[Note: some of the information in this series of articles refer to material that will appear on the MA1017]
East of Minaea, from the city of Akuba eastwards and then to the southern tip
of the continent of Skothar, at the north separated from the rest of Skothar by
the Tangor Chain, lies the Lands of the Swanamutu.
Swanamutu means "the People", and is the name by which the
black-skinned human settlers of south-eastern Skothar call themselves. They are
mostly descendants of the Tanagoro, that lived in the south-eastern region of
Skothar at the times of Blackmoor, but their blood is mixed with other human
races, especially the descendants of the Afridhi.
Swanamutu is called the Black Lands by the Minaeans, because they call the Tangor, the westernmost settlers of the Swanamutu Lands, "Black Men". The term Swanamutu, that once referred to the human population in the Tanagoro language, is now commonly used as name of this region of the continent of Skothar.
The Swanamutu, or Black Men to keep things easy, are divided in many
linguistic groups, forming a great number of state entities. Most live in the
jungles and savannas that form the Swanamutu regions.
Inexplicably, Alphatian and Brunian maps alike draw mountains all along their
lands, but this is just a simplification: although it is true that most of the
region is well above sea level, mountains give often room to plateaus covered by
jungles and savannah. Most Swanamutu share common traits, like the productive
activities (agriculture, goat farming, craftsmanship) and the social
organisation (division in clans and tribes), but generally a different religion
(myths of the origin of the world, totem worship or not, ancestor's cult or
not). There are also bloody rivalries among some of the tribes and even inside
the same states.
There is also a number of minor cities: these are common in the southern
regions, where Minaean merchants have brought democratic influences to
populations living in less savage environments. Other cities have also been
built by other human or humanoid races of Skothar who migrated here.
Apart from these nations and states, there are Green Orcs and Dark Goblins, a
constant threat throughout Skothar, and other minor humanoid barbarian tribes.
This part of the Swanamutu Gazetteer deals with the Empire of Tangor and the
surrounding nations that border the eastern part of the Tangor Bay.
Nearly all the Black Men of the region are of Tangor ethnicity. This is the most
known region of the Swanamutu Lands. The fact that the Swanamutu descend mostly
from the Tanagoros, and the existence of an Empire in the region, has led to the
wrong belief that there is only a major empire that occupies all the Swanamutu
Lands. This is obviously ridiculous.
The Tangor region goes from the city of Akuba east all over the Gulf of Tangor
up to a longitude of 105° East. The area comprises the western stretch of the
Tangor Chain, and thus the area that we will talk about in this description is
about the same size of Mystara's Old World. There are no important islands in
the region.
Climate & Terrain: Tangor's climate is sub-tropical. The region sits at
the passage from temperate forest to the first hints of jungle.
Agriculture is not particularly popular among the population, and the productive
activities concentrate on goat farming in stretches of forest that have been (disboscati).
Goat milk and goat meat is the most common food, supplemented by bananas and
other tropical fruits that grow near the villages of the area. Winter is short
(about a couple of months) and rather rainy, the temperature ranging from 10 to
15°C; autumn and spring are long, warm (20 to 30°C) and vary much from year to
year. Summers are hot and generally are made up of a rainy month with a couple
of dry months immediately before autumn. During the summer, temperatures may
reach 35°C, and the humidity is incredible.
Flora and Fauna: The animals encountered here may be jaguars, baboons, apes, crocodiles and alligators, and many, many species of insects and snakes of different degree of poison strength. Flora includes the typical jungle trees, but nearing the mountains and westward toward Tangor pine trees may be easily encountered.
Tangors
The Tangors, the race that is commonly referred to as "Black Men"
by the Minaeans is made of the pure descendants of the old Tanagoro tribesmen.
The Tangors are black-skinned, tall, long-legged and slender, with deep brown to
black hair and eyes. They wear tunics, generally white or light-coloured, and
light moccasins, comfortable and suited to life in jungles and savannahs.
The linguistic groups take their name from each of the five original
principalities which traced their direct ancestry to the Tanagoro (Tangormen,
Mawurus, Uberians, Zambulans and Durhanians, although the latter call themselves
the True Ones). The five groups share a common written language called T'kala
("the writing"), and may understand each other, but the dialects are
quite different from each other.
