Zhaporians
"One must imagine a Zhaporian Sich as an Imperial Division. The clan carries its entire logistical system with it from camp to camp. It has traveled these plains so often that a geography survey is hereditary memory, and every wild beast that roams the grassland may be a scout. Every warrior is skilled the specific style of fighting suited to this terrain, and there is no capital to occupy, no base of supply from which they may be cut off, no way of claiming victory. It is my estimation that any invasion of Zhaporia will result in no measurable benefit in the event of success, a deep political and military crisis in the event of failure, and a long, slow, costly war with no great battles to celebrate winning in either event."
General Saryk Taav, report on war plans against Zhaporia, preserved in the Emberhold.
The songs of Zhaporia say that their ancestors came from the mountains, following Shirdal, and that they were orcs. Their clans descended onto the plain and spread across it, hunting and gathering and gradually forming into large nomadic tribal communities. Fragmentary records from the Empire say that they were traders, raiders, and mercenaries.
Today there are still many orcs among the Zhaporian, and those who are not orcs still show evidence of orcish ancestry. Somewhere in the intervening years - most likely after the Dragon Madness, outlaws and refugees fled into the plains and joined the clans, intermingling and adapting to their life. The Zhaporians claim this had always been there way, that the life on the plain was always open to those fleeing the corruption of settled life.
We do not know when the first Zhaporian War happened, but we know that the Empire decided to pacify the 'barbarians' on their border. The Zhaporians have many tales of these wars, but nothing that would allow us to produce a narrative. What is clear that in the Zhaporian memory, he Empire returned again and again, always in the personage of a dragon. The Dragon sought to overawe the Zhaporians with its might, but they would not bow and drove it away with arrows. The Dragon returned and challeneged the Zhaporians to battle, and they vanished into the plain, only to appear when the Dragon's back was turned, or while it slept, until the Dragon in rage returned to its lair. Then the dragon returned and swept the plains with fire, hunting Shirdal - the Zhaporian gryphon - and burning their camps, til the Zhaporians fled and hid in caves and mountains. The dragon burned the plains to ash, and then found there was nothing there to steal among the ashes, and so flew home roaring its victory, and then the Zhaporians returned, fewer than before, but they had learned in the mountains that Shirdal had not been destroyed, and so they could continue. Finally the the songs remember that the Dragon prepared to come back once more, but just before it flew, it looked about at the humans who worshiped it and saw they had more gold than all the world around, and so the Dragon turned on them, burned their cities, plundered their treasures, and disappeared.
Suffice to say the Zhaporians did not mourn the Empire, but the dragons were no less dangerous on the open plain. But as always the Zhaporians adapted. They adopted knew weapons from the surviving dwarf-holds, and learned to hid their Siches - their tribal camps - from view from the sky. And they learned to defend themselves when they could not hide.
Today the Zhaporians trade widely in caravans, but still most live on the great plain that has always been their home. They welcome any who come with hospitality. They live in tribal groups called siches led by a hetman - a chief. During winter they return to the hills at the foot of the mountains, and in Spring they gather at their only permanent settlement, the Great Sich. There the chiefs of each tribe elect a Great Hetman - a military leader who can summon a muster of all the siches in the defense of Zhaporia. It is an interesting custom that nominees for the Great Hetman may not be a current hetman.
General Saryk Taav, report on war plans against Zhaporia, preserved in the Emberhold.
The songs of Zhaporia say that their ancestors came from the mountains, following Shirdal, and that they were orcs. Their clans descended onto the plain and spread across it, hunting and gathering and gradually forming into large nomadic tribal communities. Fragmentary records from the Empire say that they were traders, raiders, and mercenaries.
Today there are still many orcs among the Zhaporian, and those who are not orcs still show evidence of orcish ancestry. Somewhere in the intervening years - most likely after the Dragon Madness, outlaws and refugees fled into the plains and joined the clans, intermingling and adapting to their life. The Zhaporians claim this had always been there way, that the life on the plain was always open to those fleeing the corruption of settled life.
We do not know when the first Zhaporian War happened, but we know that the Empire decided to pacify the 'barbarians' on their border. The Zhaporians have many tales of these wars, but nothing that would allow us to produce a narrative. What is clear that in the Zhaporian memory, he Empire returned again and again, always in the personage of a dragon. The Dragon sought to overawe the Zhaporians with its might, but they would not bow and drove it away with arrows. The Dragon returned and challeneged the Zhaporians to battle, and they vanished into the plain, only to appear when the Dragon's back was turned, or while it slept, until the Dragon in rage returned to its lair. Then the dragon returned and swept the plains with fire, hunting Shirdal - the Zhaporian gryphon - and burning their camps, til the Zhaporians fled and hid in caves and mountains. The dragon burned the plains to ash, and then found there was nothing there to steal among the ashes, and so flew home roaring its victory, and then the Zhaporians returned, fewer than before, but they had learned in the mountains that Shirdal had not been destroyed, and so they could continue. Finally the the songs remember that the Dragon prepared to come back once more, but just before it flew, it looked about at the humans who worshiped it and saw they had more gold than all the world around, and so the Dragon turned on them, burned their cities, plundered their treasures, and disappeared.
