Zavak

A largely mountianous region, the Kingdom of Zavak has long considered themselves the benevolent protectors of the Scandala. Only recently, however, had they made any attempt to wrest Scandala from the Imperial Realm, and that attempt has failed. The Kingdom of Zavak extends from the Colony of Porchiis to the furthest side of the Star City, and has often been called the Cradle of Green Ice, due to the fact that it is a long, thin tundra slung between two mountain ridges. The Pockmarked Hills, to the south, separate Zavak from the Ghobi wastes, and the Whistling Teeth to the north protect them from the Frost Giants.

Government
Each territory in Zavak is ruled by a king, or Bruth. Due to the territorial nature of the gods in the area, the Forty Bruth of Zavak take their orders directly from divine council. The country is mostly one of farmers, and they have little need for more than local government, and even that is spare. Of the forty bruth, then, only four are actally recognized as having any real power, since they are the ones which run the four cities of Zavak. There is, of course, one ruler who has the final say in the actions of all the kings together, and that is the High Bruth of Zavak.

Cities and Towns
There are three majoy cities outside of Hjredbin, the capital city. For the most part, these cities are well traveled, and the markets are open almost every day, full of goods from both the Western and Eastern Kingdoms. The architecture of the cities is famous for its color and beautiful organic shapes, which have been compared to the mosaics of Krythrnn Poc.

Towns in Zavak easily number in the hundred-thousands. To a man, the people of Zavak towns are farmers, tending grain, livestock and vegetables. Each town will, a few times a month, send out a hunting party to capture a wild goat for stud or an owlbear for meat. The people of the towns are the most in tune with the ruling deities, and they maintian a shrine to each one, tended by the elders, in their towns.

Hjredbin
The capital of Zavak,

Ruling Gods and Goddesses
The Twelve Beautiful, as they are known, are among the most petty of the gods. They rarely have left their teritory to wage war on other gods, as they are so tied in up in warring with each other.

The Goddesses of the Twelve Beautiful
Having very specific spheres of influence, the goddesses of the Twelve Beautiful stay exactly where they are needed, rarely moving into other cirlces unless they themselves care to.

Jesinda
Primarily concerned with the well-being of newborn livestock and very young children, Jessinda wears a flowing gown of pinkish brown, and ties up her hair with leather strips died ten thousand colors. She is very mistrustful of adults and farmers, and they often have to humble themselves before her and lay out proof as to why they are deserving of stong children and livestock, lest she make them sicken and die so she may have them.

Helda
Having taken the farmers under her wing and protection, Helda causes crops to grow and beggs her husband, Mortaugh, to cause soft rains to fall. She wears flowing gowns of green, and braids pink and white flower buds into her hair.

Avis
Also called the Seeing One, Avis is the goddess of rabbits, deer, and foxes, and she is in constant strife with Hedrin. The source of knowledge for all prophets, oracles and wise men, she lives in the deepest valleys in Zavak, where she coucils those who can catch her. She takes the form of a white-and-gold deer, then a white-and-gold fox, then a white-and-gold fawn. Finally, she becomes a woman dressed in black, and you may council with her.

Mefelda
The goddess of the dead, Mefelda wears a white gown and braids dried flowers into her hair. She is the only one of the Goddesses to also be considered a Rider, as she rides a white griffin and travels throughout Zavak. As she could take anyone at any time, her shrines are everywhere, but are kept out of homes to try and ward her away from the heart of the family. When someone is racked by painful illness or injury, a shrine to Mefelda will be built on the sufferer's chest.

The Riders of the Twelve Beautiful
While the goddesses stay in one place, the riders are known to be constantly on the move. When they cross paths, or ride into the realm of a goddess who is not friendly with them, there is usually a scuffle.

Amenor
The King of Kings, Amenor is the protector of royalty, high noblemen, and religious officials. He rides on a horse made of gold, and wears a crown made of ten crowns. He circles the cities, and his horse's hooves can be heard echoing in the halls of every throne room and official chamber.

Mortaugh
The husband of Helda, he is the rider of the rains, and creates thunder with his horses' hooves when he is full of vigor. The lightning is the flashing of his eyes, and he will cast his angry gaze upon those who displease him, burning their homes and property.

Hedrin
The rider of the eagles, Hedrin is at constant odds with Avis, whom he loves and tries to capture. However, he is full of caprice and is often so overcome by the joy of flying that he forgets his chase. The Ballad of Hedrin and Avis is a famous opera from Porchiis about them.

Vastr
One of the Protectors of Scandala in particular, Vastr is the Rider of the Seas. Stirring up huge waves in his wake, and ruling over a pod of only the most revered of deceased Skridae huntlords, Vastr wears a cloak of storm-grey over his silver armor, which is crusted with barnacles and streaked with tarnish.

Tane
The Rider of the Beasts, he is cloaked in many furs, and is thrice the height of a man. He rides a huge white lion, and twenty lionesses hunt with him across the valley and through the mountains. It is said that, during the Frost Giant raids, he can kill twenty with his spear before he even bothers to rile up the owlbears to attack.

Nemor
The Rider of the Rocks, as he is known, Nemor causes shipwrecks and allows for safe passage. He also causes avalances and rock slides, and he is cloacked in varying shades of brown and grey. His shrines are in caves and ditches, and those he crushes and wrecks are pressed down through the earth into his kingdom below the surface.

Ulbect
Though the troops of Zavak are numerous and well-trained, there has rarely been need of them, save during the Boy King's War and the overrunning of Porchiis. This is why Ulbect, the Rider of War, is often called the Forgotten Rider. The protector of soldiers and guards, he has been at war with Amenor since he drove Vastr from Zavak in the 8th Century. That was following a territorial dispute outside of the city of Tek.

Gadrik
The Rider of the Night, as he is called, he is the one who brings the night to the Valley, and passes judgement upon all evildoers. He has four faces, looking in all directions, and hunts down the wicked when justice is negligent or corrupt, and then kills the purveyors of justice who have failed him. For every corrupt deed, it is said, Gadrik sheds a tear, which turn into the huge grey diamonds that are mined in the caves at the foothills of the Whistling Teeth.

The Colony of Porchiis
Following the annexing of Porchiis, Hedrin denounced Zavak and left the country, taking all of the birds with him. Much of the Zavak ecosystem has suffered tremendously, and the townspeople are trying their best to manually do all the birds had with magic and manpower.