Nailans
Nailans are a 75% Tanagoro/25% Afridhi race that have no more a land of their
own. Nailans are tall, but somewhat shorter and of stronger built than the
Tangors. They have big flat noses, small ears, and curly hair, commonly brown;
eyes are generally brown, but blue, although rare, may be found.
Nailans are divided in two groups, that have been separated for centuries.
Rathasians still live peacefully in the Tangor Empire, while nearly all Cymrians
have degenerated as a captive race of the hivebroods that conquered their
kingdom. A small community of two thousand Cymrians, that now call themselves
the Dark Seed, live in the jungle of Lleweryn.
Hivebroods
Hivebroods are a dangerous race of insectoid humanoids. They resemble humanoids with antennae, compound eyes and a tough, chitinous exoskeleton. They form a strong hierarchy, with each hive's life cantered around the tending of the Mother. Hivebroods reproduce by transplanting a larva in the body of a humanoid victim: the two beings are fused in one day into a new member of the hivebrood race. Hivebroods are thus generally dangerous to the humanoid population around them, but at the moment they have secluded themselves in their kingdom, ignoring other races because they have plenty of human slaves which they breed and then use for their own reproduction.
Demonettes
An unique feature on Mystara, Demonettes are a female-only race of humanoids that have arrived to Skothar from Zyxl. Demonettes are all females, very beautiful, with a pale white skin and green or sea-blue hair, pointed ears, and green or violet eyes. Demonettes have also two small yellow-brown horns two centimetres long protruding from their frontal skull region. They are able to mate with all humanoid races (from goblins to orcs to humans to dwarves). If the offspring is male, it belongs to the father's race, otherwise it becomes a Demonette. They are in all other respects equal to humans (classes, saving throws etc.).
Dark Goblins
Dark Goblins (Goblinus Obscurus) represent one of the major threats to the
tranquillity of Skothar. They are common in this part of Skothar, and live
mostly on the northern mountains, in the Tangor Chain, or in the jungles of
Lleweryn. Dark Goblins don't belong to the races commonly known on Brun: they
have a dark grey skin and are completely hairless.
The ones that live in the jungle wear only loincloths and boots, and have become
very good at climbing and walking from tree to tree. Those who live in the
mountains wear fur-coats and trousers; they know very well the region and when
the tribes are not warring against each other they are willing to guide
adventurers or mountaineers through the mountains. Some tribes of Mountain Dark
Goblins have been conquered by Demonettes.
2900 BC: The axis change brought by the Great Rain of Fire becomes clear to the Tanagoro humans, who find themselves in colder strokes, where mountains begin to form where once grasslands stood, and where the aurochs and dinosaurs who formed the basis of their existence are dying. Some Tanagoro begin to follow the auroch migrations toward the west, while a consistent group remains in the region. In this part of the history, we will deal only with the Tanagoro that leave westward and settle in the Tangor Empire region.
2500-1600 BC: The western descendants of the Tanagoro tribesmen, who has undergone a cultural change in the past centuries, enter their Dark Age. They are by now reduced to a nomadic, barbaric tribe who has for the most part lost their past simple philosophic attitudes, and retained just their fighting tradition. The nomadic tribes slaughter each other with savage and brutal satisfaction; tribe faidas and raids are exponentially growing, and the chaos reigns over the land. The Tanagoro lose more and more land to the nature and wilderness. This is in part caused of the loss of interest of their patron Immortals, Ka and Korotiku, in them, due to the transplantation of many of them in the Hollow World since 2'500 BC, and especially by the migration of many of the more adventurous, energetic and good-willed Tanagoro (These will become the ancestors of the Pearl Islanders and the Yavdlom). The decline has been slow but constant, and at this time the Tanagoro are very different in manners and behaviour.
1600-1000 BC: The Tanagoro are pushed further west by the arrive of a new race to the eastern tip of the Skothar continent: they are slowly attacked, infested and replaced by colonies of Hivebroods. When the Tanagoro finally understand what is happening, they begin a continual guerrilla against them.
933 BC: A Tanagoro sorcerer rises to prominence in the region surrounding the small town of Sulu by killing a roc that was infesting the village. His name is Lobu.
