Principia of Jara, In lore world building document.

The Great Principia Of Jara the Great - The Kingdom of Alastia and it's ways, peoples and customs.

Introduction:

The Country of Alastia. Mighty. Mysterious. Magical.

I, Jara the Great, have risked life and limb to document its every asset and corner. The following pages are a document that could very well be the most important academic work on the subject that an outsider may read. Or indeed that anyone might read. It is my hope, humble reader, that you find this subject, this nation, to be of the highest fascination and interest and that my writing on this subject will be recognised for its monumental contribution to the world.

Overview:

The country of Alastia as it stands today is some one thousand years old. It's Royal bloodline unbroken, its lands never having fully been conquered in that time. It is older than all of it's neighbours save for one. My homeland of Hastaluna, which unsurprisingly is it's better both in longevity and magical importance. *See section: Magic use in Alastia. However, for this document I shall be focusing on the latter.

Alastia's creation was one of great cataclysm and destruction. Where it once stood, the nation of Swalhia once was, a land much more green and verdant than what is there today. That is not to say Alastia is infertile. Far from it, a life sustaining magic seeps through the land and gives it nourishment, all stemming from it's creator and Swalhia's destructor. The Goddess known as Serizenza, who to this day, masquerades as a simple sorceress at the Queens side. *See section; 'The Goddess and Alastia'.

It should be noted for this volume that Alastia was not the first Alastia that was created and the Goddess did indeed take two attempts at making the nation. That is another topic entirely and involves discussing something that at the moment I am not willing to divulge to the greater academic community at large. So the documents will focus on the history and events that shaped the nation as it is right now.

When Alastia was created, vast mountain ranges were pushed up in the North, West and East. With the already existing mountains of Hastaluna it put Alastia in a rain shadow, drying out the lands under its hot sun. The mountains also helped to isolate the nation from other powers who would over the coming millennia covet it's land and people for itself. None have been successful.

The only part of the country that is lush and green are the banks of the one mighty river of the land, The Goddess’s Grace, bisecting the country almost in two. It's tributaries fanning out from it's capital city, where great giant springs of water are magically generated underground to give the people of the city, and the rest of the country a clean inexhaustible supply of water. It is of some note that many trees grow in the North of the country under the shadow of the mountains where the temperatures are far colder. This giving the country access to timber and wood for its fires and crafting. A fortifiable industrial town, uncreativly called 'Timber Fort' is used by the people there to guard against the most direct route into the country and harvest the timber for transportation to the capital.

The only other city to speak of would be Danset, on what little coast Alastia has. The Goddess's Grace meets the ocean, marking the only spot that isn't towering sea cliffs. The River's mouth and harbour I am told is equally well fortified for obvious reasons. *See section; Men in Alastia'

Demographics:

This, I suspect is one of the main reasons that you, dear reader have such and interest in this unique country. It is no secret that Alastia is made up of (nearly) one hundred percent females. Every aspect of life, from warfare, to trade, to farming and crafting is run by the female population. Such an occurrence raises the most obvious question. *See section; Breeding and population Sustainability.

Racially speaking, Alastia is fairly mixed with the majority of it's populations having olive skin, dark long straight hair and brown eyes however a substantial number of women do hail from the Northern kingdoms and are much fairer in complexion and have thus mixed blonde and redheads into the gene pool. Rarer still are those women who come from afar. One individual, who was from a land even I had not heard of it was so far away to the east. This individual did not have the memory of how she arrived in the country. *See section: The Order of the Vigilant. From Observations of its common women on the streets, I have seen one example of a woman from the far south, beyond the mountains of Hastaluna. Her skin darker than any. So far I have only seen one individual such as this in a city of nearly half a million. One might think that racial tensions might be an issue but I have not observed that as the case and Alastia does seem to genuinely welcome its female immigrants and refugees when it can. *Again See: Breeding and Population Sustainability

That is not to say that Alastia is a paradise of equality, bigotry is rife in the country. The attitude the common woman has towards a man is that of a dangerous animal and laws prohibiting men from the capital itself are widely supported by the populous. Many opinions formed from the long and bloody history of invasion from the nations of aggressive men that border it.

