Alamaqu
On the Plain of Horses Alamaqu is a moderate-sized tent city located in a valley in the central Chigidi Mountains. It is populated by members of the T’aghurs tribe. As the T’aghurs are an extremely mobile tribe, Alaga maqu is not so much a city as it is a campsite for tents. The T’aghurs built a 20-foot stone wall to surround thier campsite. The high Chigidi peaks protect the wall.
Inside the wall are thousands of ger, the distinctive white tents of the T’aghurs. Built over shallow pits which have been dug into the ground, the tents are arranged in long lines with wide paths between them for horse and ox carts. When the time comes in the winter to take their sheep herds to greener pastures, the T’aghurs pack up their tents and leave behind only a small garrison force to guard the area until their return.
Poor leadership has prevented the T’aghurs from prospering. Centuries ago, the founders of the tribe decided that three equal rulers would be preferable to a single one, and the tribe has since been ruled by a triumvirate. But in the absence of a single visionary leader to provide direction, T’aghur society has languished.
One of the triumvirate’s more questionable decisions was to use elephants as war steeds. There are currently 300 elephants stationed in Alamaqu, ready for battle. The elephants are too sluggish and independent to make particularly good fighters, but the triumvirate stubbornly insists on keeping them.