931 BC: Lobu leaves Sulu, where he has become Tribe-Chief, to search for the fabulous city of Iknaji, mentioned in the Tanagoro legends as the depositary of powerful magics. Sulu has the ambition of stopping the decline of his land, and reunite the Tanagoro in a strong kingdom.
923 BC: Sulu returns to his village. He appears to be paradoxically younger than when he left, although nearly ten years before. But Sulu no longer exists, burnt down in a raid by a nearby village.
922-911 BC: A great wizard that calls himself the Black Sorcerer of Durhan raises a great army and unites Tanagoro from the east coast of the Wide Bay to the western borders of the Hivebrood colonies. He proclaims himself Emperor of Tanagor after 11 years of bloody fights.
854 BC: The Black Sorcerer of Durhan is killed by a Jennite adventurer named Eet-an. The young adventurer is not at all interested in ruling- he did so because he was well payed by a group of Tanagor that couldn't bear anymore the dictatorship of the Black Sorcerer. Unfortunately, although his ruling was harsh, it was the only thing to keep the peace in a devastated land. Now, the situation reverts back to before 1'822, with wars worse than ever, because more civilised and magic studying warlike Tanagors can now fight on a bigger scale with better weapons. The Tanagor are living now mostly in the forested region that surrounds the eastern part of the Tangor Bay; they have mostly abandoned their ancestral areas at the easternmost tip of the Tangor Chain, slowly migrating westwards in the continent; they have been followed by the Hivebrood colonies, who need the humans for their broodlings.
848 BC: Eet-an, now known as the Steel Demon, is a successful leader of a Tanagor raiding band. He has managed to build a stronghold called Hell's Kitchen, and now his raiding actions are growing to a bigger scale...
841 BC: ...so finally he crowns himself King of Ubu. His kingdom occupies just a small portion of the Tanagor Empire, but is nevertheless a solid institution in the sea of chaos that the Tanagor lands are now. The name Tangor is now being used by the black men of the area, the central "a" dropped for obvious phonetic reasons.
821 BC: The Steel Demon leaves his kingdom during a night with no moon. A voice from the statue of the Immortal Xenon speaks to the crowd saying that the Steel Demon is now one of the Gods, and that the new ruler of the city will come from east 77 days after this. He will bear a recognisable sign of his royal status. 77 days later, an iron golem, apparently intelligent, enters the city and claims the throne. He assumes the name of Hawa Dulu, and proclaims to be King of Tangor. He then begin heavy military actions in the hope of conquering all the Tangor lands for himself and builds great temples to the Steel Demon in every city of the region.
803 BC: While the remnants of the Kingdom of Ubu crumble to dust, in the capital city of Hell's Kitchen, Hawa Dulu is killed by the statue of the Immortal Xenon, animated by a divine power. The statue proclaims the Steel Demon to be dead, and that it is no longer a God. It also says that all traces of the divinity that led to the destruction of Ubu, giving the power to an incapable golem like Hawa Dulu, must be removed from Tangor.
730-800 BC: The Tangors bordering the Hivebrood colonies manage to open diplomatic relations with the insectoid humanoids. Raiding and guerrilla begin to stop, and the two races start to collaborate in the face of the menace coming from the north: a massive migration of Dark Goblins led by a charismatic chief named Ghulan.
696 BC: The Hivebroods and Tangors of the eastern borders repel the goblins. The Dark Goblins settle in the forested regions just at the north of them; Ghulan still leads them to occasional raids in the following years.
665-61 BC: A great campaign conducted by the Hivebrood colony of Lleweryn and the Tangors of the city of Yara defeats the Dark Goblins, whose king Ghulan had died some years before. The campaign is a total carnage: the surviving goblins and hobgoblins are taken as slaves by the two groups, and the Tangor give all their slaves to the Hivebroods in sign of friendship. The insectoids of Lleweryn have now the victims to use for their broodlings; they use their slaves for breeding, and begin to sell goblinoid slaves to the eastern colonies, thus rising to prominence in the area.
700-400 BC: The Tangors create several small tribal kingdoms, centred around small cities ruled by a great chief. The only exception are the Tangor of Yara, that profit by the trade with the Hivebroods; many are employed also as mercenaries by the Hivebroods, especially by the Controllers (ruling hivebroods) of the colony of Lleweryn, who control the monopoly of goblinoid slaves.
