Raodens' Histories Part II: Banu al Dawr

(written by Jacob, player of Raoden, and earning Raoden 100 xp per level; very loosely related to a recent expedition, mostly a kind of thematic linking of certain things discovered with the history of House al Dawr; concerning the named stream, Nahr al Alat, various identities have been proposed for it, all tributaries to the great north-flowing Nahr al Gawira, but given the forgotten location of the original iqta', it is unknown which is correct)

Our most recent adventure, while surely being one worthy of story, had little historical context. And so, instead of writing about the strange beast we fought and the ensuing battle I find my mind turning to some of my past studies. Perhaps it is our current situation, or perhaps merely coincidence, but I find myself considering the past of the Bani Dawr. And so I present the second installment of the Great Houses section of ‘The Secret History of the Tel alSafina’ (working title).

Bani Dawr

Before looking to the past of the Bani Dawr one must first consider their current state. For while they have been a Great House for some time, they are a younger house than most. The House is, perhaps, best known in polite circles for the art of it’s matron, Shallan alDawr; and it’s transfixing true-to-life appearance. Indeed, she has been known to draw, from memory, in near perfect detail a scene she has witnessed only once. Though perhaps more popular of her commissions are the characters, in which she draws someone as they seem themselves from within their very soul.

Regardless, it is not Shallan’s art for which I am interested. It is the other aspect of their business. The Bani Dawr are also known, through court rumors, to offer some form of protective service. Though the specific details elude me, suffice it to say many individuals who faced some harsher punishments from the other Great Houses, but who perhaps were less than wrong in their actions, seem to have vanished after certain meetings within the walls of the Bani Dawr avoiding whatever slavery or death the other Houses had in store.

While it is not known how the Bani Dawr manage this particular trick, nor how they select their contracts, perhaps it is done through some sort of Ancient devices. For that, readers, is how the Bani Dawr became a Great House, and the purpose for this chapter.

Many seasons past, back during another such surge of adventurers, a group of researchers from amongst the brightest of the Great Houses discovered a secret. While none of them had any significant titles, one, Helaran al Dawr, had enough influence to get a meeting with one of the Soufets. While the words of this meeting go unrecorded, the result remains the same. Helaran was granted a iqta’ for a small estate on the Nahr alAlat, a small river South of Gadeed.

Helaran and his band of researchers contracted a number of hirelings and adventures types to begin an expedition out to his selected location to begin construction. And again the histories have significant lack of information regarding the events here. Perhaps I shall find occasion to investigate this estate at some point, that I might enhance this history and bring out additional details.

Regardless, the estate was established, and while further than the iqta’ of the Barcidae, still maintained some level of regular communication with the city. It was, in these communications, that the Bani Dawr, now named for their land holdings, began to grow. For they spoke of devices and constructions that are scarcely seen today.

Trading caravans that met with the estate always returned with new and fantastical stories regarding the inhabitants. Some say they were guarded by large metal golems, others talk about magical swords, alight with fire, or strange metal arm-bludgeons. There were even rumors one of the researchers had been mutated; her skin turning a pale shade but with a strange design etched into it, her eyes unblinking and strange, her speed and movement far beyond any a human might manage.

Regardless of these rumors, the impact of them was well known. For they, upholding their iqta’ charter, did fight back a full-assault of the Void Bringer, a KzinTi band not unlike the Red Cloud of today, perhaps even it’s progenitor. The city hearing about the assault belatedly through a runner sent just before the attack.

Unfortunately, the estate was never heard from again. The runner, and a handful of others who were on assignment back in Gadeed at the time, the only surviving members of the Bani Dawr. However, the Void Bringer and his band were never heard from again, and so the Bani Dawr were awarded a full Gadeed title and land.

Even with the acceptance by the Soufets into Gadeed, the Bani Dawr became extremely secretive within their compound. Perhaps due to rumors that one of the other Great Houses, jealous of the stories coming out of the estate, had somehow influenced the Void Bringer to turn his attentions towards the Nahr alAlat and the Dawr estate. Regardless, they never spoke of the location of their compound to anyone outside their house, and even though trade caravans had visited, they had been stopped at some way-station nearby, so the exact location of the Bani Dawr iqta’ remains a mystery.