Penthesil

Penthesil is a city-state nestled between Panama and Colombia with the capitol city being inhabited by women only.  Smaller villages of men exist outside the city walls and are governed by the laws of the massive city-state at their center.
The Men's villages are were a large amount of the food and crops are grown and cultivated, as well as where the men and a smattering of women live.  While women are not barred from living in the smaller men's villages, men are barred from living in the capitol city.

## Society

Within Penthesil there are two key hierarchies.

Artis, Soldiers, or Valkryie are considering the higher class of the Penthesil population.  They are normally tall women who are physically strong warriors.  Artis has rights slightly higher than the average Penthesil citizen.  Artis can have children, while others can not.  Artis can also join the military, while others cannot.

Hesties, House Girls, Wet Nurses are considered to be a lower class, but only in status. Average sized women in both height and build. In the social structure, Hesties have protections and the same rights as Artis, barring the ability to join the military and have children.  Despite not being able to have children, they are often delegated to care for children of Arties.  This is an arrangement that is the key social structure of Penthesil: the Artie/Hestie relationship.

## Artie/Hestie Relations:

Often times an Artis who has a child also needs to be able to serve in the military at a moments notice.  As such, they require childcare, and long term childcare.  As a result, the Hesties, who cannot birth children of their own, are assigned to an Artis household in order to raise the children.  Children refer to Hestie parents as "momma" or "Mommy" while the more formal "Mom" or "Mother" are reserved for the Artis, or birth mother.

In the event that an Artis dies while serving in battle, the Hestie who is currently assigned is given all immediate rights to property and guardianship of children in the home.  The Hestie has the option to refuse this and return to the House of Hestia at any time for reassignment, but most do not as they have a connection with the children of the home.

## Ruling Class

The ruling class of Penthesil is Two-Fold.

* Executive/Judicial Branch:

The Queenship:  Those who are Queen of Penthesil are said to be chosen by Divine Right.  The Queenship is the commander of all of Penthesil's military.  The Current Queen of Penthesil is Rachel 'Hera' Hippolyte.  Her daughters, Evangeline 'Hera' Hippolyte and Zepherina 'Hera' Hippolyte are heirs to the throne, Eva being the oldest of the two sisters.

The Stewardship: The Steward of Penthesil is the second in command, and often attends to matters of the state such as troop deployments and carrying out decrees of the Queenship.  The current Steward of Penthesil is Dimitra 'Hera' Rigas.  Her daughter, Theodora 'Hera' Rigas is the sole heir to the Stewardship, despite having a younger sister who is ineligible for this title.

* Legislature:

Penthesil has a senate, who meets to create or modify laws.  Laws can be suggested by either the Queenship or Stewardship but must be ratified by the Senate.  The Senate can also present bills to the Queenship and Stewardship, both of which must approve the bill before it can be enacted as law.

## The Decree of Women Only

When Penthesil was first founded the Queenship was by the Order of Hera.

Hera is the Goddess of Women, Marriage, and Childbirth. So it was declared: "Only those who can truly serve Hera may set foot on Penthesil soil."

This led to the tradition of boys who are born in Penthesil not being allowed to touch the ground within the city walls. They are swaddled and carried out of the city, handed to their fathers who await outside the walls to receive their sons.

## The "Raids" and the War of Generations

The Ritual Raids of modern-day was instituted by Rachel's mother, as she is known in Penthesil, Queen Takisha 'Hera' Hippolyte.

Queen Takisha declared that the Raids will be of a Ritual nature, and no man should have his seed forcibly taken ever again. Queen Takisha declared the punishment for anyone who forced sex on another would be life long imprisonment. Queen Rachel escalated the punishment to death, to ensure the law carried more weight.

The ritual harkens back to a legend of old. When the Greek Ancestors of the Penthesil Valkrie, the Greek Amazons of old, marched up the coast to aid the Native American tribes under siege by invading Vikings.

