Pom Mahait

The Mahait, also known as the Mahait Seyohdom, was an cultural and national entity formed in the eastern Wandering Deserts. They existed from 1200 BB until their collapse in 9 AB.

Foundation
Around 1,200 BB, the Mahait Seyohdom was founded by a collection of industrious and ambitious eastern Poma. Like Ajek Point before them, their distance from mainline Najer culture (concentrated in the center and west of Najer) led to a distinct set of customs developing. This new entity was placed at an extremely advantageous trade nexus, being placed directly over the trade routes between the Nieden and Plagos continents, directly south of the major trade port Ajek Point, and providing access to the entire rest of Najer.

This allowed the Mahait to skyrocket in strength and notoriety, undergoing a minor technological revolution. This shocked other Poma, as previously eastern Najer had been considered a backwater primarily populated by poor fishers and peddlers, or worse, an outpost for the Niedene. With both Ajek Point and the Mahait Seyohdom being so distinct, both culturally and geographically, there began to be a growing perception of the east as "not Najer" in the sense that they had diverged and were no longer unified with the greater people. The Mahait were okay with this, and continued to solidify their sphere of influence.

In 1013 AB, the Mahait launched a campaign to invade the nearby forests, which were inhabited by Glade Elves, in order to harvest wood and other resources that they needed. Initially, they were met with little resistance, but the elves soon mounted a defense against the Mahait before they penetrated into the depths of the woods. The elves used their knowledge of their home in order to ambush and slaughter Mahait logging and military patrols. Soon, open combat erupted throughout the forest and the Mahait were quickly driven out. This event was the foundation of a great respect for and fear of the glade elves, and many mother soon began telling their children to stay out of the forest lest they be eaten by them.

In 959, a series of miracles occurred. Reportedly, the Najer goddess of water, Gafa, healed all of the sick and crippled people within the Mahait Seyohdom. According to legends, this was when the Mahait adopted her as their patron deity, solidifying her influence in the region and beyond. She was also reputed to have caused the Golden Age of the Mahait shortly afterwards, greatly strengthening the Mahait and their cultural identity.

Tribal Wars
In 761 BB, the Mahait invaded Ajek Point, hoping to use it to bolster their power, and were successful. This set off a shockwave of fear and alarm, causing many of the neighbors of the Mahait to rightly fear that they were next. After a series of councils, a delegation of Seyohs from a number of small Poma called upon the leaders of Nahrayn, asking them for protection from Mahait aggression. Eventually, a deal was struck, where the various tribes would join Nahrayn and follow its laws, creating the Nahrayn Confederacy. Due to the efforts of a few certain individuals, centralization quickly forged the disparate tribes into one entity, forming a state that would eventually come to rival the Mahait. However, this rivalry would be considered friendly, as more often than not, the Mahait and Nahrayn worked together closely, with both powers benefiting from the industries and skills of the other. The Mahait never pursued territorial gains in Nahrayn territory, nor did Nahrayn seek to antagonize the Mahait. By 634 BB, their relationship was such that certain leaders among both sides were considering joining forces to become a dual Seyohdom, a union of the two states. Once this became public, however, it created outrage among certain factions all across the east. Various interest groups, inside and outside both nations, were vehemently against such a union. Those inside were fiercely protective of their own power and identity, while those outside feared the unstoppable force that it would become. One extremist group assassinated the High Seyoh of the Mahait, claiming it as a victory for Nahrayn. This naturally outraged the Mahait, and they began to prepare for war against Nahrayn.

They marshaled their forces and struck at Nahrayn itself, attempting to overrun the city with the element of surprise. Thanks to the discipline of the Hreyu army, they were routed and pushed out of the city quickly. From this point, open war began, a period known as the Tribal Wars. The Nahrayn Confederacy began a campaign to occupy Mahait territory, acquiring many early victories. An attempt was also made to liberate Ajek Point, but was unsuccessful.

Their ability to hold their captured territory was also tenuous, and the Mahait began to slowly retake what they had lost by innovating new tactics and techniques. For several long years, both sides were at a stalemate, unable to capture or hold the enemy's territory for very long. So the war eventually turned into one of attrition, with both sides hoping the other would run out of supplies or willpower first. With both sides being very prideful, many doubted the latter would happen. The Mahait especially did not want the former to happen, as they were certain that the Confederacy had a greater surplus of food and supplies, and overall better preparation. As such, they devised a plan to end the war in one swift stroke. In a complex series of machinations, the Mahait were able to launch a massive attack on Nahrayn, a repeat of their first assault, which had kicked off the wars. This time, however, they were successful. Over several days of fierce and bloody combat, the Hreyu were pushed out of Nahrayn, their military unable to hold their positions. The Mahait took special effort to raze Nahrayn, toppling the tall structures and burning whatever they could. Its citizens were forced to flee with just whatever they could carry. Many of them resettled the surrounding regions- there was never any attempt to move back into Nahrayn and rebuild. The most prominent new settlement was a village called Raidamah, and it was from here Hreyu culture lived on in the humble Raidah Seyohdom.

