Zingarian - Pictish Border

Hi everybody, I'm fairly new here...

I have always wondered about the frontier the Picts share with the other almost-hyborian kingdom: Zingara. Of course, no data are offered in the original saga and, AFAIK neither in the following books.

Some ideas on that? I can imagine a bit different kind of picts here because the terrain is mostly hills and not deep forest (100% my imagination). The Zingarians would have a permanent legion of conscripts stucked there, suffering from fever, mosquitoes and other nuissances. Its officials and soldiers slowly turning mad because of an enemy they usually can't see (but who everyday kills someone anyway) with some of them going as far as in fact selling part of their equipment (knifes, swords, other iron tools) to the picts (they can pay them back... let's say feathers covered in gold dust, furs, young women, or wathever).

One of the most mocked Zingarian nobles would be the poor guy sent (as a punishment, I suppose) there to manage the complete frontier business. He is the only military commander in Zingara who cannot put this troops into use in their national sport: civil war.
 
Well, IIRC Zingarans are of partial Pict descent. So you might actually find a number of competent borderers watching this frontiers, perhas even clan-like communities.
 
From the core book, Zingarans and Picts actually seem to often get along ok & trade, either on the land border or by sea up the coast. That wouldn't preclude some occasional raids of course but the border wouldn't be as hellish as the Aquilonian/Pictish border, I guess Zingaran civil wars keep their population pressure down so they're not driven to expand into Pictish territories.
 
Couple of points.

1) The Zingarians are of mixed Pictish blood (and I imagine they have a higher % on the border zone) so they probably have slightly warmer relations on that note.
2) Zingara is seperated from the Pictish wilderness by a mountain range. Picts never struck me as great mountaniers nor did they ever seem very interested in terrain other than their forest-jungle. this barier probably keeps rading down to a minimum (though there will probably be some).
3) Zingaran pirates are suposedly the only people who will trade with Picts; bringing them valuable worked metal in exchange for furs and the like.
4) Zingara isn't trying to expand into the Pictish wilderness like the Aquilonians are (instead they carry out civil wars when they aren't busy feuding with the Argoseans or Pirates of the Barachan Isles)

All that adds up to the Picts being much less agressive against the Zingarians than against the Aquilonians who are always provoking them. Remember, Picts only really go "on the warpath" when their blood is up. It's just that Aquilonia cant seem to help but provoke them constantly.

However, that doesn't mean you can't have Zingarian borders. Just that they will probably be concerned with other threats. Two that I imagine are very popular are mountain Borderers to work the border with Pontain, and forest Borders to work the great forest on the Zingara/Argos border where the ghouls and ghost snakes live.
 
Great answers, facts and ideas!

Ta a lot. I am usually wondering about these little known (or not known at all) places all over the Hyborian World. I think they have a very great potential for adventuring and story-telling.

Thanks! (and I will back asking for other locations...)
 
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