![[ulakandar.png|250]] *Multiple tribal rulers known as khans* **Government:** No central authority. Multiple tribal chiefdoms some of which have allied into confederacies **Capital:** None **Major Towns:** Ajavan, Blashikdur, Cragmore, Daoyin, Tinar **Provinces:** None. Winter and summer grazing territories are constantly changing **Resources:** Horses, livestock, hides and furs, medicinal herbs, mercenaries **Coinage:** None. Barter used exclusively except by nomads near towns and cities **Population:** 500,000+—Human 96% (Bc), Centaur 2%, ==Thri-Kreen== 1%, Other 1% **[[Languages for Genies & Giants|Languages.]]** Baklunish (low), Suh dialects **Allies:** Other Baklunish states (sometimes) **Enemies:** Other Baklunish states (occasionally) ___ [[Ulakandar Characters]] ___ The great plains just west of the Flanaess are the home of the numerous tribes of the Ulakandar people. Descended from the Baklunish survivors of the Invoked Devastation who did not follow one of the four Noble Genies to new homelands, the Ulakandar have forged a distinct identity on the steppes. These resilient people turned to the vast plains as their refuge, adapting to the nomadic life and surviving through their ingenuity and adaptability. In the north are endless leagues of grassland bordering the territories of Zeif and Ket. South of this region, and to the east, are the parched and blighted lands of the Dry Steppes under the shadow of the Ulsprue and Crystalmist Mountains. The northern plains, those nearest to the civilized realms of Zeif and Ket are sometimes devoid of human life, and at other times swarms with horsemen, livestock, and the tents and yurts of a dozen nomadic tribes. These nomads move out of the Dry Steppes in hot summers which make that area a parched wasteland, and return to find forage in the wet season. Each tribe is ruled by a noble, using the title of Khan; with leaders ruling larger tribal confederacies are referred to as Ilkhan or Orakhan. Leaders of royal rank and lineage are known as Tarkhan, or Khahan. The Ulakandar adopted these Suhfeng titles after perhaps the greatest threat to the original Baklunish Ulakandar tribes’ mastery of the plains was advanced by Zeif; when a nation of Suh nomads from the far western Dry Steppes called the *Brazen Horde* were incited to emigrate from their distant homes and take possession of the plains south of the sultanate. These nomads of western lineage, whose leaders did not use the title of Shah or Amir, were no less warlike than the indigenous Ulakandar. In addition, they had an even finer stock of horse—swifter, stronger, and no less enduring. Combined with the support of Zeif, these western nomads soon conquered the lands bordering the sultanate. Once secure in their new territory, the Brazen Horde turned its attention to its eastern neighbours in Ket and Tusmit. The Tusmites, under Ekbiri leadership, repelled the nomads, but Ket was successfully invaded. Recklessly, the nomads plundered Ket’s districts, then moved south through the Fals Gap, pursuing rumours of Velunese riches. They despoiled isolated villages in Veluna’s outlying possessions, always retreating back into Ket when faced with significant military opposition. The native folk today are largely Baklunish in culture with mixed racial characteristics absorbed from these previous Suh invaders, subjugated travelers or settled merchants. Socially, family ties are very strong. Honour and shame are central factors in the carefully observed social rituals and ceremonies which govern much of these people’s lives. Ancestor worship and a belief that the spirits of ancestors watch the deeds of the living are important to their religion. Ulakandar warriors are lightly armoured, the weight and confinement of metallic armor being more of a burden than a blessing in the heat of the day, but they are supremely mobile. Perhaps one quarter of the Ulakandar ply the light lance, as well as the mace or flail. The rest wield scimitars, and short, horned bows. Most are willing to serve as mercenaries for short periods, though the dervishes of the Dry Steppes and the lands surrounding Lake Udrukankar will normally go to war only under the leadership of their clergy, or for causes they see as righteous. Throughout the plains and steppes, the Ulakandar roam at will, alternately warring and trading with one another in a cycle that is unpredictable to outsiders. They count their wealth in horses and livestock, as well as slaves in some cases, but hold their freedom on the Plains to be their greatest treasure. All Ulakandar tribes hold the ancient and enigmatic stone circles of Tovag Baragu near Lake Udrukankar as sacred ground and no conflict is permitted within 20 miles of the site. The Ulakandar trade with Ket, Ull (which itself was settled by an Ulakandar tribe), Zeif, Ekbir, and Tusmit. These nations (especially Ket) have employed Ulakandar horsemen as mercenaries, against each other or for forays east. Unfortunately for these other nations, the horsemen of the Ulakandar are just as likely to raid their civilized Baklunish cousins, taking what they want by force, as they in peacefully trading for goods and services. Elsewhere on the plains roam scattered bands of Centaurs and ==Thri-Kreen==, neither of which are on positive terms with the Ulakandar horsemen.