Suffice to say the Zhaporians did not mourn the Empire, but the dragons were no less dangerous on the open plain. But as always the Zhaporians adapted. They adopted knew weapons from the surviving dwarf-holds, and learned to hid their Siches - their tribal camps - from view from the sky. And they learned to defend themselves when they could not hide.
Today the Zhaporians trade widely in caravans, but still most live on the great plain that has always been their home. They welcome any who come with hospitality. They live in tribal groups called siches led by a hetman - a chief. During winter they return to the hills at the foot of the mountains, and in Spring they gather at their only permanent settlement, the Great Sich. There the chiefs of each tribe elect a Great Hetman - a military leader who can summon a muster of all the siches in the defense of Zhaporia. It is an interesting custom that nominees for the Great Hetman may not be a current hetman.
Culture
Major language groups and dialects
Because of the intermixing of so many peoples on the great plain, the Zhaporian language sounds like a mixture of loan words from all the peoples who have come to share their life, making the language a true challenge to learn. Those who go trading usually speak Istragan, though they write in dwarvish characters.
Most tribes have a hunting language kept secret from outsiders and allowing them to communicate secretly even in the presence of others
Most tribes have a hunting language kept secret from outsiders and allowing them to communicate secretly even in the presence of others
Shared customary codes and values
Hospitality is a fundamental value among the Zhaporians, and it is extremely rare for them to conduct business among themselves without first sharing a meal. Even among their traders the perfunctory nature of buying and selling among outsiders is seen as uncouth. A wise tradesman will offer refreshment before conducting transactions, seated if at all possible. This holds true even for their enemies, and meals will be offered even before formal declarations of vendetta or war. To conduct matters of formal importance without dismounting is consider the gravest of insults.
Average technological level
The Empire thought the Zhaporians primitive because they wandered the plains and did not build in stone, but as anyone who knows them can attest, the truth is quite the opposite. The Zhaporians are masters of adaptation and innovation, and very quick to adopt useful techniques and technology that they encounter. Zhaporian caravans carry goods all across the old Empire to buy and sell in any town or haven the come to, and they are savvy traders indeed, quick to understand the use and value of things. So while Zhaporian life might appear hardscrabble to those used to a sedentary lifestyle, Zhaporians enjoy many of the same creature comforts that anyone may in this darkening world.
Art & Architecture
Zhaporian build very few permanent structures, prefering seasonal camps assembled from large huts of felt and animal skin. Their artistic style favors images of animals, highly stylized and usually bent around into circular patterns. Sometimes such pattern will be made of a single animal, other times of many animals, sometimes the stranger curving pattern forms the animal itself.
Coming of Age Rites
All major life events among the Zhaporians are marked with the addition of a tattoo to the individuals skin. For those born among them, this begins when the person is recognized as an adult by the tribe after bonding with an animal companion, and the first tattoo traditionally represents that animal. For strangers who come to live among them, it is done when the tribe accepts the newcomer into their ranks. From that point on tattoos mark achievements and important life events, but the nature of those life events are not set. Marriage or the birth of children is a common one, as is the death of a parent or other close family or friend, but beyond this an individual decides for themselves, though elders of the tribe may offer or suggest at an achievement is great enough - a 'painted moment' in their phrase.
The most important rite among all Zhaporians is to bond with an animal. The beast may be great or small, fierce or docile, but those who fail to find a companion are never quite accepted as true Zhaporians. The details of this process are held a close secret by the tribes.
The most important rite among all Zhaporians is to bond with an animal. The beast may be great or small, fierce or docile, but those who fail to find a companion are never quite accepted as true Zhaporians. The details of this process are held a close secret by the tribes.
Common Taboos
Killing an animal needlessly is a terrible thing to the Zhaporians, and they do not hunt for sport. Hunting Shirdal - the Zhaporian Gryphon - is unthinkable. A Zhaporian will fight Shirdal if attacked, but never seek it out, and any outsider found to have hunted the great beast will inevitably invite retribution from any tribe who learns of their crime.
by Midjourney
Languages spoken
by Midjourney
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