Amazons

Amazons are a tribe of mostly female, human warriors from the mountains of Nepharus Mons. The several amazon tribes allied with the Black Powder Rebels lend some weight to the rumor that the secret of black powder was discovered in their lands near Nepharus Mons. Then again, many amazon tribes have had plenty of opportunities to develop a hatred for the Guild, which could just as easily have pushed them into the alliance.

## Culture

The amazons are not known for being passive warriors, and in battle their tribe leaders, the Amazon Queens, are hardly ever content to sit back and wait. Many tribes believe that an amazon queen cannot be killed until, tired of life, she wills it. This belief, however fanciful, has been borne out on countless battlefields. Enemy warlords prefer not to kill one of these powerful leaders, most often ordering their host to take her alive. This in itself is an impressive coup that enhances the warlord’s reputation. Also there is the possibility of ransom, which amazons pay without any sense of dishonor.

An adult amazon warrior who has not yet proved herself sufficiently in battle to lead a warband, take a husband or become a leader in her tribe is a Blademistress.

Despite centuries of contact with the amazonian tribes, many rumors continue to circulate about their supposedly “backwards” society. In fact, they are not made up only of women, for obvious reasons. Nor do they keep only a few male breeders kept in each tribe (a story popular with younger male Atlanteans). That said, however, the dominance of women among the tribes is connected with fertility rights, which become far more important in small populations such as theirs. The exact details, however, bear further investigation.

### Names

Amazons are known to bear names such as these:

* Kyma

### Religion

The Amazons worship a number of totemistic gods, and each of the seven or eight dozen tribes that live upon the slopes of Nepharus Mons each have their own particular spirit animal that they emulate and honor. As temples and altars dot the forested area surrounding the Amazon's homeland, each devoted to a specific animal power (wolf, hawk, rabbit, etc.), the most powerful and sacred spot in Amazon culture lies in the Valley of the Mists to the northeast of their famous homeland. The Valley of the Mists is supposedly where their distant ancestors were saved from destruction by the totem spirits, and ultimately learned from their spirit guides about combat, totemistic magic, and their role in the larger scheme of the Land.

While the warriors the Amazons capture in their raids have a variety of faiths, once they arrive on the slopes of Nepharus Mons, their personal beliefs are void, and speaking of alien gods on the holy ground of the Amazon's mountain is a sure path towards punishment and bloody education.

While many of the uneducated peoples of the Land compare the Amazons and the Elementals as being alike, in truth they are very different. While the Elementals certainly believe in working with the primal forces of the Land to defeat their enemies, none would ever let a totem spirit actually possess them and use them in battle like they do with the Amazons. The very principle goes against the teachings of the Spirit of Tezla, where it is written that possession of a sentient being (and the revocation of free will) by any force whatsoever is a blasphemous, and terrible act.

## Gallery

Amazon BlademistressAmazon Blademistress fighting a Half-Troll HackerAmazon QueenAmazon Blademistress

***Sapient species***
 Alien to the Land

***Black Powder Rebels***
 Major characters

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 https://www.mageknight.net/wp-content/uploads/Mage-Knight-Lore-Expansion-Rebellion.pdf
2. ↑ https://www.mageknight.net/wp-content/uploads/Mage-Knight-Lore-Expansion-Rebellion.pdf
3. ↑ https://www.mageknight.net/wp-content/uploads/Mage-Knight-2.0-Card-Set-Domains.pdf