Zimar, Taldor
I marveled at the height of the city wall as I rode toward Zimar. I was awed as I passed through the city gate: the sturdy doors, the serious guards, and the heavy portcullis. I smiled when I saw dozens upon dozens of houses with red clay tile roofs, domed palaces of deep blue and white marble, and minarets nearly a hundred feet tall. This city was bursting with life, and trade, and wonder. I adored the painstaking detail in everything I saw: the lions emblazoned on the soldiers’ uniforms, the bas-reliefs on the walls of the houses, and the intricately carved fountains. At the same time, I had an inescapable feeling that something was terribly wrong with this city. Every word I heard felt calculated, every smile seemed feigned, and everyone looked at me as though they were sizing me up. I have never felt so alone as I did that day.Located on the west bank of the Jalrune River and a day’s ride from the Qadiran border, Zimar is Taldor’s southernmost major settlement and Taldor’s third largest city after Oppara and Cassomir. Also known as the Aegis of Taldor, Zimar is a heavily fortified garrison town, acting as Taldor’s first line of defense against the threat of a Qadiran invasion. However, during the centuries-long war commonly known as the Grand Campaign, Zimar was intermittently occupied by Qadiran forces, which left a lasting mark on Zimar’s architecture—the cityscape dominated by Taldan-style red clay tile roofs and columned halls of white marble is interspersed by tall minarets, domed palaces, and tented markets reminiscent of Qadiran cities. The long period of occupation also shaped the attitudes of the people in Zimar. Even though 2 centuries have passed since the end of the Grand Campaign, most residents of Zimar hate Qadirans and are determined never to let their southern foes humiliate Zimar again. It is said that Zimar has enough supplies to last 5 years if besieged, and it can field an army of nearly 10,000 soldiers when necessary. Many units of the Taldan Phalanx and the Taldan Horse are stationed in Zimar, and the city has hundreds of men and women who belong to elite paramilitary units—including the city watch called the Zimar Sentinels and the Golden Templar inquisitors of Abadar—who can bolster the ranks of the military in times of war. Lastly, every adult citizen in Zimar is at least nominally a member of the Blue Guard, Zimar’s militia.—Ulvar Bodilson, traveling merchant
History
Following the expansion of the satrapy of Qadira toward Taldor’s southern border, the first clash between Taldor and Qadira took place at the Battle of Urfa near the White Pass in –4 ar. Alarmed by its neighbor’s expansionist ambitions, Taldor began fortifying its southern border. General Antilla Zimara, who commanded Taldor’s southern army at the time, ordered her troops to build a large garrison that would serve as a headquarters for military operations in the south. Zimara chose a fertile piece of land adjacent to a long-standing independent city-state, whose craftspeople, laborers, and leaders quickly realized the plentiful opportunities to support the army—and the inevitable result if they resisted. The Taldan garrison became so influential to the existing city that the name for the garrison—Zimar—soon came to refer to the entire settlement. For over 4,000 years, Zimar stood unchallenged as the indomitable aegis that Taldor relied upon to keep its southern border secure while its Armies of Exploration invaded and annexed land in the west, north, and east. During this golden age of Taldor, many small villages dotted the scrublands around Zimar, and trade was brisk not only between these new communities but also with settlements across the Qadiran border. When Qadira invaded southern Taldor in 4079 ar, Zimar was one of the first Taldan settlements to fall into Qadiran hands. In the following year, Qadiran invaders burned most of the settlements surrounding Zimar in the Ember Night, an event many modern Taldans still bring up to justify anti-Qadiran sentiment. When Taldans managed to turn the tide of the war and began a counteroffensive in 4328, Zimar was liberated. A few decades later, Qadiran forces recaptured the city with reinforcements from the Padishah Empire of Kelesh. In 4599, after a long siege, the city was finally returned to Taldan control. This victory is often attributed to a young captain named Sarius Pythareus, who led a group of soldiers into Zimar during an armistice and opened the gates for the Taldan army waiting outside. Taking advantage of his newfound fame, the captain established House Pythareus as one of the wealthiest and most influential families in post-war Zimar. After the Grand Campaign, Taldans spent a century rebuilding and fortifying Zimar. Although the city emerged stronger than ever before, the surrounding region never fully recovered. Villages that were abandoned or destroyed during the war were never rebuilt, and trade in the region has greatly diminished. Roads and bridges deteriorate as tax revenues no longer flow in from once-prosperous outlying communities.Maps
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Zimar, Taldor
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