Led by Princess Antiope 'Hera' Hippolyte and her best Amazon warriors fought the Viking invaders for months. Despite the Amazon's superior numbers, armor, and shields, the Viking men were much stronger. While Princess Antiope bested the Viking invaders, it came at a heavy cost.

Enraged, Princess Antope ordered her stronger warrior to rape the injured Vikings, to steal their strength, and as justice for the Native American women whom the Vikings had raped.

This led to the War of Generations, the beginning of the Penthesil eugenics system.

It is said for five Generations the women of Penthesil would travel north, up the coast, and attack a Viking encampment. With each generation, this grew easier, as the women were stronger from the selective breeding of each assault.

During the fifth generation, the Vikings yielded completely, some taken as prisoners, some allowed to flee. The Vikings would later declare the America's the 'Land of the Valkyrie', it was this declaration that the warriors of Penthesil took their new heritage, and declared themselves Valkyrie.

The captured Vikings would raise their sons, and start the first settlements of men outside of Penthesil.

## Men's Villages

The Villages outside of Penthesil are inhabited by men but suffer no restriction as Penthesil proper does.

The men here loosely worship a combination of Greek and Norse mythology. The men, however, are not barred from forming their own military to protect their villages from any potential threats. As a result, their armor and battle fatigues mirror their Viking heritage. Names are also lifted heavily from Norse mythos and heritage. Occasionally a father will request to name a daughter if the mother allows this, it is permitted.

The men follow strict regimens of physical fitness, as most of them are farmers, but there are other professions shared among the men. In many of the parks are free weights, used by all, and courts for basketball, rugby, and other full-contact sports. Usually affixed to these public parks is a saying by the Greek philosopher Socrates:

"No man has the right to be an amateur in the matter of physical training."

Men who are accused of being lazy or unfit will often have the second half of this quote lorded over them:

"It is a shame for a man to grow old without seeing the beauty and strength of which his body is capable."

Because of this ideology, physical fitness is a paramount ideal in the men's villages.

It also leads to competition for the raids that occur semi-annuallyI

## The Order of Hera vs The Order of Dionysus

Within Penthesil, a debate rages.

At its center is the Order of Dionysus. A small order who fights for the rights of Male-to-Female transgendered individuals.

The Order of Dionysus states that the God Dionysus died, and was reborn a trans-female. They state that men who transition to female and declare themselves female, have a right to live within the Penthesil walls. They also state that these male-to-female transgendered individuals would add strength to the army. Making up the order are the female parents of these M2F transgenders, and other advocates, who demand that their "Daughters be allowed to come home."

The Order of Hera states that Hera's decree was clear: that only those who can bear children may set foot in Penthesil. As a result, the Order of Hera has declared that F2M Trans gendered individuals may enter and cross the soil of Penthesil, unlike the M2F.

The Order of Hera deems that for the safety of all children, male and female, this must be the case. They fear women who do not want to part with their sons would castrate them and declare them M2F trans children. A situation the Order of Dionysus declares complete fantasy, and that they would never support infant-genital mutilation of any sort.

As Doctor Penelope 'Hera' Kyrkos, Head of Pediatric Care, famously said in a controversial statement: "Men wish to behave like women, so they can wear a dress and join the army." The Order of Dionysus did not take to this comment well.

Queen Rachel remains on the side of the Order of Hera, regarding this. Though the Order of Dionysus attempts to sway her, above all others, very frequently. Despite their attempts, Queen Rachel has no waivered on the stance of the Order of Hera.

## The Order of Eris

Considered a fringe cult or otherwise something to be avoided or only whispered about in dark allies.

Mystery and Fear surround the Order, occasionally called the Cult of Eris.

The followers are often found drinking in their order hall, more often than not. Other drug use is either implied or accursed.

the Order of Eris considers themselves "Discordians" their blessings often end with "Eris be Praised" or "Discord surrounds you", short for: "May discord surround, but never consume you."

