Tanarisi Immigrant Foundation

The mysterious west. Beyond the palm-covered verdant shores of the south-eastern Kalimdor lays a vast desert of Tanaris, roamed by fierce creatures of the sand and ancient demons, Sandfury trolls and nomadic humans. Lonely camel-trains brave the sandstorm, moving from one watering hole to another, trying to make a living in a place where life seems impossible...

Safia and myself are both role-playing Tanarisi humans, and have included some lore in the backgrounds of our characters. We even got ambitious and designed our own language. At this point we've realized that we should share our work with those who want to Role-play a human from Tanaris, and would like to spice up their character! What you read below is merely a plausible picture of Tanarisi history and culture, not the 'only true view'. Use it as you wish, use parts of it, add parts of your own. Be creative! You can always say that you are 'From another tribe, and we do things differently out there!'

Great Journey or Unfortunate Accident - peopling of Tanaris

Sands of Tanaris have always been home to the numerous Troll-kind, mostly confined to the northern foothills. As first humans moved to Lordaeron sub-continent from Northrend and slowly spread, fierce competition amongst the tribes and between Trolls and Humans forced some men to take the perilous maritime journey south and settle in the lands that would later become Kingdom of Stormwind. Throughout centuries of emerging human civilization those migrants have set sail and fared into the vast reaches of the South Seas, settling islands and one day coming to the shores of Tanaris. These early migrants would later be reinforced by shipwrecked merchants and pirates that will dominate the South Seas closer to the present day.

[If Darkspear trolls managed to migrate from Stranglethorn to Durotar, having same level of technology as early humans, it is not impossible for humans to make a similar journey]

Great Southern Desert - Geography of Tanaris

Great Desert of Kalimdor stretches for thousands of miles and incorporates areas known today as Thousand Needles, Tanaris Desert and Silithus. Eastern shores of Tanaris are covered in palms and scrub, and have been home to small trading ports and date farmers for generations. Mountainous foothills of northern Tanaris slowly flow into the imposing spikes of the Thousand Needles, and those rocky barriers capture the moist south-eastern wind, enabling some life to thrive. The vast desert beyond the lush shores is an empty space of sand and wind, littered with small oases. Some of them are large enough to allow a small permanent population, others are in posession of nomadic tribes who travel from one to another throughout the year. Once a decade or so the fierce western wind will blow through the arid highlands of Silithus, scarce resources will diminish and tribes of Tanaris will turn against one another in a fierce battle for survival. Inhospitable conditions and regular catastrophe make sure population remains scattered and few, and no major towns ever appear.

[The assumption is made here that the world is MUCH larger than shown in-game, and has more objects and settlements than represented in the game-world]

Culture of Tanaris

Majority of Tanarisi human population are nomadic tribesman of the interior, urging their camel caravans from one small oasis to another. Herbs and spices growing at the oases, dates, camel meat&milk and few resilient legumes constitute the staple diet of the desert folk. Being a tribal culture, individual needs rank way down below the needs of the community. Brotherhood among members of the same tribe is not only proper conduct, but also essential for survival. Even when they migrate out of the desert, tribesmen stick together and try to support each other at all times - often ending up breaking the law or being accused of favoritism. If a tanarisi ever ascends to the throne of Stormwind, it is assured that his fellow tribesmen will be given all the positions of honor in the Kingdom.

Favors are reciprocal. If you help somebody, you expect to be helped in turn. Fortunately, close family of the beneficiary can return the favor if the man himself is unable to. Favors are remembered, and sometimes take generations to repay. A man coming to ask for a return favor ten years after he saved somebody is not an uncommon sight, and cause of frequent tribal warfare. This expectation of something-for-something and strict honor when it comes to matters of favors often handicaps those who leave the desert, as they are not accustomed to the world with charitable organizations and compassion as a main virtue.

Honor and maintenance of face are paramount. As a guest one is expected to be polite and show gratitude, as a host to be generous and benevolent. It is a bad sign to turn a guest away, and even worse to insult the host. In the dirt-poor nomad's life honor is the only possession one can truly show off. And what better way to show off your virtue than to treat a guest generously and treat him to your best food and drinks? And only way for a guest to show that he is no less virtuous than the host, is to be polite and gracious.

Weakness is lethal. If one tribe harms another, it is a cause for immediate revenge. Fortunately, you don't have to find the wrongdoer - any of his family or tribe will do. Blood feuds can run for generations, another cause for lack of states. This habit of fierce revenge, often on the family of the wrongdoer, puts the immigrants at odds with the Law of more civilized lands.

