Huzuz

[Zaim al-Daleel]

Huzuz
The City of Delights

Huzuz: The City of Delights, gem of the Golden Gulf and Suq Bay, looks like a ripe fruit for the plucking. It lacks the forbidding walls of Zakhara's northern holdings. Further, Huzuz is open sprawl of parks, easy to cross. It has a number of gates, but these primarily serve as a means for regulating trade and guaranteeing taxation; the gates would do little to repel a serious invader.

The strength of Huzuz lies not in its steel or its stone but in the authority of its Grand Caliph. Moreover, it lies in the hands of the genies who recognize the Grand Caliph's sovereignty, choosing to protect the city in his name. Twice twenty years ago, in the age of the current Grand Caliph's grandfather, a rebellious desert sheikh led a great endeavor against Huzuz. The sheikh reached the plains before the city, where his army was met by a lone sha'ir. The sha'ir warned the sheikh to turn back. In response, the sheikh rode down the sha'ir and slew him. At that moment, a host of genies appeared: djinn, dao, efreet, and marids, leading an army of jann. The sheikh's army was destroyed to the last rider. The land was decimated. Most of that damage was the result of the genies, who competed to see who among them could slay the most riders, using the most impressive displays possible, Since that bloody occasion, no one has challenged the magical protection of Huzuz.

[Zaim al-Daleel]

Powerful Groups of Huzuz (work in progress. written in during the period of Khalil Al-Assad, 18th of his line)
The Grand Caliph

Achmed al-Assad al-Zahir, 19th of his line, son of Khalil

The Al-Assad Royal Family

The Grand Caliph's family is very loyal to him, and some of them are quite protective.

Members of the House of Assad are descendants of the first Grand Caliph, the first Enlightened ruler of Zakhara. The Grand Caliph's extended family is an army of aunts, uncles, and a legion of supposed cousins. Aside from
Khalil's wives and his most trusted advisors, the royal family has the most influence at court and in the city at large. Even Khalil's most distant cousin is regarded as an honored figure in the upper circles of Huzuz society.
Everyone in Huzuz knows a member of the royal family, it seems, or at least would be willing to give up a caravan of camels or a child in marriage to meet one.

The most prominent members of the royal family are Khalil's two paternal uncles, Tannous and Cheddah, who play pivotal roles in court politics and intrigue. The Grand Caliph loves both his uncles, and he has given them positions of honor and authority in his government. During the troubled early years of Khalil's reign, Tannous and Cheddah put themselves at their nephew's disposal, helping him sneak out of Huzuz for his distant adventures. Khalil's advisors and wives, who felt deserted by their sovereign, came to despise the pair of doting uncles, who encouraged the Grand Caliph's irresponsibility.

The Harim
[Wives of the former Caliph] Achmed has yet to decide what to do with them

The harim houses one of the most powerful groups of women assembled in all of Zakhara. While many arrogant men scoff at the idea, Khalil's wives have a profound effect upon his personal, political, and financial decisions.
Khalil's harim houses over 100 beautiful wives and concubines of all races and nationalities. Each wife or concubine is attended by numerous slaves and female relatives in her apartments, bringing the total female population of the harim to over 3,000 individuals, all competing for Khalil's attention. Potions of vitality notwithstanding, Khalil rarely visits each wife more than once a month.

Despite his attempts to treat his wives equally, the Grand Caliph frequently visits a core group of four wives, whose advice and companionship he prizes over all others. These women are powerful individuals in their own right, and they wield considerable influence in the city.

Tanya bint Perijan
Tanya is a cunning young daughter of Perijan Al-Danaf, of a powerful trading family based in Gana, one of the Pearl Cities. Still in her early 20s, Tanya is devastatingly beautiful in the flower of her youth, with sable hair and
dark eyes, attractively accented with kohl.

Yasmi al-Datma
Yasmi was a respected member of the Grand Vizier's palace security force before she married Khalil

Zaynal ibn Sabur
Zaynal is a dark and passionate beauty, a fabled dancer of legendary proficiency from Kadarastro, now in her mid-30s. She moves with the lithe, predatory grace of a panther, and her voice is deep and sultry. Presented to
Khalil on his coronation day by his favorite aunt, Sitt Rahmah al-Zahir, Zaynal has always been one of the Grand Caliph's favorites.

Dalilah al-Nakar
Dalilah is Khalil's first wife, betrothed to the Caliph while he was still an adolescent boy in his father's court. A mature beauty in her mid-40s, Dalilah carries herself like a regal queen, and nothing that transpires in
the harim escapes her discerning gaze. She is friendly with all of Khalil's wives, but she prefers the companionship of the mature Zaynal over that of the younger wives.