Zazalai Mountains

Overview

“We are the Hegemon's shield, wretch. These mountains are littered with the bones of those who sought to break us. Bring your armies, and let them know Zazalai shall be their tomb.”
-Lord Juyzi Izaku, responding to demands that he surrender Mudki to the forces of the Traditionalist Coalition.

Spanning nearly the entirety of Moghes, the Zazalai Mountains are a vital strategic position in the modern age. In the north, they separate the Northern and Eastern Wasteland - and in the south, they divide the Eastern Wasteland from the Untouched Lands. As such, despite the difficulties of maintaining them, Hegemon Not’zar has worked tirelessly to ensure that the cities of the Zazalai Mountains stand as bastions against the Wasteland, to limited success. Historically, the Zazalai Mountains have been Hegemony-controlled, having been vassals of the Izweski since their ascent to power. While there is a vast distance between the three cities of the region, they remain at least nominally united by a common culture - though with the growing Wasteland placing increased strain on the cities of the region, it is uncertain how long that will last. The mountains are cold and inhospitable, and most of the region’s population are concentrated in the cities, or the rare habitable valleys and lowlands that can be found in the range. In the modern age, with more and more of the mountains being lost to the Wasteland, most of the region’s population can be found in the mountains surrounding the city of Res’karum.

The largest city of the Zazalai range, Res’karum was spared from atomic devastation during the Contact War by complete chance - the plane carrying the payload meant to destroy the city crashed into a nearby mountain, leaving the city untouched. Now, it is the last stop between the Untouched Lands and the Wasteland - and, given the state of things in Mudki and Bahard, it may soon be the last bastion of civilization in the mountains altogether. Currently, Res’karum is ruled by the Clan Yu’zath. The Lord Yu’zath is a competent ruler, and he has held his city together through the ashes of the Contact War, the ongoing famine, and the encroaching Wasteland. However, recent events have placed his city under threat, as refugees flood to the south from Mudki, fleeing the maddened and tyrannical rule of Lord Juyzi Izaku. As the situation grows ever more dire, the firebrand cult of Si’akh grows increasingly more popular among the Sinta of Res’karum, having recently become a majority in the city. While Lord Yu’zath remains staunchly Th’akh, some of the region’s nobles have embraced the teachings of Judiza Si’akh, and are placing pressure on their liege to convert as well.

Mudki was once known as a mighty city, which turned back Traditionalist armies many times during the Contact War. However, when the Coalition failed to take the city for the third time, they abandoned it, and rained down nuclear fire upon the region. While Mudki was able to protect the city itself from nuclear devastation, all the surrounding region was turned into uninhabitable Wasteland. The rural clans of the area are nonexistent now, with all having either perished or fled - either to Mudki’s walls or to a safer city to the south. Seeing the city collapsing has driven its ruler, Lord Juyzi Izaku, to near-madness, and a fanatical level of traditionalism that even the old Coalition would have seen as absurd. Izaku claims that the Hegemon’s welcoming of aliens has corrupted the spirit of Moghes, and that so long as this contamination is allowed, the Wasteland will never be healed. Gawgaryn forces frequently raid the city, and Izaku’s levies seem unable to mount a proper defence. As this carries on, many of Izaku’s subjects have fled south towards Res’karum, leaving the city as a ghost town, built to support a population many times its size. Those few who remain, whether out of loyalty or fear, can see Mudki crumbling - and though none will admit it, lest the mad lord come down on them, it is clear that Mudki will die if Izaku continues to rule.

To the south, on the border of the Eastern Wasteland, lies Bahard. The birthplace of the Merchants’ Guild and one of the oldest trading hubs on Moghes, the city was once one of the wealthiest in the region, said to rival even the greatest cities of the Izweski Heartland in its splendor. However, during the Contact War, it was also of great strategic importance to both sides, as it guarded several key passes in the Zazalai Mountains. During the war, the Traditionalists hoped to reduce the city to rubble - and while Bahard survived, it endures today as a shell of its former self. Surrounded by Wasteland, and only maintained by its subterranean aquifer, the city is expected to fall within the decade. While the city’s population that remains is hopeful as to the success of terraforming efforts, Lord Korhar, ruler of Bahard, has remained silent on the matter. Rumours about him say that his ancestors placed a curse on the city, as all who have opposed his clan have died or been crippled in some seemingly unrelated fashion. While this is a matter of suspicion around him, he is generally well-respected by his people - with some even holding hope that some ancient sorcery of the Korhar line will save Bahard. In 2464, a detachment of K’lax scientists arrived to survey the city, and begin planning for terraforming efforts in the region - but it will take years before any large-scale efforts are ready to commence.

