Zamhita

The Dead Cradle

"And what a heart to behold! The magnificence and beauty of the capital blinds one with its radiance, even to this day - a true testament to the wisdom of The Transcendent Emperor and the extent to which He could guide Humanity, achieving heights undreamed of before or since. Two centuries after the Portent of Darkness ended, glorious Zamhita stands ruined, yet proud! Proud of her people, proud of her Emperor, and proud of all of Humanity, defiant in the face of destruction! No Zamzian can count themselves true without having seen these hallowed grounds, the cradle of civilization and humanity alike."

- The Chronicles of Zamzara, Vol. 1

Government

As the core of the Empire, no city was as vital to management or administration - it was said that all roads led to Zamhita. Beyond just the literal meaning, it also held political significance: anyone who wanted to move up in society would eventually wind up in the capital, whether by happenstance or duty. Wealthy farmers found themselves outside the Rings of Prosperity in search of the finest soil and markets on the continent. Scholars and officials seeking to ascend the 16 ranks of government traveled to the capital more and more as they rose up, eventually ending with the highest ranks living in direct proximity to the Emperor himself. A hub of wealth and needs, Zamhita was home to more adventurers than any other city, and many formed guilds and sects to advance their own interests.

The Divine Bureaucracy handled the vast majority of governance within the Empire, dealing with the day-to-day minutiae necessary to keep everything operational. With over 10,000 different offices and postings across the continent, the bulk of the Bureaucracy was involved in transportation of goods, professional performance appraisals, judicial reviews, disciplinary action, and salary distribution. It required a massive apparatus to stay functioning that consisted of a 16-tiered system of hierarchy, above which sat the Emperor, whom always held complete authority over any and all aspects of governance. Twice a year, during Spring and Fall, the Imperial Examination was held across Zamzara, where anyone could take the expensive tests necessary for political and scholarly advancement. While the Bureaucracy is no more, the few bastions of knowledge remaining still uphold traditional teaching methods, and the Examination has remained largely the same over the past 300 years.

Defences

Zamhita was designed to be completely unassailable... and it was. Not once in its 2000 year history did the capital ever fall to civil wars or petty bandit lords, but it was never meant to withstand an assault from beneath. So when The Kalyugi began and sinkholes began opening up all over the city, the militaries were unprepared to respond, a weakness that the monsters were quick to take advantage of.

Under normal circumstances, an attacker would need to surpass a significant obstacle: The Rings of Prosperity. The Rings of Prosperity operate in two tiers: The mountain range around Zamhita serves as the outer ring, and over the course of a century, was manipulated and engineered into a series of vertical earthen loops, interconnected in a complex pattern that allowed one to travel from one side of the basin to the other while never leaving the loops. A second ring rises up from the lake, a smaller but just as effective series of loops that could be traversed by archers and mages easily. These concentric circles would have fortifications placed upon them to make it easier to defend. The Origin Lake is several miles long and half a mile deep, and any attackers would need to cross the mountain range and then mount a naval attack on the city. However, they would need to pass under the inner Rings to penetrate the city's defenses, putting themselves in a vulnerable position.

Infrastructure

Before The Kalyugi, Zamhita was the hub of the Zamzian Empire - there was not a single thing that could be found in a smaller town, but not the capital, and almost all goods passed through the city on their way elsewhere. Over three dozen canals stretch from the great moat around the city into and through the mountains surrounding it, each of which saw constant use during the days of the Empire, and watermills were dotted around the entire city, which served as its main form of power. The farms of the city were all located outside of the Rings of Prosperity and would have their goods delivered into town via boat.

Befitting a city of its magnitude, the sewer system of Zamhita is the most complex and intricate in the entire world - numerous aqueducts are built into the mountains, drawing natural water from deep within the earth and bringing it to the inner city and feeding the lake upon which the capital sits. Waste was filtered and collected in massive underground tanks, then allowed to ferment before being shipped off to the countryside months later as highly effective fertilizer, while leaving the rest of the water uncontaminated. Due to this innovative system, every household in Zamhita could boast of having personal access to free, clean water.

