Welcome to the Balady.
Yes... welcome, weary traveler.
We usually don't allow strangers.
But we can make an exception.
There's not a item on you to trade, though...
...Pity, that.
Well, no matter. We imagine you won't stay long, anyway.
The heat can be a bit much.
We really only have one rule, for drifters like you.
Oh yes, just the one.
Don't get too curious.
Oh— Where are you, you ask?
The Balady sultanate’s physical system thrives on secrecy.
It’s difficult to see flank or fur of it anywhere in the vast deserts and craggy landscape— largely because most of the system lies underground. The Oasis that the system lies on (called the Bahariya Oasis by humans, and Bahar Oasis by the Balady cats) is what allows the sultanate to thrive despite the harsh landscape. The underground aquifer and groundwater allows for a source of water in particularly prey-lacking years and keeps the earth under the sand malleable enough to dig through to create new tunnels and systems to support the growing sultanate.
However, the freshwater oasis also means the presence of humans and their civilization. Many human settlements are within walking (or a day’s walking) distance of the heart of the sultanate, and many cats commute to these settlements due to the prospect of food (and prey) in the human settlements.
The closest human settlement is el-Bawiti, where many humans have now taken to owning foreign-bred cats, whom the Balady have called Shirazi in the last few generations. Stray cats within the human settlements are also common enemies of the Balady residents. To the east and south lie numerous groups of desert fox, desert cat, and desert jackal populations, and the Balady frequently clash and battle with these larger predators. Cheetahs are exceedingly rare nowadays (and were more common in older generations) but the Balady still hold onto the possibility that this animal/predator (that the cats model after for one of their pantheon gods) will one day return to the oasis.
The overland territory the sultanate claims is used primarily for events that fuel the sultanate’s social climate, such as athletic tournaments, recreational hunting, and public announcements or festivals (most generally done at night or in the waning hours). In terms of prey, it is there, no doubt about it— so long as a cat can find it.
Only the most wily, resourceful, and quick-minded cats can keep both themselves and their families fed alongside moving up in the ranks. If they so choose.
Or, if they even can.
What is the Balady?
The Balady is more than a group. It is more than a tunnel system.
It is a way of life.
The code of the Balady is as simple as it is strict.
Obedience means Survival.
The entire system that Balady cats abide by runs on this doctrine, and without it, the network of desert-born cats would quickly succumb to the harsh climate. When the first leaders of the Balady won a fateful battle to assume control over native Felis catus living on the edge of budding human society in the desert, they made sure to lay down a foundation for a strict caste system that has laid uncontested for multitudes of generations. Over the years, this class-based system has evolved to further widen the gap between the highest ranks and the lowest rungs.
While the King (Malik in the Balady language), Queen (Malikah), and their family have, at one point in history, been likened to gods, peasants, in contrast, are seen as barely more than prey items or potential servants to higher classes. Being born into this system can sometimes be a death sentence. But, if you're lucky, life can be even more cushiony than what some human-owned house-cats experience.
The caste system thrives on everyone’s collective adoption and acceptance of the status quo. Coupled with a collectively devout religious sentiment that pervades all aspects of the Balady life, many cats find their role in life to be predestined.
If you were born a peasant? Then surely the gods made it so for a purpose. So, you must die a servant as well.
You were born into the family of the sultan? Well, obviously, you have a higher calling! Nevermind that you won’t inherit your father’s title due to you being the second heir. You were destined to be the spare, should your older littermate succumb to the harsh climate.
Any deviation from this thought is in an extremely small minority within the system, and any dissent is swiftly repressed. With the sheer isolation that the system faces within their underground network, much of this minority of thought comes from those willing to venture far from the Balady territory. Whether they live to tell the tale and to return to life within the system, though, is rare to the point of mythical.
You’d have to be mad to think you could change the system’s framework.
Or, maybe even just the right cat to do it.