“I marveled at the height of the city wall as I rode toward Zimar. I was awed as I passed through the city gate: the sturdy doors, the serious guards, and the heavy portcullis. I smiled when I saw dozens upon dozens of houses with red clay tile roofs, domed palaces of deep blue and white marble, and minarets nearly a hundred feet tall. This city was bursting with life, and trade, and wonder. I adored the painstaking detail in everything I saw: the lions emblazoned on the soldiers’ uniforms, the bas-reliefs on the walls of the houses, and the intricately carved fountains.

“At the same time, I had an inescapable feeling that something was terribly wrong with this city. Every word I heard felt calculated, every smile seemed feigned, and everyone looked at me as though they were sizing me up. I have never felt so alone as I did that day.”

—Ulvar Bodilson, traveling merchant

Located on the west bank of the Jalrune River and a day’s ride from the Qadiran border, Zimar is Taldor’s southernmost major settlement and Taldor’s third largest city after Oppara and Cassomir. Also known as the Aegis of Taldor, Zimar is a heavily fortified garrison town, acting as Taldor’s first line of defense against the threat of a Qadiran invasion. However, during the centuries-long war commonly known as the Grand Campaign, Zimar was intermittently occupied by Qadiran forces, which left a lasting mark on Zimar’s architecture—the cityscape dominated by Taldan-style red clay tile roofs and columned halls of white marble is interspersed by tall minarets, domed palaces, and tented markets reminiscent of Qadiran cities.

The long period of occupation also shaped the attitudes of the people in Zimar. Even though 2 centuries have passed since the end of the Grand Campaign, most residents of Zimar hate Qadirans and are determined never to let their southern foes humiliate Zimar again. It is said that Zimar has enough supplies to last 5 years if besieged, and it can field an army of nearly 10,000 soldiers when necessary. Many units of the Taldan Phalanx and the Taldan Horse are stationed in Zimar, and the city has hundreds of men and women who belong to elite paramilitary units—including the city watch called the Zimar Sentinels and the Golden Templar inquisitors of Abadar—who can bolster the ranks of the military in times of war. Lastly, every adult citizen in Zimar is at least nominally a member of the Blue Guard, Zimar’s militia.

Following the expansion of the satrapy of Qadira toward Taldor’s southern border, the first clash between Taldor and Qadira took place at the Battle of Urfa near the White Pass in –4 ar. Alarmed by its neighbor’s expansionist ambitions, Taldor began fortifying its southern border. General Antilla Zimara, who commanded Taldor’s southern army at the time, ordered her troops to build a large garrison that would serve as a headquarters for military operations in the south. Zimara chose a fertile piece of land adjacent to a long-standing independent city-state, whose craftspeople, laborers, and leaders quickly realized the plentiful opportunities to support the army—and the inevitable result if they resisted. The Taldan garrison became so influential to the existing city that the name for the garrison—Zimar—soon came to refer to the entire settlement.

For over 4,000 years, Zimar stood unchallenged as the indomitable aegis that Taldor relied upon to keep its southern border secure while its Armies of Exploration invaded and annexed land in the west, north, and east. During this golden age of Taldor, many small villages dotted the scrublands around Zimar, and trade was brisk not only between these new communities but also with settlements across the Qadiran border.

When Qadira invaded southern Taldor in 4079 ar, Zimar was one of the first Taldan settlements to fall into Qadiran hands. In the following year, Qadiran invaders burned most of the settlements surrounding Zimar in the Ember Night, an event many modern Taldans still bring up to justify anti-Qadiran sentiment. When Taldans managed to turn the tide of the war and began a counteroffensive in 4328, Zimar was liberated. A few decades later, Qadiran forces recaptured the city with reinforcements from the Padishah Empire of Kelesh. In 4599, after a long siege, the city was finally returned to Taldan control. This victory is often attributed to a young captain named Sarius Pythareus, who led a group of soldiers into Zimar during an armistice and opened the gates for the Taldan army waiting outside. Taking advantage of his newfound fame, the captain established House Pythareus as one of the wealthiest and most influential families in post-war Zimar.