Wealth inequality is common place, which is unsurprising considering its politics. *See; Politics and Defence. The City of Alastia has great sections devoted to lavish gardens, city manors for the rich, the great Palace itself and a market district. It also has it's poorer areas where slums sprawl and women and girls can barely make a living, many turning to crime just to make ends meet.

Politics and Defence:

Alastia is an Absolute Monarchy that rules through the divine mandate decreed by the Goddess one thousand years ago. The High Queen's word is law, it is final and absolute. Her will is enacted through various power structures. 'The Guard' simply as it is known represents Alastia's standing military and security. Although many of them are lightly trained, a garrison exists in every settlement and multiple across the capital, spread out per district. Every Guard member highly visible with light armour and a uniform, the citizens know to fetch the nearest guard to deal with common issues or trouble. The palace is home to the Royal Guard, a much more elite fighting **** that is drafted from the best women across the country and it is considered an honour to serve as part of the Royal Guard. The head of all the Guard in Alastia, both regular and Royal, is the position of "The Captain of the Guard" who delegates between district leaders and reports directly to the Queen when needed.

I am under the impression that during a time of war and crisis, a militia can be raised from the civilian population of women, mostly from the peasants as the more noble women are deemed too important for such a thing in their society. I am told that this is a last measure as no one is under any illusion that a rabble of untrained women would not be ideal to directly meet a trained harden army of men. Luckily for Alastia, the guard is far from its only defence as it is one of three barriers a conventional army must overcome, in theory at least: *See: Notable events

One more is the Order of the Vigilant, an elite fighting **** that employs magic and subterfuge to achieve it's aims. The only **** to operate outside Alastia's borders and it is directly loyal and beholden to the Royal Family. *See: Order of the Vigilant.

Finally and most importantly, Serizenza herself represents the ultimate deterrent to invasion, just by herself. Although her true nature is not known to anyone out side of a few like myself, (and now you dear reader) what is no secret is her magical prowess, she is known throughout all the lands as the most formidable sorceress in the entire world. A title she very much deserves, however it is still unclear whether her power with magic is derived from her unlimited Godly nature or merely a reflection of her unnatural longevity. One thousand years studying and perfecting the magic of mortals certainly is not to be over looked. It is certainly true that on request she was able to demonstrate not just the raw **** one would expect from a God but she has the mastery of many, many different magic schools and spells. Many lifetimes spent honing the magic which takes a lifetime to master. I have seen her personally demonstrate to name a few; Arcane shielding, Telekinesis, Pyrokinesis, Enbigification, Petrification, Flight, Teleportation, Multiplication, Invisibility, Voice Amplification, and Weather control. I am under no doubt that is not the end of the tricks she knows but it should be of note that even one of these spells takes much dedication and only one or two could be truly mastered in a mortal lifetime, a normal foreign wizard having to specialise in what he chooses to pursue, yet Serizenza has apparently mastered many and freely wheels between whatever she chooses at any time.

As far as the politics goes, Serizenza has direct access to the Queen and acts as the official adviser on most matters. When occasion calls for it, she can even represent the Queen in official matters and her position and office and is seen almost as one and the same as the Royal Bloodline. The Order of the Vigilant also report directly to the Queen and their only responsibility is to follow the Queens words without hesitance. The Guard or course are technically no different, although dude to their make up and size, spread out all over the country, their attitudes are more reflective of the common woman and less zealous than those more close to the Royal power structure.

It would be important to note the role of the Royal court at this time. Noble women and Countesses make up the select few that position themselves as high as they can in the palaces social structure. The closer to the Queen they can ingratiate themselves, the more status and standing they are seen to have amongst their peers. Generational wealth is the backbone of the economic structure of society. Each courtier's personal wealth is usually inherited, most using the wealth to set up and be the head of their own business guilds that trade in the market district of the capital or even further afield, thus making sure that any of the lower middle class that do well enough with their trade is ultimately under their authority and to keep the wealth flowing upwards and stagnating social mobility for the lesser classes.

Notable Events:

Alastia is no stranger to wars and cataclysms. It's creation being perhaps one of the biggest this planet has ever seen. That said, a quick glance at some of the hardship the country has shrugged off can give us a glimpse of it's creators motives, even if much speculation must be employed.

