Orestes

Orestes, more fully the Dominion of Orestes, is a large nation south of the Ondos Mountains and west of Locia and the Zurul Sea. A highly militaristic land, Orestes has been a rival to Gallia since the First Age. 
=== Geography ===
Orestes has a diverse landscape, with temperate plains in the north and warm savanna to the south bordering the Seiyuf Mountains. Eastern Orestes fades into Ziyin, the Pale Marshes and home of the Hesha. Though Ziyin is technically included within Orestes, it is also autonomous. The Orestian coasts are mild and dotted with many settlements that trade with the Amathine Isles. Mozollan and the Sunlands can be reached via Fever Basin, an unhealthy and malaria-ridden region that is said to be a haunt for Dakhama cultists. 
=== History ===
Orestes was founded by Akamos the Strong, also called the Lawbringer. He was of the Theroi tribe, which lived in scattered clans along the Zurul Sea. In Age Zero, the Theroi were always at risk of enslavement by the Azlan. When the Great Passage brought Kulroq south, the bullmen traded with the Theroi, sharing many arts that helped the primitive humans better defend themselves from Azlan slave raids. But when the Age turned and the Azlan vanished, the Theroi grew more ambitious. A mighty warrior, Akamos, united the Theroi clans and led them in an assault on Alasha, where the Kulroq had settled. Akamos was defeated, and he fled his people and vanished into the Pale Marshes. It is not known what transpired there, but clearly Akamos won the respect of the Hesha and grew in strength. Akamos soon subjugated the Plains Orcs that had settled on the Salambic Plains beneath the Ondos following the Great Passage. He then went south, to the coasts, and conquered the Laskan human tribes that had migrated from the Amathine Isles to the mainland. Finally, he went to the savanna strongholds of the Zorn and made their greatest chiefs submit. The last to pay him fealty were the Hesha themselves. When the peoples of Orestes were united under Akamos, he raised an iron pillar upon which he scribed his laws. Then he divided Orestes into four parts and gave each quadrant to the most worthy among his followers, who were named Heritors. The Four Heritors would command the Four Dominions of Orestes, and these dominions would each have their constituent races. The Northern Dominion was given to the orcs, the eastern to the Hesha, the western to humans and the south to the Zorn. The Heritors would be served by their carnifexes, the Ferrymen, who would act as judges and executioners. Heritors would be chosen by the greatest warriors in Orestes, for only the strong had the right to rule. All were equal before the law, and the law was harsh and final. When Akamos had laid out his realm, he was translated into the Abyss, where he joined Kyrene, or Kyrus as the Orestians name the war deity. The date of Akamos' apotheosis is not entirely clear, but it is known that in 98 IR, Orestes launched an attack on Locia which claimed the cities of Xendes and Lykis. Only an army of Kulroq prevented the Orestians from seizing the entire country, and the remaining cities had to pay yearly tribute. In 176 IR, mercenaries from the Praesian cities of Viata and Lastrum joined Kurloq and Locians in a general revolt. The occupying Orestians were thrown out and the border of Locia established at the edge of the Pale Marshes. To secure the peace, Orestians and Locians agreed to meet at Oscala Field, on the border of Orestes and Locia, to hold a series of athletic competitions in honor of Kyrus-Kyrene and Sol, whom the Orestians also consider male. The Oscalan Games thus became a recurring event involving not just Orestians and Locians but competitors from across Altea.
The first major hogboon horde emerged from the Seiyuf Mountains in 391 IR to ravage both Orestes and Locia. The Orestians responded by reinforcing the southern border, constructing massive citadels and filling them with veteran Zorn warriors. Every few generations after, the Bladed Mountains would disgorge hogboon hordes, the sizes increasing as the gnoll kingdoms were conquered by ogres. 
With the eastern and southern borders contested, the Orestians turned north, crossing the Ondos Mountains to raid the Gallician mountain lords. The rising power of Aldan responded by sending aid to the beleaguered Gallicians. Emperor Kendus the Green (r. 606-634) won several victories against the Orestians, but it was not until Emperor Vindis the Liberator (r. 703-734) that Orestians were thrown out of Gallicia entirely, which was then incorporated into the growing empire. Orestes did not simply accept Gallian supremacy however, launching major raids in 749, 791 and 803, the last of which even reached Daeza’s Wall. In 879 the Gallians suffered a major defeat when most of the Cloud Legion was destroyed amid the Ondos Mountains. The Orestians gained further ground when in 931 Arch-Lector Pardana the Pure (r. 927-943) passed the Blood-Strengthening Ordinances. This effectively stripped citizenship from most of Gallia’s non-human residents, and the Xenia Maedi were either relocated or forced into exile. Some fled to the Ondos Mountains, becoming the Lavani, or Free Elves. These fiercely independent maedi were patronized by the Orestians, who found great use for the Lavani as scouts and skirmishers. The Ondos border became a violent place, with Orestian-backed Lavani barons constantly feuding with Gallician margraves. 
