Tiavor City Zu'aan

History

Tiavor is a city that has stood for many thousands of years. It is a city rich in culture and treasures. They pride themselves on being one of the wealthiest cities in the empire. The city itself is covered in precious metals and stones, glittering in the rich sunlight that falls across it on a daily basis. They follow a goddess called Umra, a goddess who strives for riches and glory at all times. Unlike many of the other empires, the city is run by only women. These women are strong and smart. They control men like slaves and pets. They believe the weaker sex is men and that is why they imprison men and treat them like a commodity.

The reason why the city is so wealthy is because women have learned to use men as tools. The city is located in the center of the Thuindser Boreal Rockland which hides many different precious metals and gems inside of these rocks. The citizens have found a way to excavate these metals and gems to use them in many different ways. They will trade with these gems and metals, use them in decorations, both personal and for the city as well as use them in the creation of weapons. Their most treasured building is that of the temple of Umra.

The goddess is given only the best of what the enslaved men uncover in their excavations. Most of the women are trained in the temple in their gifts and skills that they are most attuned to. They could become the elite warriors that keep the city safe, the many managers that keep the city running or a member of state in charge of trading and forming alliances with other cities. The girls that come of age, each year are selected based on what they excelled at during the year in a grand ceremony to celebrate them and their graduation into the world of adulthood.

This ceremony is one of the greatest that the whole city looks forward to. Apart from that, there are many other festivals and ceremonies to celebrate in the city. They have a queen for 5 years before that queen gets replaced by someone else. The glorians, a ruling group making most of the decisions in the city, will decide among them who is to be the next queen. They believe that this is the best way to incorporate different ways of leadership. The queen is always supported by her glorians and her coronation is a splendid event. They hold tournaments in order to choose the strongest warriors from the many skilled warriors they have.

Then those warriors will form raiding parties to go out and claim men for the city as well as other things that raided cities might have for them. The city has a well established dynasty that has stood for generations and continues to thrive. The city is growing stronger and stronger with each decade and new era. They have no enemies and nothing to fear, going from strength to strength.

Psychology

The psychology of the city depends on who you ask. The men are enslaved so they hate the city and their lives. Many have taken their own lives. Others have died of malnutrition, dehydration, starvation and illness. Yet others were murdered for not following orders given by their superiors, the women of the city. It’s a dark and difficult life with no escape but death. Many baby boys are given to the men folk right away after they are born to be cared for since the women will only tolerate female babies. That is why the women are constantly running out of men and they set up raiding parties every few months to go and capture more slaves for the city to use in manual labor.

The women on the other hand enjoy many privileges but their way of life is almost just as strict as the slaves they command. A woman has a choice whether she wants to have children and when, though she is celebrated for making that choice at the end of the day. During a woman’s pregnancy after she has chosen a suitable man, that man will be executed. They believe it is better that way to avoid any trouble like the individual male trying to fight back and get his child out of the clutches of the glorians. That is why men dread being chosen. It is a death sentence for any man to be taken to the bed of a woman.

During a woman’s pregnancy, she is dressed in the finest robes and cared for by the caretakers of the city in a great temple. She is made comfortable and given the best food and finest items. She is treated like a queen. The day she has given birth it is celebrated whether it is a boy or a girl. She is given the best after care for a month following the birth then she is sent back to her post. For some women it is devastating to lose their child so soon after giving birth to them and they suffer severe depression.

Many women will avoid having intercourse with a man so that they might avoid the pain of having a child. The fear of that child being taken from them is enough for them to not want to have it in the first place. It is encouraged and even forced upon the women in the city to have at least one child before they turn 35 years of age which makes it more dangerous to have a child. The women are allowed to see their children if they are in other sectors as opposed to the caretaker's sector but not to raise that child themselves. Their religion believes that there is no glory in raising a child and the city is all about glory.

The citizens are pushed to achieve glory, no matter the consequences. This is why many of the women will go beyond the call of duty to try and achieve their glory. This might present in many different ways but only when that specific glory was achieved can that woman rest assured in her life’s work.

