Zahrabad (sahr-ah-bahd)
Located in a large oasis in the Caladrem Desert, the town of Zahrabad has withstood the harsh environment and the hostile neighbors for centuries to become an ecclectic city celebrated around the world for its culture - and specifically its pottery. The population is mostly tieflings, some of whom have lived here for generations and others who fled persecution in various cities around the world. Here, they can live free from judgment and bias and create their own culture the way they want. Consequently, this laissez-faire attitude has attracted other "undesirables" to the town, and it is not uncommon to see goblins, kobolds, yuan-ti expats, or orcs here.
The town is laid out in an odd pattern, dependent on the various lush areas of the oasis to survive. The vast majority of the population is centered around the main oasis, but there are small suburb and exurb communities reaching toward the ocean and toward the other civilized areas of the island, creating a chain of stopovers for merchants bringing goods to Zahrabad.
Demographics
The town of Zahrabad is made up of mostly tieflings, with about 85% of the population. It has also become a refuge for other outcast or undesireable peoples, so the town also boasts many goblins, kobolds, lizardfolk, yuan-ti expats, and even a few drow.
There are very few traditional industries in Zahrabad, as its desert location prevents things like farming or mining. Many Zahras are traders, who help move goods through the desert to the town. The major industry that has gotten Zahrabad noticed in an international level is their pottery. From simple, functional pieces that look sharp and are durable to exquisite pieces of art worthy of the noblest centerpieces, Zahras create and export more pottery than any other town or city in the world. And they take their pottery seriously, with the guild stamp being a sought after mark denoting a maker's quality and artistry.
Many people in Zahrabad live fairly modest lives, but there is a strong sense of community and providing for one another, so no one ever goes without food if they cannot afford it themselves. There are a few - namely the fancier and more high-end potters - that earn enough money to put them slightly above everyone else, though they still take care of their neighbors and do live quite as luxurious a lifestyle as aristocrats in other lands.
Government
The citizens of Zahrabad elect their own mayor every six years. This position is largely ceremonial, as the guilds unofficially conrol everything in the town. The mayor does represent the city in the Caladrem Confederation meetings, but they act on behalf of the guilds' wishes. The mayor also confirms and enacts the guilds' policies for the town, though their approval is only a rubber stamp and a formality. Due to the town's demographics, the mayor has always been a tiefling, but there is nothing in the town's charter that says this must be the case, and every cycle has people of other races running futile campaigns.
The real source of power, the guilds, are integral parts of everyday life in Zahrabad. Their leaders meet up regularly to discuss pressing issues or new policies they wish to enact. Each guild chooses its leader however it sees fit, though most just use a simple majority vote of all members at special annual or bi-annual meetings. Theoretically, all guilds wield the same amount of influence, but in practice most defer to the potters and nutters since they represent the two biggest exports of the town.
Defences
Zahrabad does not have any traditional formal defenses. There is no wall or pallisade around the town, no watchtowers to keep an eye on the desert. Instead, the town employs groups of sentries who rotate assignments and routes through the desert, stationed several miles away from the town but always in sight of at least two other groups. These sentries are well known for their ranged combat prowess and are able to harry any invaders or roving monsters while sending one messenger to warn the town of the impending danger.
Because the town does not have a lot of traditional industry or work, many citizens have enough free time on their hands to spend at least one day a week training with various weapons or combat techniques. The town employs a few trainers to help with this, and these trainers allegedly have quite a pedigree. Local legend holds that when the yuan-ti raids were at their peak, two refugees arrived armored and carrying weapons, fleeing The Nine Hells they claimed, where they had been kidnapped and forced to fight in the Blood War for decades. These warriors settled down in Zahrabad and began to impart their knowledge of war to other townsfolk, who in turn passed the teachings on to the next generation. Whenever one trainer is ready to retire, they select the best and brightest student they have had and pass on whatever wisdom they can so that student can become the next trainer. And that is how Zahrabad has learned to defend itself well despite having no wall, no defensive ballistae or catapults, and no formal Watch other than the Desert Sentries.
Industry & Trade
The two most important exports of Zahrabad are pottery and a local hard nut known as a zahra nut. The pottery is well known throughout the world and is sought after by collectors and nobility. It is one of the few ubiquitous items that anyone in the world can purchase and use as a status symbol no matter where they are. Working families in large cities like Castillon have been known to save their extra money for years to purchase authentic Zahra pottery, for its durability but also as something they can pass on to their kids and create family heirlooms or be sold to help the family in extremely hard times.
The pottery of Zahrabad is so popular that the Potters' Guild in the town has to constantly keep its eyes out for impostors trying to immitate the official seal to sell low-quality products. The guild extracts a fairly heavy premium from its members, but they get access to training, paint pigments, the large kiln, and many other perks that non-members cannot get. In exchange, all members' works go through the Guild before being exported to other lands, where they get the official Guild stamp of quality. Non-members are still allowed to make pottery and try to sell it to merchants, but because it does not have the official stamp it is less valuable and less desireable.
