Zurthus
From Zok
Zurthus is comprised of two unseasonably cold, heavily forested isles to the east of Nere. The waters around Zurthus are filled with sharp rocks and rapid currents and sharks, and Zurthus probably wouldn't get many visitors even if they weren't. It's not a particularly friendly place, and it's known mostly for its navy (a motley assortment of piratical slavers funded by the government) and for King Dimitri Greeneye, its cruel ruler.
The two isles of Zurthus (Danri and Zurth) are filled with sharp snowcapped crags and howling winds, with deep pine-filled valleys in the lower regions, sometimes hiding ancient villages whose way of life hasn't changed in centuries, aside from tribute to Greeneye. They're also filled with inordinately large and intelligent wolves, and the pines house bats of truly unusual size. The people are simple, hospitable, and kind, but they aren't stupid. They know never to go out at night.
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System of Government
Zurthus is a simple tyranny. The King has formed three military orders: The Royal Knights, the Royal Navy, and the Royal Guard. The Knights are drafted from amongst the strongest warriors the populace has to offer, and they keep order throughout the country. Greeneye grants generous stipends to the Knights and their families, and often the Knights serve as a sort of buffer between his wrath and his citizens. Most Knights are well-liked by their villages. The few who aren't have a much higher mortality rate; the citizens of Zurthus have grown necessarily skilled in the arts of violence. The Royal Navy is less polite but provides the majority of the country's goods, primarily through acts of piracy. Zurthuran pirates are widely feared for their brutality and their habit of enslaving captives rather than going about the trouble of ransoming them. They also have the might of the Zurthuran military behind them; Zurthuran pirate vessels often work together to take down more powerful prey.
The Zurthuran Royal Guard is rarely seen by the populace. Promoted from the other two orders, the Guard is formed of powerful warriors and mages who have shown a great deal of skill and loyalty to Greeneye. Ruthless and cold-hearted, they protect the Gray Citadel and operate as the elite trackers of the King's more powerful enemies. Rarely seen abroad, they are afforded whatever they ask by the villagers on penalty of death. Royal Guardsmen have even been known to return from beyond the grave to complete their assigned missions.
Ruler
Dimitri Greeneye, self-styled King of Zurthus, landed on Zurth two hundred and eighty years ago and conquered the place quickly and violently. Few now live who have faced him in battle, but the descendants of the island's natives claim that he devoured the souls of those he slew to increase his strength. Foreign Namers trace the earliest records of him to the founding of Pallon, where it is said he was a Bantling who singlehandedly defeated fourteen assassins sent by Neru to attack the first Heiron. Pallonian records say only that and that he was exiled from Pallon on pain of death. No mention of him is found until his conquest of Zurthus almost two hundred years later.
It's apparent based on Greeneye's history that he is an evil sorcerer of no small ability, and a mighty warrior. He's fond of visiting his villages in the guise of a bent old beggar, rewarding those who are generous and razing to the ground the villages of the inhospitable. Unfortunately for his citizens, he's sometimes known to raze the villages of the generous when the mood strikes him.
