The following materials are presented as part of the “Shazaarian Campaign”, by Alfs Mario Kundzins; 2021-2024
An Attempt at Unity: It is no secret that the King of Aflitain wants to unite all the nobility under one king. In the last 10 years the king has increased the number of knights in his entourage and King’s cavalry to over 1000. Jharkor has been fighting a war with Dharjor for the last 5 years. Both are seeking an advantage trying to get Shazar to support them. Pan Tagians and Dharjor have tried to send agents seeking lost artifacts from the Melnibonean & Dharzi wars. They have used demons of desire to change their appearance with sorcerery so they can pass as locals. However, because the population of Shazaar is small, strangers are always reported to the local authorizes and the Western Petty Kings will often torture and kill suspected spies. A communication system with mounted messengers
The people of Shazaar originated from the western edge of their nation close to the southern Xan Yaw mountain range. As primitives they lived in caves close to the mountains where they had fresh supplies of clean water and few predators. It is believed that ancestral horses of Nihrain breed with local horses to create a diversity of horses that populate the western nations. The Shazaarian tribal people adopted the horses which helped in their nomadic wanderings covering huge areas of Shazaar across the lush grass lands. They would summer closer to the mountain ranges and winter in camps of central Shazaar. Over many hundred years they slowly were creating a rugged but stalwart Bronze Age culture. Melniboneans were aware of the primitive tribes but had little dealing with them since they did not need them at this time. This lasted some 2000 years before the start of colonization after salt was found along the south eastern Serpent Teeth Mountain range. The Melnibonean’s needed a supply of slaves to do the dangerous work and labor required to extract the salt from the mountain mines. The only deep water port that allowed Melnibonean Battle Barges is where Aflitain is now. From there they brought the Salt down from the mountains to the port. It was from this hub that for the next 500 years that the Melniboneans slowly expanded and created keeps along the eastern coastal edge. About 250 years before the Dharzi wars some agriculture was brought to the rich coast line while the central grasslands were expanded for huge herds of live stock. This was a major food source for the Dragons which were still active but already in decline. The farming was needed to sustain the increasing number of slaves which were exported to the Dragon Isles and maintaining the Shazaarian colony. Half Melniboneans became overseers and lower ranking soldiers in charge of maintaining security of the slaves. Few Melniboneans stayed for lengths of time since they considered Shazaar banishment from court and a punishment meant to inflict ennui. The impact of Melnibonean culture could be seen along the coast where architecture, pottery, and art. Dragons and fantastic beasts were depicted as common house hold items for the people and slaves of the time. The Shazaarians were uplifted to a better standard of living even though some of their people were enslaved. There were three distinct factions of Shazaarians. The tribal people of the west avoided the Melniboneans after many of them were tricked by the central or cattle lords into slavery. Early wars were fought as the cattle lords sought favored status and to avoid being taken to Melnibone. They began raiding the tribes of the west taking many slaves with better weapons created by Melnibone. It wasn’t until the Amofrin the serpent killer, hero and chief of the western tribes defeated the Cattle Lords at the battle of Whispering Glades. The defeat was so massive and decisive that the Cattle Lords raided the western tribes less and less. Records at the time show that over 10000 men lost their lives in span of 10 years. It was this loss irritated the dragon princes and they sought Amofrin for retribution. The serpent killer was named because he killed anyone who helped the Melnibonean’s. (Note: Melnibonean and Half Melnibonean were called serpent people by the western tribes of Shazaar.) Amofrin hid in the mountains of Xan Yaw and used the same caves of his ancestors. He managed to evade the Dragon Princes for 2 years before Sorcerers brought him down. Before this spark of defiance could be totally crushed the Dragon Princes became involved in the Dharzi wars. This impact was huge for the Shazaarians. For the first time they saw these inhuman demi-gods fail. For all their power one of their people had fought against them and beat them for a short period of time.
The Costal Faction of the Shazaar had a major role in the breaking away from the Melniboneans after the defeat of the Dharzi. However, it was 200 years before this occurred. The first century of battle showed that both sides were evenly matched and would have to slog it over a period of time. The slave population was critical to the war effort and it was only a matter of time till the Dharzi stuck Shazaar. Outright attacks were costly and with supplies stretched thin the Dharzi unleashed a disease that stuck at the heart of Shazaar culture… their horses. Since horses were the staple throughout the land the disease spread quickly and killed 40% population of Shazaar and over 80% of its horses. This halted all slave exports to Immyr and stalled production of the war effort in the west. Both Coastal and Central Shazarians were hardest hit, taking 80% of their people losses. This depopulated most of the coastal towns and trade centers resulting in silent cities and ghost towns. This is one of the reason why the Shazaarians left alive where the heartiest and resistant to diseases. When the Melniboneans did not pull other resources from other theaters to help Shazar the Dharzi attacked. The battle of the Crimson Waves was terrible and was fought on the eastern coast and the border of Dharjor. For the first time the Shazarians witnessed the Melniboneans being killed along with their Half Melnibonean soldiers. This proved to them that their masters were mortal, made mistakes and died. Dragons had to be used to turn the tide of battle but the Dharzi probe was ultimately successful in making it costly for the
Melniboneans.
