Zidhari Outcasts

The people of the Zidhari Wastes are or at least were banished from their home. This being common practice for The Vemahti Hegemony. Criminals,  find themselves in a desert that does not promote living. However, over the course of the last few hundred years, the scattered outcasts were able to found a city on the northern coast of the desert. Zidhari is a city-state run by a Council of Vizier who are voted on by residents of the city. There are roughly 100 thousand people over the course of 800 years they have flourished here thanks to trade with Adelais and Liuva while also blessed by the plentiful fishing waters.

At first blush, there isn’t much of anything worth trading that Adelais needed, however, before their arrival the Zidhari founded their city in a cave on the shores of the Great Ocean Aninar. In the cave, they discovered a hidden treasure of the long lost Empire of the Solari. Under the ground of the wastes was immense wealth in a special gem that absorbs magic and is easy to enchant. This lead to them mining the crystals eventually called Seshen or Jewel of the Wastes. Over the course of 700 years, knowledge of this gem was shared to Eyvindir and Thancmar which expanded trade significantly with those places.

This the monopoly on this jewel the Zidhari traded for all the things they could not produce themselves, eventually making trade ships out of stone with Seshen. These Sesa Nari (crystal-stone ships) can hover above the dunes and allow them to make extensive expeditions to other ruins and the Bone Wastes. After starting mining the caves their city grew into a massive underground bay of trading and magical research. They continue adding new paths cut into the underbelly of the wastes and have many miles of mine shafts finding rich gemstone deposits but not much metal.

## Zidhari Exile

Most people sent here are not prepared for the heat and wasteland of the desert. Due to the magical means, it was created it supports no life at all. The only food one can find here is if they stick to the mountains and kill the vultures for food.

Most people are exiled with their families to prevent uprisings and because of this most children die on the way to the coast. Some do not know how to survive in the wild and perish from lack of water. The wastes near the mountains are a boneyard as for 800 years this practice has occurred causing thousands to die.

*95% of the Zidhari are outcasts or descendants of outcasts of the Hegemony.*

## Zidhari Wastes During the Span of Darkness

Traversing the Wastes anytime in the year is a treacherous task, but during the Dark months, it is almost impossible. This is because of some side effect of the magical destruction of the area and the interaction of the phenomena of the Dark, the dead rise to wander again until the sun rises, called the **Curse of the Wastes**. This alone makes traversing almost impossible, but the cold temperatures at night chill travelers to bone as there is no sun to heat the sands. In addition, there is no way to navigate effectively with no stars no sun it is hard to tell where you are, so only treks near the coast or mountains could even be attempted.

## Goals and Culture

The Zidhari at first were founded on a common hatred of the Hegemony, and wishing for revenge against their former home, either from losing children on the way here or killing their families. They have adapted to live in this place and initially planned their revenge. But, once years passed and Zidhari flourished, hearts were never mended and new heartbreak kept reaching their city the revenge petered out and instead turned into unshakable patriotism and sense of community in the city. The goal of Proving the Hegemony wrong, and undermining their rule by succeeding where they thought no one could.

Any Hegemony expedition to the wastes or any ships near them is sunk to prevent the Hegemony from discovering their wealth no member of the Hegemony is allowed to leave.

#### Memorial of the Banished

Since there has been an unbroken path of outcasts for 700 years they have a record of at least every single person who was remembered who died on the way here. This Memorial is at the entrance or exit of the city to the wastes. Guards or Explorers who go out as traditional bow silently to the memorial.The inscription reads:

> “You were cast out to never have a home again, to die in these unforgiving wastes, to be forgotten.
>
>

> “We will remember you forever, for you have found a home again.”
>
>

*There are over 750 thousand names.*

## Wall of Sands

Or the defensible border around Zidhari extends hundreds of miles from the city in a circle. The border is not much physical and more the invisible line which no outsider may cross without flying a particular flag that is given to trade partners. If an outsider is found past this line they must be captured, or killed in the process of that capture. Unless it is absolutely necessary no one crossing the border should be killed. This is for a few reasons, chiefly getting information from hegemony citizens who stray too far and to prevent rumors spreading of people never returning home. To solve this problem they submit the person in question to the Council of Viziers who through the Seshen remove the target's memories.

## Ruinkeepers

A major discipline here is to keep articulate records of all the ruins found in the wastes and whatever is recovered from them. They keep a detailed historical record of everything they find, studying ancient elven manuscripts and trading them back to Evyindir for safekeeping and returning what was lost of the Solari. A lot of influence from these texts have seeped into the culture of Zidhari and a mix between elvish and Vemahti’s language is often used by these practitioners.

