Zigan Pact

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Borders of the Pact approx. 500AS

The Zigan Pact was a country that existed on the western peninsula of Wyrlen from 482AS onwards.

## Culture

The Goatmen of the western mountains (or '**Ziga'**, as they call themselves) are a race than stands a few inches shorter than humans on average, and as their name implies they have the appearance of a mixture of human and goat. They appear to have lived in this region of the world for a *long time,* with little evidence of Ziga activity or settlement beyond the range of mountains they currently occupy. Naturally sturdier and hardier than humans, the most defining trait they are described as is being 'stubborn'. Whilst they know how to work with each other, many other races find the Ziga to be uncompromising and strong-willed. This stubbornness and refusal to accept the world as it appears to be leads to Ziga being talented terrakines (earth mages or '**Erdazouber**') and engineers. The Ziga are also broadly practical, and typically abhor displays of wealth such as gold or jewels, not only because they serve little purpose, but because trying to appear better than other Ziga puts massive target on your back.

At a societal level, the Zigan Pact is an isolationist and militaristic state, extremely cautious of outsider nations. It has a well developed bureaucracy due to a combination of religious and civil reasons; Ziga are far more likely to listen to requests or orders when no single person is behind them.

## Religion

The Ziga believe themselves to be the fallen servants and soldiers of a divinity, the Wahrshmid, cast down to earth when their creator was defeated and destroyed by their competitor, the Rostsprizer. The view it as their duty to continue to fight on their behalf as penance for their failure to protect them, with great emphasis placed on the ideas of 'industriousness' and 'being useful', particularly in military and artisanal employment. The Ziga, wanting to make themselves useful, would often look to priests to advise them on what activities and jobs to do, gradually transforming the priesthood into a bureaucratic organisation. This capacity was often utilised by local tribal chiefs, and Hademar combined the various priests into a single church, turning them into the bureaucratic arm of the Primus, responsible for day-to-day management and prolieration of the will of the Primus in civilian contexts.

## Economy

The economy of the Zigan Pact is primarily focussed on the exploitation of natural resources. The mountains that the Pact controls are rich in the ores of iron and tin, the lower slopes are covered in a blanket of coniferous trees, and there are many accessible outcroppings of granite and basalt. This has lead to the practices of mining, logging and quarrying to become a well-developed cornerstone of the Zigan economy, employing a significant proportion of the population. The wealth of natural resources has also caused a significant class of artisans to form, the largest of which being blacksmiths. The mountains also contain deposits of gemstones and gold, but due to a lack of practical application Zigan miners do not exploit the deposits.

The Zigan Pact struggles to produce large amounts of food due to a combination of various factors. The mountains are both cold and exhibit poor soil quality, significantly impacting efforts to grow cereal grains such as wheat, barley or rye. Most grown food consists of hardy root vegetables, leafy vegetables and legumes such as peas. Bread is typically made using potato and/or pea flour. There is also a significant reliance on livestock, typically bovines and caprines, who are kept primarily for the production of milk and other regenerative products rather than for meat, which is eaten only rarely. Ziga *never* eat goat meat; while they view themselves as separate from goats, they also view goats as 'ancestors' and treat them more like pets than livestock. Additionally, the religion of the Ziga somewhat discourages many from going into the profession of farming.

Zigan merchants are uncommon, but typically struggle when trading due to their generally stubborn nature, suspicion of outsiders, and refusal to haggle. Most Zigan merchants typically operate on behalf of their community rather than themselves, trading artisanal goods for food, as high-quality food is extremely valuable.

## Military

The Zigan military consists primarily of heavily armoured infantry using polearms; perfect for holding a mountain pass. The army has no cavalry to speak of due to the food expenses accrued with the keeping of horses, but it does have small cadres of archers using a shooting style adapted from traditional hunting techniques. The growing corps of engineers in the army have also been developing battlefield artillery, but these are still in their infancy, having only become possible with the uniting of the tribes. The Zigans are defensive formation fighters, and prefer smaller numbers of elite troops to large hosts of warriors, as arming and armouring a few well is easier than feeding many mouths.

## Magic

The Ziga primarily practice terrakinesis or earth magic.