Rapa
Out of Biyram's children, Rapa was the most devout, and kind. Yahal chose Rapa and his sons to be his priests and carry out his religious rituals. To this day, only the sons of Rapa may be priests and it is the duty of the other Benshiras to help sustain them as they travel from encampment to encampment conducting rites and ministering to the people. The life of a son of Rapa is not one of excess, but one of travel and study. They are usually the most learned of the Benshira and tend to be jacks-of-all trades. Sons of Rapa do not rely wholly on charity, but work amongst those they teach. A good Rapa is both beloved and respected by the Benshira.
When the Prophet is absent, Rapas will attend to matters and oversee High Mashas. They also maintain the temple and carry out the city's charity work. Commonly, Rapa in Yahebah are both civil servants and priests.
Law
Yaheban laws are tied closely to the morals of the Benshira's and the principles of Yahal. Visitors will be subject to most of the law established by religious teachings, but the Benshira allow for outsiders to escape certain punishments that reflect the spirit of the Benshira people. In these cases, the malefactors are fined and banished from the city for a period of time.
Weightier matters of law are adjudicated by the High Masha, while smaller offenses fall within the duties of the city's policing force: Yahalmen. One level of Yahalmen seizes the lawbreaker, while a higher level considers proper guilt and punishment. This is to ensure the emotional involvement of the arresting Yahalman does not cloud justice.
Hearings are granted for crimes with less than three uninterested witnesses. The length and depth of hearings are dictated by the severity of the crime and the the complexity of the circumstances. All interested High Masha members or Yahalmen are excused from deciding guilt but not from prior discussion.
The law of Yahebah includes the more obvious restrictions against theft and brands of violence. Benshiras allow for some measure of official violence and theft as reparation for previous crimes or grievances, but this exclusion must be granted by the High Masha. However, revenge crimes in which the circumstances and offense arose outside the city gates are beyond the ruling of the High Masha.
Kibans
A rare figure, a Kiban is a mature person of mental soundness who chooses to take the place of the guilty party. They will bear the guilty one's punishment and absolve the convicted from any further redress. Kibans serve as a perfect picture of love and sacrifice, often arising in cultural consciousness in stories of a wayward Benshira's redemption.
Murder
A killing done with aforethought and malice is punished by stoning outside the city gates, banishment to Hai or a living burial under the sand. The latter two are for more egregious or multiple killings. Killing done in the heat of the moment, or when overwhelmed by passions are treated more lightly. These are punished with incarceration for no less than seven years and no more than forty years. Revenge killings within the city walls, or arising from circumstances within the city are investigated by the High Masha and usually pardoned.
Theft
In cases of theft, the wronged person may choose from various punishments. She can demand return of the thing stolen plus twice its worth in other goods or Mizas, if the stolen object cannot be returned, she can be granted four times its worth in goods or Mizas, or the victim can require unpaid servitude from the thief until the four times the price of the object is repaid in labor. The High Masha will usually determine the value of the thing stolen.
Prostitution and Adultery
A more unique application of law is the Benshiras' restrictions against prostitution. For Benshiras, an intensely family oriented race, prostitution is a poison that destroys the order created by harmonious family ties. Having a family member engage in either side of the crime brings a heavy shame. Foreigners who engage in the crime are fined and banished, or at the severe end, publicly flogged. However, if a Benshira is caught accepting money for sex, he or she is brought before the High Masha and painfully branded in public. A hot iron made into the shape of a snake is pressed on the top of the prostitute's hands or feet, forever marking them. Additionally, all their ill gotten gains will be deposited in the fund beneath Ziborah's palm for the benefit of the poor. This will be performed as many times as the prostitute is caught. If a Benshira is caught using a prostitute's services, he or she is locked in a pit for a full night with a poisonous adder. The adder may bite or remain still. It is a picture of what the criminal is doing when they sleep with a prostitute. They are allowing a deadly poison to infect their self, their family, and their people.
Adultery includes both sex outside of the bonds of marriage and the philandering of a husband or wife. The punishment for sex outside the sacred ties of marriage is a painful blackening of the palms through extensive tattooing, signifying impurity. This can be avoided if the adulterers choose to wed, but there will be no celebration or exchanging of gifts. Such marriages are a solemn affair. Those with black palms or snake brands will not be given dowries or paid bride prices if anyone would deign to eventually marry them. If a pregnancy results and both are unmarried, it is strongly suggested the couple wed. Failure to do so is forfeiture of the child to any suitable family willing to take it. The adulterers have no claim on it from that day forward. Unwed mothers seeking to keep their child usually flee Yahebah or render it to a family member.
Adultery by a spouse or with another's spouse results in the same punishment as one who uses a prostitute. The betrayed spouse may stay such punishment, though, if they formally request it of the High Masha. If a woman is pregnant and unwed under any of these circumstances, she may avoid the punishment of the adder in the pit until she gives birth.
Economy
Currency in Yahebah is the Miza, but its use is rare. Inhabitants prefer to barter with goods or services and haggling is an accepted part of a purchase. Sales rarely take place in a shop, as most Yahebans gather in open air markets, particularly the Red Bazaar.
Beyond the walls of Yahebah, people are predominantly shepherds. So the sale of meat, milk and cheese is often done by nomads who are visiting the city for this purpose. Many of the nomadic Benshira also pride themselves on breeding horses or camels and will enter the city to display some of their prized beasts.