Culture

“My father died at his post upon this wall. My grandfather the same. Should I have a son, he will man this wall as I have, and he will know his duty - whatever comes, he shall face it as a man of Res'karum.” -Anonymous Res'karum guardsman, on the night before one of the many assaults on the city.

Culture of the Zazalai Mountains

Since the earliest days of the Izweski Hegemony, the Zazalai Mountains have been known as a mighty wall, keeping those kingdoms who refused to bend the knee from launching any assault on the might of Hegemonic power. Their culture reflects this - the Sinta of the mountains are hardy and militaristic, for every man, woman and child has known for centuries that if and when war comes, their people will be the first to fight, bleed and die for the Hegemony. Though in the modern age the Izweski rule over Moghes is uncontested, the mindset persists, and many Unathi from the Zazalai Mountains have enlisted with the Izweski Navy or become Kataphract-Hopefuls, to continue the traditional role of their people in defending the Hegemony. Their loyalty to the Izweski is well-known and well-reinforced. In the centuries since the rise of the Hegemony, the Izweski have known the value of the natural barrier that the Zazalai Mountains formed, and have historically spared no expense in ensuring the loyalty of the Zazali Sinta. Since the Contact War, however, the ancient barrier of the Zazalai Mountains has become obsolete as a military point, as all that remains on the far side now is Wasteland - leading the Izweski to be both less able and less willing to provide as much assistance to the region as they historically have. Some of the locals view this as a betrayal - particularly those from the region around Mudki, where the rule of the maddened Lord Izaku has driven the city into disrepair, seemingly without intervention from the Hegemon.

The mountains are cold and vicious, with the Unathi of the region having historically dressed in thick furs from the mountains’ various beasts. Most of their food comes from either hunting or fishing, with several mountainous lakes still existing in the untouched regions of the range. While, like most Sinta, they adhere strongly to the traditions of their ancestors, the Zazalai are above all else practical. If a new way of doing things is better, they will adopt it - and if not, it will be discarded. The mountains do not abide sentimentality. This mindset has led to the Sinta of Zazalai being stereotyped as stern, pragmatic and humourless by others. This is a misconception, however, as the Zazalai sense of humour is a particularly stone-faced and deadpan one.

Bahard

Bahard is an oddity among the Zazalai Mountains, with the Sinta of the city breaking from many of the stereotypes of the wider culture of the range. For centuries, the Bahard Pass was one of the only safe routes between the Hegemony-controlled Southlands and the independent kingdoms of the east, and most trade between these nations was forced to route through the city. The wealth of both the Hegemony and the kingdoms that would later form the Traditionalist Coalition flowed through Bahard, bringing great wealth to both the city and its rulers. Even the commoners - the more advantaged ones, anyway - of Bahard were known for their wealth and propensity to display it - jewellery, armbands of precious metals and fine clothing were known as hallmarks of those from Bahard, even outside of the nobility. This has led to a wider stereotype of Bahard Sinta as ostentatious, greedy and vain, obsessed with their own appearances. As an old joke told on both sides of the mountains goes - “How do you know if a man is from Bahard? Give him a mirror and wait for him to look for a priest to marry the thing”.

It is unsurprising, then, that the Merchants’ Guild can trace its origins to Bahard. The Guildhall of the city was the place where the modern institution was formed, and for many years served as its main headquarters. While it is now extinct, the purple mantles of guild members were originally dyed with the Korhar Blossom, a deep purple flower that once grew on the slopes of the Bahard Pass. However, the Contact War brought an end to these glory days, as trade across the mountains dried up. The Merchants gradually withdrew their efforts from the city, until the nuclear exchange brought the final death knell to the city. Many of those who remained in Bahard have never forgiven this, believing that while the Contact War crippled the city, it was the Merchants’ flight that truly doomed it. The Guild is hated now, and those who show their faces wearing the colours of the Merchants will be met with dismissal at best and outright hostility at worst. Following the bankruptcy of the Merchants' Guild, the residents of Bahard, while not celebrating outright, have been known to express a sense of vindication - the Guild's betrayal of its homeland finally paid for.

