Capital: Sedeskan
Population: 1,763,850 (96% human, 3% half-orc)
Government: Military Matriarchy
Religions: Maddari
Imports: Textiles, wood products
Exports: Gems, gold, wine, cheese, wool
Ahuran is a large island nation southwest of the Straits of
Akir. Its mountainous north is rich in mineral wealth, and its
mild south is famed for its farms and vineyards. Ahuran is most
notable for its curious society dominated almost entirely by
women.
In Ahuran, only women are allowed to own property, carry
weapons or use magic. Some men are professionals, such as
engineers, surgeons, and artisans, all are sponsored by female
members of their family, who are ultimately responsible for their
actions. The Queen’s soldiers and knights are all female, and
are excellent light cavalry, archers and spearwomen.
Ahuran is highly civilized and ruled by a rigid feudal
aristocracy of soldiers, knights, warlords, priestesses and the
royal family. The code of Parmaadan, or "The Soul of
the Warrior" rules all aspects of society. This code spells
out in intricate and difficult detail the required behavior
between various members of different members of Ahuran society,
and requires a rigid dedication to the queen and to personal
honor. An Ahuran is expected to prefer death over dishonor, and to
disdain foreigners for their lax ways and failure to follow the
strictures of Parmaadan.
The Soul of the Warrior
Parmaadan requires that a true warrior, whether a simple
soldier or a cultured warlord, pursue a spiritual connection with
Maddari, the great mother goddess. This may range from a soldier’s
cultivation of poetry or the sword-dance, to a knight’s
perfection of painting, philosophy or gardening. As a result, art,
music and dance are highly prized in Ahuran society, as are
tranqulity and reflection. Wealthy knights and warlords cultivate
elaborate gardens and patronize the finest bards and scholars (all
women).
None of which means that the warriors of Ahuran are peaceful.
Far from it. Parmaadan encourages a martial spirit that
delights in combat, sport and competition. Ahuran knights prize
skill above strength and clever tactics above brute force.
Tournaments are held where a poor knight might hope to attract the
attention of a rich or powerful mistress, or to win a prize and
fame. These are popular spectator events and are held several
times a year throughout the land.
Parmaadan has its cruel side as well. The heated pursuit
of honor results in many deadly duels and vendettas that last for
generations. Two knights who cross paths may duel over the right
to cross a bridge first, or over the right to plant a banner at a
crossroads, or over the favors of a lover. The situation is worse
for commoners or men. An Ahuran knight has the power to mete out
death to these for any offense to her honor, and many consider it
their duty to do so.
HISTORY
The history of Ahuran goes back to the cataclysmic end of
Iridian. Once a part of the mainland, that Hammer of the Gods
opened up a rift which left it separated by a wide strait. By
-2000 CY, the island was home to Calaan, a thriving nation of
psions who were worshiped as gods.
The psions of Calaan were mighty summoners and made many pacts
with demons and stranger entities. This brought them great power,
but also sowed the seeds of their own destruction. The exact
details are lost to the tides of history, but in about the year
-1190 CY, the capital city of Meij was destroyed by an
otherworldly army of terrible women with bright swords and
bone-white hair. The city was literally swallowed up by the earth.
Every sorcerer in Calaan who survived that terrible sack
mysteriously died within the year.
The survivors of Calaan thereafter held psions to be dangerous
and outlaws and for centuries would go to great lengths to drive
them out of the land. The people also saw the terrible destruction
of the psions by the demon women as a sign. The worship of Maddari,
the three-faced warrior goddess swelled, and within a few
centuries came to dominate all of the land, now called Ahuran, or
the Purified Land.
In the ninth century BC, the legendary queen Zorah Swiftsilver,
herself a devotee of the goddess, instituted sweeping reforms,
depriving men of the right to bear arms or hold public office.
Within a generation, women had replaced men in all walks of public
life, following the teaching of Maddari that the soul of woman
held more of the divine.
In order to maintain this order, the fanatic followers of the
queen and her dynasty took to the teachings of the mystic wanderer
Mainab, who taught the fundamentals of Parmaadan which are
still the bedrock of Ahuran society. This strict code soon
permeated all aspects of Ahuran life, ensuring the long-term
survival of the matriarchy and its ways.
