Races

Zish (Zissah and Ziyn) - by T.A. Saunders ©2010 v1.5

Racial Articles The Zissah of Modern Imarel

The Zissah of today are still a non-aggressive people that still shun the use of sorcery and put their faith in the Spirit of Serenity and more recently, the Spirit of Hope to guide their people to a simple but fulfilling existence. While some might say that the lessons of the past are doomed to repeat themselves, the Zissah believe that the the purging of their kind was a test of their resolve as a people to stay the path of peace. To kill for any other reason other than to defend one's self or to hunt is an abhorrent concept to them. While they take relish in the hunt and stalking their prey, rarely (with some exceptions) are such skills put to the test on other sentient creatures.

The Zissah do not have a standing army, but rather a temple of fighting monks that are based out of their capital city of Ztai. These monks are all masters of Yaug-Taj and can be mobilized fairly quickly and brought to any part of the territory with relative speed, using extremely fast-moving lizard mounts called Khosoj. Resembling very large velociraptors, these mounts can not only cover great distances with remarkable amounts of speed, they are able to scale terrain by leaping or climbing. The Khosoj are also very vicious in combat as trained attack dinosaurs that a Zissah can dismount, send after an enemy while following up with their spear. While perhaps not the most dangerous army, they are certainly able to repel small land armies of mercenaries and pirate landing parties well enough.

The priests and priestesses of the Zissah people also play a large role in everyday life. The high priest is not only the spiritual leader of the Zissah, but the ruler with each of the priests below him or her acting as an advisory cabinet in mundane, military and spiritual matters. The Zissah Theocracy has been the way of the people since ancient times; even when they worshiped dark gods and allowed themselves to become instruments of Chaos, the infrastructure of the Theocracy was always there.

With the waning of faith in the Lords of Chaos and the waxing of the following of Serenity and Hope, there was merely an exchange of power, rather than any sort of violent upheaval. The guardians of the holy temple in Ztai are guarded by rare Zissah Crusaders and the position is held with a great deal of honor and reverence.

The touch of the Lords of Chaos has not completely left the Zissah however. There are a sect Reavers that remain called Uros Kaj (or Black Scale), that follow the forgotten and dark ways of their wicked ancestors. These Reavers pay homage to all Nine Lords, but in particular favor Velsai, Lady of Spite. They are an active menace to the Zissah people, but are never purged or engaged unless they themselves attack their fellows. It is an edict of Serenity that each being is allowed to choose their own path and reap the fruits of their labors; if there be poison in their labors, there will be poison for their mouths to sup upon.Because of this, no effort is made to actively purge their wayward kin despite their efforts to win hearts and minds all over Irys and commit acts of murder, blackmail and deception.

Largely the Zissah of today keep to Irys and do not mettle or get involved with affairs elsewhere on Imarel. It has only been in the last ten years that the Zissah have even attempted to contact other peoples, most notably last year (1320 AC) when a captured Zissah was brought to Sundown in an attempt to smuggle him into the slave ring. This was stopped thankfully and further helped establish at least sparse diplomatic ties between the city of Sundown and the mysterious Zissah of Irys.