The Melniboneans never recovered from the Pyrrhic victory in Shazar. They fortified the port where Aflitain now sits. In the silent cities they hid secrets caches of weapon and armor for a prolonged war effort. Undergound bunker retreats were built in case Imrryr fell. The slaves helped in a servant capacity but watched and learned a great deal about war craft, logistics and communications. Low Melnibonean became part of the language and culture during this time. Slowly over the next 100 years a gradual decrease in garrison numbers and total Melnibonean officers occurred. By the end of the Dharzi wars there were only 10 Melniboneans commanders and eighty of ½ Melnibonean officers were stationed at the colony of Shazar. The soldiers went from over 8000 to less than 800. Administrative affairs were now run by Shazarians. With the loss of the ½ Melnibonean overseers the Central Shazarians were recruited to help run the remaining agriculture farms and cattle ranches.
With Champion Aubec of Maladors rise many nations began throwing off the yoke of Melniboneans and the bright empire. In truth the Melniboneans had suffered such huge population, resource and brain drain that they could no longer run all the far-flung regions of the empire. In less than 50 years they retreated from 80% the world of men back to their Island. Shazar was careful in their approach to this development. Every year the garrison of ½ Melniboneans shrunk and only 1 regional Melnibonean lord ruled the entire nation. When the governing lord died and was taken back to Melnibone no one replaced him. The coastal mayors began administering the lands and took more and more power for themselves. A power struggle was inevitable between the three factions Western Tribes, Central Cattle Lords, and Easter Coastal Stewards. However, this was avoided when missionaries of Lormyr landed bringing the Justice of Donblas. This neutral party was at the height of its influence and power and arbitrated a peace which continues to this day. One of the first laws that were enacted was the freedom of all slaves no matter where they hail from. The moment they land they are free. Because of the depopulation of Shazaar any free slaved could stay as long as they wanted if they created a homestead
and promised to defend the country from the oppression from those who would try to enslave Shazar.
A new enemy has made itself known through the Pan Tagians. Over the last two centuries they have tried to raid the coast. With the crumbling watchtowers the townsfolk of Shazar could see the terrible raiders coming in their black war galleys. Because there are no deep-water ports besides Aflitain this curtailed the ease of acquiring slaves and made forays into the interior challenging. There have been 8 attacks against the Aflitain with varying degrees of success over the years. The port is one of the largest fortified places making raiding difficult and costly. It is easier to go after other targets since the reward has been small.
Shazaar is a land divided into petty kingdoms in the Western part of the nation. These independent counties and duchies are ruled by a local Petty King or Count. They have their own laws and are fiercely resistant to the idea of one king ruling the nation of Shazaar. The Central part of Shazaar is divided up among the largest cattle lords which are divided into counties. They frequently raid each other and pay lip service to the King Aflitain. The coastal areas are divided into 3 Duchies which are vassals to the King represent the loyalist ruling nobility. The land is controlled by secular nobility. Religion is separate and has the responsibility of teaching the people of the gods, history and laws. Priests are equal like everyone else in crown court. The King gets to elect the priests who are the judicators of the courts. They have terms which last 3 years. These judicators can nominate Bishops from their ranks which are ratified by the Arch Bishop in Lormyr. Local priests are unable to vote for Judicators but instead can vote for a High Priest. The High Priest is one who can ask for new laws to be enacted along with the nobility. Agents of Law are very few in number but hold the title of Inquisitors. They are equal to colorless or landless knights as far as status and station. Knights and agents of Law help enforce the laws of the realm but circuit judges are usually the ones that get sent from town to town. Agents are not vassals to the lord but instead answer to the Judicators. Common people have very little rights but are represented by the mayor who is a vassal to the local lord. The people enjoy a higher standard of living because of the abundance of food vs. population and the Melnibonean introduction of better agricultural techniques. This coupled with the resistance vs. disease have made these proud people one of the heartiest in the Young Kingdoms.