It should be of note that in its long one thousand year history, roving bands of men have always crossed it's borders, mainly drawn by the allure of an all female country. Sensing weakness or maybe even plentiful **** concubines to steal away, I shall only mention a handful of cases where the threat to the country as a whole is notable. Direct attacks and **** against its more important members of society are equally a way of the world, a tactic mainly employed by the Northern Kingdoms when strength of arms will not overpower a rival. This was mainly negated in recent history. * See: Order of the Vigilant

The biggest and most direct attack the country suffered was a host that came down from the Northern Kingdoms some two hundred years ago. Records indicates that this army was of such power that no one would stand against it, a large and terrible beast was said to be summoned with fell magic so big it could step over a cities walls. My own nation of Hastaluna has records which confirm the Alastian account of what transpired next.

No army was sent to meet them, despite how **** the situation looked. Instead, Serizenza herself intervened which is unsurprising as she was probably the only way of stopping the host. Rather than obliterating the army with magic or casting some other arcane technicality which would have dealt with the problem, she opted to physically carve out an entire mountain and move it away from its range and simply drop it on the army. The army was , of course, wiped out in one fell swoop. It was an odd choice however.

Such a show of **** was well beyond anything she had shown to be able to do before, her reputation as a court Mage was forever transformed into the most powerful sorceress ever to have lived. Not something she should be doing if she was trying to hide her true identity. It is my speculation that perhaps she deliberately made a show of **** at this magnitude of overkill to send a message to the other nations on the futility of attacks, an attempt to stop the then eight hundred years of unending aggression. Perhaps she just lost her temper. Who knows.

The fallout from the event was felt all the way in my country and to this day the region is a shattered mess, uninhabitable and barely even traversable. It's visage of Split Peak, visible from the capital, spoiling a perfectly good view. A different course of action would not have damaged her country so immensely.

This event would prove all the more baffling in the wake of the latest major attack the country faced. Some five years ago, from the same Northern Kingdoms, a large mercenary company invaded Alastia from the direct north. This was a much, much smaller **** of professional fighting men but it constituted a significant threat. They managed to push deep into Alastia and even capture Timber Fort.

Instead of meeting this threat, Serizenza did nothing. Content to stay in the Palace and let the armies of Alsatia deal with the problem. Now it should be pointed out that the forces of Alastia were successful in this regard and they would not have stood a chance against the monstrous host of two hundred years ago. Yet, it was a pyrrhic victory. The Captain of the Guard died in the battle as did the majority of her forces, her successor being disfigured and carrying wounds to this day.

This outcome was not a surprise to me. Although victorious, accounts report that the men were hardened and proud soldiers and each one was more than a match for three of the Guard. Serizenza's lack of action is a puzzling development, she could have stopped it from happening but chose to let it play out as it did. Her role as a mage itself would have been useful in the battle, let alone her power as a Goddess.

I do speculate that perhaps Serizenza sees her people as expendable and the lives of mortals are but playthings for her to spend on a whim. An odd conclusion as the accounts from the people around her seems to point to her having empathy like a mortal would. This may just be another ruse the Goddess has put on to fit in, but things get a little more clearer when we discuss the next topic, which also like most things in Alastia, revolves around her.

Religion:

The only exception to the stratified layers of society that has the Queen at the top is surprisingly the Church. The main temple of the city is visited by all walks of life and is the only place were the common folk would rub shoulders with nobility. The religious cast of Priestesses is also accepting of anyone, from any walk of life and save volunteering to join the Guard it is the only way out of poverty for many girls, if they pass the selection process that is, as there are many duties and skills which a Priestess of the Goddess must be able to perform. *See: Magic Use in Alastia

The church itself is a curious quandary politically as like all things in Alastia it fits into a top down power structure, however, every Priestess and organised temple would state that they serve the Goddess directly and not the Queen, despite the Queens official public title of being mandated by the Goddess herself, thus making it the only real political competition the Queen has in Alastia. Even if no actual confrontation has been recorded to date, sometimes delicate mediation and politicking needs to be employed to keep the two power structures from friction. It being so pivotal across all society cements it's importance and it is not something that can be simply dealt with by **** like any other political obstacle the Queen might face. It is noted with some amusement that the Goddess herself, Serizenza, has no ties to the church or dealings, firmly representing the Queen in all matters. Her private attitude towards the Church is one of indifference, she sees the piousness and devotion of the religious cast as merely and act of free will amongst mortals that has nothing to do with her.

