Zogir, Nation

Zogir is a small nation, with a densely packed population consisting primarily of humans and half-elves. It is most well known for its usage of undead, particularly skeletons, in all forms of manual labor. Zogir's most prominent laws and the founding basis of society there are the Laws of Sin , which states that all who commit grievous sin without repentance must serve as civil servants for a certain amount of time in their undeath. After this period, the sinner's soul, previously trapped within the undead body as part of the atonement, is released into the afterlife.

Structure

Zogir is organized into a caste system that is as follows: At the top is Zogir himself, respected above all others and worshiped as a deity in his own right. Just below Zogir are the clergy (cruhei), those who work to maintain and spread the religion of Zogir. Below the clergy are the time-scholars (erzo-dan), who spend their lives learning, teaching, and adapting the history of Zogir and her surroundings, as well as developing literature of all kinds. At the bottom rung of the living caste system are the artisans (dojkei), who spend their lives creating art such as sculptures, paintings, pottery, tapestries, and more.
Below all of the Living Caste (Doro Bohond) is the Dying Caste (Doro Eichond). At the top rung of this caste are the Gold-caps (Yi-gan), who have died in living service of Zogir and previously agreed to serve under him for eternity. Beneath them are the copper-caps (Ka-gan) comprised mainly of citizens convicted of minor sins by the government and could not or otherwise chose not to atone before their deaths. At the very bottom of the Doro Eichond are the blood-caps (Soror-gan), who either died after being convicted of a major sin or died fighting against Zogir's armies. Notably, the Soror-gan are usually granted eternal atonement, and are generally used as the grunts of Zogir's military forces.

Culture

In no small part thanks to Zogir's creation story, Zogiri culture has a heavy focus on religion, with the seven days of the week each being considered especially important. Traditionally, each day of the week, living citizens of Zogir thank Zogir for a different blessing he has given them, and as a result their calendar days are named after these blessings. These days are as follows: Dojdei (art day), Sajdei (safety day), Efedei (Food day), Etedei (Prosperity day), Etsordei (Army day), and Reseday (Free day).
  Because of the skeletal workforce and army that does most manual labor in Zogir, manual labor is seen as a pointless or insulting thing to do, as though simply by doing manual labor you are rejecting Zogir's gift. Laws in Zogir are closely tied to religion, and as a result, all illegal actions are called sins, and depending on how major or minor they are, they can result in serious punishment.
  Service in the undead army, called atonement (ayatond), is seen as a privilege. In Zogiri religion, sinners who do not atone are sentenced to eternal suffering and pain, and only through atonement can one truly obtain a peaceful afterlife.

History

Zogir: Early History

Zogir is between three to five thousand years old, and there are numerous different accounts of its creation. Presented here are two of the most accepted stories about Zogir's history.

Zogir the Great

In this rendition of the tale, Zogir was a poor fishing village, originally called Hikdo, where people toiled endlessly without gain. The people of Hikdo faced constant raids from an old Fish King (this is possibly a reference to Otore, a well-known Elvish warlord of the time, whose symbol was a fish). The people had nothing to defend themselves with, and would soon face destruction at the hands of the Fish King. As luck would have it, a demigod by the name of Zogir was passing through the village, and heard of their situation. He left for seven days, returning with an army of skeletal soldiers. While some of the villagers were skeptical of the new army, they trusted him. The next time the Fish King attacked, Zogir unleashed the skeletal army, which beat back the Fish King's armies and protected the village. According to the story, Zogir has been the leader ever since, and the villagers elected to change the name of their town in honor of their saviour.

Zogir the Conqueror

In a version of the story favored by some of Zogir's enemies, Zogir is instead himself an Elf Warlord, who used horrid magic to reanimate those his army slew. The story goes that Zogir invaded and captured the town, then set up a defensive position there, warding off attack after attack, building an army of his enemy's skeletons as he did. While he struggled to hold his position in the village, the vast majority of his territory was taken from behind his back. Bitter that everything he had conquered was lost, Zogir used his dark magic on himself, becoming immortal and laying the groundwork to take back the lands that he had lost, building up his army slowly, over generations.

"The Dead Know Not"

Type

Geopolitical, City-state

Alternative Names

The Kingdom of Bones, The Captive Kingdom

Demonym

Zogiri

Leader

Zogir, Ruler

Head of State

Zogir, Ruler

Currency

Zogir has no official currency, but most residents will accept standard coinage as payment

Major Exports

Art, literature

Major Imports

Leather, dyes