The vast grasslands of Zanaria are endless and unforgiving. It is said that when you are in them, the sky goes on forever. Here there live a nation of warrior people with rich traditions, a boundless energy and an irrepressible spirit. The Zanarian people are a nomadic clan-based people; their clans are inextricably linked to their totems, spirits of immense power. Their hot temper and quick wit often leads to violence. In most cases, they choose it, as strength of arms and martial prowess are considered valued and valuable traits. Honed carefully through years of intense training.
This means Zanarians excel in all areas of combat and so are renowned for their martial skills and understanding of all aspects of warfare, despite incorrectly being viewed as a primitive people.
Zanaria is host to a proud people, with a rich history, but also a divided people. Divided by choice, they live in nomadic clans, travelling and hunting across swathes of open grassland. Each clan is known by its Totem, tied intrinsically to powerful spirits, these totems are a source of power, comfort, guidance and devotion. Clans are marked apart from each other using coloured war paint. The clans and colours are:
Clan Dragon: Green.
Clan Leviathan: Blue.
Clan Phoenix: Orange.
Clan Ghostbear: White.
Clan Stallion: Black
Clan Timber wolf: Brown.
Clan Stonesnake: Grey
Zanarian society is built on martial prowess, trials by combat, warfare and skill with weapons and strategy alike. Warriors are valued, for raiding and for protection. Though the clans usually keep to their own lands, it is sometimes necessary for them to cross borders in pursuit of food or other supplies, which can lead to confrontation. In these instances, the strongest usually win.
Tradition and history matter deeply to Zanarians, but there has been a distrust of the written word for as long as the clans have existed. Most Zanarians refuse to write things down and as such the people have developed a love of and a knack for storytelling. They pass their history down using oral traditions, songs and stories told around a fire pit, or from horseback during travel.
There is also a deeply spiritual vein that runs through the hearts of Zanarian people, whether that is worshipping the totems, or nature itself. Shamanism is popular amongst the people of Zanaria, seeking to be at one with the world they live in and treating it with respect seem to come naturally to them.
Most Zanars remain in Zanaria and with their clans, though recently some have opted to explore the world. Those that do still wear their clans markings, proud of their heritage. Linked to this is the growing idea that perhaps outsiders have a place in this grand country as well, especially as many outside heroes have helped the Zanar. To this end, while still very uncommon, non Zanar are being accepted into clans, often choosing to show their devotion to their new clans and homes by wearing wraps of the appropriate clan colour around the wrists.
As a nomadic, warrior race the clothing of Zanaria reflects the people, furs and hides for protection and warmth are a key part of their dress. Under layers are usually earthy, in muddy greens or browns to help them blend with the grasslands and hide the stains from long periods of travel.
They are a people of working with what they have, so it is likely that clothing and armour will be mismatched, worn for practicality rather than aesthetic. Keeping warm in the colder northern reaches, or simply overnight is a must and their clothing reflects that.
Bards and storytellers may, on their travels, find ways of embellishing their clothing and belongings with the stories they tell. Whether painting or sewing, it is common to see the bards of Zanaria with pictures on every available surface.
Each clan has its own markings, usually this is a stripe across the eyes in the identifying colour of a clan. This has, for many years, been a spiritual practice of the Zanar people, so latecomers to Zanaria who are not of the Zanar race will occasionally show their clan allegiance by using appropriately coloured wraps on their wrists and forearms.
The culture of Zanaria is wrapped up in their history as warriors, all those who are raised within clans are raised with the idea of strength in mind, training begins from an early age. So early, in fact, that it is a common practice of the Zanarian people to give babies daggers on their first birthday, this first dagger is a right of passage and it stays with the child until they come of age. Once they come of age and join the warrior force of the clan, they are given a weapon of their choice. The dagger usually stays with them, but serves little combat purpose as they are usually too small for adults.
As life is so difficult, a child is usually not named until they receive their first dagger.
A big part of life in Zanaria is the stories, they rely on bards to tell their histories, but in doing so they also rely on each other. It is considered the job of everyone to recall, recount and remember the histories they are taught as they grow. To spread the word to their clan, their neighbours, their children. Passing on the torch and a legacy that has lasted for hundreds of years.
These stories are rarely, if ever, written down. Zanarians believe that stories die on the page, that it is only by the constant retellings that they are kept alive. They mistrust the written word and do not like to see their names written down. Though with outsiders moving in and many Zanar moving out to other places, this complete hatred of the written word has somewhat calmed. More Zanarians than ever are learning to read and write, even if they still refuse to write down their name, or their histories.
The Zanarians have a history of warfare, with many past attacks on the countries of Urdd. They are known to have attacked Aberddu in 298AC, the Middle Kingdoms in 696AC and Noria in 697AC. Though these attacks were eventually repelled, they did much to cement the Zanarians as fearsome warriors, capable of great or terrible things.
And in recent memory the Zanar peoples have known greatness and sorrow at the hands of three mighty chieftains. The first, Salamander (a name now reviled by all of Zanaria) swore to unite the tribes under his tyrannical rule, which he then used to launch an invasion on the western world, which culminated in the Summer of Fire in 1102AC where Salamander was defeated by the AAG.
The second chieftain, Zotar, rose to prominence a short time ago in 1114 AC after Zanaria went through a crippling and bitter winter, promising to lead the clans into a new age of prosperity.
The third, Kalash, attempted to alter the very fabric of the world using the power of the Dragons that sleep beneath it in 1124AC. They attempted to remake the world in their image but were stopped by the AAG.
During these conflicts the clans suffered many losses, with some clans coming close to extinction, and even in some cases being completely wiped out and then being made anew.
Leadership
Zanaria is organised into Clans, each with their own lands and leaders. Each clan has an animalistic totem spirit from which they draw their power. For the most part, each clan has the same structure, ruled by a chieftain, assisted by a Clan Shaman, who represents the spiritual needs of the clans folk, and a Clan Elder who represents the material needs of the clans folk.
The word of the chieftain is final, and any challenge to authority is done by force. Zanarian people, whilst not stupid, are uncomplicated by scholarly learning and prefer to solve disputes by physical strength rather than diplomacy. Although the Clans have relative autonomy, inter-clan disputes are often rife.
The clans have developed a system in which when they are posed with threats to the entirety of Zanaria, they call a moot where all Clan Chieftans go to the only permanent structure in Zanaria to meet and discuss the threat. There is no national flag of Zanaria as each clan has its own flag and symbolism.
Whilst it is a deeply spiritual society, Zanaria is not particularly religious. There are very few there who follow the Gods in any meaningful way and there are no temples. As the Zanar people cannot be clerics, due to their association with the totems- there are next to no clerics present in Zanaria at all.
However Shamanism is everywhere, with many Zanarians choosing to dedicate themselves to, revere or worship nature itself, or spirits of the land.
The most prevalent form of spirituality, though, is the reverence of the Totemic Spirit that binds a clan together and protects it in times of need. These totems are much bigger spirits than regular land spirits and they hold much more power. Though they do not rival the gods, they are still capable of great feats and are held within high regard by the clans. Each Clan is named after the form their totem takes.