While its underground aquifer has prevented Bahard from facing the fate of most other cities in the Wasteland, its fisheries and farms are gone now, covered in radioactive sand and dust. The city’s grand buildings and palaces still stand, but every year more and more of them are empty as the population flees east into what remains of the Untouched Lands. The Sinta of Bahard still cling to their trinkets and finery, but the gold and silver is tarnished now, the fine clothes worn and tattered. While some, particularly among the older generations, still believe that the days of wealth and glory may return, whether by K’laxan science or Lord Korhar’s sorcery, but year by year the Wasteland spreads, and despair grips the city further.

Res’karum

Res’karum was a city of middling importance prior to the Contact War - its military might was dwarfed by that of Mudki, and its economic power paled in comparison to that of Bahard. During the Contact War, however, this changed, as the plane carrying the bomb meant to destroy the city crashed during its approach, sparing the city and surrounding region from nuclear annihilation. Most of the range’s population in the modern day lives in Res’karum and the surrounding region, now the largest portion of habitable land in the Zazalai Range - and for many, the last safe place before venturing into the harsh sands of the Wasteland.

Res’karum sits over a sheer cliff, dropping nearly one hundred feet. The River Kharai runs through the city, thundering off the cliff in an awe-inspiring display of natural glory. To many practitioners of Zazalai Th’akh, it is believe that the Falls of Res’karum are a site of great spiritual power, and it is said that on certain auspicious nights of the year, they act as a gateway between the earthly world and the realm of spirits, where Sinta with sufficient honour and courage may seek to venture into the ethereal realm and win their heart’s desire from the mighty Zyola of the mountains. Even outside of the city, the falls are considered one of the great natural wonders of Moghes, and often attracted wealthy tourists from across the planet to see them with their own eyes.

The city’s population take great pride in the natural splendour of their home, and often take umbrage at how it has been packaged, sold and cheapened by the tourism industry. Low-quality souvenirs of the Falls and the mountains surrounding them can often be found in the Wasteland now, left and forgotten in the dust. One would think that the nuclear exchange would have diminished the tourism industry, but wealthy nobles from across the Hegemony will still make the trip by shuttle on occasion, looking to see the famed falls for themselves.

Since the Contact War, the city has been stretched to the point of breaking, however. Refugees from the wider mountain range have fled to the region, and Lord Yu’zath cannot help them all - though some odd mixture of pride and kindness has led him to try anyway, enforcing harsh rationing that has only grown worse as the wider Hegemony undergoes famine. Many of the original population resent these refugees, viewing them as little more than useless mouths to feed leeching on the hard work of the locals - or, in the case of refugees from the eastern side of the mountains, enemies of the Hegemony who should receive no aid or succor from the Sinta of Zazalai.

Mudki

Mudki was once known as the Shield of the Hegemony - a fortress-city spanning the northernmost pass of the Zazalai Mountains. In the Izweski War of Succession, where the Honoured Alliance took up arms against the upstart Izweski Clan, Mudki acted as a bulwark, serving as one of the key allies of the Izweski in securing control of the mountains, and it has filled that role ever since. During the Contact War, the Traditionalist Coalition’s forces tried and failed three times to take Mudki, before the nuclear weapons were launched to destroy what they could not capture.

The Unathi of Mudki are known across Moghes as resilient, proud and quick to anger - firm friends, and terrible enemies. Their dedication to their duty is near-fanatical, and it is said that the warriors of Mudki will build barricades of their own dead before they surrender. Every tendency of the warriors of Zazalai was exemplified in Mudki, and for centuries it has had a reputation for producing some of the finest and best-disciplined soldiers in the Hegemony. Perhaps that stubborn refusal to break is why so many have remained there, even as the Wasteland consumes more and more of the lands around the city.

Mudki today is an intimidating sight, but a shallow one. Its ancient walls crumble, its once-loved lord hides in his palace, ranting and raving about the alien poison that is killing Moghes, and his people suffer in silence, with many of them having fled for the relative safety of Res’karum to the south. The culture there now is one of fear and fatalism - everyone knows the city is dying, except seemingly its lord, and few still believe that anything can or will be done to save it. It is a sprawling city where the buildings are empty, and at first glance it would be hard to tell it apart from any of the thousands of ruined cities that dot the Wasteland surrounding it. Every year, more and more of the locals flee the ruined city, seeking sanctuary in Res’karum - or even, for the truly desperate, fleeing into the Wasteland. This has enraged Izaku further, calling those who fled south “traitors and rebels no better than the damned Traditionalists” in one of his increasingly rare public addresses.

