Sammonish'i

The sammonish'i (literally [folk] of the desert), are a race of dark-skinned giants from the arid land to the east of Doma, Jiadjinn. Their numbers have been continually shrinking since the end of the Second Epoch.

Of giant stature, the sammonish'i are a terrifying spectacle, particularly when in full armour astride their batlatls. Since the sammonish'i kept entirely to their own lands and greatly discouraged contact (they purposefully scared off, even killed, any waygar'i person who trespassed into their territories), little is known of their cultural life.

What is known is some of their legends (see also: Agiein), their creation myth, which shares certain similarities with the creation myths of the keshal'i, and a little something of their social structure.

According to sammonish'i myth, all people in the world are the decendent from the Fallen; the remains of the Emrys who, in discgrace, fell to earth in flames after The Dark Terror sewed its posoin in their ranks. The resulting civil war tainted the Emrys so badly, they fell from the heavens, bursting into flames on the way down. Some years later, those who survived the fall emerged from the watery places of the world (which, had they fallen onto the hard earth, they would not have survived), now creatures of flesh. From these first creatures, the peoples of the world were created, becoming their own distinct societies along faction lines created in this time.

Of the Emrys, it is thought that only three of their kind now remain; Enthe, Ula and Orin, who are the primary deities of the sammonish'i people. How, when and for what these three are vunerated is not known. What is known of the sammonish'i spiritual life is that it mimics the fír suthr a little, in that it is led by a specialised collection of sages - the Magi - who are, if the stories are true, mages like the Anu.

The Magi, like the Anu, operate outside of society, which itself is organised into three factions; the Tower of the Roc, the Tower of the Dragon, and the Tower of the Bear. How these houses are organised and what their function in society is remains unknown.

At the end of the Third Epoch, the sammonish'i abandoned their desert homes to join the fight in the Great Battle at Ardea. In this fight [untranslated].