Zan (Classic Journeys Era)

Born in 1527 CE, Burktar Gorwath was born in a pivotal time in Zangali history. Hundreds of years of Grimlahdi warlord rule had stripped Grimlahd of resources and infrastructure, and in 1523, the War of Grenkil began, pitting the last two warlords against each other for the remaining resources. The people were tired of war, and even more tired of the lies and dishonor that each subsequent dictator brought upon their people, and had grown tired of minor revolutionaries, each promising to change things, but only succeeding in getting killed or enslaved.

Burktar was the son of one of these revolutionaries, and was made a slave to Croth, concubine of Tuktill, one of the warlords. At the age of 17, Burktar had a vision that he would later call the Zantrivex, a series of twelve Appellums that set out how Zangali should live. He changed his name to simply Zan to symbolize his shrugging off the shackles of the past, and embracing the true nature of Zangali.

On a chilly winter evening, Zan escaped his servitude and perched on Tuktill's balcony. When the warlord emerged, Zan recited the Zanitrivex to the Grimlahdi, promised to be Tuktill's downfall, then disappeared into the night. For four long years, Zan walked the entirety of Grimlahd gathering devout Zangali followers, until in 1548, he led an army of guerilla fighters in tactical strikes against both warlords. These strikes ended the 25 year long war in a matter of three months. Rather than kill the leaders and enslave their followers as custom dictated, Zan pardoned all parties involved, encouraging them to repair their own tarnished honor by helping to rebuild.

Zan remained leader of all of Grimlahd for a total of eight months, having set up a council governing system comprised of Zangali and Grimlahdi, and provided for an education system that would teach children the Zanitrivex.

He then went into the mountains of Hektii, spending the last forty-some years of his life as a hermit, teaching all who would seek him the path to becoming a true Zangali through the Zanitrivex. It is said that in 1601, Zan became such a perfect Zangali that he escaped his mortal body, right before his followers' eyes. Hovering over his own body, he instructed his followers to eat his corpse, so that they might absorb his wisdom, and that from then on, each generation should eat the flesh of their ancestors.

Zan's ghost was seen several times throughout Grimlahd with ghostly images of his brother Traktir and cousin Ruhktir, both of whom martyred themselves with explosives during Zan's takeover. In 1603, however, he was seen no more.