Lore of Ispar - The Sho

The hot desert rose above the city of Tirethas, its rays bringing warmth to the market streets where men and women gathered to do business. One stall in particular was gathering quite a crowd of spectators, but few coins were trading hands.

"M'lady, fine Sho silks for thee?", called the vendor of the booth in clipped Roulean.

"M'lord, perhaps a Yumi to replace thy longbow?" He beckoned to the crowd, his lightly tanned hands waving from a long robe of blue and his face hidden beneath a wide straw hat.

No one approached the vendor.

Finally, a youth, struggling to see above the heads of the crowd, squeezed into the space between the crowd and the booth. A strange odor of aged fish and sweet flowers assaulted his senses.

Youth overcoming politeness allowed the lad to speak. "What IS that smell, sir?"

The merchant suddenly realized why the crowd approached no closer. He answered the boy in his odd accent, "Tis the rare scent of Jasmine and Saffron, but I fear the other cargo on the ship from the Sho lands was fish bound for Viamont."

"Where are the Sho lands?" Asked the boy, clearly curious about the various wooden carvings of dragons, birds on fire, and a horse with a horn in its head.

"To the very far southwest, beyond the lands of Roulea, lies a country ruled by an emperor in a city unlike anything ever seen in the desert. Gods dance upon the waves and live in the hills. Temples of learning teach all matters, and the people follow a code of honor and discipline", said the merchant as he tilted back his hat revealing almond shaped eyes of green, and a smile of pearl white teeth. "Tis the land I call home. My name is Nami Tso, but you can call me Tso."

Finding his manners, the lad spoke pointing to himself, "My name is Nayt al-Yad, but you can call me Nayt."

As the sun slid higher into the sky, the Merchant from Sho and the lad from Tirethas shared tales of their homelands, the scent of jasmine and fish filtered away in the Ironsea breeze.

The Distant Past

To truly understand Sho history one must understand their religion. Details on the religious mythology of the Sho, and their creation stories, can be found in Comments on the Teachings of Jojii.

One of the oldest Sho legends tells that they were driven to the edge of the sea when they battled against the Dragon. Some foreign scholars speculate that the Dragon was a volcano in the Dragonspire Mountains, perhaps even the sacred peak of Akisuma (meaning "Autumn House"). The family of Shou-Jen established a kingdom on this coastal site, and named it after the Dragon (Ryujii) to placate that Elder Spirit. Rival families founded kingdoms of their own upon islands named after the Firebird (Iiwah) and the Unicorn (Chiran-tou). During the ensuing centuries, the warlords of these kingdoms fought amongst themselves, usually in the name of one Elder spirit or another.

A little over a thousand years ago the Order of the Dragon Temple was founded in the Kingdom of Ryugii.

Approximately eight hundred years ago, the great prophet Jojii received a vision from the Unicorn of Grace telling how to reach Paradise. Jojii began to teach of four primary ideals, called the Four Stones: Discipline, Humility, Detachment, and Compassion. These precepts unified beliefs in the Unicorn, Firebird, and Dragon into a single whole. This new philosophy, called Jojiism, gradually became the guiding school of thought for the Sho. However, with warfare rampant, Discipline, associated with the Dragon and martial prowess, quickly eclipsed the other "stones" and altered the teachings of Jojiism, causing the philosophy to tilt away from its balanced center.

Three hundred years ago a split occured in the ranks of the temple of the Unicorn, bringing forth the The Ranks of the Unicorn’s Battle. For while the Temple of the Unicorn is dedicated to the Arts of Healing, the Ranks of the Unicorn's Battle are war mages of great power.

About two hundred years ago, the Emperor Kou rose to power in Ryujii. Though he was only 15 when he took the throne, this devout Jojiist knew his destiny was to unite the Sho.

Kou took the island of Iiwah by force, invading with a massive fleet and leading his warriors to swift victory against the decadent followers of the Firebird of Splendor. Chiran-tou he wisely took peacefully, marrying the daughter of its ruler and moving his throne there.

With unification complete, Kou began reforming Jojiism and encouraging its spread. He did this by decreeing that the temples must release their students and acolytes during the celebration of the Festival of Lights, both reuniting families and permitting them to glean wisdom from their students' studies. Thus began the Kou dynasty. The Sho people were at last unified under one Throne and one vision.

The Present

Today, the Sho still enjoy the stability brought by the Kou Dynasty. Monasteries and temples provide a solid foundation of training and education for the Sho People. Old rivalries still remain, and there are increasing rumors of secret groups who despise both Jojiism and the Kou Dynasty. Meanwhile, trade has begun in earnest with the Gharu’ndim, the Milantans, and the Aluvians, making the Sho increasingly aware of the vast lands beyond their borders.

In the last ten years, more and more Sho have been hearing the call of Asheron. For now the numbers are small enough to warrant only a small amount of concern, but if there was a rise in the number or the importantance of those heeding the call, surely alarm would be raised, and the Sho would act with discipline and courage.