Zirak-Zan

Zirak-Zan
Information
Realm:	Zul Kiras
Predominate Races:	Orcs, other goblinoids
Year Founded:	106
Head of State:	War-King
Religion:	Zul Kiran pantheon

Origins & History

Zirak-Zan was founded in the year 106 when Fenris Bonebreaker's orcish army conquered the Berenite capital of Berendan. The first War-King ordered his victorious forces to raze the city and build anew. It is said that after the battle of Berendan and the ensuing sack of the former capitol of Beren, the River Thunder ran red from all the blood spilled. It was this phenomenon, which alerted the residents of the northern parts of Elvendeep that a terrible calamity had occurred, that provided the name for the new orcish capital being constructed over the ruins of old Berendan. It is in many ways the embodiment of the changes occurring in all quarters of their society and culture. While some elements of the city have been copied elsewhere in Zul Kiras, these similarities are somewhat erratic in their application. The various clans have appropriated only those elements of the city which they find agreeable to their own dispositions for cities within their own lands, and discard the rest. As Blood River does not belong to any one clan, but rather belongs to all clans, one can find an extremely diverse mix of individuals in the city, often arranged into neighborhoods where the majority of people from one clan live.

Indeed, there are a number of clans who dwell solely within the walls of Blood River, a new phenomenon of urbanized clans, whose place within the scheme of the orcish nation is still being defined. Some clans have gradually appropriated various occupations within the city as their own, such as the Shattered Skull and Demon Cat clans, whose members are almost completely enrolled in the ranks of the Urban Legion. This force was originally instituted as the city's defending garrison, but had taken on the responsibility of policing the city as the population grew far beyond its anticipated size. As the city is almost entirely built of stone, fire is not a grave concern, but the Urban Legion may also be called upon to fight fires if the need arises. Another interesting case is the River Snake clan. A offspring clan of the Iron Fist, the River Snakes have the vital and much-respected duty of maintaining the city's vast water system, which is not surprisingly a full-time occupation.

Layout & Architecture

Blood River has expanded several times since its founding, a fact that one readily notices upon touring the city. The city has not one, but three sets of walls, the inner two marking off the previous limits of the city. The outermost walls, which form the current boundaries of the city, are massive stone affairs that ring the entire perimeter of the city, being at least some fifty feet height, and at least half that thickness. There are watchtowers evenly spaced all along the walls, and sentries can be seen patrolling atop the walls day and night, in even the worst of weather. The gates of the city are so massive that they require teams of ogres enrolled in the Urban Legion to work the winches that open and close the gates. The center of the city is the oldest part of it, with everything growing increasingly younger as one moves out toward the edge of the city. These expansions have not been haphazard, but have been strictly controlled to maintain the order of the city plan, and to avoid compromising the military defensibility of the city in case of war. Indeed, this expansion has been so well regulated that the geographical center of the city has not shifted in the slightest, even when it became necessary to span the River Thunder with bridges and continue building on the western bank of the river. The size of the city is impressive in another sense as well. All of the main streets and public buildings in the city were built to accommodate the largest members of the united clans, the trolls and ogres, the latter often growing to ten feet in height. One can clearly see how this has an immediate effect on the size of doorways and the height of ceilings in public places, which often adds an intimidating air to said buildings in addition to its practical purpose.

The streets are laid out with exacting precision, being perfectly straight and running at right angles to one another, so they form perfectly square blocks of buildings. One can not even hope to locate the old landmarks of Berendan, so completely have the United Clans effaced the layout of the former city in favor of their own method. The streets of the city are all paved with stone, much of it in the older portions of the city, was taken from the ruins of Berendan. The main thoroughfares of the city are quite wide, being easily wide enough for four carts to drive abreast. To keep traffic of carts and carriages moving smoothly on the main streets, there are walkways on either side of them, raised a few inches above street level to keep the cart traffic from appropriating the area allotted to pedestrians. At the intersections of these main thoroughfares, there are raised blocks jutting out of the streets to form a sort of walkway of stepping stones across the intersections. These blocks are easily large enough for a person to stand upon, and spaced closely enough that one may easily step from one to the next, but are still far enough for cart wheels to pass through the gaps between blocks, and are low enough that carts may pass over them. These walkways have the additional effect of keeping cart traffic flowing at a reasonable speed, as it is necessary to slow down and be sure that one's cart is properly aligned to pass through the gaps between stepping stones, and not run into one.

The city on the whole gives the impression of being very solid and strong, with brick, stone, and the dwarven concrete used almost exclusively for building due to an ancient decree from the War-King. Of course, the price they pay for this mandatory sturdiness is that the poorer parts of Zirak-Zan are extremely cold in the winter. Freezing is a common cause of death in the orcish metropolis during the cold months. Some foreign visitors have found the architecture rather uninspired, with little to recommend it to the eye.

