Ghamoura

History:

First settled by the Masetians when they arrived on Cerilia, Ghamoura was one of the centres of their culture. Their settlements were thick around the Mer Beiber & the Gulf of Alcamar.

The Masetians were happy to allow the Basarji to settle upon their Isle, following the Battle at Deismaar, in which the Masetian fleet (defending the southern flank of the armies of good) was destroyed while defeating the Adurian fleet and the monsters of Azrai - it is said that the actions of the Masetian Fleet at this battle are why the Southern Coast is not bedevilled by giant marine awnshegh like the Leviathan, Kraken or Sea Drake. However those ships that survived the ferocious naval battle were destroyed in the tidal waves caused by the explosion that heralded the death of the old gods. Not a single ship returned to Ghamoura of all of those that set out for the battle.

The Basarji that settled on Ghamoura picked up many Masetian ways - when they had lived in Djapar, they were herdsmen & nomads, just starting to learn the arts of civilisation. Masetian notions of justice, civic duty and governance had a profound effect upon the Basarji. Those who settled in Ghamoura fit easily into the Masetian way of life. Soon the Basarji outnumbered the Masetians, but there was little discontent because the Masetian principle of ‘Democracy’ (an antiquated form of Government found amongst the Basarji prior to the Flight from Shadow) which was only practised upon Ghamoura ensured that those Basarji immigrants who contributed to society were allowed an equal share in the ‘election’ of the Regent. Because of the influence of the Divine bloodlines upon the nature of rulership, members of several families quickly proved to be the most effective rulers of the island. However the system also prevented any individual rulers from developing long-term plans and stability, so the strength of the Temple of Nasri grew to fill the void left by the inefficient leadership. (These times are documented in the “Chronicles of the Masetians”, although the reader is directed to note that the Temple of the Ancients has edited that text to support some of their heretical positions.)

Eventually the Serpent made his move - somehow contaminating the magic used by the Masetians (1065 MA, 550 HC). Horrors erupted from the ground and, after devouring their unwitting summoners, fell upon the rest of the citizens. Because of their magical nature, these creatures were immune to the arms of men, and it fell to the temple of Nasri, and those Basarji mages who were apparently unaffected by this dire curse, to defend the populous.

With the destruction of the Masetian cities in this tumultuous time, it became obvious that democracy was not working, and the Basarji mage, Niswan al-Ghamour was acclaimed Amir of the island. By all accounts al-Ghamour was a capable and honourable ruler, and directed the reconstruction of the island well. However his descendants continued the tradition of studying magic, and it became evident that the Serpent’s baleful influence on magic had not been restricted solely to the Masetian mages, it was just that it was subtler, less sudden in the way that it affected Basarji rulers. (A good text for this period is “The story of Niswan al-Ghamour” - factually correct, but written by a court functionary of al-Ghamour’s son, it contains notable biases. Several of the records of the Holy Temple survive from that period, and provide a more balanced view of the events that occurred.)

Al-Ghamour’s line soon became decadent and corrupt. When the Anuireans conquered the Basarji lands, the then Amir of Ghamoura delt with them, allying with them in order to defeat his rivals. He assisted the Anuirean pirate Roderic Durbane in his conquest of al-Suire (1274 MA, 759 HC) and was about to help the Anuireans conquer Khourane, when el-Arrasi organised the Basarji federation.

The Amir switched sides, not because of loyalty to his people, but because saw the course of the future, amd wanted to be on the winning side. After the war, in the last years of his life, he broke the Treaty of Turin, which guaranteed Suiriene’s neutrality in Khinasi politics and invaded, suffering a crushing defeat. (The second volume of Mohamed bint-Dourani’s “History of the Basarji People’s” is again a good account of this period. However it overstates it’s case where el-Arrasi is concerned - the idea that he was visited by Avani while a child is pure exaggeration in light of the man’s real ahievements. For the wise reader, Anuirean chronicles of the period may prove instructive.)

