Khuzistan

Khuzistan is the most ancient inhabited area in Persia, once known as Elam in the days of old Babylon. Khuzistan occupies the watershed of the great Karun River, which starts in the Zagros mountains, and Khuzistan's well-watered plains are used to grow sugar cane. Its many rivers have been canalized to serve the fields and the towns, and all are navigable by boat. The northern reaches of the province are home to the semi-nomadic Lurs (who also occupy southern Jibal). Khuzistan is ruled by a Ghuzz atabeg of the Hazarasp family who has sworn loyalty to the Khwarazm-shah.

The capital of the province of Khuzistan, Ahwaz is plagued by jinn who cause it to be unbearably hot during the day, and swarming with biting flies at night. The crashing of the waterbound jinn over Ahwaz's weir keeps those not used to it up at night, and the fields around the city are plagued with all manner of snakes and scorpions.

The city of Gundeshapur is home to the great medical school and hospital known as the House of Healing. It was founded by the sahir Bakhtyshu, a Nestorian Christian and one of members of the wise council of Harun that reformed the Suhhar Sulayman. His descendents still run the school, which was funded by the Seljuk Sultans and has remained in high regard with the Khwarazm-shah. Unsurprisingly, the House of Healing is also Gundeshapur's largest bayt al-hikma. It is a palatial building near the center of town, with doors open to every direction and covered porches of canvas held up by wooden columns on all four sides. It has many windows depicting the stories of the members of the First Council, though many locals mistakenly believe them to depict Christian legends, and a great hall surrounded by an outer corridor (much like a cloister). The whole house is inside a Divine aura, which the sahirs must work around by digging out laboratories deep beneath the ground where there are many buried pockets of Magic power, and these rooms are connected with the common area by long, narrow ladders.

The vizier currently representing the bayt at Gundeshapur is Nil al-Wazir al-Salih al-Yad, a sahir of Christian descent who converted to Islam after joining the Suhhar. Many believe that he maintains a dangerously close association with the sahir sect called the Nizaris (see The Nizari Isma'ili State, later), members of which have occasionally visited him at the famous House of Healing. The Ashab al-Yad have always had a poor reputation in the Suhhar, however, and Nil has never seemed particularly troubled by these accusations at Majlis. He is said to be a great historian, very knowledgeable about past events of the Middle East, and also wellversed in European history. He is not especially skilled at Solomonic Medicine, as others of his family might expect him to be, but instead seems to prefer the art of Solomonic Storytelling, and is said to have an enchanting singing voice.

A rich town that makes its living from silk and perfume, Ramhurmuz also boasts a modest library. The sahirs of Ramhurmuz in the past made contact with one of the fabled sorcerers of Soqotra (see Rival Magic). For several years the exotic wizard studied with them and they exchanged ideas; but in his naivety he gave away many of the secrets of his island, including the recipes for many perfumes which the sahirs made into a commercial success. When he realized that he had been duped, the sorcerer left, but not before laying a fearful curse on the district, which every year is inundated with gnats and biting midges.

There is an alchemist who claims to be able to turn base metals into gold who lives in Ahwaz. He needs a few magical ingredients to effect this change, and promises to share his yield with characters if they help him get the supplies he needs. Key among these ingredients is the wood collected by the gryphons that live in the Zagros mountains for their nests. However, he intends to abandon his helpers to the mercy of the gryphons, so as to safeguard his secret recipe.

District of the Zutt

The Zutt are a tribe that dwells to the southeast of Ramhurmuz, close to the border with Fars. They are a seminomadic people who claim to originate from beyond Al-Sind, and they travel in wagons richly painted with vibrant designs. The Zutt themselves favor flamboyant colors in their dress, utilizing delicate silks and heavily-dyed linen. The Zutt have a reputation for larceny, and the Khuzistani are usually hostile to them when they arrive in town to trade. Zutt women are known for being powerful Folk Witches (Hedge Magic Revised Edition, Chapter 3).

Occasionally the Zutt wander further afield, and have been encountered Egypt and in Samarkand. Furthermore, some of the covenfolk of Atsingani (see The Lion and the Lily, page 76) bear a close resemblance to the Zutt.