Education

Education in the Zazalai Mountains is nothing out of the ordinary for Unathi - most of the region lacks a formal schooling system, with rural clans’ education traditionally being a combination of on-the-job learning for most practical tasks and basic literary and theological education - traditionally the duty of the local shaman or priest. The one exception to this, however, comes from the martial culture of the range. Traditionally, all Sinta men aged fourteen or older are required to train at arms, to a degree beyond the ordinary levels that levies elsewhere may have. Usually organised by the local Lord’s Claws, these young men are usually taken for several months when they are considered old enough and drilled in the basics of a modern Unathi army. They are also required regularly to practise these skills in their own time, so that whenever the next foes of the Hegemony emerge, the warriors of Zazalai may stand ready.

In the urban centres, however, it is a different story. The Merchants' Guild bankrolled a formal system of schooling in Bahard for nearly two hundred and fifty years, leading to a generally well-educated urban peasantry. Many of the graduates of these schools wound up becoming apprentices and later full-fledged guild members with the Merchants, and they were generally successful in their aim - creating a well-educated workforce for guilds such as the Merchants and Junzi Electric, which required a degree of education greater than that of the average Unathi when the system was first developed.

Bahard was never truly one of the great academic centres of Moghes, paling in comparison to the universities of greater cities such as Teht and Skalamar. However, the education system of the city was much more widely available, with the members of the guild who operated it charging affordable fees, and offering loans to those who could not pay. This led to a generally well-educated populace in the city, and a large number of its citizens becoming workers in well-paying guilds. However, following the Contact War, the schools of Bahard are a pale shadow of what they once were without Guild investment - many of the buildings now stand empty and crumbling, and while the new generation still receives the education that citizens have come to prize dearly, teachers are few and far between, and the lack of Guild funding means that the schools have trouble maintaining themselves.

While it is the warriors of Mudki who are most well-known, the city’s status as a bulwark against the foes of the Hegemony also led to the establishment of the Mudki Academy of Engineering in the year 1976. One of the oldest academic institutions on Moghes, many of the finest engineers of the Izweski Hegemony have graduated from its halls, and for much of its history it has been noteworthy as the rare university that accepted nobles and commoners alike. The Construction Coalition was a large investor in the Academy, and many of its members are graduates of the institution, including the current guildmaster. However, following the Contact War and the gradual ruin of Mudki, the Academy closed its doors in 2456, stating that they would reopen when the situation had stabilised. Nearly a decade on, and there is no sign that the once-honoured institution will return.

Faith

“King and Queen beneath the earth, grant to these two prosperity, good health, and long life. Let not the spirits of cold and howling wind touch them.” -A prayer recited at Zazalai Th'akh weddings

Prior to the Contact War, the region has been majority Th’akh, with both Res’karum and Mudki following the faith. Bahard was, and remains, traditionally Sk’akh. However, following the Contact War, the faith of Si’akh has caught like wildfire in the region, with Res’karum recently having become majority Si’akh. In Bahard, Si’akh remains a minority so far, though it is spreading among the increasingly desperate population of the city. In Mudki, the population is certainly desperate enough to listen to the words of Si’akh - but Lord Izaku will not abide it in his lands. While it is not outlawed by the Hegemony, followers of the prophet Si’akh are put to death, wherever Izaku or his men find them.

The variety of Th’akh practised in the Zazalai Mountains is fairly similar to the standard form of the religion - however, the main regional pantheon is quite different. Divided between two rival forces of good and evil Zyola, known as the Stone Lords and the Cold Gods respectively, Zazalai Th’akh believes that peace will come to Moghes when the Cold Gods are driven out of this world entirely, and that only through the vigilance of Sinta can their influence be scourged.

The Stone Lords

Lord Azhal, King of the Mine

Gold and silver, coal and oil - Azhal is king of all wealth beneath the earth. He is known to be stern and unforgiving, yet always fair in his judgements. Stories about him are usually about some bold and arrogant hero venturing into his realm, deep beneath the ground, in search of treasure. The hero is faced with trials that humble him, and Azhal may grant him the treasure he seeks - but only if he believes the Sinta is truly worthy. He is depicted as a male Unathi with glittering silver scales clad in black, wearing a golden crown.

Lady Kharai, Queen of the Waters

Mistress of the precious lakes and springs that give the mountains life, Kharai is the wife of Azhal. Where he is harsh and unforgiving, she is kind, and in many tales is the one who persuades him to show mercy to the hero. However, when her anger is roused, she is a terrible force to behold, causing drought and famine to plague those who have wronged her. It is said that her tears can cure even death, and she is often venerated by healers of the Zazalai mountains.

