More Setting Information

The Jungle Continent is called Mistka and is said to 'Divide Pala', Pala being the name for the entirety of the world. It is easily the largest of the continents, and is home to numerous tribes and peoples of many different kinds, wide and varied, but all beholden to the savagery of Mistka and the darkness that grips it. Within the Jungle Continent are monsters hungry for flesh, spirits hungry for souls, and dead hungry for blood, horrors and terrors aplenty to bring to bear. It is a place of secrets and brutalities both in abundance, and rewards only the strong and the cruel.

As might be expected, most of Mistka is jungle, about ninety percent of the landmass being occupied by what could be considered jungle terrain. However the Northern and Southern edges of the continent actually give way to savannah, where tall grasses replace the dense jungles. The denizens of these areas consider themselves different peoples from the jungle tribes, and many are suspicious or even openly hostile towards those who come from the jungles. They have a tendency to keep as far away from the jungles as possible, and so their largest settlements are often at the very tips, next to the ocean waters and along the coasts, though there are some settlements in the Savannah proper.

Magic is not rare in Pala, but mortal practitioners are. Human beings capable of using magic often form pacts and bargains with otherworldly powers to master their talents, in essence gaining their magic in exchange for their souls. Because of this, the Tribes of Mistka view the Witch Doctors with awe and trepidation, these who call upon the spirits for aid and power, and make the world dance to their whims. Outside of Mistka or in the Amazonian Queendom, opinions can differ. Regardless of place however, most of the power comes from pacts made with other beings, and a human can use very little magic of their own accord even when magically talented. And only one in five hundred actually have magical talent in the first place.

THE AMAZONIAN QUEENDOM Is the main power of Mistka. Their empire is vast and their influence is felt on every inch of the continent, in one way or another. They are a collection of Amazon Tribes, both those powerful and those weak, centered around the strongest, The Hittoravae Tribe, who dwell in their city in Hiktra, in the center of Mistka at the Heart of the Jungle, and the heart of Amazonian civilization. The tribes are united by their Amazon heritage, both a physical one, shown by generally stronger and taller women than of other peoples, and a shared worship of the Raging Goddesses, war deities who thirst for blood and long for battle, sundering their enemies apart.

The Amazon religion is strange in that the Goddesses did not make the Amazons in their image, but the Amazons made the Goddesses in their own. They believe that each of the Goddesses was born by the warrior spirit of a tribe, and that the warrioresses of that tribe fed the Goddess through their victories and bloodshed. The Goddesses personalities also developed with the tribe, and then strengthened the successful, or vehemently punished the weak for failing to feed them. This belief system fed numerous different ways to 'appease' or 'honor' these goddesses, with some tribes resenting them, and others celebrating them. Because of the massive difference between individual Goddesses though, the Amazon tribes to are extremely different, and frequently fought for most of their history, a situation that has changed only in the last century or so with the rise of the Queendom. There is still a huge amount of internal competition, and war and are a part of their faith.

The Amazons show all levels of technology, with the majority using tribal era, but the stronger and more wealthy tribes, especially the Hittoravae, going into Bronze or even Steel age weaponry. For minor problems, most Amazon Tribes are expected to defend themselves with their own warrioresses, but when it is clear that there is a major threat or a real battle to be had, huge warrior bands are gathered into armies, and the Amazons enter battle with the blessings of their vicious blood-thirsty Goddesses. When this happens, the Amazons become a highly unpredictable of savages, as they take their combatants from numerous Tribes with different specializations, all preferring to kill and slaughter their own way. With an inexperienced general, this can result in internal bickering and disaster for an Amazon army as it falls apart inwardly. For one who knows how to use the specializations of the different Tribes however, this can result in a truly versatile , able to perform any function on the battlefield and do each of them well, adapting to the situation as needs be.

The Amazons consider the magically gifted of other peoples to be an offense to their Goddesses. So whenever they get their hands on a Witch Doctor or someone with magical ability, they tend to sacrifice and them for the pleasure of their Raging Goddesses, a fate most certainly to be avoided. The same goes for males born into the Amazon tribes with magical ability, these weak young things being sacrificed to sate the Goddesses bloodlusts. However Amazons with magical ability, properly female, are considered to be vessels for their Goddesses, and are taught how to channel the power and anger of their deities, becoming ‘possessed’ on the battlefield and slaughtering in their name. These Amazon ‘Berserkers’ are usually the ones called upon to defend an Amazon Tribe during conflict with another Tribe, said conflict being settled by singular duels between these Berserkers, who each possessed by their Goddess, turns it into a conflict of Goddess versus Goddess, rather than mortal combat for territory.

