Rashemen

Rashemen was a magocratic gynarchy in the far northeast Faerûn.

Geography
The people of Rashemen are called Rashemi. The country itself is surrounded by mountains, vast lakes and rivers, which provide natural fortifications, making Rashemen an ideally defensible region against the Red Wizards of Thay and the Nar barbarians who are known to attack the territory on a rather frequent basis. Geographically, the northern portion of Rashemen is predominantly barren and ravaged by strong, harsh winds; while the south is cooler and maintains a more placid environment, which is considerably more hospitable for habitation.

Rashemen was considered to be more closely connected to the Feywild than any other location in Faerûn.

History
Rashemen was founded in -4963 DR by the followers of Shemen, a chieftain of a Raumviran tribe, after his death.

Government
The nominal ruler of Rashemen was the Huhrong or "Iron Lord". In 1479 DR, the the iron lord was Mangan Uruk, who sought to rule in the best interests of Rashemen. The real power, however, lay with the Witches of Rashemen (also known as Wychlaran). They selected the Iron Lord and could replace him whenever they feel it necessary. At a local level, each settlement was ruled over by a fyrra, who exclusively controlled the armed forces under his command, and whose rule could be compared similarly to that of a mayor.

Rashemen was at near-constant odds with the country of Thay. Their Red Wizard rulers tried to conquer the country and its magical wealth for around five hundred years and convinced their citizens that Rashemen was a debased country. Luckily, the Red Wizards made a lot of mistakes and were too concerned with infighting to present Rashemen and its people with a more serious threat.

Culture
Dajemma (also spelled darjemma ) was a type of coming-of-age tradition for young Rashemi men to travel to foreign lands to see and understand more of the world. A young man sometimes traveled with a witch companion, called a wychlaran. Minsc traveled on dajemma with his witch Dynaheir ; Fyodor was sent on dajemma in order to find a solution to his uncontrolled berserker rages and to aid his homeland.

Food and drink
The smoky sjorl cheese originated in Rashemen, although foreigners often found it unpleasant. Jhuild, also known as firewine, was made in and exported from Rashemen, and as of 1372 DR, a tall glass of it might cost around 15 gold pieces in other parts of Faerûn.

Notable inhabitants

 * Fyodor, a young berserker.
 * Minsc, a berserker.
 * Dynaheir, Minsc's wychlaran.

Prestige classes

 * Durthan
 * Hathran
 * Runescarred Berserker

Novels

 * Daughter of the Drow (minor)
 * Windwalker (major)

Computer games

 * Neverwinter Nights 2: Mask of the Betrayer (major)