Culture

The culture of the city is mainly based around females being the stronger sex. Females are the ones that run and manage the city. They are the ones with all the power and they will even own men as slaves. Most of the men are owned by the glorians as a group to work the mines, the city and to do other tasks like clean and prepare food. The men are also set to work on building anything that the city demands from them. The women are often divided into certain factions. The first faction is the glorians. To be a glorian a girl would need to have a good head on her shoulders, able to problem solve at the drop of a hat.

These glorians live in the temple for most of their lives and they are responsible for making the important decisions that will guide the path of the city. The second faction is the managers. The managers need to be able to delegate and control the men slaves they have to do the tasks they were picked to do. A manager needs to have a strong hand and a forceful nature. They are the ones ordering the men to mine, farm, clean and rebuild. Armed with a whip and a few of their own soldiers, these women are fierce. The third faction is the army of glory.

The army is filled with warriors, archers, hunters, blacksmiths and raiders. These are highly skilled individuals trained in combat to protect the city and hunt for meat as well as slaves they might find wandering their lands. They are also the ones that enter the special raiding ceremony that is held every three months. The winners will win a place in a 20 strong raiding party that will scour the land for cities and villages to raid. It is the most fun a member of the army can have and tests their skills in high stress situations. The fourth faction is the carers.

These are soft gentle women who take care of the children that are born into the city. There women are skilled in medical knowledge, herbal treatments and child care. They are the ones that will care for any injured females or raise young girls into adulthood. They are also responsible for uncovering the goddess’s gift in every child they raise. Once they have discovered that gift they are to give the information over to the glorians and that child will then be given a very strict education to develop their skills so they can go into the other sectors whatever that may be.

The goddess’s gift is a skill or aptitude for a certain sector. This might be intellect, drive to manage, or even a gentle heart. It is in this way that the city makes sure that it has the most skilled individuals in every single sector. The culture in the city is strong. Many people cherish their culture and celebrate it at every given opportunity. The city is old and established which is why it is doubtful that this culture will go away any time soon.

Government

The governing of the city is down to the glorians. They are an elite group of chosen that serve as the protection of the city. They will often be in charge of making important decisions for the benefit of the city and scheduling different ceremonies. This sector’s individuals are chosen based on their merits as young girls. They are trained in problem solving, politics and the history of the city. They are taught how the city works and how it runs and most importantly, what they would need to do to keep it running smoothly. It is vital that these children excel in every single one of the topics they are taught.

From an early time of training, they are pushed toward success and the competition is very strong between the girls in this sector to be the best among their peers. It is often seen as a way to give the girls strong values and a mind of their own. Individuality is celebrated in this sector. The glorians will each attempt to propose something in the city that needs improvement before they graduate. The established glorians will then choose the best idea among the group and run with it. The girl who developed the best idea will then be allowed to take her place closer to the queen of the city and this will give her a better chance at control.

Out of all the glorians, one will be chosen to lead the country as queen. This is why competition is so fierce. All glorians want to be queen someday. They will often do their best to achieve that role. Glorians that become too old to keep up with their responsibilities are sent to the temple of caretakers where the children and the pregnant women are. They are left there to aid the others with the children and to be cared for by the caretakers until they pass away. Once they do, they are burned and their ashes are scattered around the many gardens of the city.

The glorians are the sector that is the most rigorous in their tasks and operations. The city relies heavily on their decisions and it’s often important that they make the right decision. To do that they need to understand all the facts that go into the decision making process. Many times, the glorians must decide whether to make another city their enemy or their ally. This decision is based on many different factors. If the city is strong and Tiavor has no chance of defending against it, the city will be persuaded to become a trading ally.

If the city is weak, it will be targeted by the raiding parties and the men will be taken prisoner to serve as slaves to the city. These are difficult decisions to make and it takes the glorians days, if not, weeks to come up with their final decision on the matter. No city in their immediate area is left without this consideration.

