According to popular myth, when the Old Forest was dying, the Quirithi left
their ancestral home and set out to find a new place to call their own. They
were said to have journeyed for hundreds of years, until finally they came
to rest in an oasis. A sign from the Ancients, usually described in legends
as a falling star returning to the night sky or pillar of light erupting out
of the sands, let them know with certainty that this place would one day be
their new homeland.
That location became Shimmerhaven, the Oasis of the Sheltered Sands. It was
a place of wonder, beauty, and wealth, and a key center of trade for the New
Kingdoms. Braving many dangers in their attempt to construct a settlement in
the middle of a desert, the Quirithi persevered, aided by the development of
Tempest arts and the ingenuity of Aetheric devices borrowed from
Deepmountain, via Vaelandrian wingship traders. This, in part, helped color
the Shimmerri's exceptionally welcoming attitudes toward visitors.
The culture of the people of Shimmerhaven was a cosmopolitan mishmash of
small things from here and there that had been integrated together into a
unique whole, far more than simply the sum of its parts. It celebrated the
fusion of wildly different things while simultaneously venerating the unique
origins of each of those disparate pieces. Shimmerhaven culture was one of
welcome and hospitality for foreigners, and a fascination with discovering
new things. Residents of Shimmerhaven had a cultural wanderlust, an interest
in exploring far-away places, and a desire to bring back rare and unusual
goods or knowledge from their travels that their community might not have
otherwise encountered. All who were able went on the Sojourn when they come
of age, spending time in a faraway place as a rite of passage.
They also celebrated individualism, and nowhere was that more obvious than
in the unique fashion of its members. They delighted in bright colors,
varied fabrics, and patterns that others might consider garish or clashing,
and they saw this mishmash of fashions as a recognition of the varied
aspects that made up their culture as a whole. The louder, brighter, and
more incoherent the outfit, the higher the perceived status of its wearer.
When the Blight swallowed the sands, the Quirithi of Shimmerhaven were
forced to flee their homeland for a second time. Many Shimerri refugees
sought to recreate their former home's openness to diversity in Altheria,
helping to bridge cultural divides and forge a new community out of the many
disparate ones that were suddenly brought together. The city has been
greatly influenced by this, and the unity it has managed to establish is
thanks in no small part to the efforts of those from Shimmerhaven.