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“…The in-land caravans and those of the Khazim which inspired them were until recent times the lesser part of the economic cycle, and more a means of local distribution than real trade…but increasing organisation combined with the growth of a lesser noble-mercantile class have seen profits of a respectable size from such ventures…”
-Excerpts from ‘Trade with the North’ by Guildmaster Exkleatus Dom
“…And Lo! What fine wonders are these? I have silks and fabrics woven by the temple maidens of far Alihat, in colours plucked from the very sunset. I have gems and jewels collected in the deserts of Hagbash, at, may I say great personal risk, by condemned criminals eager to escape the headman’s axe.
Why you ask do I bring these fine goods and marvels and present them for you? Do I not love my family? How can I deny them these splendours? O cruel potential customer! How little you understand us, the people of the Weym, how little you can appreciate the drive the reason why we must travel the dangerous and terrible paths of this world is quite simply that our people are not so greedy as to hold all this glory to themselves. What further evidence of our undeniable generosity is there but for us to allow others to see such wonders…and for a reasonable price, possess them?”
-Excerpts from ‘The purse that slithers’ by Claudin Venerra
It is said that upon meeting a stranger, if they had heard of you, it would be from the Khazim; upon enquiring where an object has come from, it would originate with the Khazim; of a story told, why but from a fellow whom heard it from the Khazim. For if through good fortune or ill the City-States invariably find the world coming to them, then the Khazim are less patient.
The life of the Khazim can most often be defined by three things; motion, family, and trade.
Motion is experienced through the movement of their caravans, which travel the known world. Originating from distant lands to the east, their tales and their goods travel via trading caravans from Jahan to wherever their hearts would take them. This journeying makes them accepting of others, and helps to explain why they are often welcome in places where others are not.
Family as in their personal ties, whether through blood or those embraced to be so – their ‘Cocal’. Apart from the obvious benefit to personal safety that numbers provides, those who find themselves wandering can often end up amongst the Khazim, there to be accepted as a member of the caravan and eventually a new family.
Trade as a means of exchange, whether that is money, goods, or information. Though their trade in goods is small by the standards of the City-States, their willingness to travel to remote areas justifies both the interest of their patrons and their prices.
Over the last few winters though, some have perceived a change amongst these usually affable people, a furtiveness of mood. Certainly the tales they bring with them are darker.
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