The other major export of Zahrabad is the zahra nut, a local hard nut that grows prodigiously on small, five-foot tall bushes. The nut itself is purple-teal in color and tastes of bitter citrus like lime. It allows Zahra cuisine to take on a tropical or citrusy flavor without having to import tons of limes or other citrus fruits. It also makes Zahra cuisine extremely colorful and uniquely eccentric. In the middle of the desert, there aren't many sources of meat around, so having a source of protein like the zahra nut helps the folks of this town keep a healthy diet.
Infrastructure
Zahrabad has always struck a fine balance between making improvements for the citizens and protecting the delicate ecosystem of their oasis. For this reason, there are no paved, cobbled, or gravel roads anywhere in Zahrabad's territory; all paths are dirt roads made by repeated foot and camel traffic. The fresh water mostly comes from the oasis's spring, but there are wells dug for the outskirts areas.
Zahrabad is also not a cohesive town as one might see elsewhere; it exists as a series of suburbs and exurbs that create a relay system of stops for trading caravans to pass through the desert. Some of these come from the direction of Rauf's Oasis or the capital in Seilva, while others extend toward the sea and the small port that is technically part of Zahrabad though it is more than two days' camel journey away. These suburban hamlets contain a few tents for traders to rest, plus a well to draw water for themselves and their camels.
The other thing of note in Zahrabad is a large kiln that the Potters' Guild maintains to fire its members' works. It is believed to be the largest and most advanced kiln in the world: it is built slightly elevated to capture as much sun as possible, and it is surrounded by an array of mirrors that redirect even more sunlight directly on to the oven. This kiln is able to heat and temper the pottery much better than any other method known, and this process is part of what causes the Zahra pottery to be so durable and well-known.
Guilds and Factions
The guild system in Zahrabad is one of the most powerful guild systems in the world, as they unofficially run the government in town. There are around 15 guilds in the city, but many are smaller in membership and therefore power. The three largest guilds - and thus the ones with the most sway over events and policies - are the Traders and Carters' Guild, the Potters' Guild, and the Nutters' Guild. Together, they represent about 90% of the jobs and income for the town - specifically the potters, who make up just over half of the town's economy.
The Potters' and Nutters' guilds are a bit more formal and strict than the others of the city, mainly because they represent the two most exported goods and need to maintain quality control over those goods. Both serve to inspect their members' production systems and make sure they are safe and using approved materials. They also track members' outputs and make sure that everything the members produce goes through the guild to be sold and transported. The other guilds are closer to labor unions in that they protect their members from exploitation by others and advocate for policy changes that will help their members.
History
Zahrabad has existed for almost two millennia now, though it has grown considerably from its first iterations. Originally, desert traders and nomads would stop in at this oasis to replenish and rest themselves and their camels. Over time, some of these traders began to notice the zahra nuts that grew on small bushes and were a delightful addition to the otherwise bland meals of the travelers. Eventually, a tiefling known as Zahra set up a permanent house here to cultivate the unique nut, and from that one hut there grew a town that now boasts over 8,000 citizens.
Since the town's founding, tieflings have always been welcome. The founder, Zahra, used her connections with other tiefling nomads and traders to convince many of them to settle in her new town. Soon word began to spread across the world, carried by sailors and merchants, of the haven for tieflings who face persecution and mockery in human or other non-tiefling lands. As more and more tieflings settled in the city, other races and peoples started to heed the call as well.
As the town grew and attracted more people, it became a target for raids by the people of Yuan. The snake people were used to picking off random groups travelling in the desert or swamp - and some speculate there was a First Age supercity on the island that they targeted originally - but having a small, upstart community so close to their jungle was too tempting to pass up. At first, the denizens of Zahrabad were not equipped or trained to fight off bands of raiders and slavers, and they lost many people to raids over the first few years. Slowly, however, strong warriors migrated to the town and began to train others in how to defend their people. The raids would be met in combat and thwarted, though they would usually take one or two people at a time - which was an improvement over the five or six that were usually taken to that point. And then, the defenders of Zahrabad kept training and got even more skilled, able to hold off the attackers every time, and the yuan-ti had to go back to targeting groups roaming the desert and swamp.
Architecture
Most buildings in Zahrabad are dug slightly into the ground, to provide a bit of a cooling factor for their denizens. Some people have preferred to keep permanent tents as shelter, while others have built adobe abodes. Looking across the town, one can see a sea of brown clay buildings mixed with vibrant tent fabrics and fluttering window coverings. The town hall and religious shrine area are both located in a rather large grotto in the oasis, providing natural shelter and division for the two parts. There are few nobles in Zahrabad, at least as one would compare them to nobles of other cities and towns; those families who are slightly better off here tend to have similar houses to their neighbors but adorned with glass jewels and painted patterns on the exterior to make them stand out even from far away.
Founding Date
2590 1A
Alternative Name(s)
Tiefling Town
Type
Town
Population
8,207
Inhabitant Demonym
Zahras
Location under
Owning Organization
Comments