The @Ashken Tribe , the largest and most populous of the Desertborne, stands as a pillar of tradition, artistry, and martial strength. Unlike the rest of the Desert Tribes, the Ashken are permanent settlers, deeply rooted in the @The Sacred Caverns , their sprawling underground refuge. Known for their stratified social order, exceptional craftsmanship, and formidable warriors, they balance pride and artistry with a rigid hierarchy that often leaves their society divided by class and privilege. Currently the leader of the tribe is @Arim Ashken.
@Ashken Tribe @Desertborne Human exhibit the typical resilience of desert dwellers, with sun-darkened skin, wiry builds, and keen eyes accustomed to both torchlight and desert glare. Unlike other tribes, their garments are more elaborate, woven with dyes and adorned with symbols of clan and status, reflecting their strict social stratification. Nobles wear finely worked jewelry of bone, bronze, and polished desert stones, while the lower classes dress in simpler garb of woven fabrics.
The @Ashken Tribe are a proud and status-driven people, valuing lineage, artistry, and martial skill. Their society is strictly hierarchical, with noble clans presiding over artisans, scholars, and common workers. This stratification often deepens inequality and is maintained through their reverence for tradition and order. The current leader of the tribe is @Arim Ashken .
The @Ashken Tribe are the industrial heart of the desert tribes, home to countless workshops, smithies, and crafting halls where artisans produce weapons, tools, ornaments, and cultural artifacts of exceptional quality. Their goods form a vital part of intertribal trade.
The tribe also treasures knowledge and history: their libraries, archives, and cultural spaces safeguard centuries of desert lore, art, and memory. Many Ashken see themselves as guardians not just of their caverns but of the heritage of the @Desertborne Human .
In some sense, the @The Sacred Caverns city is the capital of the Shifting Sands Desert. And the Askhen Tribe are proud of it.
The @Ashken Tribe live exclusively within the @The Sacred Caverns , located deep inside the @Sacred Mountain . The @The Sacred Caverns are a massive underground city filled with glowing fungi, underground gardens, and grand halls etched with carvings of desert legends. An underground river sustains life, powering irrigation systems for vertical subterranean agriculture.
On the outside, there are few @Ashken Tribe places. One is the @Sky-Watcher's Perch . Perched atop the Sacred Mountain, this ancient observatory offers breathtaking views of the desert plains. Used for stargazing, astronomical study, and spiritual retreat, it is a site of wisdom and guidance. And another worth noticing could be @Hawk's Nest , a rugged cliffside sanctuary where the Ashken breed and train desert hawks, crucial for hunting, scouting, and war communications across the harsh desert.
The @Ashken Tribe enjoy relative abundance compared to other tribes:
Water: Drawn from the underground river that flows beneath the caverns.
Food: Sustained through vertical farming systems, subterranean fungi cultivation, and selective animal husbandry.
Crafts and Trade: Their artistry and craftsmanship make them the primary industrial hub of the Desertborne, exporting finely made goods, tools, and weapons.
The Ashken Tribe fields one of the most organized and disciplined armies among the desert tribes. From their mountainous stronghold and the depths of the Sacred Caverns, the Ashken prize strategy, hierarchy, and martial tradition above all else. Order is their strength, discipline their creed.
Ashken warfare is built on formation, coordination, and unwavering loyalty. At the heart of their power are the Sacred Caverns’ defenders—soldiers trained from youth to fight in tight tunnels, narrow bridges, and echoing halls where precision matters more than numbers. Their movements are measured, their formations exact, shields and spears locking together in flawless unison.
Above the rank and file stand the tribe’s elite. Noble Champions, warrior-aristocrats of prestigious bloodlines, serve as living ideals of Ashken honor, rallying troops through presence and mastery of arms. The Kezrath, handpicked guardians sworn wholly to Arim Ashken, embody absolute devotion and discipline, forming impenetrable lines that have turned aside entire armies.
