Long seen as both protectors and progenitors by the people of Medinaat al-Salaam, the Ashalan are an enigma to the people of the Burning Sands as well as to those of the Emerald Empire. A long-lived race whose nature borders on the paranoid and whose skill at deception can draw parallels to the Kolat or the Shadow, the Ashalan have seen a great deal over the centuries, and know more than most races in either the Jewel of the Desert or the Emerald Empire.
Originally created by the first Jinn spawned by the Moon and Sun, the Ashalan have lived for thousands of years since that time, sharing twelve souls amongst all the members of their race. Those ‘ensouled’ members lead the others and, until recent events leading up to and including the Awakening, most of the Council of Twelve had survived all the way from the Ashalan race’s creation until the present day. The decisions of the Council are typically followed by all Ashalan, and it was through this peaceful governance that they were able to quietly guide many of the factions that can be found in the Burning Sands, carefully shaping the destiny of those who lived above the City of the Seventh Star.
Unfortunately for these other races, Ashalan guidance does not always come in the friendly manner it once did. As the Council has dwindled, some members of the Ashalan race have grown callous and uncaring, even arrogant. They believe that if they had to pay the ultimate cost, other races must be prepared to do the same, and the weak among them must be removed. Needless to say, this is not the attitude of most of their race, and those Ashalan who continue to behave in such a manner may find themselves eventually undone. Plans within plan unfold within Ashalan society, and many such schemes eventually lead back to the Council or others of their immortal species, if one were inclined to follow them.