Rashemaar

The Rashemi were a human ethnic group native to Rashemen.

Description
Most Rashemi were short and muscular, with a hardy physique. They commonly had dusky skin, dark eyes, and thick black hair. Men were especially hairy and might maintain a thick dark beard; baldness was virtually unknown in their culture. Women often wore their hair long and elaborately plaited.

Culture
Rashemi thought of themselves as inhabitants of a harsh and beautiful land ruled by spirits and rarely displayed the arrogance of other human ethnic groups. Children were expected to earn their place in the world, rather than having it handed to them, and they viewed life as a series of challenges to face and defeat. They placed a high value on individual accomplishment and strength, physical in Rashemen and magical in Thay. Elders were respected for their wisdom and mental strength. Rogues were very uncommon as little value was placed in the accumulation of wealth. Most young adult Rashemi traveled extensively for a year as part of a coming-of-age ritual called dajemma, resulting in a population with considerable worldly knowledge. Formal schooling was not emphasized because of the strong warrior culture in Rashemen and the subjugation of the lower classes in Thay. However, many Rashemi were still literate.

Languages
Rashemi usually spoke Common and their national language. Within the borders of Rashemen, the national language was Rashemi, which used the Thorass alphabet.

Religions
The Rashemi commonly prayed to "the Three"―Chauntea, Mielikki, and the Hidden One, Mystra. They also venerated many local spirits, unknown elsewhere in Faerûn. Other Rashemi might pray to the Mulhorandi pantheon or the four elemental deities, particularly Kossuth.

History
The Rashemi were descendants of the nomadic tribes that were employed as mercenaries by Mulhorand and helped win the Orcgate Wars of -1075 DR to -1069 DR. They then forged the empire of Raumathar, which rivaled the Mulhorand and Unther empires in its day. In the centuries after, they fought many battles against the Narfell empire over the contested Rashemi tribal lands on the Priador plateau. Finally in -150 DR, the empires suffered a mutual defeat in a massive fiery clash involving an avatar of Kossuth and an army of fiends led by the demon lord Eltab. The armies of the Mulhorand empire quickly swept in and reoccupied the Priador plateau, and their descendants continue to subjugate the Rashemi of Thay today. For a time, Eltab ruled the lands of Rashemen, but the Witches of Rashemen aligned with the native Rashemi and the warrior Yvengi in -75 DR and forced the demon to flee. In the centuries since, Thay attempted to take Rashemen from the Rashemi many times, but were always repelled. By the late 14 century DR, the Rashemi were the most numerous human ethnic group on the Priador plateau of Thay and in Rashemen. Minority groups could be found throughout the surrounding regions as well.