People living in small coastal villages tend to be more selfish and 'civilized', having a great inclination to trade and barter. They will frequently exchange exotic goods from the deep desert for miracles of civilization such as iron weapons and golden jewelry. Same goes for the dwellers of the many small South Sea islands off the coast of Tanaris.

Being descendants of early humans, Tanarisi maintained at least one aspect of the ancient Vrykul culture - reasonable equality of men and women and martial tradition among females. When traveling through Tanaris, one has a good chance of being raided and have one's head chopped off by a woman.

Magic

Men of Tanaris never had the privilege to study the vast Highborn lore passed from the Elves to the Humans of Arathor. Magic available to the Tanarisi is either spiritual shamanism, or out-right devilry. Lonely mud brick towers are a frequent sight in Tanaris, and any man with common sense avoids them. These towers are home to dark covens of demon-worshippers, who sell their very souls in exchange for dark magical lore. Shadowmages who leave those covens are feared and respected, and rightfully so.

Some tribal warriors are chosen and trained to become servants and champions of those depraved sorcerors, as described here

Language

Tanarisi language has been influenced by the sandfury trolls and adapted to the harsh desert environment, shaped by the howl of the desert winds and shifting of the sands.

This updated dialects.lua file allows Lore-users to speak Tanarisi. If you use tongues, you will have to change the syntax somewhat. Check the Read-me file delivered with your tongues-addon. Tanarisi has been inspired on the Semitic languages and Persian. Your feedback is most welcome if you believe the language should be updated.

Language - Tongues
After Tongues has been updated for MoP, it suddenly accepted my Custom Languages! (didn't work before)

Now you can throw away 'Lore' and use Tongues! HALLELUJA

This is the 'updated' version of Tanarisi, I've added some more words to avoid repetitions in a single say, added most geographical names into 'ignore' list so that they are not translated and simplified the substitutes to be shorter and more practical.

Installation:

1) open the spoiler, select all text and copy it (ctrl+c)
2) go to //world of warcraft/interface/addons/tongues/custom
3) Open the file called 'customlanguages' with notepad (right click -> open with)
4) Paste the text (ctrl+v) at the bottom of the text file and save the document
5) Start WoW (or exit&start if it is running), right-click on your 'Tongues' button
6) Click on 'understand'
7) Type 'Tanarisi' into the window, set the slider to 'High' and click 'Set'

Congratulations, now you can speak Tanarisi by cycling through the Tongues button!

Tanarisi for Tongues:

PS: unlike 'Lore', tongues renews its customlanguage file every update. That means that you have to repeat the procedure after every update! I will soon try to reach the creator of Tongues so that he includes the language into the addon.



Conclusion

If there are any questions or requests, don't hesitate to post here. Please note that this is a resource, not a guild idea or community project. These things are here to help you RP a Tanarisi human, not bind you to some organization. If you like to RP with fellow migrants, please contact either me or Safia and we will gladly arrange something however!

This makes me so, so happy -- thank you immensely for writing this up! It's both useful in general and inspiring to my creativity regarding the time Vale lived in Tanaris, what she would have seen and learned. I hope it sparks more interest in this very imagination-rich place, as well.

Excellent work sir! Love it! A good resource indeed!

I've read somewhere that Night elves used humans and azoth (the earlies humans that weren't vrykul) as slaves.

"The earliest known history indicates that they may have been called the Azotha.[2] Between the finding of magic from the Well of Eternity and the Sundering (approximately 14,000-10,000 years ago[8]),[9] the Azotha became the humans.[10] They were nearly as savage as their foes among the trolls, and both groups wandered the land battling each other while trying to plant the seeds of their cultures.[8] The trolls actively hunted these humans.[11] These nascent humans saw the kaldorei as shadowy figures with god-like powers,[10] but were sometimes captured and used as slaves by them.[9] Centuries before the War of the Ancients, the bear Ancients Ursoc and Ursol, befriended many generations of humans and kaldorei and were beloved in return."

Wich was before Kalimdor and the eastern kingdoms were formed as we know them. So I wouldn't find it strange to find a carefully hidden group of humans somewhere in tanaris

Hatheehi al maqala shamil al m'alumaat wa mutheera jidan. Ahsenta 'amalen! Laqed naseytu an atheef anenee ahibu hatheehi al fikra katheeren katheeren!! <3

For further inspiration, I can recommend the soundtrack to Black Hawk Down.

And this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uy6BN1PdUDY

Tanaris is one of my favourite places to RP, was there once a month IC and it's quite unique to Alliance RP since there aint much of deserts in the Eastern Kingdoms. Very good place to RP if you have people with you.