Benhsira nomads also trade in fabric made from goats or sheep. There fabrics tend to be sturdy and shows color exceptionally well. Pottery occupies either sex, and Benshira and Chaktawe often learn various methods from one another, so their art is similar. Both genders also practice nomadic forms of healing, but, in Yahebah, mostly women make medicinal teas and teas for pleasure. Desert herbs and spices are rare treats, and Yaheban tea is coveted across the empire.
Near Yahebah, there remains some farmable land. It is not as lush as an the fields of Cyphrus, but the soil of the nearby southern coast improves the quality of the land around the city. Yahebans here farm olive trees and vineyards, making wine and oil for all wiling to trade.
Charity and Taxes
Unlike many cities, Yahebah has resources for citizens in need. Temple Keepers oversee distribution of food and goods to the needy at Ziborah's Palm. The goods are usually drawn from temple donations or fines paid by lawbreakers, and the food is what is left from gifts to the temple. Many argue that the whole purpose of requiring food and animal offerings as part of worship to Yahal in the temple is to provide for the needy. Every year a flat tax is required of citizens and any who own property in Yahebah to cover the salaries of Yahalmen and the general upkeep of the city. Long term visitors who do not voluntarily donate at the temple may find the prices they are charged for goods and services raised one-eighth the usual cost to compensate. That excess is then donated by the merchant to the Temple on the visitor's behalf. Sons of Rapa maintain ledgers tracing the donative source, so merchants will often inquire long term visitors' names.
Culture
Architecture
Simple structures in Yahebah are constructed from bricks of mud mixed with straw while more complicated building are made of sand colored stone. Roofs tend to be flat or domed. Flat is preferred as Yahebans often eat or relax on the roof to enjoy the cool evening air or escape the heat of a cooking hearth.
The interior of structures is comprised largely of tile or stone to combat the desert's overwhelming heat. Furniture is scarce and low to the ground, as if the Benshiras have forgotten they do not dwell in tents anymore. A brazier commonly heats rooms in the evenings and homes are lit by hanging bronze lanterns.
More elaborate structures tend to have courtyards and outdoor halls behind protective walls. Windows are usually just openings high off the ground either shuttered or curtained
A third of the city is still in ruins, no more than heaps of stone and collapsed buildings. This destroyed area is contained to the southern portion of the city, but much of what still stands in the rest of Yahebah shows signs of past repair or damage.
Save where it has fallen in the south, a stone wall encircles the city. It is two chariots wide and hung with banners of white and scarlet. Yahalmen, the city guard, inhabit staggered rooms within it.
Cuisine
Yaheban cuisine is virtually Benshira's cuisine. Meat is not generally eaten by the common class save on special occasions. Meats include lamb, beef, wild fowl and dried fish and are served heavily seasoned and spiced. Wheat and barley come from Ahnatep to make various breads, often eaten with honey or olive oil. Olives are a staple of a Benshira's diet and make a common snack. Available fruits are pomegranate, grapes, figs and dates, anything else is a treat. Vegetables are found growing wild and include garlic and green onions. Milk and cheese comes from goats more frequently than cows.
Benshiras are better known for their spices than their staples. Teas and spice rubs are created with fastidious care and recipes are passed down from mother to daughter with the solemnness of ritual.
Three meals are taken in a day. The morning meal is very light consisting of tea, bread with honey and some form of fruit. The midday meal is a break in the working day and tends to be raw foods such as olives, figs, and cheeses, possibly paired with bread dipped in vinegar and olive oil. Watered down wine is the common drink. Evening meals are usually stews of lentils, beans and vegetables served in a communal bowl. Each diner will scoop out their portion with chunks of bread. If meat is available it will be served at this meal.
An invitation to take a meal with a Benshira is an important gesture, especially due to its communal nature. Eating a meal with a person means an acceptance and welcoming of that individual. Therefore, it is not uncommon that in public eating places Benshiras will not even sit near people of nefarious rank or race.
Holidays
Spring
The Great Mourning: Held on the first day of spring, the Great Mourning is a time of reflection and thanks marking the anniversary of the Valterrian. Benshira will walk the walls of Yahebah and mend any damage caused by the previous year. If brick are replaced, they usually bear the names of those who passed in the previous year.
Those without the knowledge to mend the wall will carry away the sand that slowly threatens to bury the city. Diet is restricted to meals of refugees, no fresh or elaborate food. This is to remind them of the hunger borne in the difficult seasons after the great breaking of the world.
Summer
Fall
The Feast of Eliajon This Feast in late fall has a heavy emphasis on history and the arts. Eliajon ushered in a time of prosperity and peace, under which the arts thrived and excelled. On this day, all races are embraced and metal weapons are laid aside. A feast is held city-wide with every tent bringing a bounty to share where the Red Bazaar is held.
At midday a dance is held, all are compelled to participate unless ill. Most of the dances are circular with partners constantly shifting. If one aims to keep a single partner, they can be "bought" for a dance with tiny silver emblems created for the day. These emblems vary each year and are sold on the morning of the feast in limited amounts. A favorite over the years has been tiny silver pomegranates. The artisan tents that craft and sell the emblems rotate every feast.
In the evening, three plays are held, telling histories and stories. The first is one for tears, the second one for remembrance and the last for joy.
Winter
The Feast of the Scrolls
People of Yahebah
Benshiras comprise the overwhelmingly dominant population of Yahebah. They are a race fiercely devoted to their god, Yahal, their families and tradition. Most travelers would find them generous and boisterous, but those of darker races would be met with unabashed shunning. It is common for Benshiras to avoid walking on the same side of the road as a crueler race or to say prayers aloud in their presence.