From what I gathered, the main tenants of the Church are that of living a good life and helping others so that one day, when a good woman dies, she will ascend to heaven in the sky and join with the Goddess and all deceased loved ones in eternal bliss. This false notion that has clearly no bearing on reality motivates many of the country in various beneficial ways, from being socially conscious and doing good in their communities as well as motivating soldiers to fight and die in wars against foes that are their physical superior. In this regard, it is perhaps understandable that Serizenza is content to let the lie stand as it serves her ultimate purpose of letting her creation, Alastia, function even more efficiently.

The Goddess and Alastia:

The Goddess herself is a fascinating subject to study. I, Jara the Great, have unfettered access to the Goddess known as Serizenza and building on what we already know about the Gods, can push the boundaries of ignorance that mankind has laboured under for centuries.

As we know, the Gods are not from our world but exist out in the void of space and time. Not a distance away, but several dimensions over and only a few direct observations of their actions have ever been observed and none as impactful as Serizenza. The Goddess's destruction of Swalhia and creation of the nation of Alastia represents the single greatest example of a Gods power or even existence.

Serizenza's motivations for such an act are still a mystery, however we can make speculations based on what we do know. As she is the only God to ever visit the planet we can assume that she is perhaps exiled or even self isolating from her kin. In one thousand years, she has shown no want to return or leave the planet and no other Gods have come looking for her. Her motivations for creating an all female society I feel point toward a slight or trauma that resulted in her isolation and actions. The implication being that gender and sex is reflected the same on their species as it is on mortals, direct parallels can be assumed.

As a case study on the God's, Serizenza is an interesting subject. Under questioning, much interesting information about these beings can be uncovered. For example, Serizenza presents herself as an exceptionally beautiful woman. Long black hair, she stands at five foot nine, voluptuous with a weight of an estimated one hundred and seventy pounds. The image of herself is both real and unreal. She is flesh and blood but still distinctly not human. Although I am unable to let her out of her corporeal form lest I loose control of her, she has informed me that if she were free and wished it, she could become something far less tangible or even measurable as the Gods typically do not exist in the mortal shell presented. What is interesting on further questioning is that the appearance she currently has is no mere illusion or disguise. Her avatar is a distillation of her essence and an accurate reflection of who she is, as if she was born a mortal. She did not alter her appearance when manifesting into our dimension or make any decisions about how she wanted to look. To put simply, her mortal guise is what she actually looks like and any other God that would make the journey to our world and wished to appear human would also have a unique appearance that is recognisable to a mortal. It is not that they are presenting themselves with a made up homunculus, they actually do look like what they appear to be.

Her appearance is where the similarities end with a mortal. Upon testing, it is clear that no physical harm has any sort of effect on her body, impalement leaves no mark and any amount of dismemberment, no matter how small appears impossible with conventional means. It should be noted that when a weapon is with drawn from her body, she does not heal as would a prepared magic user might to avoid ****. There is no mark, as if the act of using a weapon against her flesh is not harming her in any way in the first place. It is akin to stabbing an ocean, the blade does not 'wound' the sea when it dips in. It is assumed that a being of her magical calibre is equally immune to all harms done by conventional magic as it is similarly beneath her. Magic cast by herself, acting as a God, or another God would have the desired effect I would assume but as she is the only one of her kind on the planet, this hypothesis remains untested. I can confirm that the Luna magic projected by the Great Moons is effective, naturally. As nothing is as great or powerful as their radiance, the Gods are as much at the Luna powers mercy as any mortal. On a personal note, it was very satisfying to see ones life work vindicated through the crucible of practical application in the field and to prove that even the Gods are below the Moons.