Violence escalated until in 1148, under the Arch-Lectorship of Tercius (r. 1147-1154), Orestes crossed the Ondos and attacked Gallicia, even raiding into Fendrel. Even the cataclysm unleased by Typhon was not enough to unseat the invaders. As the Second Age dawned, the Orestians were in a position to march on weakened Aldan, claiming Sacris in 1305. The victorious Heritor Makaris Innios would go on to institute the Hegemony, which dominated Gallia until 1599, when the last Archon, Yiannis, died while seeking support for his rule in Heide. Nevertheless, the Orestians left a lasting legacy, not least of which were their egalitarian attitudes. The Archons abolished the Blood-Strengthening Ordinances and dismantled much Aldani prejudice, particularly against ‘bestial’ canae and serpae. 
Still, the end of the Hegemony greatly weakened Orestes, and it fought off retaliatory attacks from Gallia, as well as opportunistic raids from Praesia and Locia. A Locian raid in 1668 IR even penetrated to the coasts, and the ‘great Hesha’ felt compelled to take to the skies and rally Orestian armies against the invaders. Several Gallian attacks culminated in the ambitious invasion of Emperor Kaldes IV (r. 1768-1771) who intended to conquer and convert Orestes to the worship of Eos-Adrana. Kaldes was at first highly successful, even capturing Gulga, Heritor of the North, in battle. However, during a victory parade Kaldes’ was assassinated by a ‘black Hesha,’ throwing the invaders into confusion. In a scant few years, the last Gallian stronghold was taken and all their forces pushed back over the mountains. 
The northern border remained contested until 1902 IR, when Emperor Corin Dwarf Friend (r. 1897-1924) sent his enslaved giant, Ada-Irim, to ravage Orestes. According to cryptic testimony, the giant ‘shattered’ into ‘buzzing fragments’ that attacked the Orestian forces, which were then engulfed by ‘coruscating foam’ that dissolved everything it touched. Even the Hesha were not immune. A ‘mighty ancient’ with ‘wings like sails,’ attempted to drop a ‘blue star’ atop the giant, only for the being to ‘speak’ the Hesha out of reality. Orestes was made to pay tribute to Gallia until the end of Corin’s reign, when the giant vanished while attacking Karkana. 
Orestes might have had its revenge, if not for Ragda’s disastrous attempt to summon and bind the Beast. In 2030 IR, Orestes was beset by many terrors, including ‘hungry clouds,’ ‘trees that reached with black, burned hands’ and ‘waves that walked forth from the Shadow Sea to devour with their many mouths.’ The dark rituals performed by Emperor Amicula (r. 2045-2063) ultimately stabilized the world, but Orestes was left ruined. The Heritors squabbled and the ambitious Tekio, Heritor of the West, moved to seize power. In 2073, he defeated his rivals with the aid of Amathine corsairs and declared himself Pankrator, All-Mighty, of Orestes. He raided Locia and Mozollan to fill his coffers, and then hired even more pirates to attack Karkana, seeking elven relics. The port of Vanth was sacked, and a ‘cube-mirror’ was presented to Tekio. He became obsessed with the Mirror Elf artefact, and planed to create a vast network of ‘mirror-gates’ through which to invade any nation in the world. Tekio’s behavior became increasingly erratic, ordering the entire city of Plera raised and rebuilt into ‘chiralic configurations’ to serve as a nexus for the mirror-gate network. In 2081, a carnifex discovered that Tekio was in fact a ‘changeling,’ and all his court were ‘mirror-doubles with hundreds of invisible eyes.’ The Tekio-changeling was destroyed and his court purged, many contenders emerging to replace him. The Hesha intervened before the fighting could escalate, sealing Orestes behind a wall of spectral fire. The whole country was cut off from the world, and for 23 years, during the Orestian Severance, nobody could enter or leave the Dominion. The Hesha ‘made corrections,’ replacing all the Heritors. When order was restored, the Severance ended, the populace of Orestes remerging into the world as if from a hazy dream. 
