Mzalix
The temple-city of Mzali was once the center of an ancient empire ruled by semidivine sun-kings. Long ago, a powerful group of shamans called the Council of Mwanyisa successfully toppled the monarchy—yet the shamans were unable to hold the state together. Under their rule, the empire crumbled, until by the Age of Lost Omens they barely controlled even the half-empty capital city.
Given time, Mzali might eventually have been abandoned. Yet a century ago, members of the council received a vision prophesying the empire’s rebirth. Soon after, while delving into one of the city’s many hidden tombs, they discovered a child-mummy dressed in the garments of a sun-king. Ancient texts proclaimed the mummy Walkena, a legendary child-god who commanded magic beyond anything the shamans could imagine. The council promptly put this relic of their ancient power on public display, yet the resulting flood of local pilgrims to the city—and stories of fabulous treasures discovered alongside the mummy—drew the attention of Chelish colonists in Kalabuto. The colonists attacked Mzali only to be utterly immolated as the mummy miraculously sprang to life and called down fire from the sky.
Since his triumphant return, Walkena has ruled Mzali absolutely, with the Council of Mwanyisa reduced to an advisory role. Beneath his undead gaze, the city buzzes once more with the life. Thousands of Mwangi have flocked to serve Walkena, bolstered by the child-god’s public mission to drive out northern colonizers and unite the Expanse under his own flag. Yet this rebirth of home rule is a double-edged sword, for Walkena’s policies are far from progressive. Cruel and powerful, the mummy shows blatant favoritism to his supporters and sentences any who question him to the horrific and fatal Punishment of Seven Angry Suns. Trade with non-Mwangi is banned, and anyone found associating with outsiders without explicit permission is labeled a traitor. These pressures—combined with the fact that the new state of Vidrian recently managed to overthrow its colonialist regime without Walkena’s help—have recently drawn many Mzali citizens away from the city, enraging their ruler and resulting in rumors that the child-god may be planning an attack against Vidrian. This tension has only intensified in the presence of the Bright Lions, a group of Mzali insurgents who seek to overthrow Walkena and return their city to the people.
Located on the banks of the Pasuango River, deep in the Mwangi’s remote southern plains, Mzali is a sprawling mass of cathedrals and monuments that become reflected in the water that covers the streets every monsoon season. Knotted trees wrap massive roots around thick curtain walls and stone temple complexes, their shapes often integrated into the architecture, with most major structures surrounded by moats for protection and drainage. In the center of the city, Walkena’s Temple of the Deathless Child towers above nearby buildings, yet the city is awash in ancient shrines to entities both contemporary and forgotten, some in active use and others co-opted to house markets or tenements. As much a necropolis as a holy city, Mzali also holds dozens of burial mounds: pyramidal tombs dug deep into the earth with only the capstones visible, the rest of the monuments hidden beneath the foundations of other structures. Walkena himself was discovered in one such burial mound, and despite the danger, opportunistic grave robbers still occasionally sneak past the city’s checkpoints in hopes of harvesting valuable relics from these unplumbed crypts.
Given time, Mzali might eventually have been abandoned. Yet a century ago, members of the council received a vision prophesying the empire’s rebirth. Soon after, while delving into one of the city’s many hidden tombs, they discovered a child-mummy dressed in the garments of a sun-king. Ancient texts proclaimed the mummy Walkena, a legendary child-god who commanded magic beyond anything the shamans could imagine. The council promptly put this relic of their ancient power on public display, yet the resulting flood of local pilgrims to the city—and stories of fabulous treasures discovered alongside the mummy—drew the attention of Chelish colonists in Kalabuto. The colonists attacked Mzali only to be utterly immolated as the mummy miraculously sprang to life and called down fire from the sky.
Since his triumphant return, Walkena has ruled Mzali absolutely, with the Council of Mwanyisa reduced to an advisory role. Beneath his undead gaze, the city buzzes once more with the life. Thousands of Mwangi have flocked to serve Walkena, bolstered by the child-god’s public mission to drive out northern colonizers and unite the Expanse under his own flag. Yet this rebirth of home rule is a double-edged sword, for Walkena’s policies are far from progressive. Cruel and powerful, the mummy shows blatant favoritism to his supporters and sentences any who question him to the horrific and fatal Punishment of Seven Angry Suns. Trade with non-Mwangi is banned, and anyone found associating with outsiders without explicit permission is labeled a traitor. These pressures—combined with the fact that the new state of Vidrian recently managed to overthrow its colonialist regime without Walkena’s help—have recently drawn many Mzali citizens away from the city, enraging their ruler and resulting in rumors that the child-god may be planning an attack against Vidrian. This tension has only intensified in the presence of the Bright Lions, a group of Mzali insurgents who seek to overthrow Walkena and return their city to the people.
Located on the banks of the Pasuango River, deep in the Mwangi’s remote southern plains, Mzali is a sprawling mass of cathedrals and monuments that become reflected in the water that covers the streets every monsoon season. Knotted trees wrap massive roots around thick curtain walls and stone temple complexes, their shapes often integrated into the architecture, with most major structures surrounded by moats for protection and drainage. In the center of the city, Walkena’s Temple of the Deathless Child towers above nearby buildings, yet the city is awash in ancient shrines to entities both contemporary and forgotten, some in active use and others co-opted to house markets or tenements. As much a necropolis as a holy city, Mzali also holds dozens of burial mounds: pyramidal tombs dug deep into the earth with only the capstones visible, the rest of the monuments hidden beneath the foundations of other structures. Walkena himself was discovered in one such burial mound, and despite the danger, opportunistic grave robbers still occasionally sneak past the city’s checkpoints in hopes of harvesting valuable relics from these unplumbed crypts.
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