Guiding the tribe’s intellect and arcane might are the Ashken Thaumaturges—scholars of the Great Archives who practice magic as a precise, ordered science. Rarely seen in open war, they serve as advisors, archivists, and keepers of ancient spells. When they do intervene, their magic manifests as radiant sigils and carefully measured destruction, wielded not for glory but to preserve the divine order they believe underpins the world.
Common Ashken Military Roles (examples include):
@Ashken guard – Core defenders and formation soldiers
@Ashken Kezrath– Elite guardians and personal protectors of Arim Ashken
@Ashken Champion – Warrior-aristocrats and battlefield exemplars
@Ashken Thaumaturge – Arcane scholars, advisors, and rare battle-mages
The @Ashken Tribe maintain a respectful but distant relationship with the Karkrei, whose obsession with death and spirituality contrasts with the Ashken’s industrious pragmatism. They trade occasionally but rarely form deep ties.
The Shishan caravans are essential trade partners, carrying Ashken goods across the desert. Relations are strong, though the Ashken often see the Shishan as mere traders, dependent on Ashken goods for prestige.
The @Ashken Tribe deeply value the @Tallesdin Tribe’s woodcraft, as they provide the precious timber that sustains Ashken industry. Relations are strong, though at times the Ashken push for more wood than the Tallesdin consider sustainable, creating occasional disputes.
The @Ashken Tribe and Indaks share a sense of craftsmanship and resilience, maintaining close ties. While the Indaks are less wealthy, their sunstone quarries and artifacts are beyond Ashken knowledge, making them steady allies.
There is a continuous tension between the two tribes, as the biggest military powers among Desert Tribes. The @Ashken Tribe see the Qarroshy as kind of savage frontier soldiers, and the Qarroshy see the @Ashken Tribe as well-off citizens without courage. They also compete with the leadership of the Desert Tribes, which the @Ashken Tribe virtually holds even without official recognition, sparking some resent on the Qarroshy. Even with that, cooperation between the two tribes is necessary for both survival.
The @Ashken Tribe are both respected and resented. Their stability, industry, and wealth make them vital to the survival of the Desert Tribes, yet also create tensions. Many see the @Ashken Tribe as aloof and proud, removed from the true struggles of nomadic desert life. Still, their goods and leadership in the @The Sacred Caverns ’ annual council are indispensable.
The @Ashken Tribe are both respected and resented. Their stability, industry, and wealth make them vital to the survival of the Desert Tribes, yet also create tensions. Many see the @Ashken Tribe as aloof and proud, removed from the true struggles of nomadic desert life. Still, their goods and leadership in the @The Sacred Caverns ’ annual council are indispensable.
The @Ashken Tribe regard the Raiders as criminals and parasites, a destabilizing force that undermines desert unity. Raiders are killed or captured when caught near Ashken lands.
The @Ashken Tribe consider the Horde a constant and barbaric threat and help the Qarroshy fight the orcs in times of great need. They treat any @Sun-Scorched Orc with despise and hate.
Contact is nearly non existant. The @Ashken Tribe respect the @Scorvian Queendom’ isolationism, and keep their distance due to their alien nature and scarcity of trade. They treat any @Scorvian they see with fear and distance.
Relations are respectful but cautious. The @Ashken Tribe admire the @Sszarath Sandscale Dominion’s magical mastery and survival ingenuity, but without understanding what are the Dominion's ambitions, there is fear of a bigger threat from them.
The @Ashken Tribe maintain trade with the @Green Republic with the help of the @Shishan Tribe, and also have periodic diplomatic relations with it. But they also distrust the Republic’s excess wealth and ambition. Poaching and smuggling also harm relations, making the Ashken wary of long-term ties. They treat the @Grassborne with respect but caution and distrust.
The @Ashken Tribe mainly ignores its existence. Just a few individuals suspect it.
The Ashken Tribe regard the Tahziri Tribe as eccentric but invaluable trade partners. Their alchemical goods and rare minerals are highly prized, and their oddities are tolerated for profit. They are treated as friendly and useful allies.