When the Severance ended, an ogre king named Daga-Ki invaded the south, sweeping in with his hogboon spawn. Daga-Ki harried Orestes for years, and when he was at last destroyed, great fears surrounding shapeshifters swept the country. The Heritors proposed to eliminate the ogre kingdoms forever, and invaded the Bladed Mountains in an ill-fated venture that occupied the Orestian military for nearly a century. The Ogre Wars were indecisive. Even as one ogre hold was purged, another appeared, and paranoia over shapeshifters saw many purges and assassinations. When the Orestians finally withdrew from the Seiyufs they were weakened, and it took another century before the Dominion was ready to expand again. 
In 2438, the Orestians invaded Loren, reasserting themselves in the north. Praesian-controlled Gallia was slow to respond, and the Orestians intended to march from Loren and seize Sacris. This occurred at last in 2517, and with the demise of High King Crucis in 2519, the Orestians settled in to command Aldan. Gaidrus, Heritor of the Exarchies, married young Amica Monverdi to cement Orestian claims on Gallia. When Gallicia refused to submit, Gaidrus attacked, only to be narrowly defeated at Asphodel Fields in 2537. Sacris was retaken a year later, and in 2540, Orestian forces were driven from Loren. Emperor Valeris (r. 2541-2560) worked to remove all Orestian influence from Gallia, launching raids across the Ondos and forcing Lavani barons to swear oaths to the Silver Throne. Gallia increased the pressure on the northern border, culminating in a full-scale invasion under Empress Irena (r. 2693-2707) in 2695. Though the Gallians had early successes, by the end of the empress’ reign they had been pushed over the mountains again, and Orestes launched several counter-raids. However, in 2758, the beloved Emperor Coro was allegedly slain by a Hesha envoy. In retaliation, the emperor’s brother, Silas, vowed to ‘punish’ the lizardfolk for their many crimes against mankind. The Gallians came to believe that Orestian humans were enslaved by the Hesha and needed to be liberated. Silas’ fanatical forces carved a swathe through Orestes, seizing the coasts and bringing more forces in via Loren. His position bolstered, Silas pushed into the Pale Marshes to destroy the ‘snake lords of the Hesha,’ only to vanish along with most of his soldiers in 2762. The leaderless Gallians were forced from Orestes within a few months, and the status quo resumed, with both powers raiding across the border, using Gallician margraves or Lavani barons as proxies. 
Orestes saw a chance to expand again in 2981, when young Karleen II (r. 2976-3053) defeated the senatorial forces of Chancellor Zweillius at Asphodel Fields. Considering Karleen’s position weak, the Orestians attacked, sweeping into Fendrel and threatening Daeza’s Wall. Gallia ultimately turned Orestes back, but at great losses. Further invasions would no doubt have taken place had the Sho not attacked near the end of Karleen’s reign. The Orestians waited for the outcome, intending to destroy whoever remained, and aiding all sides as opportunity arose. In 3076, Emperor Curates launched a counter-invasion of Tsaiyun, only for Zahak the Phoenix Prophet to call forth the Beast. The forces unleashed rocked Orestes, ravan emerging from rifts in Orbis and chaos-aligned beings like hogboons screaming down from the Bladed Mountains. In 3138, Emperor Jarin performed a dangerous ritual within the Brass Tower, sealing any gateways to the Void and driving the Beast’s influence from Vala. Jarin lost his life, but the world was preserved for another Age. 
