Island of Zera

[Osseo]

Island of Zera is a large island with a small and peculiar human population - the people there lack the concept of violence, a fact that shapes both their approach to guests and their religious practices. Thanks to that, the place is considered a good neutral spot for ressuplying, resting or just talking for many pirate crews.

Influencing Group: N/A

Table of Contents

1. Geography
   
2. Great Gods
   

[Osseo]

Geography
-----------------------------------

Where Is It Located?

Zera is a place in the Grand Line, on the other side known as the New World. It's an expansive landmass cut by a great river, combining wildneress of thick jungle, plains bustling with human presence and hills and mountains of volcanic origin. The magnetic presence of the place is moderate and stable, mostly affected by the volcanic activity, shifting iron-ladden magmas under the crust.

If I Were To Visit, What Would I See?

• Zera's Port Village - as almost every place in the world, the focus point of human presence on the island is at the coast, and Zera isn't much different; the port city of the island is full of friendly people and simple buildings made of fallen trees and bamboo shoots with roofs made of grass and leaves sewn together. Sailors in need of supplies can recieve them here in really low prices, through getting meat, gunpowder and any weapons is pretty much impossible.
  
• Plains of Sacrifice - an explansive flatland where numerous fields are located, belonging to the shaman-chief of Zera. It's a place where people of the island gather each decade, when the gods awake to 'ascend' (by being devoured by gods) and watch them bring fertility to the soil (by gods defecating on the fields after eating); they believe that it's this ritual that keeps Zera fed and fertile and in some ways, they are right.
  
• Turtle Mountain - one of the 'monuments' of Zera, it's a mass of magma, rock and dirt that rested on the dome shell of the turtle Great God, forming into a mountain with a very gentle slope.
  
• River Ophia - is the second monument, a lengthy and wide river almost parting the island in two; it's the home of the serpent Great God and appears abnormally clean and fresh - it's due to the mucus secreted by the Serpent which has antiseptic qualities, keeping the bacteria from flourishing.
  
• Magma Hills - are the third monument, a gathering of hills created by magma spilling through the earth constantly. The hills are the source of the islands iron production and the resting place of the last god, the steel-skinned Lion.
  

Some elders tell legends about an island existing in the clouds high above Zera, created by a volcano eruption in the past, but only the latest Marine expedition [accidental] managed to prove its existence.

[Osseo]

Great Gods
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What Are They?

Great Gods are a group of gargantuan animals treated as deities by native Zerans. They represent elements and concepts, along with being the only true possibility of 'ascension' to natives - that being a death not caused by old age, accidents or disease - and thus are extremely revered by them. The images of all the gods are spread around the island, but are most common in the temples located in the Plains of Sacrifice.

What Do The Gods Represent?

• Walking Mountain Turtle - Earth, Acceptance, Patience
  
• River Coil Serpent - Water, Flexibility, Time
  
• Heaven Singer Roc - Air, Freedom, Mystery
  
• Steel Skin Lion - Fire, Perseverance, Work
  

There's alos a fifth God, Pegasus, the saviour of other deities and ruler of Light - but the reason for his addition into the pantheon is not entirely clear. The secret supposedly lies on Upper Zera.

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