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Zamoran
"Torches flared murkily on the revels in the Maul, where the thieves of the east held carnival by night. In the Maul
they could carouse and roar as they liked, for honest people shunned the quarters, and watchmen, well paid with
stained coins, did not interfere with their sports. (...) In one of these dens merriment thundered to the low smokestained
roof, where rascals gathered in every stage of rags and tatters -- furtive cut-purses, leering kidnappers, quickfingered
thieves, swaggering bravoes with their wenches, strident-voiced women clad in tawdry finery. Native rogues
were the dominant element -- dark-skinned, dark-eyed Zamorians, with daggers at their girdles and guile in their
hearts."
- Robert E. Howard: "The Tower of the Elephant"
Zamoran Assassin
Zamora is a mysterious land, a buffer zone between the
Hyborian nations of the West and the Hyrkanians of Turan,
with a culture which is part of each, and part all its own. Its
people are disdained by both sides, and even considered "evil
by birth" by the Hyborians.
Zamora is an arid, infertile land. The locals live by herding
sheep and cattle, which thrive on the thistly scrub of the
region, or by mining for tin, copper and other metals. Despite
the number of mines, no gold or silver has been found in
Zamora.
The Zamorans are a short, dark-skinned race with dark eyes,
jet-black hair, narrow features, and stunted limbs. The
Zamorans have a reputation for cruelty, disloyalty and greed.
This reputation is only partially earned. Zamoran attitudes
reflect more of self-interest than of the high (but often ignored)
ideals of the Hyborians. The people are insular, although the
increased trade along the Road of Kings has done much to
increase Zamoran contact with the Hyborians and Turanians.
The nobles are the law in Zamora. Sentences are maiming or death, with all property confiscated by the
noble. Appeal to the king is allowed, although sentences are usually carried out quickly enough to make
appeals futile.
The Zamorans worship many divinities. Some are local, embodying natural forces or places, such as Zath,
the spider-god of Yezud, and the older arachnid deity, Omm. Others are imported, such as Bel, Shemitish
God of Thieves, patron of the city of Arenjun.
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