Pelatan
by Marco Dalmonte English translation by Gary DaviesDiulanna - Courage, strength of will, perseverance, hunting, liberty
Mother Earth (Terra) - Balance of the life cycle, birth, prosperity and fertility, nature, earth, shepherds and farmers, protection of all forms of life
Tarastia - Law, order, truth, justice and just vengeance
Valerias - Love, passion, desire, fertility, protection, charity, arts
Madarua - Women warriors, courage, natural cycle, fertility
Varellya (Vanya) - Victory, war, conquest, pride, honour, strength
Karaash - Humanoids, war, victory, conquest, tactics, strength
Great One - Dragons and lizardkin, creation, justice, knowledge, magic
Notes:
1. Pelatan is for the most part a flat region that is situated in the south-western part of Davania. Pelatan borders to the north with Izonda, to the east with Brasol, to the south-east with Vulcania, and to the west it is bathed by the Far End Ocean. Pelatan is mainly inhabited by the human descendents of the many Neathar tribes that arrived in the region in 800 BC from the neighbouring Brasol, and by some humanoids and draconic creatures, which claim especially the foot mountains area to the borders with Vulcania and Brasol. Pelatan is a nation divided into various matriarchal tribes (that is dominated by Queens and in which the line of descent is dictated by the mother) that they moved from Brasol many centuries ago for open clashes with the patriarchal and excessively aggressive tribes which are found in that area. Led by the priestesses of Diulanna, the ancestors of the Pelatans overcame with great difficulty the Brasol Range and finally saw opening before them the great green expanses of their new country, which they renamed Pelatan (“Our Land” in their language). The priestesses of Diulanna safely hold the power in their hands created a true matriarchy, in which the role of the man is subordinate to the decisions of the women, which obviously hold the positions of power and fight at the side of the men, according to the creed of Diulanna (that also the male followers have learned to accept and respect). Each tribe has its own Queen who gains the office based on the right of birth, and every year all the Queens are found in the Sacred Circle of Diulanna (a megalithic formation on the mountain that is erected on the west coast, called the Shield of Pelatan) in order to thank the Immortal and seal political and commercial accords between the various tribes. The Pelatans live thanks to the products of agriculture and husbandry, and among them still trade using barter. Also famous in Izonda and in neighbouring Brasol for their bravery and their innate cavalry gifts are the Pelatan Amazons, a select group of holy warriors devoted to Diulanna that makes up a sort of intertribal national guard, which patrols the region and are occupied in keeping down skirmishes among the tribes, repulsing the invaders from beyond the borders, drive out and destroy humanoids and dragons, and maintain the order. The Amazons are led by the Chosen, a leader nominated by common accord by the council of the Queens during the meeting at the Circle of Diulanna, and whose office is reviewed year on year based on her competence and state of health. The Chosen has furthermore the power of uniting the tribes and leading the warriors in case of grave and imminent danger, issuing the state of alert through the dispatch of Amazons in all the parts of Pelatan, and start to lead the war until the council of the Queens hasn’t gathered in order to deliberate otherwise.
2. The faith of the Pelatans revolves around the cults of female Immortals, at whose top is Diulanna, the great inspirer of the migration and protector of the tribes. The clerics of Diulanna can be both male and female, but only the priestesses can aspire to the positions of command (village head, Queen or military commander) and every male priest must obey their demands (in case they aren’t clearly absurd and oppressed, in that case the cleric must bring the questions before his own Queen). At the next level is Mother Earth, the one who creates life and renews the seasons, protect the plants and animals and give to the humans the fruits of the earth in order to sustain them. The cult of Madarua (that provides only and exclusively woman clerics) is to reconnect to that of Mother Earth and of Diulanna since she is in effect considered a daughter of the two Immortals, the figure who unites the ancient matriarchal cult of the woman as symbol of fertility (Terra) to that of the woman as guide and heroine who doesn’t surrender in front of nothing (Diulanna). Extremely appreciated by the Pelatans is also Tarastia, patroness of justice and just vengeance, adored chiefly by the men since she is considered the Immortal of equality and impartiality. Related to this Immortal there is also the Immortal of love and passion, Valerias, whose frequently orgiastic rites are still considered by many Pelatans too unrestrained, and when they aren’t performed to favour the reproductive activity but were completed with the only aim of inducing ecstatic trances in the celebrants, can tend to corrupt the spirit and to lead to madness if they allow it to. For this, although it is extremely popular especially for her image of patroness of female fertility (on which is based the matriarchal heritage of the Pelatan society), the cult of Valerias is always watched closely by the Amazons and Queens, which sees its practices as potentially dangerous for their stability and order. Closing the circle the cult of Varellya (Vanya), Immortal of war and victory, a religion imported by the Varellyan clerics that collect the sympathies of the more belligerent Amazons from the II century BC.
3. The humanoids that live in the eastern regions of Pelatan are all followers of Karaash, while the dragons worship the Great One. There are also many clerics of the Shaper that wander around Pelatan without them being able to convert many Pelatans to their creed (especially seeing that the Shaper is a male Immortal, and despite his peaceful teachings are dealt with enough or disliked by the Pelatan Queens).