Raha
🔈 (RAH-hah)
- pop. 233
A Deno’qai village in the Highveil Forest, the Central Highlands
Raha is a small Deno’qai village in the Highveil Forest, about a day’s hard march east of the Zarnato river.
The Village
Raha is a medium-sized village of 60 or so simple wooden buildings, well-constructed, and housing a few hundred people. The village is in a hidden clearing in the woods, hardly noticeable from a distance. The center of the village is the large gathering hall, a long, low one story building, facing a large open area. This serves as the informal living room of the village, home to a large well and several pig pens. At the far end of this common space, a coppiced great tree stands, a stone altar for ritual sacrifices and feasts set in front of it. Like other Deno’qai, the people of Raha worship the tanshi, small gods whose favor is drawn by offerings and sacrifices.
Beyond the tree and altar is the main area of the settlement, a series of small houses and cottages, mostly. The major farming activity in the village is keeping pigs, and many have the run of this area. One more distinctive house, two stories with a chimney and painted in a wide array of bright colors, sits on the far edge of the village, and is the home of the local butcher, who produces widely admired sausages and various smoked meats. On this side of the village is also a sparring ground, where young Deno’qai men and women practice with spear and shield.
Behind the great hall is a somewhat poorer and smellier part of town, where the tanner lives who produces deerskin cloaks and other items. A small cluster of fairly run down huts nestle among the forest here.
The Community
The people of Raha are wary of outsiders, but friendly once they decide you are trustworthy. They are proud of their local traditions, especially their sausage and pigs, and often hold races while riding pigs in the sparring ground.
There is no inn or tavern here, but travelers who meet the approval of the village can sleep in the great hall, and several villagers brew beer they’d be happy to sell. Rations can be obtained from the butcher or in trade from Hakar. There is also a tanner/leatherworker in the village, a not-very-skilled blacksmith, and a few of the soldiers have some skill in repairing basic items. Finally, an old woman collects herbs and other things from the forest and brews concoctions: many common potions can be obtained from her.