The Goddesses themselves have a hierarchy, and currently, all the Raging Goddesses are subject to the Raging Goddess of the Hittoravae. But they, in turn, fight for status beneath her, creating networks of tribes beholden to others, one Goddess dominated by another. This is expressed in Totem Poles in the Amazon villages. The Goddess on the bottom is inevitably the Tribe’s own, and each Goddess atop is another in the chain of command, always with the Goddess of the Hittoravae at the very top. As a general rule, the more Totems in the Totem Pole, the lower the tribe is in Amazon Hierarchy, their Raging Goddess one of the weaker ones. And of course the Hittoravae have a singular Totem instead of a pole, showing their utter domination of all others, with none above them. This structure is far from static, with internal challenges and jockeying for position occurring all the time, but through it all the Hittoravae have remained at the top for around a hundred years, and have no intention of lowering from it.

With that said, this is the first time in decades that the Amazon Queendom has had to rally the armies to fight a serious opponent, the encroaching Imperium counting as the first true threat in a good while. How their Tribal Armies will stack up to the experienced Legions of the Garden Continent is yet to be seen. As for the numerous non-Amazon tribes, many of them are subjugated to the Amazons, usually a greater tribe with few Totems, and provide slaves, food, and other tributes, instead of soldiers. The only places on Mistka where a tribe either does not pay tribute to the Amazons or is not Amazonian themselves are found in the Southern and Northernmost parts, some Tribal Kingdoms still standing in those places, though nowhere near as powerful as the Amazonian Queendom.

On the whole, the Amazon Queendom is a savage collection of matriarchal tribes where men born into the tribes do not even get to put ‘amazon’ to their name, but instead are the same as slaves. It is violent, brutal, and highly chaotic within itself, but able to bring great power to bear, and shares a unified pride of being ‘Amazon’ that provides a united identity to fight with. The Imperia will have to struggle hard against these woman warriors to make headway… and so will you.

THE PALAN IMPERIA States its purpose in its name. It means to conquer and become the main governing body for all of Pala, uniting it under the banner of their Empress and turning the world to her service. The Imperia encompasses the entirety of The Garden Continent of Pendas, to the West of Mistka. This is actually rather recent, as the Imperia has been steadily expanding and conquering territory for well over a century, and now in the last five years have their secured their home continent. With that done, they set their sights to the East, and Mistka is simply the next continent in their long campaign to conquer the world.

The Imperia exists at the whim of their Empress, who is seen as both the head of state, and a Goddess to be worshipped at their Temples. The Empress guides and guards her servants with Divine power, channeling her will into them and enabling the magically attuned and faithful amongst their ranks to perform Acts of Faith in her name. The zeal of the people of the Imperia is fanatical, their belief in her power, absolute, and they will not stop until the world is hers. To that end, the Legions march, and are efficient, professional armies, capable of great feats of engineering and maintaining discipline in even the most adverse of situations. Infantry lockstep march in tight formation and group-combat are the backbones of the Legion, which are then backed up with religious fervor and incredible discipline. They are truly a terror to fight in open battle, and their aspirations to be world conquerors look founded on solid bedrock.

Imperial society is highly stratified with clearly defined roles for both men and women of all stations. They have numerous bureaucratic agencies formed, along with a Senate, a Congress, and a Tribunal to help run the day-to-day affairs of the Imperium, but with all major decisions made by the Empress, and ultimate authority resting with her.

The High Senate, or Senate, of the Imperia is comprised of Governesses, usually from high-born families, responsible for overseeing the Empress’s territories and keeping the civic engine of the Imperia in line. They debate and create Laws, which can be vetoed by the Congress, but if passed through go straight to the Empress who makes the final decision. The Congress of Citizens, or Congress, is a much larger collection of men and women from the lower and middle strata of Imperia society, voted to represent the peoples of their territories by popular vote, and who are able to create and ‘recommend’ Laws to the Empress, and overview and veto Laws from the Senate. However, their recommended Laws can be blocked, vetoed, from reaching the Empress by the Tribunal. The Tribunal of Generals, or Tribunal, is then an all-male council of military commanders, able to block Laws from Congress from reaching the Empress on the merit of their impact on the Legions. They also overview Laws already passed, and can recommend nullification to the Empress, but their recommended nullifications must first pass through the Senate, who can vote to block the recommendation from reaching the Empress. And ultimately, whatever the Empress says, goes.