The question remains in my mind as to why the Gods can be distilled into a perfect reflection of a mortal and to what extent do the Gods truly share their existence with mortals. Currently, my test subject is unable to display emotion or personality, but I am told by others that she did indeed have such a thing. It is unclear just how much the Gods experience sensation or whether she is simply mimicking the human condition around others as part of the disguise. For example, she does not need to breathe and it was many hours after I first gained control over her that I noticed she was not respiring. She was unharmed and at my request she mimicked the action as she usually did, but it highlights the distinct difference between her and mortals. She likewise has no need for sleep or rest. Never getting tired, never needing to sit or lay down. Food is another interesting case. As she does not need to eat, the human digestive system is not applicable to her. She can still mimic the act of eating to fit in but the food is not digested for energy. I̶t̶ ̶i̶s̶ ̶u̶n̶l̶i̶k̶e̶l̶y̶ ̶s̶h̶e̶ ̶e̶v̶e̶n̶ ̶h̶a̶s̶ ̶a̶ ̶s̶e̶n̶s̶e̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶t̶a̶s̶t̶e̶. It has been discovered that she does in fact have a favourite food and that Gods do indeed have a sense of taste despite not needing to eat. The ramifications of this are many. Namely, it would now not be much of an assumption to link all mortal desires and tastes and map them onto the Gods. It would appear they perhaps enjoy all the pleasures that mortals do. Maybe even love and sex, despite having no reproductive cycle of their own.

As noted, Alastia as a whole represents a grand project by Serizenza, the closer one looks, the more her intelligent design shines through. From the top down, it is a nation built to last and succeed. No greater example than that of the Queen and her bloodline herself. Many nations through out history have faced the same problem of securing an heir to the throne, failure to do so creating a vacuum which at worst can lead to division and civil war. Not so for Alastia, it's Royal bloodline is unbroken and the current Queen is a direct descendant of the first. This miraculous feat is down to the magical engineering Serizenza has performed on the Royal Bloodline, setting them up as the perfect genetic leaders to propagate themselves. First off, every Royal woman in line to the throne (at a maximum there is only two), is of a unique appearance with silver white hair and unnatural crystal blue eyes. This is a mark to all that they are undisputed inheritors of the throne and no illegitimate pretenders could usurp them. Fertility is another important detail. Those of the Royal bloodline age slowly, perhaps at half the rate once they reach adulthood. So a Royal girl would advance as normal to her eighteenth birthday, then age slower so that the typical fertility window, which would start closing in the late thirties, now lasts well into her fifties, with her looking just as youthful as someone half her age. Records indicate that most Queens do die between eighty and one hundred years of age, despite having the body of a fifty something woman. A prudent safeguard by Serizenza I would assume so that fertility can continue to be exploited to make more royal heirs if needed.

Serizenza's magic does not end there either. Sickness and disease is totally counteracted by the bodily fluids of the Royal bloodline. Their very blood has deep magical properties that has a sterilising effect. This has two major benefits . The first is obvious, with sickness out of the picture, that is one problem to the Royal throne taken care of. It is after all, one of the main threats that no army can stop or keep a king safe from. Second is perhaps more important and it typifies the design I see in Serizenza's creation. Alastia society is very much influenced from the top down, the Queen represents the shining example that all women try to emulate. As she never gets sick, the court tries to emulate her, leading as healthy lifestyle as they can, the knock on effect ripples through society as they all try to better themselves in the Queens image. It extends to the Queens beauty, blessed with healthy good looks, it promotes everyone around her to look the best they can, doing what they can to stay fit and active in and effort to stave of ageing as she does. Thus we can see that no mere happenstance is how Alastia is how it is. A great deal of thought went into it's creation by it s creator. The Question remains as to why.

Perhaps a game she is playing, enjoying pitting her creation against the other nations of men. Perhaps a distraction from whatever hardship she is turning away from in her native realm. Or perhaps something else that has yet to be revealed. With her infinite lifespan it would be hard to say what her ultimate goal would be and when to expect it, however, I, Jara the great will continue my investigations to get to the bottom of it.

Breeding and Population Sustainability

The main question on everyone's lips the instant they hear of a nation of all women. The answer is quite simple and by no means a secret. The Goddess Serizenza made sure that on a genetic level, the population of a mono sex culture could propagate itself and she did so using a mechanism known as the Waters of Life.

