Tehir

The Tehir are the various tribes of nomadic people that dwell in the Sea of Fire. Usually human, they have adapted to the harsh conditions of the desert, migrating from oasis to oasis. They are known to herd goats and yierkas.

Traditions

Tehir males are known to wear veils over their noses and mouth to show that they have reached adulthood. Men also usually possess tattoos around the eyes and on the arms. Women, however, do not usually wear the veils and customarily have tattoos on their faces and necks. In place of the veils, they will wear a head-scarf to signify marrage.

Spirit weddings [1] are a tradition of some Tehir tribes. One known spirit-wed individual is Avidleigh Tir-na, wed to a white vulture. In many cases, the spirit-wed are honored as symbols of the spirit protectors; however, in some cases the spirit-wed acts merely as a scapegoat for the tribe's misfortunes. Spirit-wed are marked as appropriate for their gender -- a woman may have a decorated head-scarf while a male may have decorated veils or elaborate tattoos around his eyes.

History

The tribes used to fight each other over the various oases or herds prior to the discovery of the copper mines. The tribes, when defeating another tribe, would often take the survivors and enslave them. However, this practice has died out in many of the Tehir tribes.

The discovery of the copper resources in the Sea of Fire has led to the Turamzzyrian Empire in mining the precious metal. As a result, the Tehir have attacked Imperial caravans and troops who have entered the desert. Neither side gained significant victory over the other and an uneasy balance of power was established as one fought the other and vice versa. The Tehir also established more sedentary communities on the western and eastern borders of the Sea of Fire supported by trade with outside, Turamzzyrian, merchants.

Tribes

Known tribes are as follows:

• Senkara Tribe
• Hunted Feather Tribe
• Bennu Tribe
• Al'Dur Tribe (inactive)
• Al'u'mr Tribe (inactive)
• Al'seithe Tribe (inactive)
• Sudha Tribe (inactive)
• Al'Akra Tribe (inactive)

Although not a tribe, the Cult of al-Rakeesh is Tehir related.

Behind the Scenes

Player Created Material

The community of players with Tehir characters has been exceedingly creative and devoted to the culture. For lack of much information about the Tehir, they have created content to help enrich their roleplaying experience. Such content includes the aforementioned tribes, as well as the spirit wedding. While some Tehir characters are roleplayed with discrepancies, there is nothing that officially counters the above information.

References

Official Documentation

• http://www.play.net/gs4/ ([2], [3], and [4])

Player Created Documentation

• http://www.tehir.net - A comprehensive Tehir Culture and Language Guide, compiling years of player-created material, and seeking more. Blog, Gallery, and Forums.
• http://tehir.nayolan.com - Contains many ideas from older Tehir players, most of which are no longer active. The three primary tribes are listed here, although the idea of these tribes is no longer supported.