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Xurkhaz

🔈 (ZURK-kaz)

Xurkhaz, the Land of the Peaceful Sun, is the kingdom of the People of the Rainbow.

Geography

Xurkhaz is roughly a triangle, wedged between the Kulthul and the Istaros rivers (both tributaries of the Istaros, to the Dunmari). The borders of Xurkhaz start in the northeast at a point on the Drogar about 120 miles north of the confluence, where the terrain on the east bank rises sharply into a series of jagged, broken hills, and the river rushes through a series of waterfalls and gorges. It follows the line of the Drogar south, remaining on the western bank until the hills to the east flatten into dry, cracked plains, about 60 miles north of the confluence. Here the river valley itself is hospitable, and the orcs of Xurkhaz settle both sides of the Drogar densely, continuing south to a point about 40 miles downriver of the confluence with the Kulthul. Here, the river turns and flows slowly through sandy deserts, and the inhospitable land further south is not settled. To the west, Xurkhaz follows the course of the Kulthul, which forms a defensible western border against the dangers of the Nashtkar, end in a series of forts about 100 miles north of the confluence.

The heart of the kingdom is the land between the two rivers, which is heavily irrigated; the land is more densely settled to the east, and especially the western banks of the Drogar. This is a dry, arid land of rolling hills and deserts, sustained by heavy irrigation and desert-adapted, long-horned cattle. Cattle and wheat are prominent in both the culture and the landscape.

Settlements

Most of the population is heavily rural living in small farming and herding villages, densely concentrated within a day’s walk of the rivers. That said, there are some notable settlements:

  • Uzgukhar, the capitol, at the confluence of the Istaros and Kulthul
  • Khumarz, a fortified border town on the eastern banks of the Kulthul, guarding one of the major fords of the river and serving as the lynchpin of the western defenses of Zurkhaz
  • Drogoloth, a mining town on the western banks of the Istaros, near the hills and at the furthest point north boats can travel on the Istaros before hitting the rapids
  • Gorzum, a peaceful oasis in the middle of the country

People

The orcs of Xurkhaz have tried to hide themselves from the world for a long time. While some speak Common, or Sylvan, most speak only Orcish, and are extremely wary of outsiders.