Ryana'naman

The Ryana'naman (I who sees) are a herding and trading community of the deserts of Region A, moving from oasis to oasis, who emerged in the Early Bronze Age. Their name can also be rendered as Ryananahmun (we who see), both referring to the original title Ryana'naman Shanum-hi-nomam (I who sees the sleeping god).

Description
The Ryana'naman have essentially a single myth, which ties into their heavily proselytizing religion. They believe that before the beginning of reality, there were two things; the world, which was a still ocean of gray water, and the living one, an all-powerful being that is somewhat indistinctly described, descriptions of it varying, but all generally focusing on its difference from the dark, colorless water. After an immeasurable amount of time, the living one became lonely, and so created another being from the water. It existed, but only for a moment, before being silently reclaimed by the water. The living one tried again, to only the same result. It tried again and again, and each time it made more people, more things, and put more effort into making them last. Time began when it at last succeeded at creating what the Ryana'naman now call the living world, but even a being as powerful as the living one must be exhausted after such a feat, so it shed some tears upon the earth, for it would not be able to enjoy its creation for some time, before lying down to rest, becoming the impassably tall mountains which the Ryana'naman encounter to southern and eastern most reaches of their travels. They travel from oasis to oasis believing that by doing so they honor the living one, and bury their dead in cairns near the mountains so they can awaken with the living one when the time comes. Much of their art is of things considered to be the last creations of the living one, thought to retain the most of its essence, especial the oases and the creatures that live within them. They organize into several small groups, based mostly by bloodline, though when a girl comes of age, she is expected to live with another group for a time, before either returning, or beginning a new life in the other group. When they encounter other cultures, such as when the growing group of merchants from the north make their way through the desert, they often try to help, but at the same time try to show them the magnificence of the living one and the tragedy of its sleeping. The living one now is commonly known as Shanum-hi-nomam, 'God who sleeps'.