The purpose of this entire system is to make sure that the only things that get to the Empress are the things most worthy of her time, and she can, at any time, create her own laws and pass her own orders, and in doing so keep ultimate control of her society. Said society makes a clear difference between the roles of men and women on the whole. Men are warriors and laborers, meant to either work the fields and farms, or fight in battle. Noble families invariably have their sons groomed for war and command, and the generals and leaders of the Imperia’s armies are almost entirely male, with a few very notable exceptions. So to are the Legions entirely male, again, with some notable exceptions.

The purpose of women in Imperia society, besides the Empress who is ultimate in all, is to produce children and run the provinces. The noble ladies wind up having ultimate civic and a great deal of economic control, becoming Governesses of provinces, both new and old, and in the strata below them women manage the slaves, run businesses, become the mayors of towns and cities, etc. At the lowest strata above ‘’ the women of the Imperia tend to be very much in the traditional role of producing children for their husbands, and running the household. However it should be noted that, most often, women own the households, and it is usually through their line that property is passed.

There are however exceptions to these mostly rigid gender and class rolls, on both sides. A male ‘Governor-General’ will sometimes be appointed of a particularly dangerous or unruly province while martial law is necessary to quell the indigenous peoples. This position is always temporary, but speaks a great deal to the trust placed in the general’s leadership. Bastards born out of wedlock, both male and female, will most often be raised into battle and formed into ‘Bastard Legions’ to redeem their ignoble birth through violent service to their Empress. And any child of the Empress is capable of taking both civic and military command, be they male or female, the Princes and Princesses of the Imperia freely moving to any role they wish.

Other women of note are the Maidens of the Pyre, a military religious order founded by the Empress herself himself, comprised entirely of females found to have magical abilities, each of them taking a part of the Empress’s glory into themselves and then serving in her name, most iconically on the battlefield, in a strange twist from the norm. Highly dangerous and gifted with part of the Empress’s Divine Power, these female fanatics are well known and respected by the peoples of the Imperia, and are gleaming examples of the Empress’s might made manifest. Although they are called Maidens, that is a reference to no normal individual’s ability to mate with them and vows of purity and chastity. EXCEPT to sons of the Empress, who with her permission may impregnate a Maiden on a case by case basis. This is usually reserved as an honor after said Maiden has proven herself in combat, and then she will often become a ‘Revered Mother’ once she has given birth to a child for the Prince. Their main goal is combat however, and the princes must have permission for specific Maidens, not allowed to use them as free-range harems as it were.

Men found to have magical abilities, on the other hand, are taken and formed into the ‘Empress’s Seedsmen’ an all-male harem who the Empress regularly and frequently mates with to produce her children. This is part of both an ongoing effort to centralize magic into the Empress’s family, as all of her children are magically talented and draw on her power, and to ensure that said magic always IS a part of her family. The Seedsmen are most often kept at the palace, at least until they have put one child into the Empress OR one of her daughters. Much like with the Maidens, the Empress will give her daughters permission to use one of her Seedsmen to get themselves pregnant, temporarily loaning them until the job is done. A Seedsman may then remain in the Palace, attempting further impregnations, or may opt to ‘Seed Another Field’. This option does not mean additional impregnations.

When a Seedsman decides to take a more active role in the Empress’s service, once their duty to seed a child has been completed, they are blessed by the Empress, and have their balls and penis cut off, making them eunuchs. They then leave the Palace and imbed themselves into the noble families of the Imperia, often acting as personal bodyguards and aides to Governesses, or sometimes Generals. In this capacity, they give advice, provide magical and mystical insight, and also oversight, to make sure that the wills of these great individuals and their noble families do not run counter to the Empress’s creed or leave her light. Like the Maidens, these men are highly respected, and are usually skilled fighters as well as magical practicioners.

Currently, the Legions of the Imperium have made headway on the Western coast of Mistka, and have made many trails into the Jungles, some meeting with less... fortunate results than others. Regardless, they have numerous fortresses, trade posts, and occupied Tribes, from which to campaign into Mistka against the Amazons, who are easily their greatest opponent on the Jungle Continent. They have also established contact and trade with the Tribal Kingdoms on the Northern and Southern tips of Mistka, and are using them as a source of supplies and mercenaries both. With their supply lines strong, and more troops coming in every day, their inexperience in the Jungle is mattering less and less, and as their commanders learn and adapt to the changing environment, the home-turf advantage will mean little... The Legion marches strong, and it may be quite difficult to stop them.

