Jassira
The Sultanate of Jassira is a desert realm in the world of Savarra, which lies across the southern sea from the Frost Marches. Jassira is a major home of the Catfolk race.
History
Jassira was once a client state of the great and mighty Belharan Empire, and one of its greatest exporters of slaves. The ancient sultans became wealthy and prestigious from this trade with the mighty nation, and many owned vast harems of slaves themselves. Jassiran slaves were able to withstand even the roughest of conditions, but were far more fabled for their beauty and fertility. Perhaps because of this, Jassira earned a reputation for opulence and decadence in equal measure, a shining jewel in the desert. Its population is overwhelmingly made up of Catfolk, but there are minorities of Dust Elves and Nagas as well within the Sulatante's cities; the wild desert mountains of its border provinces are home to all manner of monsters and beast-folk, most notably Manticores.
After the Godswar came to a close and Belhar fractured, Jassira recovered relatively quickly and within a few generations became a world leader in trade once more. The sultanate still keeps a hand in the slave market, though it now imports as many as it sends abroad as its borders expand ever outward. Those foreign slaves brought to the heartland from the provinces often find themselves either dedicated to the capital's great Temple of Mallach, or else in the harems of high nobility.
Geography
Jassira is a sandy desert land with infamously hot days and blistering cold nights. It rarely rains there, and as a result there is little in the way of agriculture throughout most of the Sultanate. Lush plant-life exists on the banks of rivers and oases, however, and the majority of the country's cities and villages are found along these life-giving water sources.
Cait remarks that she has never seen as many trees in her life as she has with the forests of the Frost Marches.
Government
Jassira is currently ruled by a Sultana, Nadia El-Qesirren. Many of the regional governors are close to the royal family, making it easy for her to enact laws.
At some point before Leorah left Jassira, the Sultana was in the process of giving out many eccentric edicts, which changed frequently (in the span of months), making it difficult to follow the ones in effect at any given time.
Culture
Jassiran society is much more open than the cloistered village of Hawkethorne, with topics of sensuality treated as nothing more than common street gossip. It's common for even middle class citizens to own at least one slave, most often used for household labor and childcare, and it's not uncommon to see slaves shopping for their owners at local markets. Treating one's slaves badly is seen as disrespectful, and can result in being shunned from polite society. After all, anybody can end up in chains someday...
Given that firewood is sparse, and an expensive import on top of that, the majority of Jassira opts to go without, despite the cold nights - warm bodies to cuddle with are in ample supply.
Religion
Mallach is the most commonly worshiped god in Jassira, though it is by no means a monotheistic country. There are multiple shrines to the Lord of Passions throughout the Sultanate, most notably the Great Temple in the capital.
Economy
Jassira thrives on the export of silks, spices, and slaves, easily maintaining its wealth through trade with the rest of the world. Imports consist mostly of a wide variety of non-catfolk slaves, along with fruits and vegetables that cannot be grown in the sandy deserts.
Mythology
Kiyoko tells of a story in which the Trickster god Keros humbled a past Sultan of Jassira, and emptied all the wealth from his treasury.
Story-relevant natives
Cait, Calla, Barney, Leorah, and Farrah.
Trivia
- According to Savin, a real-world analogue of Jassira would be a mix of ancient Egypt and Babylon. The Sultanate conquered a region roughly analogous to the Caucuses during its expansions after the Godswar, whence comes Cait and her bloodline.