## Dragonwatchers

There are many dragons in the wastes and most are not friendly, they are kept away from the magical presence of the city due to the Seshen defenses and the Vizier who has made a deal with the Suzerain of the Blues.

## Government Structure

Council of Viziers

The Zidhari is ruled by a Council of Viziers, each Vizier is in charge of some aspect of the city and is elected by the members of that discipline or sector. There is the Grand Vizier to break ties and do diplomacy. There are 11 Viziers

1. Vizier of Education - Theoris (F)
2. Vizier of Defense - Nassor  (M)
3. Vizier of Stores - Aureri (F)
4. Vizier of Commerce - Neith (M)
5. Vizier of Seshen - Merira (F)
6. Vizier of Trade - Markata (F)
7. Vizier of Construction - Anima (M)
8. Vizier of Discipline - Nizam (M)
9. Vizier of Faith - Shukura (F)
10. Vizier of Keepers- Ana (F)
11. Grand Vizier - Shadya - (F)

## Justice System

#### Ethos

There are no prison cells in Zidhari. Nowhere to lock people away and forget about them as the Hegemony does. Reform is done in an interesting way where the person wronged is given the opportunity to speak with the wrongdoer. This process can be quite tough for particular crimes but has engendered a sense of community even as the city bloomed in size.

### Laws

* No harming anyone through direct or indirect action.
* Breaking the Wall of Sands
* Stealing
* Experimenting with magic unsafely

### Second Chance Second Life

It became clear after about three hundred years of building the Zidhari developed a sense of forgiveness not seen elsewhere in the world except in some parts of Eyvindir. People who steal, kill, rape or otherwise break laws and decency are given chances for redemption. The reason for this evolved out of the desire to be different from the Hegemony, and instead places that believe in a second chance at life. The process of this is quite arduous and for a while caused many hurt feelings by those who thought people were getting off easy.

After the parties had time to discuss punishment and recovering from the harm dealt.  The offending party has the choice of getting a second life devoid of their memories for however many years needed. This choice is not often taken by Zidhari Natives but is required for trespassers, the risk of escape and the knowledge of this city is something closely guarded

## Sayings and Stories

### Gods of the Zidhari

The Zidhari forswore The Mother in favor of more natural and chaotic gods, they worship myriad gods. As they provide them shelter and fulling life when they thought they lost them.

## Seshen Inventions

Seshen is used in every aspect of a Zidhari Outcasts life.

### Sesa Nari (Crystal-Stone Ships)

Are large stone vessels that resemble ships that hover a few feet off the sands or a few feet above the waves. They are wind propelled as the wind of the Wastes never ceases and can be almost always counted on.

### Hovering Enchantments

The enchantment of Seshen has led to them using it to levitate many things. They levitate lights around their city and it is a jewel itself under the dark. There have been some experiments trying to make extremely large rocks levitate so they could make a floating city. Some early experiments show promise.

### Hydroponics

Despite there not being any farmland in the wastes they have imported plants from Evyindir and have made floating farms in the caves of their city where a natural underground lake has formed that flows out to the ocean.

## Smaller Outposts

The Zidhari operate a few Outposts near the Bone Wastes to try and help any banished, they are extremely small with less than 25 people. There are 5 of them along the Wall to provide coverage over the area.

There is also another by the Lake of Shattered Dreams because it is a common destination for those who know some of the geographies of the area because water is good. However, the Lake is a saltwater lake which is the source of the name.

In all the outposts, they have months of supplies that last a long time they operate for a year at a time because it is important to put them in place during the darkness otherwise their activity might be discovered by the Hegemony.

## Zidhari Soldiers

They have three major disciplines that nearly everyone is trained in to live on this unforgiving shore.

### Way of the Seshen

Is a monk discipline that incorporates the use of the magic of Seshen and Ki to produce devastating and useful effects for combating the creatures of the wastes.

### Wastewalker

Is a unique style of martial training that takes advantage of lightweight weapons and quick movements they do not have the ability to craft heavy armor and it would not be very effective in the wastes with its normal temperatures of -20 C up to 55 C.

### Arcane Tradition: Gemcraft

Is a unique form of spellcasting for wizards of the Zidhari that incorporates all the gems they are mainly able to mine here for trading. Along with heavy use of Seshen for enchantments.