There are very few individual homes in the city, with the overwhelming majority of the city's residents living in a type of building that is not encountered in any other city in the kingdom, save Vorschk. These buildings are generally made of stone or brick, being some four or five stories tall and square or oblong in shape. These buildings are called by the same name that the orcs use for a fortress, and it is not difficult to see why. One enters these buildings through a large archway facing the street, which in most cases has a set of heavy double doors that are closed and barred after sunset. Should Zirak-Zan ever be stormed, these housing arrangements potentially give invaders several thousand small strongholds to besiege in addition to the main military fortifications. The entry archway opens onto a courtyard, almost always containing trees and other greenery such as herb gardens, as well as benches for sitting upon and a well or simple fountain which supplies water to the residents. The stairs leading to the various residences within the "fortress" all open out onto this courtyard, making it the focal point of the social life for the residents. It is not uncommon to find chicken coops or rabbit hutches located here. The courtyard is also regularly the scene of the orcs' physical methods of resolving disputes, and of this practice, the orcs say that it is better that the blood make the garden greener than be wasted in the street. Each "fortress" is large enough to hold anywhere from six to a dozen families, who are almost always from the same clan, and frequently comprise a single extended family group. Many of these "fortresses" have shops or taverns located on the ground floor on the sides of the building facing towards the streets.

The Old City

The Old City is the portion of Zirak-Zan housed within the innermost set of walls, marking the original boundaries of the city. The center of the city, in all senses of the word, is an immense fortress known as the Citadel, which is so large that it can be seen rising above the walls of the city from some distance away. The Citadel contains the War-King's residence, the residences of the members of the Overcouncil, the Council of Clans' meeting chambers, the city treasury, the city granary, the headquarters of the Urban Legion, and many of the municipal ministries which keep the city functioning

On the eastern and western sides of the Citadel are two great marketplaces, surrounded on their other three sides by the city's temples, courts, and buildings containing the agencies of government not contained within the Citadel itself. To handle the staggering amount of traffic that this great nerve center of the orcish state attracts, there are four great roads leading away from the Citadel, one that leads in each of the four cardinal directions all the way out to one of the city's four gates. The Western Road crosses the River Thunder at Skull Bridge, which is the primary link between the two portions of the city. The bridge gets its name from the skulls of executed criminals which are placed on metal spikes which jut out of the sides of the bridge to remind lawbreakers of the fate that awaits them. This bridge was originally built to connect the city with the lands on the west bank of the river, but has now become part of the city, and is still the largest and most important link between the eastern and western portions of the city.

The space in front of the Citadel and both marketplaces are adorned with some of the last reminders of the kingdoms that have fallen to the Zul Kirans. Statues and other such monuments, taken from all the vanquished kingdoms stand in commemoration of the orcs' victories throughout the years. There are also a number of monuments constructed by orcish hands, chief among them is the original tomb of Fenris Bonebreaker, which is located immediately in front of the main gates to the Citadel. The tomb consists of a bronze statue of the first War-King standing upon a stone base, being some twenty-five or thirty feet in height all told. His ashes had originally been buried beneath the base, but were moved to a repository in the statue in the War-King's throne room when it was renovated following the first war with Elvendeep. The statue depicts the War-King in full battle dress, standing and staring off down the Southern Road, as if on eternal guard against enemies. Upon all four sides of the base is carved an accounting of Bonebreaker's deeds in the tongues common among the united clans.

More captured artwork adorns the corridors of the Citadel, along with monuments to the orcs' great wars and their legendary leaders. The War-King's throne room bears resemblance to nothing so much as a temple to Fenris Bonebreaker, whom some clans do indeed worship as a deity. The vaulted amphitheater is dominated by an immense statue of the great king enthroned, executed in green and black marble. This monument dwarfs the living War-King, whose Black Throne is seated between the statue's feet, and only comes up to the top of Bonebreaker's boots. The infamous Black Throne is so called because it is fashioned from black iron, designed to look as if it were created from the spears, swords, and axes of defeated enemies. Snarling black sculpted wolves flank the throne, so that the War-King's hands will rest atop their heads when seated upon it. Arms, armor, and captured standards and coats of arms from vanquished enemies cover the walls, while of the banners of Zul Kiras' component clans hang from the ceiling.

This chamber is also used as the meeting place for the Council of Clans, so it is usually filled with rows of chairs. Members of the Overcouncil sit on the lowest tier of the stairs leading up to the Black Throne, facing the rest of the assembly, while seating among the minor clans in the tiers of the amphitheater is determined by seniority. This is both because of the respect for elders in orcish society, and for the practical reason that the oldest members of the Council of Clans often have trouble seeing or hearing, and need to be closer to the front of the room.

Also within the Old City is the Great Academy, the Zul Kiran center of learning. The brightest young prospects from all parts of Zul Kiras are sent here to be trained to become the next generation of military and civil leaders for their respective clans. The Academy's curriculum is a combination of rigorous mental and physical training designed to cultivate the qualities that Fenris Bonebreaker prized. The Academy is also home to the Tactical Library, which contains copies of nearly every book plundered by the Fading Sun during the United Clans' wars of conquest, as well as tomes authored by Zul Kirans.

A final noteworthy landmark in the Old City is the great Colosseum of Zirak-Zan, a structure capable of holding a fifth of the city's population. It frequently hosts Grubball matches and gladiatorial games, and is used as a place of worship to host important religious rituals during festivals.

Laws & Customs

Law Enforcement

The Urban Legion is the city's police force and defending garrison. Convicted criminals may find themselves sentenced to fight in gladiatorial matches in the Colosseum, or to a term of indentured servitude working on the city's sanitation crews.