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A Gierhou is a Khinasi term used to denote a close-knit band of clans with a common trade, activity or who live together in a city. While not the same as a tribe (which would be a larger grouping of clans), the people of a Gierhou tend to have a strong sense of community and are often suspicious of outsiders.
A gierhou is often based around a single trade, over which it has a monopoly - often one which it has held for centuries. These family secrets are held tenaciously and more than one person has been killed or ruined by a Gierhou for trying to steal its secrets. Young members of a gierhou are expected to obey their elders and follow the culture of the Gierhou, many a theatre tragedy is based around the struggles of a young man or woman to live within their families expectations and the inevitably tragic results when they fail to do so.
Rivalry between Gierhou, particularly those with similar trades, is commonplace and while generally verbal or cultural, escalates to violence fairly frequently, particularly after plagues sweep an area and kill many of the elderly leaving the younger more hotheaded members of rival gierhou's to run the clan's affairs.
Many gierhou are both wealthy and powerful, although they are not generally of high social caste, even rulers treat the head of a gierhou with respect and even deference and some Geirhou patriarchs and matriarchs are so powerful as to constitute the regent of a small holding.


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