Military

The military is run by the warriors of the city. They are the women responsible for not only protecting the city with their combat skills but also making weapons, organizing raids and teaching the next generation to be good fighters. With this thought in mind, many of the warriors coming into the sector understand that they will need to have various other skills apart from just being good with a weapon or agile during combat. The girls chosen for this sector show an aptitude for being quick on their feet, silent when stalking prey as well as excellent with a weapon.

These women are fierce and they have to be since they are the ones that will end up taking lives along their own lifetime. They are providers for the city since many of them are sent out on hunting and raiding parties. They also provide entertainment for the city during events like the tournament in which warriors fight against one another so that they will have the opportunity to go raiding. Like any other military, there are different divisions that a girl might be able to go into.

The choice ultimately of where she would like to go is down to her. The girls could go into the blacksmith trade where they create weapons from the metals and gems that have been collected. It is up to blacksmiths to create the best weapons for the use of the warriors of the city. The blacksmiths do not see a lot of action and aren’t required to keep up training since they will not be needed for training purposes. There are the warriors who are expected to man the city, keep up their training and be prepared to defend the city at the first sign of a threat.

They are responsible for the safety of the city which includes the upkeep of the walls surrounding the city as well as the buildings within the walls. Anything that needs to be repaired will require planning from the warriors. Warriors are also constantly in training, keeping their bodies fit and their minds healthy. The military of the city, though divided into sectors, can stand together when they need to. They know their place and will follow the orders they are given without exception.

Despite not being glorians, they know they are valued and treasured among their community and the sisterhood they share with every other individual in the city is heartwarming. In a city with over 4000 individuals, the warriors have a lot to protect and defend. Though they have not been a part of the cold war that has changed the landscape of the empire outside the city walls, they are very much aware of what happened and what is going on. That is thanks to the talent of warrior spies that were sent out to search the landscape and their neighbors.

These scouts brought back valuable information and since then, the city has been making sure that they are more than capable of defending themselves.

Religion

The religion of the city has influenced every single part of the city. It has interwoven into the culture and into the very fabric of the people. The women of the city have only one Goddess that they follow above all else. This Goddess is known as the Goddess of Glory. The main purpose is to reward those who seek glory and in doing so they honor the goddess above all else. Her name is Umra and she has many male slave that she has beat in battle. It is said that she will offer a challenge to any man that wishes to claim her and her riches.

She will offer them her riches if they can beat her in hand to hand combat. During the fights she will outmaneuver her opponents, gain the upper hand and beat the men. In turn, they become her slave. They serve her until their dying day. It is with this strength and will power that the women of Tiavor have claimed their own power, ruling over men for centuries now. There are certain traits that are prominent in the goddess throughout her stories. The first of these traits is the presence of mind she has when it comes to outsmarting men that are bigger than her.

Her agility, training and intellect help her be the stronger sex and the fairer sex. Her ability to demand power, claim it and then use it against her enemy is seen in many stories. It’s a lesson each woman in the city will learn from a young age. The last trait that makes the goddess a worthy deity to follow is the fact that she never falls in love. Love is for the weak minded and the goddess was never weak minded. She was always portrayed as brave and strong, ready to take on any challenge and find success in her challenges. Every young woman in the city is raised on tales about the goddess’s bravery and strength and many strive to follow her example.

There were temples built to honor their goddess, decorated with glittering gems and precious metals. There are three temples in total built for the goddess. The first houses the healers and caretakers. Pregnant mothers will enter these temples as well as the elderly and the sick to get treatment. Children grow up in these temples and are taught and trained according to their particular skill set. The second temple is known as the warrior temple. It has a big arena where combatants fight to become raiders and large areas for training and blacksmithing. This is where the defense of the city is housed.

The last temple is the most glorious of them all. It houses the glorians, a group of elite minds capable of making important decisions that will affect the prosperity of the city. This is also where the queen will stay for the next five years of her life before she is replaced by a new queen chosen in the very temple.

Miscellany

[[Category:4th-century Twilight Age zu'aan cities]