Orestes emerged battered into the Fourth Age. However, its rivalry with Gallia stalled as the broken empire was ruled first by a succession of demoniacs and then by the so-called ‘Aguin-Ranets,’ who were notoriously fractious. Orestes itself was beset by troubles unleased by Zahak. In 3166, a Lavani demoniac named Kassian united many of his kin and swept down from the Ondos to sack and loot Orestes. Caught by surprise, the Orestians initially lost ground, and much of the Northern Dominion was occupied by mountain elves. After Kassian vanished into the Abyss, his followers splintered into bandit clans that were only expunged from Orestes in 3204, when the last bandit hold was destroyed. The Orestians than launched a series of reprisals on the Free Elves, who were considered traitors to their former patrons. While Orestes was distracted with one of these interminable border clashes, a pirate fleet from Selusa, one of the largest Amathine isles, ravaged the coasts. The leader of the pirates, a Sea Elf named Yarahi, called up ‘spawn of Leviathan,’ that crawled out of the waters and ‘devoured three men at once.’ A massive naval battle destroyed both Orestian and Amathine vessels, and wyrmriders attacked Captain Yarahi’s flagship, which was defended by a ‘twisting mass of sea serpents.’ Yarahi was slain by a wyrmknight, though piracy continued to be a problem until 3249, when Orestian forces turned the entire island of Murt into a ‘bonfire’ as a warning. During the period, the Cult of Thule gained increasing influence within Orestes, perhaps through demoniacs who were prominent within the military. Orestes alternated between war with Praesia and Locia. In 3298, Vrakos, Heritor of the South, seized Lykis in Locia. From there he assaulted the Praesian coast, claiming Magna Marum in 3305. House Marcellus agreed to tribute payments, and the Locian city-states followed suit. A few years later Alasha, stronghold of the Kulroq, was taken by Orestes for the first time. Vrakos had a massive statue of Akamos raised outside the Kulroq assembly and had the populace bow to it. Orestes continued its expansion, sailing into Shackle Bay and up the River Boruz to raid Heide. Vrakos himself intended to claim Kingsrest and in 3317 accompanied a fleet up the river and into High Halgstov. Orestian and Heidan armies clashed on the Barrow Fields, and King Woldred Rohun was slain while leading a charge. A detachment of tower knights fought their way to Vrakos, who ‘removed his face’ and ‘breathed the steam of murder’ over the warriors, who were consumed. Vrakos placed Kingsrest under siege. After five months, a ‘shining bolt’ struck the sacred Moot Oak, and from it emerged a ‘knight wreathed in summer leaves.’ This Green Knight rallied the populace and, aided by a Veldyn relief force, rode out to confront the Orestians. The Green Knight battled Vrakos himself who ‘threw aside his skin,’ revealing the extent of his corruption. Vrakos was struck down, and the Green Knight vanished in the fray. Without their leader, the Orestians were forced back to the river. The retreat from Heide took several months, though when news of Vrakos’ demise reached Praesia and Locia rebellion broke out. Praesia ejected the last Orestians in 3319, and Locia had done the same by 3322. Several years later, Praesia and Locia united to launch a retributive attack on Orestes, marching into the Northern Dominion. The invaders occupied the north for several years before squabbles amid their ranks gave the Orestians an opportunity to drive them across the border. However, Orestes had suffered much, and demoniacs and the Cult of Thule were blamed. A purge of demoniacs followed that almost escalated into civil war. Greatly weakened, Orestes became increasingly insular, even as the wider world recovered. 
Orestes was shaken from its malaise when Emperor Patrus (r. 3637-3655), first of the Steel Emperors, led a resurgent Gallia on a campaign of conquest. Orestes was surprised when Gallia crossed the Ondos Mountains in 3641 and proceeded to sweep over the north. The Orestians were unable to halt the invaders, and Gallia seized much of the coastline too, launching attacks on the Amathine Isles. In 3655, Patrus fled his own victory parade in the city of Nikas and was never found. The Orestians rallied and in a few years had thrown out the Gallian occupiers. Orestes became increasingly assertive, raiding both Praesia and Gallia, but it was only in 3961 that they undertook a major invasion of Gallia. Gallicia fell, but Emperor Clarion (r. 3957-3989) halted further Orestian advances at Tynford in Fendrel, losing his life in the process. But Orestes was not deterred and continued to threaten Gallia. Clarion’s successor, Malthus, was greatly distracted by both external and domestic matters, and to contain the Orestians agreed to grant them ‘custodianship’ of Gallicia, greatly angering the border lords. Both Praxis and Leo II reversed these policies, but they failed to remove the Orestians, who were heavily entrenched. It fell to Karleen III (r. 4103-4132) to finally drive the Orestians across the Ondos, but this came at great cost. A weakened Gallia soon clashed with Arverian forces at Asphodel Fields, bringing an end to the Age. The Orestians might very well have taken advantage of Gallia’s chaos if Orestes itself was not soon overwhelmed by demoniac and infernal incursions, ravan emerging to raid and take captives, and hogboons stirring forth from the Seiyufs. Orestes entered the Fifth Age harried from many sides, the Heritors turning inward to preserve their realm. In 4167, they were shocked from the indolence by the arrival of the Forerunner, a mysterious figure who 'judged' Orestes' leadership, destroying those considered weak. After purifying the realm, the Forerunner urged all 'true sons of Akamos' to go out into the world and test themselves. Those who heeded the Forerunner formed into 'sacred bands' of Akritai, who in the last two centuries have spread across Altea and beyond, fighting for gold, glory and the honor of Orestes. 