THE FATHERLY BRETHREN Refers more to a shared cultural and religious identity rather than a strict political entity. At the center of the Brethren however is something called ‘The Council of Clans’ which acts as a meeting ground for the Brethren, and allows them to work out internal issues diplomatically, while working to the betterment of the whole, at least in theory. The way their society is actually structured suggests that the betterment of a few choice wholes is more to their intention, but they do tend to be diplomatic about it regardless.

The Brethren hail from the continent of Radune, also known as ‘The Desert Continent’. It is a hot, dry place of barren deserts and burning sands, stretching across the whole of the continent, with oases and some livable territories scattered within, and along a few choice rivers near to the coast. The people here are often hardy and comparatively isolated, but rely heavily on trade with other peoples to get necessary materials and supplies, very rarely any one place having enough of anything for one Clan. As a result, mercantile pursuit is highly valued and respected upon Radune, and the heads of the Clans are expected to be skilled traders as well as leaders.

Clans are essentially families, able to trace themselves through blood, and the head of the Clans are often fathers or grandfathers, with absolute authority of the rest of the Clan. Even when the oldest male is not the head, the elder men are respected and given deference, often employed as advisors to the Clan’s head. Politeness and respect are extremely important within the Clans, and failure to give proper greetings or show the proper deference, is often a punishable offense.

Women in the Clans are property. It does not matter who was born of who, any woman born into the Clan is the Clan’s currency, a womb to trade and barter with for favors or respect. Women are required to keep themselves completely covered in the presence of men until they are ‘traded’ by all Clans, to prevent decisions being made based on the woman’s appearance, and only pure logic and mercantile ambition driving the trade of girls. It is also to prevent any from attempting to take their chastity, which is an important bargaining tool in the Clan structure. A woman who has been ‘Traded’ is easy to recognize because she will not be covered. Exempt from the standard rules of Clans meant for sons and fathers, women are dressed to the desire of their owner. Beautiful women who have been traded are typically dressed scantily by the one who owns their womb, to show off his acquisition, while ones who turned out to be homely or even ugly, are usually dressed far more modestly, or covered to the point where only their eyes are shown. Covering faces with sheer veils or partially covering is common, but there are women whose entire body is shown at the grace of their womb-owner.

While the Council of Clans sounds all inclusive, the reality is that the culture of the Fatherly Brethren have created a highly ordered and rigid Clan structure, with very noticeable levels. Only the top are allowed on the Council, and all others beneath are expected to be obedient to those at the highest station. This is taken extremely seriously, and harsh punishments can occur to those who seek to rise above their station. It is also extremely visual, even color-coded, at each clan structure. Each lesser Clan is sworn to the service as a greater Clan, a Clan that they hold a ‘Covenant’ with, and will typically pay a tribute of some kind up to this Clan.

At the very bottom of the Clan structure in the Fatherly Brethren are the ‘Faceless’ Clans. These Clans require their men to cover their faces whenever not with one of their own Clan, and hide most of their bodies from prying eyes. In addition, the Faceless can only wear the colors Brown, Black, or Khaki, harsh penalties following those who seek to dress above their position. These Clans are often small, and have access to very few resources to trade. Usually the only resource of worth they have is people, and their sons act as laborers, soldiers, and guards for the Clans greater than them, a tithe of their fit young men taken for service for several years. Their fathers then are usually the ones taken for guard and soldiery, battle-scarred and more fit to combat than trade, but will often train and discipline their Clan to further use as combatants. The best of these ‘Faceless’ Clans become iconic, and are even allowed to wear additional colors or bear an emblem of one of the greater Clans, as an honorific to show how useful they have been to their betters. Faceless Clans also give a tribute of half of their born and acquired wombs, women, to the Clan above them, free to trade half of their stock themselves.

The Clan above the Faceless, which will often hold the Faceless Covenant with very few exceptions, will be a ‘Shrouded’ Clan. The Shrouded Clans usually hold control over some mineral or luxury resource, such as an iron mine, or stone quarry, and use that to trade for more fundamental items such as food or water. Their men are not allowed to show their hair or the lower halves of their faces to non-Clan members, and so usually all that can be seen of the Shrouded are their eyes, eyebrows shaved. Their tithe will typically be half of their mined or acquired material goods, and a third of their Wombs, acquired or born, traded up to the Clan above them. They will train their sons for mounted combat typically, usually on camels, overseeing caravans transporting their goods for trade agreements, but will typically keep their acquired guards from the Faceless Clans below them as light infantry and footsoldiers. The Shrouded Clans are allowed to wear the colors White, Orange, or Red. As with the Faceless, those who have become particularly influential or show great use, may sometimes be allowed to wear additional colors, or bear symbols from the Clan above them.

