Zeruin
Zeruin is in northern Baalthaaz on the Dura River, a tributary of the Palena. It sits in the foothills of the Scythirian Mountains at a higher altitude than most of the country. Goods are shipped down the Palena River to the port of Eshcol, just a few miles south of the river’s mouth. The Palena is the official border between the country of Baalthaaz and the northern city-states of Shiamun and Turkad and so (officially) neutral territory.
The most important products of the Zeruin region are trees — tall pines for ship masts and cedars for a variety of uses. Forestry is a much-honored profession, and the men and women who cultivate the great trees and select those for harvesting are generally considered both knowledgeable and wise. Sometimes the crowns try to influence them to increase the harvest, but except in times of war the foresters have not allowed overcutting in many generations. The area around Zeruin has many excellent carpenters and woodcarvers who craft finished products from the cedar, but much is also exported as lumber.
The lord of the earth and lady of fertility are worshipped in this tree-growing area as strongly as in any of the lower agricultural regions. The city and towns have the usual temples and shrines. However, the foresters raise a pole to Athera and Baal in every grove that is planted and perform fertility rituals to call the favor of the deities to the new trees. Dagon, as god of grain, has a small temple in Zeruin and is worshipped in the farming communities in the region; chapels and shrines to many of the Seventy can also be found throughout the area.
King Shabbethai appears fit for a man of middle age, but other than that he seems to be nothing out of the ordinary physically. People give him great deference, though, and the high king consults him frequently for his advice. King Shabbethai claims to be descended from angels and it seems this might be true, as his insight into people is almost frightening. He is said to be impossible to deceive, because even as one lies to him, the person’s body shouts their falsehood in many tiny ways and he notices every one.
Settlement
Zeruin, City of
Type
City
Owning Organization
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