In 1562 MA (1047 HC), Haroun al-Camar, a priest of Nasri defied the head of the Temple of the Ancients in Mesire and lead a revolution against Haled al-Ghamour, the then Amir of Ghamoura, and ruler over the darkest period in Ghamoura’s history. By this point the physical and moral corruption of the al-Ghamours was readily apparant. Haled was grossly corpulent, almost unable to move unaided. He was addicted to a variety of drugs supplied by agents of the Serpent and traded his subjects away to the Serpent in exchange for these drugs. (A full and descriptive account of Haled’s atrocities can be found in Chapters 5-11 of ‘The Crimes of Magic against Nasri, Man and Nature” one of the approved texts of the Holy Temple.)

The revolution was a long process - the Serpent sent aid to Haled who also maintained a considerable army of mercenaries using the taxes he squeezed from the populace. However, eventually, with Nasri’s blessing, Haroun triumphed and captured Haled, imprisoning him. The Serpent, however, had his own ideas about rewards for his defeated lackey, and Haled was found the next day, his skin & hair bleached as white as bone, his limbs twisted into unnatural angles, and his heart torn from his chest. (An account of the freeing of Ghamoura from the rule of the tyrant Haled can be found within the “Life of Haroun al-Camar”, which you should, of course, be familiar with from your training.)

was acclaimed ruler of Ghamoura by a grateful people, and reluctantly assumed the position. Following the lack of support he received from the Temple of the Ancients, he declared the Holy Temple to be independant of the Temple of the Ancients, and to be dedicated to cleansing the Temple of it’s corruption of spirit. (See the “Sayings of Haroun the Holy” for more detail upon the reasons behind his split from the Temple of the Ancients.)

However Haroun proved a wise ruler, and his successor, Siddiq al-Nasri, succeeded him as both head of the Holy Temple and ruler of Ghamoura. The temple faced many trials durring this period - foremost amongst them the Rebellion of the Tamounazada. The nobility chafed under the rule of the Temple, and rebelled, with the covert support of the Serpent. The rebellion was put down, but only after much of Niswaran was destroyed in the fighting. (Ghamouran Chronicles: Siddiq the Blessed.)

Siddiq ordered Niswaran reconstructed and renamed Al-Camar, after his illustrious predecessor, and he also established the Inquisition to prevent the Serpent from gaining another foothold upon the Isle.

Since then, the Ghamouran Chronicles run, the Island has been ruled wisely and well, but this is not the whole truth. There are things which it is felt imprudent to record officially. The el-Aldezar family were relatives of the Amirs, and one of the few Tamounazada families to side with the Holy Temple in the Tamounazada Rebellion. Five of the High Priests before me have come from our Geirhou, and we have cultivated influence withi the Temple.

The Provinces of Ghamoura:

Alcamar (5/1)

Alcamar is the agricultural heartland of Ghamoura. The province contains the city of Alcamar (built upon the ruins of of Niswaran, which was in turn built upon the ruins of an older, Masetian city), the Old Palace (ex-residence of the Amir, now how to the Holy Temple’s Administration), the Fleet base (at Darabi Cove, on the south shore of the province), Al-Talomos castle (base of the inquisition, in the rocky western half of the province) and many small farming hamlets dotted across the green eastern half of the province. In the west, Salomuz Point curves around the southern edge of Talon Bay, with the land getting steadily rockier and less fertile. This half of the province is used mainly for herding goats. A single road runs from Alcamar to Al-Talomos castle, on the tip of Salomuz point. The trip is still difficult, because the ground around the point is broken with many small ravines and gorges. The single large village, Diritz, on the road to the Castle, is famous for it’s Goat’s cheese, which is a local delicacy [and one of Markab’s few indulgences].

Al-Talomos Castle: Built on the tip of Salomuz point, al-Tolomos is one of the few surviving functional Masetian structures in Ghamoura. It was built as a watch tower to warn against raids from Aduria, and consisted of a tall tower, with a low wall shielding it from the land. The amirs added a Keep and an effective dungeon, and the building has since been expanded by the Inquisition, who it is rumoured, have reopened the cells from the Amir’s time.

Local legend states that after the explosion at Deismaar a large rock fell fom the sky, breaking the land around the castle. The remains of the rock are hidden in a secret cell within the Castle. Masela’s Blessing was taken from that rock and made into the ceremonial bracelet of the rulers of Ghamoura.

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