After the Grand Campaign, Taldans spent a century rebuilding and fortifying Zimar. Although the city emerged stronger than ever before, the surrounding region never fully recovered. Villages that were abandoned or destroyed during the war were never rebuilt, and trade in the region has greatly diminished. Roads and bridges deteriorate as tax revenues no longer flow in from once-prosperous outlying communities.

Zimar is located on the west bank of the Jalrune River, deep in the scrublands of southern Taldor. The climate is warm and semi-arid; save for the fertile banks of the river, the terrain near Zimar is largely nutrient-poor and flat. Tall, stone walls protect Zimar from all directions, and the river forms a natural barrier that deters all but the most determined attacks from the east. The Jalrune River remains deep enough here for most Taldan merchant ships coming from the Inner Sea, providing an expedient method of travel. The roads that lead to Zimar, however, are old and in poor condition, making travel through the scrublands around Zimar an arduous endeavor.

Zimar has five formal districts (although residents recognize an unofficial sixth district), each with a different character and architectural features.

Named after the many houses in the district made of mud-brick, the Adobe District is the poorest district in Zimar. While foreigners are allowed to own property in any part of Zimar, bloated property prices, heavy taxation, and bureaucratic structures that favor native Taldan humans encourage foreigners and non-humans to settle in the Adobe District. Many of the denizens of the Adobe District have lived in the neighborhood for many generations; descendants of poor laborers who helped rebuild the city after the Grand Campaign. Roof-running is a popular pastime along the flat roofs of the Adobe District; criminals also take advantage of these navigable roofs to avoid capture. The Zimar Sentinels largely turn a blind eye to crimes in the Adobe District, so long as they don’t affect people living in the wealthier parts of the city. Infrastructure is poorly managed here as well, and it has many easily accessible entrances to the Undercity.

The majority of Zimar’s industry is concentrated in the Anvil District, which is located in the northeastern quarter of the city. Dozens of arsenals, forges, and workshops make armor, arms, and other equipment for the military and paramilitary units of Zimar. Day and night, smokestacks spew thick black smog, and the sound of hammering can be heard throughout the district. The largest of Zimar’s districts, the Anvil District houses roughly a third of the city’s population in working-class residential areas.

The Golden District is primarily the residential area for Zimar’s nobility and, as a consequence, it’s the wealthiest of the six districts. The district is famous for its gilded street lights, geometrically sculpted gardens, opulent palaces, spacious plazas, and statues. Gold, jewelry, silk, and spices are bought and sold in luxury markets throughout the Golden District by those who have—or can fake—appropriate credentials.

Pike District: The Pike District is the location of the original garrison founded by General Zimara. Although it was long ago incorporated into the city, the Pike District houses the thousands of soldiers who live in Zimar. The district also has several training facilities and numerous taverns. Many middle-class and working-class families live in the Pike District, particularly those with a long Taldan pedigree who boast of living in the most historically “Taldan” district of the city.

Known for its white marble houses with magnificent columned halls, the Scrolls District is located in central Zimar near Abadar’s Pillar. It is the smallest of the city’s districts, but nonetheless well known as the center of Zimar’s education and lore. Administration buildings, archives, libraries, and schools crowd in the district, although the majority of the buildings are upscale residences for government officials, nobles, and the upper-middle class. The Scrolls District also includes several well-known shops specializing in antiques. Buyers travel to Zimar from afar to get their hands on artifacts dating back to Ancient Osirion, the Jistka Imperium, or even Azlant, and vendors pay well for items retrieved from ancient ruins.

Beneath the streets of Zimar lies the so-called Undercity, which some citizens call “the sixth district.” This labyrinthine network of underground tunnels and chambers consists of abandoned basements, buried buildings, catacombs, and sewer passages. Entrances to the Undercity can be found hidden throughout all of Zimar, though the government works to block as many of the entrances as possible, particularly in the wealthier districts, so that the people can conveniently forget these place exists. Criminals, fugitives, monsters, and resistance groups live in the Undercity, using the passageways to store contraband and avoid the soldiers who patrol the streets above. According to rumors, all residents of the Undercity answer to a massive otyugh king named Gulreesh; in reality, though, the otyugh wields relatively little power over the denizens here.