Deep below the City of Alastia, at the heart of the country, a great and vast water source is generated. It flows to the surface and bursts fourth in springs across the city. Many of these springs are plumbed into homes and buildings. Indeed, even though I personally find the technology of Alastia lacking compared to my homeland, it's waterworks are quite fascinating and advanced. This leads to the city flourishing in the desert heat despite no rainfall, the water eventually flowing out to the farmland and river beyond.

The greatest of these springs is capped off by the main temple to the Goddess. The water is collected in many private rooms at the back of the temple and held in baths. This specific spring has magical properties while in the temple and all it's effects are lost when the water eventually leaves the temple to join the other tributaries of the river. The water when channelling into these baths can aid the transfer of genes through bodily fluids between two women. In practice, this means that two copulating women, when submerged in the water only need to swap bodily fluids to get each other pregnant. A very simple approach and it touches on parthenogenesis, however the eggs of the female are very much fertilised by the other.

This unique way of begetting a child does have some knock on effects. For starters, more often than not, both women will get pregnant leading to many sisters being of the same age, yet not twins. This is also a very effective way to manage family planning as making a trip to the temple and copulating in a very specific place as the only way to have a child, means that unwanted pregnancy is almost unheard of.

The magical effects of having a child this way to not end at conception. Every girl that is conceived this way is born to inherit a lust for women, just as a man does. This way, society can continue both in the making of new generations down the line but also in the small things which drive everyday social interactions. The things one would do for another when captivated, the achievements done to impress, the check on behaviour less you drive away a mate through a bad reputation. If you were unaware it was all women, it would look like any other country at a street level.

Family structure is also relatively simple, no one has a father and most have two mothers. A child would differentiate between their mothers by calling them 'First Mother' and 'Second Mother' or more colloquially, 'My First' or 'My Second' when referring to them. The First Mother being the mother that gave birth to them and the second is the mother that acted as the father in the copulation. Most sisters therefore swap who they refer to when talking about their 'First' and 'Second.' This is merely their title or an explanation to others who is what, as like most other cultures, everyone has a name and most simply use that.

Alastia is a fairly expansive country as all things go and a population of five hundred thousand women just using one facility in order to breed would be impractical. Immigration and refugees help make up the numbers. Unsurprisingly, only females of other nations are accepted and even then, they will be faced with a life of hardship and poverty, lacking the established bloodline that comes with established Alastian noble heritage. Only very exceptional individuals from abroad would be able to make a successful life as a merchant or indeed as part of an armed **** keeping Alastia safe.

As for any men that try to gain access to the country alongside their female acquaintances, the women are given a choice. Turn around and leave with their man, or he leaves and she can stay. Any resistants to this cold ultimatum is swiftly put down as the fate of men in Alastia is fairly settled. A rather rare third option is available in some situations. *See further notes: Men in Alastia

Magic use in Alastia:

Magic in Alastia is unique in it's own way compared to other nations. Typically, a nation would have many individuals who have devoted their life to the pursuit of a magic school to specialise in , employed by guilds or other important people for practical reasons. The common wizards and mages would be spread out across society, rare but easy enough to find if you know who to ask.

Alastia in contrast has three distinct sources of magic and the common woman does not devote anytime for the pursuit of it, the poor classes not having enough spare time from their chores and the rich see it as nothing more than a curiosity and a hobby, nothing that can be developed into a profession. Serizenza is a big reason for this. In her shadow, any reputation a normal magic user might be able to garner is completely redundant as she serves as all the most important sources of magic in the land with more skill and utility than a score of wizards.

The second group that you might find magic in is the sisterhood of the church. Clerics of the Goddess employ healing and other basic spells. Rather than generating their own magical power however, they channel the magic that is infused within the land of Alastia, still residually there from its creation. Therefore these Clerics are actually using a higher tier of magic, if highly diluted, than a standard wizard would. This also means that the use of normal magic in peoples lives is further relegated to a non fact as most of the populous already has their needs catered to. The skill to harness and use this magic is integral to the life of a priestess and they go through training in order to weald such a power. Their final acceptance into the sisterhood is a series of exams where they are tested and graded on their ability to do so. Failing this exam usually means a return to what ever walk of life they came from.

