Since their exodus the Urapi had been familiar with the existence of their Tevali cousins, who lived in the western reaches of the Spines of Vari and further west still. Though the Urapi were perfectly happy to live alongside their Varic kin, they lacked the means to exert any kind of authority or even significant influence over them.

That had changed with the arrival of the written word and exotic goods from the east. The theocrats of Adadach began to lean upon the Tevali - at least the lowlanders that they could reach without too much difficulty - in any way that they could, so that they might gain more power, perhaps enough to reclaim Urapivarta.

The first such method was economic. With Canaanite, Asegon and Ban'so'garekan ships now routinely sailing the southern shores of the Varic homeland, uninterrupted access to the sea was more valuable than ever. And so the Adadachites interrupted that access, encouraging the foreigners to allow the Urapi to act as middlemen in trade with their cousins who were intensely xenophobic and chauvinistic towards non-Varic peoples. Once all such trade was in Urapi hands, the Adadachites would selectively cease trade for however long it took to achieve desired concessions before recommencing it.

The second method was theological. The lowland Tevali, like their mountainous kin, preferenced Shar over the other khans they shared worship of with the Urapi. Through emphasising the boons granted to them in trade via the grace of Topal and the exploits of any and every other khan, they disrupted the Tevali unity under Shar and thus fragmented them on the level of identity itself. Moreover, the Urapi stressed the importance of the kharubbal and the reclamation of the Varic plateau. To their credit, the Tevali did not require much encouragement to this end and many became kharubbites themselves, and if anything the Tevali valued cooperation between the Varic people more than the Urapi did.

The third method was political. Through forging agreements with the newly empowered temples of Topal and other khans in Tevali territory, the Adadachites and Urapi in general gained a foothold amongst those who had once been uniformly disinterested in reliance on outsiders for anything.

The end result of these manouverings saw the Tevali lowlands fall loosely under the influence of the Urapi lowland hegemon of Adadach, listening to their directives in trade, religion and politics. But they were by no means fully under the Urapi sway, as they were freely able to disregard the Urapi where they saw fit, providing they were willing to weather the consequences.

Map - the provinces aesthetically marked in blue to my west.