Their belief is that if they praise Eris above all others, they will be spared the discord and strife she brings. It is said that turning away from the Order, or destroying Discordian runes or disturbing rituals, will bring upon you the discord sealed away or warded threefold.

Launa experiences this when she burns a letter containing a Discordian rune of Eris. The rune in question is the sigil of Eris, represented in text here: )|(. After she burned it she was attacked by three royal guards, as the rune was used by Maria to prevent her Artie from attacking her while drunk. The removal of the ward also caused the same fate to occur to Madison Hill, who was in that Artie's employ as her Hestie.

Part of the initiation is to take a bite out of a Golden Apple, representative of the Apple Eris gave to Paris which said "To the Fairest" in Greek. This Apple began the Trojan Wars.

Madison Hill joins after she fears for her safety, and since then she claims to have heard and seen the Goddess Eris whispering to her and guiding her.

Other orders follow the laws of their respective Goddesses, but none worship at the level of fanaticism or zealotry that the Discordians do.

## The Order of Artemis

The Order of Artemis prides itself on the hunt, and preserving nature.

The order places strict regulation on any technology that Penthesil wishes to innovate in, as such there are few cars that drive through the city, and few products which produce large scale waste. As a result, most soda and other carbonated beverages are served in glass reusable bottles.

The Order of Artemis is considered the dominant Order in Penthesil, as Queen Takisha and Queen Rachel were coronated by high ranking members of the Order, usurping the previously established Order of Athena.

## The Order of Athena

The Order of Athena was once the most well respected and popular order in all of Penthesil. This changed when Queen Takisha came to power. She declared that those in the order of Athena were warmongers looking for fights, and chose to be coronated by the Order of Artemis. The Order of Hera is ineligible as Queens are barred from coronating under their own orders.

This was a heavy blow to the Order's membership, and as such membership wanned heavily. Worse yet with the surge of the Order of Artemis's membership, most considered themselves "Arties" rather than "Athenians", and the majority of the soldiers aligned with the Order of Artemis.

Despite this, under Queen Rachel, The Order of Athena has been diligently developing weapons for war. Queen Rachel has used this research to sell weapons to the US military. Weapons research and manufacture is now the Order of Athena's primary source of activity. While small, this had made them the richest order in Penthesil.

## The House of Hestia

Those women who are born weak, small, or otherwise unfit to reproduce or fight in the army, are often encouraged to join the House of Hestia.

Hestia is the Goddess of Hearth and Home, and as such the women who join her order are dubbed 'Hesties'.

A Hestie's role in Penthesil is to cook, clean, care for young, act as Mid-wives to Valkerie who are pregnant, and raise the children of their Arties.

Hesties are often called "mommy" or "momma" by their step-children, while referring to their birth mothers as "Mom" or the more formal "Mother." In the event the mother of the children a Hestie is caring for dies due to illness or death in battle, the Hestie has the rights to all property in the home, as well as continued guardianship of the child she is raising.

Hesties often times serve multiple Arties, unless they chose to be their Arties' lover. While official marriage is not often performed, this is considered a strong union. This behavior has led to a shortage of Hesties in Penthesil, thus why Madison Hill was given the role of Hestie by Queen Rachel upon her arrival in Penthesil.

Hesties are barred from taking part in the Raids of Penthesil, and as such are not eligible to have children.

## Abortion in Penthesil

Abortion, to many's surprise, is deemed a sin against the Goddess Hera, and frowned upon in Penthesil.

This is normally not a consideration many face, as almost all of Penthesilian pregnancy is fully intentional.

The only time it is allowed is if the mother's life, or the child's life, is in mortal peril due to medical complications during the pregnancy. Even if this requirement is met, it must be validated by a second opinion.

The punishment for aborting a viable child in Penthesil is life imprisonment. It was paramount to murder in Penthesil.

The only time this was practiced was when a Valkrie would find herself pregnant with an unwanted male - thus why there is such control over Abortion, to prevent the undesired killing of Penthesilian boys.