X is for Xebeoris

Xebeoris (pronounced KHE-beh-o-rees) is not part of the kingdom of Meterra. Instead, it is a city-state many leagues to the east of the Stesard Plains. This city-state has recently begun trading with the Meterrans; their wares are unusual, but not totally unfamiliar to the European Crusaders, who had seen similar produce from Greek and other Mediterranean traders on Earth.

The Xebeorites are similar to the Europeans, in that they too were the subjects of an Arrival, albeit one that occurred centuries earlier. The Xebeorites were originally Greeks from the time of Athens' glory. But these men and women were not all Athenians; they were from all across the Greek-controlled regions. There were Spartans, Thebans, Syracusans, and many others. These disparate groups banded together for safety against the treacherous creatures that inhabit this strange land, many of them all too familiar to the transplanted Greeks from their own myths and legends.

Today, the Xebeorites have grown into a city-state numbering well over 25,000 people, more than twice the population of Everton. They retain aspects of their Athenian democratic heritage, but the city is ruled by a council of nine oligarchs drawn from the original tribal groupings. The citizens have an elected assembly that advises the council and can, on occasion, extract concessions from the oligarchs when they overreach their power over the citizenry. The military leadership is also subject to popular election, although the people have, to this point, demonstrated enough civic wisdom to ensure they have competent officers.

Xebeoris controls a wide area many leagues across, with a peasant population of at least 100,000 people. They cling to the worship of their ancient gods and goddesses; the Olympian pantheon is alive and well in this land. The priests of the Olympian gods have demonstrated some powers similar to those of the Meterran priesthood, and the magic of Xebeoris has surpassed that of Meterran wizards. And while their cultural traits and language are still based on the Classical Greek, it has evolved over time into a language that the Meterrans fluent in Greek can only partly understand. Still, the language barrier has proven to be less of a burden than originally feared, and the Xebeorites are glad to hear tidings of their legendary ancient homeland.