The third main source of Magic users in Alastia is the Order of the Vigilant, who are perhaps the only true users of standard tier magic in Alastia. Who I shall examine in the next chapter.

A final note that although Alastia boasts access to a higher tier of magic than most other countries in the world, they still do not employ any magic of a Luna aspect and is thus still to be regarded as a magically primitive country, like all other countries save for Hastaluna.

The Order of the Vigilant

The Order of the Vigilant are perhaps one of the more darker aspects of the Alastian power structure. Although few in number, this highly selective and secretive order of woman are highly trained and supplement their combat capability directly with low tier magic, this leads them to be able to hold their own, even against a stronger man in a one on one confrontation. This is needed as they are often employed to guard the borders of the country and even venture abroad when the situation calls for it.

Although their magic use is varied when it comes to what each individual has learned and is adept at, one spell, the spell of invisibility is base line for all Agents of this Order and one does not become an agent in the field until they can at least cast it proficiently.

The Orders purview covers more than just foreign threats. Each agent is loyal to the Queens word and will carry it out no matter what, as such, will police their own citizenry if desired by its monarch and will do so with efficiency and without mercy. There are a limited set of laws that govern and protect the women of Alastia from injustice, however these are all predicated on the word of the Queen and can be superseded by her whims at any time. As the Order takes immediate directions from the Queen this effectively makes them above the laws as they currently stand. The populous rightly fears them but also begrudgingly knows that they also keep them safe so any discontent with this situation so far as not manifested into any sort of civil disobedience as of yet.

The history of the order stretches back some three hundred years. Their documentation stating that the Order was founded in response to an attempt on the then current Queens life and her then baby daughter. This originated from a foreign based conspiracy to try and destabilise the country by eliminating its leadership. The infant did not survive the attack and the stark choice given to the Queen was to turn the country into a more aggressive power, dominating it's enemies through conquest and expansion or to double down on isolation. The Queen thankfully chose to isolate the country even more and as a further measure, the Order was founded to hold a constant watch both inside and outside the country. This organisation has held strong over the centuries and no other attempts on a Royals life as ever been successful since. It should be of some note that even though the Royal heir died in the attack, who was documented at the time to also share the signs of the royal bloodline, a new replacement was born soon after. This further shows that yet another redundancy was placed by Serizenza in the Royal blood line as even if there can only be two at a time, should the worse happen, whatever was blocking the siring of another silver haired heir is lifted in the event of ****.

Alsatia's isolation only really relents when they have the opportunity to bolster their population with women who cross their borders as previously mentioned, ever eager to extend an act of mercy to those they see as useful further down the line.

The Order of the Vigilant's command structure is very simple as there is not many of them. At the bottom is the trainees who have yet to truly master their skills and were recruited recently. The recruitment of women into the Order is done in the highest secrecy and candidates are picked who show both exceptional potential in combat and physicality and how easy it is to make this person disappear from society. This is because once a girl joins the Order of the Vigilant, it becomes who they are and they never return back to their old life. Any comradeship or company is to be found solely in her peers. Trainees rarely leave the inner sanctum of the palace before they are ready to become full members of the Order or for training missions under the tutelage of higher members.

The second and most populous rank of the Order is that of regular agents. These agents can act highly independently when given the freedom to do so and can be out in the field alone for months at a time. A solitary life, they remain invisible at nearly all times, only becoming visible when they have to interact with a person for whatever investigations they are performing. Alternately they might be given a very specific order which they would follow to the letter, without deviation or hesitation. At least one agent is usually around one of the Royals at any given time to respond to emergencies and to ensure their safety.

Finally, there is one Agent who acts as the head of the Order and all agents defer to her on all matters. She will loosely follow the remit of her Order to keep the Queen safe and will give orders to other agents, making plans and missions for others to see this happen. She only takes orders from the Queen and Princess themselves and is above nearly all other chains of command in Alastia. It is also the head of the Order who personally accepts and inducts every trainee personally into the Order so that she is well aware of every single agent and what they are capable of.

