Lore for my theocratical empire. Please review

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Sharad9
Niš
Niš
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Joined: Wed Apr 05, 2017 10:02 am

Lore for my theocratical empire. Please review

Post by Sharad9 »

This is what I have so far. I posted this some time ago and changed some things since then after working on it. This world is not meant to be a perfect, and has its biases and some values that would be strange to us. I tried to stay away from the feminist utopia where women make everything better, or a dystopia like the drow. I'm looking for feedback on what works and what doesnt. Any questions, advice, or comments would be appreciated

God, the creator, is made up of two divine halves, each represent different aspects of its nature. The higher half represents femininity, and symbolizes life, wisdom, intuition, order and strength. The lower half represents masculinity, and symbolizes brawn, courage, bravery, honor, and death. Together, these halves form the god that watches over all creation. Only by cooperating can balance and harmony be achieved. God created women first, and gave her dominion over all creation. The ability to access magic was given to her as proof of her divine authority. It then created man to serve and protect her. He was given physical prowess to mold and shape the world in her image. 

Things were peaceful for a time, and humanity flourished. However, in his arrogance, man subverted woman's authority, and overthrew. This betrayal ushered in an age of kings, which caused much strife. Mankind made war with each other, seeking to rule creation through force. The constant wars caused a breach in the veil that separated our world from the netherrealm, allowing the demons that resided there to pass into reality. Millions died as the demons sought genocide of the human race. Woman, using her intuition and magic, was able to seal the breach in reality, ending the flood of demons into reality. She created weapons made specifically to kill demons, which man used to fight them. In tome, the creatures were defeated, although many still reside in our world and remain a constant threat. Woman was able to reclaim her rightful place and peace reigned once again. Men, as punishment, share responsibility that caused the calamity which almost ended the human race, and must carry that shame throughout their lives until god has redeemed them in the hereafter.

Magic: science and technology revolve around magic, and serve as the bedrock of society. This magi tech is used in all parts of life. Runes for growing crops and creating heat, teleportals for transportation, alchemy and transmutation, and healing are just some of the ways magi tech is influencial. It serves as a symbol of humanity's greatness and mastery of the world around it. Although anyone can use magitech, only women have the power to access it directly, giving them control of supply and demand. Although magic is powerful, it has significant weaknesses. It is slow, complex, and intensive, sometimes requiring multiple steps and ingredients. All women can use magic, but some are born stronger than others. It's power increases as a woman ages, often making older women the most powerful users. One simple way magic is used extends to a woman's biology. Women have the innate power to control when to concieve. Pregnancy is relatively easy on a woman's body, and giving birth is a euphoric process. However, they are cut off from their magic during gestation, as it nourishes the baby's development.

Society: civilization is conservative and traditional, with gender playing a significant role in the life of an individual. The constant battle for humanitys survival against the creatures from beyond the veil requires social cohesion, Men and women are expected to add here to certain roles, and society is unkind to outliers who go against the grain. Matrilineal clans are led by a clan mother, who heads a council of female elders. This council keeps the clan running, and are responsible for businesses, banking, education, trade, and forming alliances. The clan mother elects a male chief, who operates as her second in command and enforcer. He leads an all male council, which is responsible for security, war and defense, construction, exploration, and enforcement of laws. Clans make up a larger federation, which is led by a female queen called the demiurge, who is elected by the clan mothers to rule in God's stead.

Men are called to be protectors of creation. As the aspect of death,  they are the first line of defense for the nation, and expected to be the risk takers. An underlying subtlety of the society is that women must be in chsrge because they are more valuable. men are considered expendable and are the servants of society, although much more flowery language is used. The cultural training they receive is that men, even those that are not professional soldiers, die to protect women and children, even those that are not their own, otherwise they are cowards and shunned. Honor is tied to this duty, and warriors are celebrated and revered as the pinnacle of masculinity. Although men are valued for their brawn and courage, they are emotional, undependable at times, and tend towards arrogance and pride. Their egos Compel them to compete with each other, which can be disastrous if they were given the reigns of power.  Although their input is valuable, they they are largely kept out of the political sphere. 

Women, due to their close connection with God and their ability to master magic, are viewed as the "smarter" sex. They have an inborn tendency toward long term planning, diplomacy, and working together to accomplish long term goals. Women were created by God to create and nurture new life, and that care extends to running her clan. Only they have the natural instinct toward care and patience born of their natural ability to raise children, and are able to lead society forward without risking killing it. she will not over-react like men do, she will not be vindictive like men are: She will mete out proportional punishment and sanctions when that is due, no more and no less. 

Women spend their younger years learning the ways of their clan, and the traditions surrounding magic and their craft. As they get older, they take on greater responsibilities in the running of the clan. As the bearers of life, women are charged with the responsibility of producing the next generation and furthering their clans survival. Women are expected to have children, and motherhood is a sacred honor and duty that females are called to, regardless of individual preferences. They are heavily pressured into having kids later in life, usually around their 30s. Civilization places a higher value on the needs of the community over the individual, and rebellious women may be criticized or even ostracized for going against society's mores.

Culture: There is no concept of fatherhood in the nuclear family sense. People belong to the clan they are born into, with children being raised by the mothers clan. Sex is considered recreational, but procreation is heavily regulated.  Cooperative breeding is the norm, in which men and women are made to represent their clans in this manner. This is done to secure alliances, trade deals, or to settle disputes. Men are chosen on their merit and status. Valuable, dutiful, or successful men are often chosen for this task, while men of lesser status are less likely to breed. It serves as a badge of honor, symbolic of their worth and prestige. For females, It serves as a rite of passage and transition into womanhood

Skin tatoos are an important element in this society. These tatoos are applied with magic and are semi-permanent, being removed as needed by other magical items. Henna is not mandatory to wear, but very popular and widely used by men and women. They are gender specific and applied like makeup to enhance characteristics of the individual. However, rather than just being an accessory, it is also meant to tell a story about the person and there place in the world. Common uses include:

� welcoming in the seasons, a new year, or bountiful harvest

� celebrations and festivities, religious holidays

� wealth and prestige

� accomplishments and successes, number of enemies defeated in battle or children birthed into a clan

� rites of passage into adulthood, or applied to bodies representing passage into the next life.

These markings are judged by their beauty and intricacy, as well as the story they tell of the individual or the concepts relevant to this culture that they symbolize. A marking may be pretty to look at, but if there is no meaning behind it, it is meaningless and wasted effort. Important clans may even have unique tattoo specific to their family, and are worn with pride to symbolive their place in the community.

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