The Clan above the Shrouded will usually be a ‘Hairless’ Clan. The Hairless are allowed to show all of their face, but none of their hair, and so will keep their faces cleanshaven and shave their eyebrows as well. The Hairless Clans are most often the ones who have had the good fortune to be in charge of oases, which have formed trading posts and centers of civilization on Radune. From here, they trade fresh water and hosts of other materials to all Clans that come to trade within, and including slaves and the wombs of other Clans. The Hairless Clans will be required to give a fourth of their Wombs, acquired or born, up to the Clan above them, and also a fifth of all that is acquired through Trade, slaves included. The Hairless sons are typically able to afford finer weapons and armor than the Clans below them, and when called to war on behalf of the Brethren will usually act as officers or bodyguards for the generals from the Clan above them. They will also often use soldiers and guards in their armies, using such men to form expendable shock troops against the enemy. Hairless Clansmen are allowed to wear the colors Blue, Pink, and Grey.

Finally, those at the top, holding a Covenant with the Hairless Clans, are the Fatherly Clans. They are called such because they are allowed to show their whole faces, such as would usually only be seen with another Clansman, such as a father or brother. The Fatherly Clans are allowed to show hair and face both, and so will usually have their eyebrows unshaven, and most will wear beards, as status symbols. These Clans tend to own great swathes along stretches of river, and trading ports near the coasts, allowing them to acquire fresh water, produce, fish, and other such bounties to trade. They trade freely, with no tithe, and thus tend to have the greatest number of wombs available to them, as well as other goods. They use the trade of these wombs and goods to bargain for more power and help acquire Covenants, and huge and powerful networks of Clan connections have been created beneath these Fatherly Clans. In battle, their sons and fathers will often be the leading generals, with the best armor and weapons that can be bought, as well as the greatest mounts in many cases. However, interestingly, about half of their army will usually consist of their Soldiers, bred for the express purpose of serving in battle, with the other half consisting of the collected forces of gathered Clans. The Fatherly Clans are allowed to wear pretty much whatever they please, save for the colors Gold or Silver, but in accordance with the system, will typically wear the colors Green, Yellow, or Purple, as a visual sign of their wealth and power.

The Fatherly Clans are led by ‘Merchant Princes’ who are usually elder men with vast wealth and harems. These men form the membership of The Council of Clans, who lead the Fatherly Brethren and prevent internal squabble. Ultimate power in Radune lies with these Fatherly Clans then, who control the great cities and wide Clan network of the continent. They are the closest thing to Kings that Radune has, and are typically famous for their mercantile cunning. It should be noted that the head of each Clan, from the lowest to the greatest, is referred to as that Clan’s ‘Father’ and the Merchant Princes of the Fatherly Clans are sometimes referred to as ‘The Great Fathers’ for their ultimate power and authority.

Those born with magical ability are completely immune to all the normal rules of the Clans. The Fatherly Brethren worship two deities, Grand Sun and Fair Moon. When a child is found to have magical ability, they are committed to one of these two figures. Male children are committed to the Grand Sun, said to be The Sons of the Sun, and raised in a vast temple fortress known as The Golden Palace. Female children are committed to the Fair Moon, and are known as The Fair Sisters, and raised in an isolated temple oasis, referred to as The Silver Haven. These priests and priestesses of the Deities are respected and feared by the Brethren, and it is forbidden for anyone to lay a hand upon them, or touch them in any way, lest they command it. Even a Merchant Prince shows respect to any of these who come to his court, and attempts to impersonate either are met with, of course, violent and horrible . The Sons of the Sun are the only ones allowed to wear gleaming Gold, and the Fair Sisters are the only ones who may wear shining Silver. They are the voices of the God and Goddess, and thus have a huge say when they deign to speak.

The Fatherly Brethren have only recently discovered Mistka, and already numerous Great Clans are sending expeditions to its eastern shores to discover new materials and acquire new peoples and objects to trade. They are attempting to work out agreements with nearby tribes, and have already discovered the Tribal Kingdoms at the North and South of Mistka, where the Fatherly Clans are attempting to broker deals with the Tribal Kings. While the Imperia has taken most of their attention, the encroaching of the Brethren has been noticed by the Amazon Queendom, and their reaction to these newcomers may very well decide the future of all of Mistka…

(Will continue/increase/edit as world fleshes out and parts become more important)