The current head of the Order is one Alki Vermory. Almost certainly not her birth name, Alki is the perfect example of the type of candidate the Order looks for. Orphaned at birth and alien to the country, she was raised within the Orders Sanctum to know nothing but loyalty when the previous Orders leader took her in. She proved herself to be most proficient in both combat and magic, quickly becoming the most formidable fighter in the Order, another sure way to rise to the very top. To this day she leads by example, fearlessly, relentlessly loyal, a keen intellect devoted to the sole task of keeping the Queen safe and an aptitude for powerful combat magic that surpasses all in her Order.

The Order is a predictable outcome in retrospect that is a necessity in both a dangerous world and a nation which could potentially have internal problems born of a stratified power structure, if Serizenza had any part in its creation I cannot discern it but she clearly tolerates it's operation keeping her creation stable.

Men in Alastia

As mention, Alastia is a nation of supreme bigotry. The less obvious wealth divide is one social ill but the most stand out and ubiquitous cultural note across all Alastia society is their contempt for men. One might see their point of view, created by a female deity to manage without said men and the only interaction with the opposite sex is in overt warfare which Alastia is always the defender and never the aggressor. This might lead you to believe that there are no men in Alastia, this is not the case as even with the systematic functions of the state and even with magic in place, the nation still has some limited use for them.

First to mention is that the Capital city is officially man free. One of it's main laws is that no man may enter the city, I myself was caught foul of such a law and only prevailed due to my own brilliance. A tale so daring and amazing that I urge you dear reader to seek out my autobiography when I get to penning such a fine work.

To focus on the subject, I should state that I used the word 'officially' in my last sentence very tellingly. I have been informed that criminal elements have been know to smuggle men into the capital, unable to resist the foreign coin that is offered. A fascinating development that was interesting and something I was surprised to learn could still happen, even with the Order of the Vigilant so otherwise effective at their task. Currently, this criminal element is removed and there is no other men in the capital other than myself, this I know for sure.

More further afield, the sparse desert and farmland of the countryside is so sparsely populated that no men are known to dwell there either. The port of Danset and Timber Fort are where things change. Danset being a center of trade has probably the highest concentration of men in the country, although to say they are in the country is not particularly accurate. A giant floating hub as been created in the mouth of the harbour where foreign ships can off load their goods and even take goods on. Men are allowed to stay there as a stop over on their voyage. The only path that leads from this wooden township on the waves to the port is guarded by large, heavily defended doors. Men can be allowed through these doors with a permit to help sort out the more complicated cargos as they pass into the country but they are always under the watchful eyes of the Guard and are never really allowed to stay in the town proper.

As for Timber fort, some Men are employed as labourers to help as lumberjacks, the hard work much more suited to the male physique than a females. These men are nearly always partnered with women who came to Alastia as refugees and choose the third option. These women are responsible for their men and should they get into trouble it would reflect back on the women, as if he is a pet she owns. I am told sentiment to men in the north is extremely varied from woman to woman. Unlike most of Alastia's population where their attitudes are based on fear and ignorance, the women of Timber Fort often are at the brunt of roving bands of mercenaries from the north and have good reasons to fear men. This is tempered by the men who work for them in the forest and the women who own them, advocating for their men as an exception. This leads to a weary atmosphere around a lightly mixed population, where men are accepted in a limited sense but one wrong move often means they get no second chance.

In conclusion:

Alastia is at it's core, a fake. Less so a country but an experiment by a higher being playing with mortals as it sees what works. Having said that, it is as wondrous as it is unique. From its sprawling architectures to the micro cultures that spring up in its many dives and corners where the Goddess cannot micromanage.

Like all nations that do not know the Blessed Moons, it does fancy itself above its station, looking down on its neighbours flaws while turning a blind eye to its own. Perhaps one day after I have documented its quirks and flaws for prosperity I, Jara the great shall remake the nation without its imperfections and make it anew, better, as only I can. Until that time humble reader I invite you to ponder the fascinating and bizarre anomaly that is the Kingdom of Alastia.

Signed: JARA, THE GREAT.

Provisional ruler and overlord of all the women of Alastia and it's holdings.