Post by David on Nov 10, 2005 12:00:16 GMT -5
Home
In the villages, towns, and cities of Zakhara, a love of family is closely linked to a love of one's home. To the nomad, "home" and family are synonymous. TO the Al-Hadhar, "home" means having roots and continuity -- a safe and constant haven that helps give a person an identity almost as much as his or her family does. Even traders who wander the seas on voyages of many years pay tribute to their home town. Regional pride is nearly unparalleled in Zakhara.
"Home" also represents familiarity. Given their sedentary tradition, Al-Hadhar can usually trace some relationship -- through blood, marriage, or mutual history and experience -- that links them to most of the people in their village, town, or city. While such a thin bond may not open the palace doors to a beggar, it does create a sense of community, and it helps the Al-Hadhar in gathering information, conducting business, or merely getting around in their home town or city. This homogeneity forges a strong bond and sense of inclusion and thus helpfulness among neighbors.
Hospitality
Like the desert tribes, the people of the cities and lowland settlements believe an honorable person must be hospitable. Al-Hadhar make much of welcoming visitors at the city gates -- even strangers. In practice, however, individual cities-dwellers do not feel as great a sense of duty toward a stranger as they do toward a guest they know. Often, an Al-Hadhar may discharge his responsibility to be hospitable by directing an unfamiliar or somewhat displeasing face to the nearest mosque or hospice (though the man has not welcomed the stranger into his own house, the "town" has welcomed the stranger, and that is what truly counts). A known traveler, however, is almost always welcomed by the Al-Hadhar.
Guests who have been invited into a city-dweller's house receive the same respectful treatment as an honored guest of the Al-Badia. On the first eve of a guest's arrival, a great feast is laid out, often above the means of the host. If the guest remains on the second and third evenings, smaller meals ensue. The atmosphere is festive. The traveler tells of his or her journeys, and family members or hired minstrels provide further entertainment. On the third morning, the guest is expected to depart. The guest may leave a gift of some type if he or she is so inclined, bu this is not required.
If a guest has no other business in the city, the host may request assistance with the family business: making deliveries, carrying messages, minding the stall, and so forth. This often exposes the traveler to a number of different professions. Occasionally, a wanderer will arrive in town, become intrigued with a particular craft, and remain as an artisan. Adventurers, on the other hand, have often discovered that immersion in such a routine interferes with their deeds of glory. Rather than become "glorified messengers" for their hosts, they stick to inns and hospices.
As long as a guest is working on behalf of a host, the host is responsible for the guest's actions. In turn, the guest may not shame or endanger the host in any way. The guest may not steal from the host or the host's comrades. Nor may the guest draw a weapon except in defense of the host. Such are the rules of hospitality.
In the villages, towns, and cities of Zakhara, a love of family is closely linked to a love of one's home. To the nomad, "home" and family are synonymous. TO the Al-Hadhar, "home" means having roots and continuity -- a safe and constant haven that helps give a person an identity almost as much as his or her family does. Even traders who wander the seas on voyages of many years pay tribute to their home town. Regional pride is nearly unparalleled in Zakhara.
"Home" also represents familiarity. Given their sedentary tradition, Al-Hadhar can usually trace some relationship -- through blood, marriage, or mutual history and experience -- that links them to most of the people in their village, town, or city. While such a thin bond may not open the palace doors to a beggar, it does create a sense of community, and it helps the Al-Hadhar in gathering information, conducting business, or merely getting around in their home town or city. This homogeneity forges a strong bond and sense of inclusion and thus helpfulness among neighbors.
Hospitality
Like the desert tribes, the people of the cities and lowland settlements believe an honorable person must be hospitable. Al-Hadhar make much of welcoming visitors at the city gates -- even strangers. In practice, however, individual cities-dwellers do not feel as great a sense of duty toward a stranger as they do toward a guest they know. Often, an Al-Hadhar may discharge his responsibility to be hospitable by directing an unfamiliar or somewhat displeasing face to the nearest mosque or hospice (though the man has not welcomed the stranger into his own house, the "town" has welcomed the stranger, and that is what truly counts). A known traveler, however, is almost always welcomed by the Al-Hadhar.
Guests who have been invited into a city-dweller's house receive the same respectful treatment as an honored guest of the Al-Badia. On the first eve of a guest's arrival, a great feast is laid out, often above the means of the host. If the guest remains on the second and third evenings, smaller meals ensue. The atmosphere is festive. The traveler tells of his or her journeys, and family members or hired minstrels provide further entertainment. On the third morning, the guest is expected to depart. The guest may leave a gift of some type if he or she is so inclined, bu this is not required.
If a guest has no other business in the city, the host may request assistance with the family business: making deliveries, carrying messages, minding the stall, and so forth. This often exposes the traveler to a number of different professions. Occasionally, a wanderer will arrive in town, become intrigued with a particular craft, and remain as an artisan. Adventurers, on the other hand, have often discovered that immersion in such a routine interferes with their deeds of glory. Rather than become "glorified messengers" for their hosts, they stick to inns and hospices.
As long as a guest is working on behalf of a host, the host is responsible for the guest's actions. In turn, the guest may not shame or endanger the host in any way. The guest may not steal from the host or the host's comrades. Nor may the guest draw a weapon except in defense of the host. Such are the rules of hospitality.