Zakhara (zah-KARR-ah)
Zakhara, also known as the Land of Fate, was a giant peninsula of the same super-continent that hosted Faerûn and Kara-Tur on the planet Abeir-Toril. The land was located south and east of Faerûn, beyond the region of the Utter East, with the closest Faerûnian lands to Zakhara being Dambrath and Var the Golden (by sea) and Ulgarth or arguably Konigheim (by land). Zakhara was mostly isolated from the rest of the world, as the peninsula was separated from the main mass by the treacherous World Pillar Mountains.
The Land of Fate was home to a diversity of non-human inhabitants, but the majority comprised human Zakharans with brown skin, dark hair, and relatively small height. They usually all spoke the common language of Midani and shared in the common culture of Enlightenment; racial values were much less prominent than elsewhere. Only few Zakharans ventured outside their homeland, usually as traders, and could typically be found only in the very south of Faerûn. At least two human groups were the exception to this rule: the peoples of the Bedine and Calishites came from the Land of Fate to Faerûn in the ancient past with the help of portals.
The seas around Zakhara were plagued with pirates and corsairs who charged traders tolls to cross their seas, such traders willingly paid these exorbitant fees as Zakhara's exotic trading goods tended to be well worth the price back in Faerûn. Occasionally the pirates decided to completely cut off Zakhara from Faerûn.
The land was full of secretive cities, unwelcoming to travellers, huge deserts, lush oases and powerful genies who meddled in the affairs of humans frequently. The continent was governed by a theocracy headed by the Grand Caliph, a prestigious ruler of the state, who ruled from the capital city of Huzuz, the City of Delights. The symbol of Zakhara was the moon and trailing stars. Tales told of demon-infested cities and godless sorcerers, like the genie-binding sha'irs wielding strange magic. Zakhara was a land of many types of exotic magic and powerful warriors. Zakharans were firmly convinced they were more civilized than the rest of the world and treated these "barbarians" accordingly.
The Land of Fate was home to a diversity of non-human inhabitants, but the majority comprised human Zakharans with brown skin, dark hair, and relatively small height. They usually all spoke the common language of Midani and shared in the common culture of Enlightenment; racial values were much less prominent than elsewhere. Only few Zakharans ventured outside their homeland, usually as traders, and could typically be found only in the very south of Faerûn. At least two human groups were the exception to this rule: the peoples of the Bedine and Calishites came from the Land of Fate to Faerûn in the ancient past with the help of portals.
The seas around Zakhara were plagued with pirates and corsairs who charged traders tolls to cross their seas, such traders willingly paid these exorbitant fees as Zakhara's exotic trading goods tended to be well worth the price back in Faerûn. Occasionally the pirates decided to completely cut off Zakhara from Faerûn.
The land was full of secretive cities, unwelcoming to travellers, huge deserts, lush oases and powerful genies who meddled in the affairs of humans frequently. The continent was governed by a theocracy headed by the Grand Caliph, a prestigious ruler of the state, who ruled from the capital city of Huzuz, the City of Delights. The symbol of Zakhara was the moon and trailing stars. Tales told of demon-infested cities and godless sorcerers, like the genie-binding sha'irs wielding strange magic. Zakhara was a land of many types of exotic magic and powerful warriors. Zakharans were firmly convinced they were more civilized than the rest of the world and treated these "barbarians" accordingly.
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