Lord Iala, Prince of the Sword

A warrior through and through, Iala is the son of Kharai and Azhal. He wields a sword forged in his father’s underground realm, and is the one who leads the pantheon to war against the Cold Gods, when the season of war comes. He is portrayed in his tales as overconfident and bold, but an honourable and good-hearted warrior, who always tries to fix his mistakes. It is said that he takes the spirits of noble warriors to march with him in his host, to push the Cold Gods off their distant peaks and back into darkness.

Lady Zalai, Princess of the Winds

Daughter to Kharai and Azhal, Zalai is the opposite of Iala through and through - where he is cocky, she is patient, and where he is straightforward, she is calculating. She often stands beside her brother during battles against the Cold Gods, and frequently is the one who leads her family to victory, by turning their enemies against one another, or tricking them in some clever fashion.

The Cold Gods

Vhesk, of the Empty Peaks

Vhesk is, in some versions of the tale, Azhal’s younger brother. It is said that the two agreed at the world’s creation on who would get the lands beneath the earth, and who would get the peaks of the high mountains. Vhesk chose the peaks, and felt cheated when his brother found the riches that the earth holds. Furious, he has tried many times to steal his brother’s kingdom, and will send avalanches and freezing winds to torment the Sinta of the peaks. He is primarily associated with dishonour, cowardice and envy.

Xiaxa, of the Howling Storm

In some versions of the faith, she is Vhesk’s daughter - in others, a sister to Iala and Zalai who betrayed them, jealous of Zalai’s domain. She claims the winds as her own as well, but where Zalai is subtle she is furious and direct, sending tornadoes and howling storms to drive Zalai from the skies she calls her own. She is a vicious god, and will torment Sinta on the high slopes, hoping to kill them and claim their souls for her own. She is primarily associated with rage, treachery and cruelty.

Aore, of the Endless Hunger

A monstrous spirit, barely even Sinta, Aore is used as a weapon of war by the other Cold Gods. It devours food, causing it to spoil, and is said to eat the souls of Sinta it finds wandering the spirit world. All that matters to it is filling its endless hunger, and it will return from death until it does so. It is believed that Sinta who turn to cannibalism have fallen to Aore’s influence. It is associated with greed, gluttony and waste.

Jharal, of the Gilded Lie

A spirit of unknown origin, Jharal is known as a wanderer and a miscreant - often working with the Cold Gods, in the hopes of stealing Azhal’s treasure for themself. However, they will often betray the Cold Gods as well, as soon as the situation turns against them. They are said to be in love with Zalai, and she will often trick them into helping the Stone Lords out of some peril or another by exploiting this. They are associated with lustfulness, deceit and laziness.

Holidays

Kharai’s Reverie

Held on the last day of Kasavakh, it is considered a day of thanks and celebration of Kharai’s gifts to the mortal world, before she rests until Versakh comes again. Gifts are often exchanged during the Reverie, and lovers will often sneak off to spend the occasion together, before the harsh cold of Travakh comes in.

Iala’s Contest

A festival, often held in one of the larger cities of a region, where young men will travel from far and wide to test their skill and strength against others. These act as a form of marriage competition, with many seeking less victory, and more to prove themselves before likely young women. It is generally a boisterous occasion, full of laughter, drinking and good-natured duels which are, in the modern age, very rarely lethal.

Vhesk’s Day

The only time of year when the Cold Gods are honoured, this day falls in the middle of Travahk, at its coldest point. For this day, offerings are made to Vhesk and the Cold Gods, to spare the Sinta from their wrath. It is considered extreme misfortune to speak at all during this day, and most clans will go about the day’s business in total silence. Hatchlings born on Vhesk’s Day are considered to be cursed, and in ancient times were often left to die rather than risking bringing misfortune on their clan. While that practice was outlawed under the Sarakus, Sinta born on this black day can rarely expect happy lives, as rumours of their cursed nature will spread.

Gharakai (Merchants’ Welcome)

A holiday that is no longer celebrated, Gharakai was held near the start of Kasavakh in Bahard, to celebrate as new trade caravans came in from both east and west. Colourful banners would be hung, and a grand celebration would commence in the streets. But now the eastern gates are shut altogether, and no merchants come in from the west - and these days, when Gharakai comes is simply another reminder of the doom that grips the city.