Makran

This coastal province gets its name from mahi khoran, meaning "eaters of fish" in Parsi. It is sparsely populated, with most of the population concentrated in small fishing villages. The capital of the province is Fannazbur, but it is a poor town compared to the mighty cities of other provinces. The port of Tiz is a stopping point between Al-Sind in the east and Fars in the west. In the past, Makran was the battleground between the Arab caliphs and the kings of Al-Sind, and war elephants captured from the latter in battle were integrated into the Persian army. Bands of Ghuzz roam through Makran, having once been part of the invasion force that occupied Kirman.

O Commander of the faithful! It's a land where the plains are stony; Where water is scanty; Where the fruits are unsavory; Where men are known for treachery; Where plenty is unknown; Where virtue is held of little account; And where evil is dominant; A large army is small for there; And a small army is useless there; The land beyond it, is even worse…

— Messenger to Caliph Umar, 644 AD

Famous for its impassibility, the desert of Makran has fought at least three great ancient armies in the past: that of Cyrus the Great, the legions of Queen Semiramis, and finally the previously unconquered veterans of Alexander the Great. Known as Gedrosia to the ancients, the arid coastal region is inhabited by scattered fisherfolk.

The region contains an incredibly large number of pagan ghosts, soldiers from the armies that have died since antiquity attempting to cross its arid expanse. As restless dead, these spirits are readily susceptible to the summons of necromancers and other summoners, although most are overwhelmed with the emotions of despair and memories of deprivation and are unable to provide much useful information about their past.

Seistan is a lowland country around and east of Lake Zarah, into which several major rivers drain. Like Quhistan and Ghur, Seistan is a dependency of Khurasan. In the Shahnameh, Seistan is called Zabulistan, famous as the home of Zal and his son Rostam, a man of both heroic proportions and heroic reputation. Seistan is home to many Ghuzz.

The city of Dartal is located in the Zamin-Dawar, the "Land of Gates," referring

At the time of the Muslim conquest, a fabulous idol was taken as booty from the Zur Mountain near Dartal. It was made of solid gold, and had rubies for eyes. For the last few hundred years it has been owned by a succession of notables, but is now in the possession of a Zutt family (see Khuzistan, earlier). Whether through its own power or that of the Zutt matriarch, the idol has the ability to move, and has been walking in the direction of Zur for the last few years. The characters encounter the Zutt family following the two-foot idol as it slowly makes its way to Zur. What will happen if it is permitted to return to its shrine is unknown, but could either be very good, or very, very bad.

to the passes into the mountains of Ghur. Dartal is heavily garrisoned with horse guards as protection against the warlike Ghurs on the other side of the mountains. Flocks in the Zamin-Dawar is the source of much of Persia's wool.

Rostam is the legendary hero of the Persian race. He was a giant so big his mother struggled to give birth, and his father had to be taught to perform a caesarian section by the Simurgh. His constant companion was Rakhsh, a stallion big enough to bear his weight, fierce enough to kill a lion, and twice as swift as any other horse. The best-known tales of Rostam are Haft Khan-e Rostam and Rostam and Sohrab. In Haft Khan-e Rostam (Rostam's Seven Quests), he journeys to rescue his king from the clutches of the demons of Mazandaran. The story ends with an epic battle between Rostam and the Div-e Sepid ("White Demon"). In Rostam and Sohrab, Rostam mistakenly kills his own son Sohrab in battle. Rostam was eventually killed through the treachery of the king he served.

The legend of Rostam can be integrated into a saga in a number of ways, and some ideas are given later. So famous is it that any Persian character is likely to know the story of Rostam without an appropriate Ability roll, but precise details should be left to those with an appropriate Area Lore.

Mythic Blood: Rostam

A magus who hails from the line of Rostam has great physical prowess. He can grant himself a +3 bonus to any one type of physical action that is a specialty of the Athletics, Ride, or Swim Abilities (e.g., climbing, running, riding at speed, diving, swimming long distances, etc.). Each time this power is used, a different physical action can be selected; the bonus lasts for two minutes, and the power cannot be used again until the previous bonus's duration has expired (ReCo 25: base 10, +1 Diam, +2 flexibility). The Minor Magical Focus that accompanies this bloodline is Damaging Supernatural Creatures, and the Personality Flaw is Reckless (born mostly from stubbornness rather than heroism). It is likely that the character has either the Large or the Giant Blood Virtue.

Rostam's Tiger Skin and Mace

Rostam's Tiger Skin was worn over his armor, and he used it as a blanket when adventuring. It grants a Soak bonus of +5 that is cumulative with any other armor, and it has a Load of 1. It makes its possessor a very deep sleeper; the character can always recover Long Term Fatigue levels from a night's sleep, even if it is on hard ground or unpleasantly cold. However, a Stamina roll against an Ease Factor of 9 is required to rouse the character from sleep at all, and when woken the character has a –1 penalty to all actions until the sun rises. These effects can be thrown off by spending a Confidence point. The tiger skin is currently in the possession of the emir of Ghur.

Rostam's Mace is a two-handed mace (treat as a warhammer, ArM5, page 176) of superlative craftsmanship, and grants +3 to both Attack and Defense Totals. While held, the mace grants the wielder the effects of the Inspirational Virtue. It was taken to Turan (Transoxiana) by Rostam's enemies after his death, and is currently in Samarkand, lying forgotten in one of the tombs in the Shahr-i-Zindah.

It is said that reuniting the mace and the tiger skin with the body of Rostam will rouse the hero from his deathlike sleep — albeit temporarily — and cause him to stride afresh to Persia's defense. Once the threat from the east becomes apparent (see Chapter 9: The Silk Road, Genghis Khan), Persian sahirs may well consider that the resurrection of their greatest hero is worth the trouble. A quest in the story of Rostam in Elysium (Realms of Power: Faerie, page 34) may grant clues to the location of the two items.

The capital of Seistan is Zaranj, built on a branch of the great Helmund River; during flood time the city is perilously close to the shores of Lake Zarah as it swells dramatically in size. The city has an inner town surrounded by a wall, beyond which are the suburbs of the outer town. All the houses have running water thanks to above-ground channels, and they nearly all have cellars in which the inhabitants live in the oppressive heat of the summer. Within Zaranj is a fluted tower with no doors, stairs, or visible means of approach. On top of the tower are believed to be the bones of Rostam and his horse Rakhsh; their bodies were exposed to the sun and the vultures in the Zoroastrian manner, but their bones were never retrieved. Instead, the tower was sealed to serve as a monument.

Around the city are salt marshes; these are inundated when the level of the lake rises every year. Beyond the marshes are the desert sands. The Zaranj area is famous for its baad sad va bist rooz, the "120 day wind" which blows north to south from the beginning of summer until the autumn. As it blows, it whips up a cloud of dust that clothes the whole region in dirt. Some believe the wind to be the home of jinn, but in fact it is a host of migrating air elementals (see Realms of Power: Magic, page 138) who cavort through the area once a year.