=== Government and Society ===
Orestes is ruled by four Heritors, who are chosen from an assembly of generals and revered veterans called ephors. Each Heritor oversees one quarter of Orestes, and these quarters are called Dominions. There is no ‘civilian’ government in Orestes. Generals serve below the Heritors, and they have free use of their troops to keep order and punish wrongdoers. Generals assigned to a particular province or city are called ‘despots,’ and they are advised by a council of ephors. Smaller towns and villages are governed by ephors or military officers. An order of carnifexes called the Ferrymen travel the country and ensure that even the Heritors obey the laws of Akamos and work towards the good of the Dominion. The Ferrymen are all skilled in magical arts as well as the arts of war. They have the right to try and punish anyone they believe has violated the Codes of Akamos inscribed upon the Iron Pillar of Law. 
Despots organize the populace into work details, and being made a ‘civic slave’ is a common punishment. Everyone works in Orestes, and all citizens are expected to exercise and train for combat. Once a year, citizens are tested for suitability in the army, which is the most prestigious institute in Orestes. All citizens are ranked according to the services they provide to the Dominion. The lowest rank of all is slave. Slaves have proven they do not have the will to contribute to the Dominion’s glory, and so all that remains for them is to serve the great. Above a slave is a woman. Not all women are female, and females are not always women. A female who serves as a soldier is a soldier, not a woman. Likewise, a man punished for cowardice is made a ‘woman’ and often sent to cook and clean for a military unit. Woman is a status, and many men have been classed as women and compelled to serve the needs of ‘real’ men. Above women are merchants, who trade for what others have produced but do not create. Merchants are thus necessary but parasitic and should not be given too much power. Craftsmen rank above merchants, as at least they work with their hands, but farmers are more highly regarded than craftsmen, for they grow the food that keeps Orestes fighting. Above farmers are teachers, which includes priests, as they instill the values and morals that distinguish Orestes from other, weaker nations. Finally, the highest rank is that of soldier. To be a soldier is to embody what is best in Orestes. Only soldiers can become ephors or vote in assemblies. It is the ephors role to test those hoping to join the military. Ephors also pair the best soldiers up with 'blood-wives' whose sole purpose is to preserve and propagate the 'Akamic Lineages' that embody the Lawbringer's strength. The children of blood-wives often become Ferrymen, the infants taken to be raised at the foreboding Black Finger. 
Orestes is therefore not so much a nation with an army, but an army with a nation, and its endless quest to dominate and conquer has made it unpopular with its neighbors. Still few can deny that Orestes is an incredibly ordered place, where crime is rare and the people unified and quick to sacrifice for each other. Likewise, Orestes is highly egalitarian and meritocratic. Anyone can ask to be tested for military service, and while there are old and noble families in the country, a farmer can potentially rise to the rank of Heritor despite a lack of pedigree. There is no prejudice among the Orestian races, and orcs work alongside humans in the Salambic fields, while Zorn march beside Hesha in the army. At times, Orestes can even seem tranquil, but that is only until the drums begin the beat, and the horns summon the mighty armies to inevitable war. The Akritai, who spurn the order of Orestes and instead seek to challenge the world and themselves, are a troubling new development that the Heritors would prefer to ignore. 
Though Orestes' greatest rival through the ages has been Gallia, it is Locia for whom real contempt is held. Locians are seen as 'anti-Orestians,' being obsessed with pleasure instead of war, soft instead of strong and disunited instead of bound into one nation. Locians have fought with Orestians since the dawn of the First Age, and despite any similarities of culture or language, both lands consider themselves natural and eternal foes. 