The Mahait, terribly weakened, retreated back to their cities and attempted to recover. In 461 BB, invaders from Plagos conquered Ajek Point. This was the first true defeat of the Mahait, and the signaler of their eventual decline. This decline led to an increasing reliance on the rest of Najer, and by 400 BB, east and west Najer began to work more closely together, particularly through trade. The Bacri Pom, who dominated trade between the two sides of the region, were instrumental in this shift.

At some point after this, the illegitimate firstborn child of a Seyoh was snubbed due to their birth circumstances, and so he swore revenge and formed the Mareba Syndicate, which was opposed to Mahait rule and actively worked against them. He passed leadership of this organization down to his descendants, although most were too timid to directly challenge the Mahait.

Downfall
By 13 BB, leadership of the Mareba Syndicate was in the hands of a man called Abarinsk. He had discovered that there were several Hreyu radicals who had infiltrated the Mahait long ago, emigrating to the area long ago after the Mahait destroyed their homeland, Nahrayn. They had formed a sect that had preserved their history, and like the Mareba Syndicate, had sworn revenge against the Mahait. Abarinsk contacted these people and offered to work with them, offering to help them achieve their goal if they would feed him information and make him High Seyoh of the Mahait.

Shortly after, they kick off their plot by stealing an artifact: the Mahait Goblet. It's loss shocked and scared the Mahait population. To follow up, the Mareba syndicate assassinated the ruling High Seyoh of the Mahait, further throwing the populace into confusion. Abarinsk journeyed to the Mahait capital, Ciro, and proclaimed himself the true High Seyoh by birthright, using the Goblet which he had stolen as proof.

He was quickly imprisoned by the city guard, serving a time of about a year while the remaining Mahait leadership decided what to do with him. They would never reach a decision, however, as the Mareba Syndicate broke Abarinsk out of prison. Upon his release, Abarinsk discovered that he had become a sort of mystical folk hero to many, due to his actions before being captured.

He and his followers journeyed to the nearby Mahait city of Jiramivan, where they coup the local government, allowing the Mareba to take full control over the city. This success bolstered Abarinsk and the Mareba, and they began attempting similar attacks on neighboring cities, trying to gain as much control as they possibly could. However, the Mahait government soon learned of this and sent their military to stop him. They raided all of the cities that Abarinsk controlled until only Jiramivan, the Mareba stronghold, was left.

As the Mahait marched on Jiramivan, Abarinsk panicked. He knew he could not defeat them as is, and decided to search for another way to defeat the Mahait. He had heard legends of a family in central Najer, the Family of the Venzun, who were guardians of a magical crystal. He decided to rest his hopes on obtaining this crystal, and took his forces to assault the Venzun and take their crystal. The Venzun were renowned for being fearsome warriors, and as a result, Abarinsk took a strike force of his own best men. The Mareba ambushed the Venzun at night, and the cave where they resided was soon engulfed in blood and violence.

In the end, the Mareba came out on top, slaughtering the Veznun, although only a fraction of his own men survived. He took several shards of the crystal and, discovering their extreme volatility, used them to create an explosive device. When the Mahait came to retake Jiramivan, they were greeted by a grateful populace and an empty town hall. They quickly reasserted control over the city, but before they could celebrate, the town hall was engulfed in a massive fireball, a detonation caused by Abarinsk improvised explosive.

This killed many of the Mahaits best commanders and troops, making the Mareba instantly unpopular. This sentiment was furthered when the Mareba, using their remaining Venzun crystals, went on a terrorist spree across the Seyohdom, killing hundreds.

This drastically weakened the Mahait, as their entire dominion was in flames and they were nearly powerless to stop it. As a last result, they contacted a witch and asked her to create a magical supersoldier golem to fight off the Mareba. She agreed to this deal, and the Mahait poured all the resources they had into the project in hopes it would save them. However, just as the golem was nearing completion, both it and the witch vanished into the night- the Mahait had been scammed.

At their wits end, the Mahait contacted the Mareba and asked them for a final confrontation- if the Mareba won, they would be given control of the Mahait Seyohdom. The battle occurred with a resounding Mahait defeat. With no leader and impending destruction looming, the Mahait High Seyohdom collapsed into anarchy. A group of vigilantes took advantage of the chaos to capture Abarinsk and torture him to death for causing all of this.

The Seyohdom burns for months, with nearly all trade and agriculture suspended. Many Mahait emigrate, with a large portion going to Sparwood. Eventually, things began to settle down, and much of the remaining Mahait adopt peaceful nomadic ways and integrate into greater Najer society.

Modern Day
The Mahait as a people began to rebuild when nearly four decades later, many Mahait would return to Najer and begin to live in their old cities again. Thanks to the Vikhrov family, who were descended from the old reigning High Seyohs, they experienced a resurgence. By around 100 AB, their notoriety had grown such that when the Najer provinces were reorganized, much of the old Mahait Seyohdom's territory became the new Mahait Province. It carries that name to this day.