Change does occur in Ahuran, if only slowly. The coming of the
Conorrians in CY 606 demonstrated to the Ahurans the need for more
flexible tactics. The old chariot was abandoned for light cavalry
and the many ports and harbors were fortified. Sorcerers and
wizards, long viewed with suspicion since the fall of Calaan,
became important figures, second only to great warriors and
important priests.
Despite the constant threat, and the elimination of the Ahuran
navy at Forentum in CY 932, the Conorrian Empire never conquered
Ahuran, making only one failed attempt at a landing in the fall of
943. A strained diplomatic marriage between Ahuran crown princess
Imelia and the nephew of emperor Hadrasius II in 661 did little to
improve relations.
In CY 1117, the Ahurans invaded the mainland in great force.
Landing at the mouths of the river Artaxes, they marched upriver,
conquering the lower river valley and putting the Conorrian
garrison to flight. In a single stroke, queen Nuar III seized
control of the greatest part of the Empire’s food supply,
putting the Emperor in a desperate position. The Emperor, young
Savril I, decided upon a bold stroke, sailing his navy into the
Ahuran strait and cutting off the queen’s retreat. The war had
become a death struggle between the two mismatched powers. In the
end, Nuar was forced to sue for peace, and accepted a humiliating
treaty which forced her to divorce her three husbands and marry
the Emperor, as well as withdraw all her forces from Luxur. The
marriage lasted for twenty-seven years, although the new Empress
was shut up within the Lonely Tower of Echoriath within a year,
never to be let out until her death. She produced two twin heirs,
a boy and a girl. The boy became the Emperor Echorius the Great.
The girl ascended the throne of Ahuran in CY 1150 as Alia Magehand.
The year CY 2572 marks another great date in Ahuran history. A
merchant fleet sponsored by Crown Princess Jehaa returned from a
dangerous sea-voyage to distant Changshai, bringing silk, spices,
ivory and a hoard of other exotic riches. The sea-route is still
perilous, fraught with sea-monsters, pirates and even Accolon
warships, but every year shipments of fine goods come to the
Purified Land from the distant lands of the east and south.
In 2799, viewing with alarm the spreading
chaos on the continent, Queen Maalan issued the Edict of
Perfection, which ordered the ports to be closed and foreigners
expelled from Ahuran. By 2803, the Purified Land was a completely
closed society once again.
MAJOR POPULATION CENTERS
Sedeskan - (Large City; population 59,240) The capital sits
in the high Naryan Pass, where it is cooled by the winds from the
mountain peaks and watered by the melting snows. It is a cool,
tranquil place of high-walled gardens, patiently manicured jungle
parks and alabaster images of the goddess. Three rivers meet at
the heart of the city and then plunge down the pass in a torrent
that leaves the city wreathed in mist most days until after Noon.
Ilduskan - (Small City; population 27, 690) The great
northwestern port of Ahuran, Ilduskan is famed for its skyline -
the tall triple towers of the goddess silhouetted against the
mountains in the light of dawn are counted one of Vatheria’s
most beautiful sights. The city is also Ahuran’s major shipyard,
building the small fast corsairs for which the southern coasts are
famous.
Mahaaran - (Small Town; population 6,230). This central
town is held to be the site of the cave of Mainab, where the
mystic wrote down the code of Parmaadan. It is a site of
pilgrimages by the faithful of the goddess. A large knightly
tournament is held here every summer which attracts visitors from
all across Ahuran.
IMPORTANT LOCAL SITES
The Seven Pools of Heiken - On the rugged northeastern
coast, inaccessible except by long and treacherous footpaths, lies
a region of seven sacred pools, home to seven fey sisters. Within
each pool is said to lie a temple to a different aspect of the
goddess. She who learns the wisdom of all seven schools will
receive a great secret from the Divine One herself.
The Land of the Ring of Gold - Within the land of Ahuran
there lies another land, hidden from mortal sight. The Land of the
Ring of Gold is a faerie realm which only great heroes can enter,
or those permitted by the faerie queen. The faerie queen is said
to be cruel and capricious, and yet achingly beautiful and a
powerful sorceress.
The Lost City of Meij - Rumors have persisted for more
than three thousand years that the ancient city of the psions
of Calaan was
not destroyed, but rather that it lies buried under a mountain of
rubble, or that it was hidden away by the gods so that the races
of Theeurth would never again witness its evil. No one has ever
seen it and lived, and yet the legends persist. |