=== People ===
Orestes is made up of several races, largely confined to their specific Dominions. The north is populated by Plains Orcs, who are the farmers of Orestes, growing the food that fuels the Dominion’s armies upon the fertile Salambic Plains. The east is the Pale Marshes, and the Hesha, though part of Orestes, are also distinct from it. They are the advisors and guides of Orestes, their great wisdom revealing the path to greatness. The south is home to the Zorn, who populate the savanna and guard against incursions from the Bladed Mountains. Many Zorn serve in the military, and so they are perhaps the most influential race in the country. Finally, the native Laskan humans dwell along the coast. The Laskans closely resemble Locians, though they tend to be much larger, about the same size as Braxians. The unusual size of Laskans has led to much speculation. Some believe the Laskan physique reflects millennia of interbreeding with orcs and Zorn. Others claim that Akamos shared the blood of Kyrus, or even Thule, with the Laskans to make them ‘perfect warriors.’ Yet others speculate that countless generations of harsh discipline and the breeding program of the ephors have forged a people in Akamos’ image. Whatever the case, Laskans’ are very proud of their size and devote many hours to honing their forms at gymnasia. Though Locian and Orestian are mutually intelligible, Laskans insist they are nothing like their weak, effete neighbors to the east. In Orestes, humans tend to be craftsmen and merchants, which means they rank fairly low in the hierarchy. However, as humans are the most populous race, inhabiting the large port cities, they have almost as much influence as the Zorn. 
=== Major Settlements ===
The largest city in Orestes is Anaxas, capital of the Western Dominion. It was at here that Akamos gathered the Laskan chieftains and raised the Iron Pillar of Law inscribed with his Codes. Anaxas is the most cosmopolitan city in Orestes, accepting traders from Loren, Amathy and Mozollan. Despite the more open attitude to foreigners, the orderly streets of Anaxas are patrolled by Orestian soldiers who nail lawbreakers to the Wall of Exemplars. In the center of the city is the Iron Pillar, where the ephors and despots gather to chose a new Heritor. Anaxas is the seat of the Heritor of the East, invariably a human, who dwells in a citadel overlooking the bay. 
The capital of the Northern Dominion is Magana, which lies upon the Salambic Plains in the shadows of the Ondos Mountains. Magana is a neat and well-disciplined Plains Orc city, home of the Heritor of the North and a center for agriculture. Though not exactly an exciting city, it is clean and safe, and the orcs are very generous with their food, hosting a surprisingly raucous harvest festival in Greentide. 
The Eastern Dominion is Ziyin, the Pale Marshes. The elders of the Hesha gather in the city of Uth-Itar. Hidden somewhere within the marshes, Uth-Itar is usually closed to outsiders, and few have seen it. Those who have been permitted to visit rarely remember what they saw. The Heritor of the East thus rules from Fort Dragonspire. Located at the western borders of Ziyin, Dragonspire is where wyrmriders train. The fortress is named for the massive eyrie that rises at the center of the fort, a pinnacle of rock honeycombed with many caves. Wyverns constantly circle the spire, and wyrmriders soar about in formation, perfecting aerial maneuvers or scouting the edges of Ziyin from above. The Hesha claim the Dragonspire was a retreat created by Nyx, one of the many havens she made for her children. At the eastern edge of the Pale Marshes, on the border with Locia, is the trade hub of Twin Springs. Named for the two freshwater pools that bubble up amid the brackish marshes, Twin Springs is the only place Locians can gather to trade with the Hesha and thus greater Orestes. It is a popular stopping point for travelers, especially those who go seeking out the wisdom of the serpent folk. The Springs are claimed to be the bathing pools of Veres and Nyx, where they would luxuriate and rest in between their godly duties. Drinking from Nyx’s Black Pool is said to provide visions and nightmares, while Veres’ Green Pool heals and restores. Shrines to both Arva and Veres lie beside the Green Pool, and pilgrims come from as far away as Heide to partake of the healing waters. 
The capital of the Southern Dominion is Kavadiz. Built atop a massive rock outcropping, Kavadiz is more fortress than city, and guards against incursions from the Bladed Mountains. The Zorn rule here, and the Heritor of the South occupies the great, circular tower at the summit of Kavadiz. A network of roads links the citadel to the many other forts that dot the savanna. Alongside these roads lie the estates of the Zorn generals, part villa and part fortress. The architecture shows strong influence from the south, and though the Zorn are consummate warriors, they pride themselves on their sophistication, and their villas feature walled-gardens, fountains and pavilions along with armories. The painted canae of the savanna are well-regarded for their hospitality, and frequently host grand hunts, though the prey are more likely to be hogboons or chaos-beasts from the Seiyufs than lions.
Category:Nations