Sophyra wrote:[If Darkspear trolls managed to migrate from Stranglethorn to Durotar, having same level of technology as early humans, it is not impossible for humans to make a similar journey]

The trolls actually migrated to a small island belived to be part of the broken isles. (Thrall meeting and recruiting them on his way to Kalimdor which you can see in the WC3 demo.)
I love the language and people from Tanaris idea i just love to nitpick :F
Almost wanna make a tanaris human now.....

Sophyra, what about Sand Gnomes ?

Sand gnomes are a local delicassy. They are prepared by putting a gnome into a barrel, submerging him in the sands, and letting him dry for 7 days. Then you open the barrel,stuff it with spices and garlic, put sand all over it again, and start a fire around the sand for 1 day to make sure gnome inside is slowly prepared.

Reminds me of Homunculus.

I to try this Tanaris RP too, can someone tell me where do people use to hang arround in there?

Well, since I was the 'first' Tanarisi and I hang out around Slaughtered Lamb, Safia too started hanging out around there..so..yea...Slaughtered Lamb

Besides which, if you happen to come by the Lamb on Wednesday nights, the Red Eclipse is an especially Tanaris-styled evening of luxury... well worth the visit! -nods-

Valerias will make sure of it. Personally. Won't you, dear?

Sophyra wrote:Men of Tanaris never had the privilege to study the vast Highborn lore passed from the Elves to the Humans of Arathor.

That's all good, but note to self; new Sunfury Elite goal: create Caverns of Time wormhole, go back a few thousand years, stop ancestors from being extremely dumb!!

Sinnadrin wrote:

Sophyra wrote:Men of Tanaris never had the privilege to study the vast Highborn lore passed from the Elves to the Humans of Arathor.

That's all good, but note to self; new Sunfury Elite goal: create Caverns of Time wormhole, go back a few thousand years, stop ancestors from being extremely dumb!!

And have Quel'Thalas fall before the Amani in the process?

*goes back in time and replaces Garithos with a very competent, charismatic and fair commander*

Behold now! High Elves are now part of the Alliance, led by their much beloved king Kael'thas Sunstrider, Exodar is howering over the green fields of Fahralon, and Lordaeron is being re-settled by humans. Wouldn't that be a much better world?

Sophyra wrote:*goes back in time and replaces Garithos with a very competent, charismatic and fair commander*

Behold now! High Elves are now part of the Alliance, led by their much beloved king Kael'thas Sunstrider, Exodar is howering over the green fields of Fahralon, and Lordaeron is being re-settled by humans. Wouldn't that be a much better world?

No.

Sophyra wrote:*goes back in time and replaces Garithos with a very competent, charismatic and fair commander*

Behold now! High Elves are now part of the Alliance, led by their much beloved king Kael'thas Sunstrider, Exodar is howering over the green fields of Fahralon, and Lordaeron is being re-settled by humans. Wouldn't that be a much better world?

No.

High elves should be Light wielding elves who don't touch magic again, Reside in Stormwind. In The Alliance.
Blood elves, Fel users, racist, hedonist types In Zee horde.

Night elves: Alliance, male druids, female warriors/priests. Kalimdor

-- 

>.> That aside. This is a very awesome idea, Filling in the blanks about the various human skintones ^.^

[If Darkspear trolls managed to migrate from Stranglethorn to Durotar, having same level of technology as early humans, it is not impossible for humans to make a similar journey]

Nitpick - The Darkspear migrated to The Broken Isles after they were exiled from Stranglethorn. They didn't go to Durotar until Thrall stopped by, helped them out, offered them a place in the New Horde and hopped on his ships.

Otherwise, great read.

Chléirich/Gunnell/Graham wrote:

[If Darkspear trolls managed to migrate from Stranglethorn to Durotar, having same level of technology as early humans, it is not impossible for humans to make a similar journey]

Nitpick - The Darkspear migrated to The Broken Isles after they were exiled from Stranglethorn. They didn't go to Durotar until Thrall stopped by, helped them out, offered them a place in the New Horde and hopped on his ships.

Otherwise, great read.

I do belive i allready picked this nit!
(consult previous pages *nod*)

Antistia wrote:And have Quel'Thalas fall before the Amani in the process?

And assassinate relevant Troll leaders in the process. Please don't recite ridiculous Alliance propaganda that we ever needed their "magical" aid anyway.

Sophyra wrote:*goes back in time and replaces Garithos with a very competent, charismatic and fair commander*

Behold now! High Elves are now part of the Alliance, led by their much beloved king Kael'thas Sunstrider, Exodar is howering over the green fields of Fahralon, and Lordaeron is being re-settled by humans. Wouldn't that be a much better world?

The cliché is burning my eeeeyesssss!

We didn't need magical aid, we just bribed them with magic so we had more meatshields.