Ogakwa is a long, thin peninsula that separates the Sea of Perryn from the Sea of Cormyria. It is bisected along its spine by the craggy mountains called the Spine of Ogakwa. The lowlands are mostly swamp. Only a few pastures on the lower slopes of the Spine can support significant habitation. No nation could ever be developed on the peninsula.
Or so it was thought until just over forty years ago. In 773 CR, the Zlobra arrived out of the west in 46 wooden ships. This people quickly brought all of Ogakwa into a single polity - of sorts. What follows is an excerpt from “The Mysterious Zlobra”, an article by Arnulf Zahn, published in the Kronberra Chronicle in 785 CR.
“These ships were like none ever seen before in all of Glorien. They seemed to be halves of pods of an alien plant but still almost the size of an Imperial Navy cutter, as reported by a few fishermen who saw the fleet as it passed by. These craft showed no sail, no oars, nor any glow of a slave elemental.
“The Zlobra are also not like any other creature ever seen in Glorien. They are almost universally tall, green-skined, with pointed ears. No other description is appropriate, either for the breed as a whole or for individuals. Indeed, any description at all would be temporary at best.
“For the Zlobra are shape-changers. They claim to not be able to comprehend living in a single form any more than we could live continually bound in chains. They change based on the needs of the task they are performing, with whom they plan to be associating, or even just on their mood. They can be strong or lithe, as they wish, taller or shorter, plump or slender, male or female - or, they claim, neither or both at once.
“Even though the Zlobra claim all of Ogakwa as their nation, they have no capital or even any substantial cities. They have no head of state, nor a government. It is my opinion that the Zlobra, like other non-human races in Glorien, are insufficiently advanced to create a proper country.
“Of course, I had not yet the experience of the Zlobra I needed to craft this observation when I was appointed His Imperial Majesty’s first ambassador to the Zlobra at the turn of this past decade. At that time, little was known about these creatures. If they had indeed tamed all of Ogakwa in just a few years, perhaps they would make valuable allies to help Krondak spread civilization to the rest of Glorien. That thought would turn out to be a supreme fallacy.
“Even though we knew of no institution that we could inform of my imminent arrival, I was met at the border by one Gorban. At the time I thought her to be a rather fetching, if green, female. She welcomed me and claimed to represent its people. She explained that we could not discuss anything of import until we had dined together. The road I had traveled happened to cross the border near a small hamlet, a cluster of buildings built specifically to accommodate foreigners. I identified an inn, a stable, and a single pub. There seemed to be no houses or any other accommodation for the Zlobra that must serve in these places.
“And there were a few. A male came from the stable to take the horses of myself and my aide. An older woman directed us to our rooms in the inn. When I arrived at the inn’s dining room at the hour arranged by Gorban, I was irritated that she was not already present. The only one present was a rather portly Zlobra female. To my astonishment, she approached me as if we were quite familiar with each other. She must have been able to discern my displeasure, for she identified herself as my interlocutor, Gorban. She explained that she found this form more comfortable for dining. It is at that point that I had my first inkling of the otherness of the Zlobra that would make them inconceivable as allies but natural enemies of civilization.”
Many have credited this article as the instigating act for the attempted Krondakite invasion of Ogakwa in 787 CR. As we all well know, that invasion was stopped at the battle of Jaydra’s Crags. At that battle, the zlobra, on this world for less than two decades, eliminated a Krondakite battalion to the man.
Yes, you read correctly. The zlobra are from another place, another world. They call it Tsarosa, or Lost Tsarosa. According to them, Tsarosa was a paradise - hot, humid, full of plant and animal life. A paradise, that is, until the arrival of the Blue Blight, a fungus that could not be contained and destroyed all it contacted. The zlobra are the last of their race, those that fled Tsarosa as the Blight destroyed the last of it.
Zahn’s article does get a few facts about the zlobra and Ogakwa correct. Their form is indeed fluid, changing at their will. All of the zlobra seen by outsiders have been green, with pointed ears. Whether this represents a limitation of their abilities or is simply a convention, the zlobra have not revealed.
It is also true that the zlobra have no formal leader. Nor does Ogakwa have a capital or any city at all. As far as our own envoys can tell, the zlobra have no use for them. They appear to have some sort of partial communal consciousness, similar to our information magic, but at an almost unimaginable scale. The zlobra need no leader or government, because all decisions affecting the zlobra as a whole are made almost instantaneously and by consensus of all the zlobra. ALL the zlobra, no matter where they are.
Ogakwa has no cities because the zlobra need them as much as they need a government. That is, not at all. The zlobra have an empathy with the land. Master Mage Cinda Tweeby has speculated that the zlobra can communicate with plants and animals as easily as they do with each other. Few accept this theory. What is undeniable is that a substantial portion of what were swamps four decades ago are now verdant forests or lush meadows. The zlobra have no agriculture as we know it. They do know how to get the former wasteland of Ogakwa to support a substantial population.
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Location: Ogakwa extends southwest from the mainland of Glorien. The top of the peninsula borders the Five Nations. It has a short border with Krondak at the far southeast corner of that country. A large sandbar that disappears at high tide could be considered a land border with Auriland.
Capital: None
Cities and large towns: None. The only substantial settlement is Olken, on the shores of Lake Darna. We would identify Olken as a temple complex, venerating Lost Tsarosa almost as if it were a deity. Each zlobra is supposed to make a pilgrimage to Olken every 412 days, which would be a year on Tsarosa.
Government: None
Head of state: None
Economy: None, at least any that we can understand. The zlobra trade with no other nation. If there is trade within Ogakwa, it is between individuals or small groups. There is no substantial industry. The zlobra do have a few metal and finely crafted wooden artifacts, so they must have crafters. How they are remunerated for their efforts is unknown. The zlobra have no currency.
Relations with other nations:
Krondak - If Krondak wants to make vassals of the elves of Llwynedd and the dwarves of Peroka, it wants to eradicate the zlobra. Their only concerted attempt so far was thwarted at Jaydra’s Crags.
Five Nations, Auriland, Loksenta - Ogakwa does not initiate contact with any other nation. When another does send envoys, the zlobra receive them with hospitality. They do not inhibit the movement of the envoys through Ogakwa, but they also do not aid it. No treaties and few informal agreements have been made with Ogakwa. The zlobra have no need of anything from other nations. Neither to they feel they need to interfere with them.
Den of the Red Wolf 