Due to the complex system of interconnected canals, waterways, and locks, a robust public transportation system naturally developed over time. Thousands of ferries would be traversing the waterways of the city at any given point, dipping under bridges and sailing above the city on its many aqueducts, and was the most common way to travel the capital. For a slightly more comfortable experience, many palanquins roamed the roads of the capital, regularly transporting nobles and artisans to their destinations. Today, the canals of Zamhita are stagnant and barren, said to be devoid of all human life and cursed by the heavens themselves.

History

The Transcendent Emperor knew that, in order for His fledgling Empire to survive, it would need a strong and vibrant heart, one that would never fall, one which could protect Humanity until they could follow Him to enlightenment. A decade He spent wandering Zamzara, seeking the perfect place to begin His great work while meeting and learning from those who were and would become His subjects. His journey ended in the tenth year, when He had traveled the breadth of the continent, and it was then that He knew where to begin: at the center of Zamzara, where the tallest mountain known as Yamavati loomed over the world.

Focusing His Prana into His naginata, the legendary Raktasati, He made a single and terrible slash, ripping the mountain asunder. Then, grasping the displaced mountain, He threw it into the heavens above and declared the new plateau to be the foundation of his Empire. It fell to the sea years later and became known as Yama's Head. It took many years and laborers to dig out the Origin Lake and even more for them to finish the system of waterways that would make the city famous. For 200 years, The Transcendent Emperor reigned over His city, administrating its people and directing them to a higher purpose, creating the greatest city the world had ever known. Once the Worldly Palace, His final project, was completed, He vanished from the throne, causing His son to assume his mantle as Emperor.

The next 1900 years was a mismash of civil disputes, petty wars, golden ages, and boundless development. From this unassailable seat, successive Emperors set about controlling and ruling more and more of the continent, as their predecessor decreed. Cementing their control and stamping out rebellions was commonplace until 839 AC, when the last rebellious Wizard-Lord was routed and killed in the miserable Burning Archipelago to the west. An example was made of him, and his defiance was made for all to see how futile it was. No rebellion would ever happen on such a scale again. With all of Zamzara under absolute control, Zamhita exploded in influence to becoming an integral part of nearly every settlement on the continent, no matter how distant or indirect.

The capital was the first and greatest victim of The Kalyugi in 2133 AC. At the time, there was a succession crisis plaguing the Empire - three years prior, Emperor Huangzi named his young daughter Yinxian Suuldar as his heir, a nearly unprecedented action. He then died of old age shortly thereafter, and his brother Dàodé Suuldar demanded to maintain tradition, which would make him next in line for the throne. As each side grew in power and various factions made their alliances with them, civil war was looming over Zamhita. It never came - as the fighting began in earnest and lines were drawn, the earth came alive underneath them, and the Nashya made itself known to the world, heralding the end of an era.

Geography

Zamhita has the distinction of being located in one of the hottest areas in all Zamzara - whether you go north or south, everything along the same latitude as the capital is blisteringly hot, sometimes reaching as high as 100°F in the summer. Additionally, the city was built at an altitude unmatched by any other - the surface level of the Origin Lake is roughly one mile above sea level. As a result, Zamhita itself is not as hot or dry as the surrounding areas - in fact, due to its location, it receives more rain than anywhere else in Zamzara, barring the Gada Rainforests to the west. However, the rain was more of a hindrance than expected, as Zamhita has no arable land - only rock, gravel, and mud.

RUINED SETTLEMENT
2133 AC

Type

Capital

Population

0

Related Historical Events

• 184 AC
  The Emperor Disappears
• 183 AC
  Infinite Awareness
• 154 AC
  The Worldly Palace

Each hexagon is 6 miles on each side, or 93 square miles. See Overworld Travel Rules for mechanical details.

Zamzara

Open full size

The full continent of Zamzara, as it appears in-game.