Ghet'Zen

Hush and listen.

Upon stepping into Ghet'Zen, you may be offered a hearty meal by one of the residents. Though they speak a language incomprehensible by anyone except themselves, their body language says it all. You'd hear the voice of the elder no matter where you were in the settlement. Zenians are known for their blunt manner of speaking and strong connection to nature. It is because of this spiritual connection to life that the pathways in Ghet'Zen are void of any stone and there are no concrete roads. The grasses around the settlement are seldom trimmed down, and tribal music is often played during the lonely nights in Ghet'Zen.
For the soul searching for a more spiritual life, Ghet'Zen is where they'd reside.

Demographics

Ghet'Zen is filled with orcs and social classes really mean nothing to them. Anyone is a Zenian so long as they take the time to speak, read, and write orcish and mingle with the rest of them. Most, if not all, are shamans or witchdoctors that seek to quell the raging blood in their veins. They may occasionally travel the world in search of spiritual guidance, unaffected by The Silence.

Government

The settlement is owned by the Elder, someone believed to have the highest spiritual connection to the first human that lived here. Taxes are foreign to them as is most of the knowledge of the surrounding cities, though they will happily study whatever's brought to them with a strange glee.

Defences

A few of the only things protecting Ghet'Zen from raiders are the massive wooden walls that surround it and towers that are stationed at every corner of the settlement. Surrounding these walls are moats filled with a disgusting-looking liquid that could put gray hairs on even the most spry halfling alive.

Industry & Trade

Ghet'Zen isn't really connected with the rest of Prostesa and can feel like a different realm all on its own- Zenians certainly seem to think so. Zenians tend to be prophets of events that don't occur for very long periods of time, but they're disturbingly accurate in detail. Those that are ill may find their way into Ghet'Zen, and the residents will happily do what they can to assist you, though the means of which they do this may not be ones you like.

Infrastructure

The only major building in the city is a massive hut towards the back of Ghet'Zen where the Elder lies constantly in meditation. Aside from that, there's a strong sort of irrigation system that brings water to the crops grown in the settlement. Ghet'Zen is not a very developed settlement, and the same follows for other Zenian settlements.

Assets

Most of the weapons in Ghet'Zen are spears or primitive bows, and every hut (its importance shown through elaborate design) serves a purpose whether to prepare and serve meat or extract mana from the things that grow around the settlement. Food huts can be easily identified by their delightfully vivid craft and a carving of a sheep on a sign just outside while huts belonging to witchdoctors have a rank scent coming from them.
Most of what's found inside the hut of a witchdoctor are trinkets and odd bobbles that hold varying levels of mana, and a frequent practice after collecting these trinkets is extracting that mana from them to cast powerful magic. On the shelves are medicines, some rather unsafe if you don't have what they're trying to cure, and surrounding the witchdoctor are often skulls or small dolls. You might find one that looks like you.

Guilds and Factions

Ghet'Zen itself can be considered a guild as Zenian tribes persist all over Prostesa. Each guild is made up of a different race, but they all have the same goal in learning the hidden truths of the world and serving penance for their sins.

History

Ghet'Zen is one of the oldest civilizations on Prostesa, and it hasn't developed at all over the course of thousands of years. The first Elder had always believed that he could cut himself off from the evils society brings by cutting himself free of the world that he lived in. As such, the first Elder set in the practice of meditating, and everyone had followed suit.
Despite the current state of Ghet'Zen, the first Elder was not an orc, but a human, and he'd lived alone in what was just a small hut his entire life, loving the solitude. When an orc raiding party had fallen not too far from the hut, the Elder had taken them within his camp and slowly nursed them back to health, passing on his knowledge to them. The orcs were wrought with grief and shame- their pride had been damaged by means unknown to the Elder, and hearing the Elder's words gave them a foreign sense of hope. They followed under the Elder's guidance vehemently, and upon his death, a month of silence had followed. Ever since, the orcs have kept to the tradition that formed around their Elder, and each Elder that follows is held with the same regard as the human they met so long ago.

Architecture

The walls of Ghet'Zen are really just pointed logs lined up next to one another, but they're still very sturdy and are littered with runic symbols carved into the wood. A person familiar with the orcish language will not find these familiar. The huts in Ghet'Zen are decorated depending on how important they are, and this decides the size of the building as well. Native flowers, stones, and shells from the bottom of Lake Amber are used to bring color and life to the straw huts. The floors are covered in straw just to help with padding.
Huts that are built around providing Zenians with food are one of the bigger huts, and the one belonging to the Elder is the biggest of all.

Geography

The terrain around Ghet'Zen is a massive plain littered with trees. The forest surrounding it hides it from unwanted raiders, and the lake nearby provides the Zenians with fresh water. Outside of Ghet'Zen is a beautiful landscape, and the wildlife is hardly ever disturbed outside of hunting sessions. The trees at the beginning of the year bloom, once only, bright red flowers and shower pollen onto the ground. This phenomenon is known as Huuxim-Baha (Living Day).

Natural Resources

One of the most coveted resources in Ghet'Zen are the mushrooms that grow at the base of the flowering trees. The stems have an unfamiliar kick of spice to them and are often used in Zenian meals while their heads are used in medicines. The crops grown within the walls of Ghet'Zen provide the Zenians with all food aside from meat which can be easily obtained from the wildlife beyond the walls.

"I wasn't sure what I'd fallen ill with, but I could've sworn that a part of me was coughing itself out of my body the longer I suffered. One of the orcs, covered in odd, white body paint, invited me into their hut and sat me down."
"They promised me that they'd be able to help me, but if I said anything about what happened within the walls of this hut, the illness would come back twice as strong, and I would surely die. Unfortunately, to protect myself, I cannot say a word."

Alternative Name(s)

Manamora

Type

Hamlet

Population

About 50 citizens

Inhabitant Demonym

Zenian