463 BC: The Hivebroods are united by the Controllers of Lleweryn in a Great Colony.
400-200 BC: During these two centuries, a dozen of major Tangor kingdoms are formed.
167-153 BC: Four Tangor kingdoms are slowly united by Makala, a woman sorceress and brilliant tactician, into the Empire of Tangor.
AC 0 : At the time of Zendrolion's crowning in Thyatis, there are only five kingdoms in Tangor: the Tangor Empire, the Kingdom of Ubu, the Kingdom of Mawuru, the Principality of Zambul and the Republic of Durhan.
AC 193-194: The Republic of Durhan is conquered by Zambul.
AC 219-243: The Tangor Empire conquests the kingdoms of Ubu and Mawuru; many Mawurans leave westward, and build the independent cities of Akuba and Batu-Fomba. The only other Tangor kingdom to remain independent from the Empire is the mountain Principate of Zambul.
AC 335: To resist Tangor's aggressive attitude, several Tarystian cities organise a League led by Minaea. The first Tangor War is won by the Tarystians at the Battle of Traun (336 AC).
AC 439-446: Second Tangor War. Akuba is conquered by the Tangor Empire.
AC 633-42: Great slave revolt in the Hivebrood kingdom. It takes nearly ten years for the insectoid to take again control of the goblins, many of whom manage to flee southwards in the mountains. This leads to increasing tensions with Zambul, who accuse them of raids in the black-skinned humans' lands against their century-long treaties.
AC 645-67: Tangor and Lleweryn conquest Zambul after a long war; especially bloody is the battle against the city of Durhan, the last one to fall. Empress Zaila the Ruthless of Tangor donates all the prisoners of Durhanian language as slaves to the Hivebroods in change of the complete sovereignty over Zambul (663). Disgusted by the political move of the Empress, several nobles and cities revolt, but the Empress crush them (667).
AC 671-674: Empress Zaila is poisoned by her fourth husband, who seizes the throne of Tangor and leads his people to the rescue of the Tangor slaves. The Hivebroods, irritated by the continual problems they face in the area, leave the region heading eastward in the hope of finding other less proud populations to colonise. They kill all the Tangor slaves they can find, and take with them only the few necessary for their broodlings. They pass through the kingdom of Rathasia, weakening it greatly. The new Emperor, Vamoro III, is thus able to conquer the kingdom.
AC 681: The Hivebroods conquer the Duchy of Cymru, and stop there, using the human population as broodlings.
AC 701: Emperor Swahimi of Tangor sets a referendum in the provinces of Durhan and Zambul, allowing the population to choose whether becoming independent or remain in the Empire. Durhan chooses independence, Zambul remains in the Empire.
AC 742: Several Dark Goblin tribes of the mountains are conquered and united by a weird race of female humanoids that call themselves Demonettes. The new kingdom is called Lamu.
AC 794: The Demonettes ally themselves with the governor of Ekleke, and begin to prepare the city to regain its independence.
AC 814-16: Third Tangor war. Tangor loses Akuba, but the city doesn't enter the Minaean League. Moreover, the Mawuran city of Ekleke manages to gain independence. Black-men from Batu-Fomba organise a political coup to bring the city in the Confederation, but it is foiled by a young adventurer named Dabo. He is crowned King of the city.
AC 823: Demonettes begin to infiltrate the human population of Ekleke.
AC 964: Batu Fomba is raided by people from Akuba.
AC 967-68: Batu Fomba and the Tangor Empire's city of Ungkha ally themselves against Akuba. The city is conquered and split in two parts: one controlled by the Governor of Ungkha and the other by the Ruling Council of Batu Fomba.
AC 981: Akuba regains its independence with the military strength, led by the politician Trabul. A democratic government is elected.
AC 1000: Gazetteer time. All information contained in this Gazetteer are written for this time.
Area: 64'000 km sq approximately
Population: 27'000 hivebroods and 11'000 degenerated human slaves
Languages: Hivebrood
Coinage: No coinage used
Taxation: No taxation
Industries: Sugar and honey production. Barter reduced to a minimum with the Empire of Tangor.
Government type: Hive
Cymru is among the darkest nations of the Swanamutu. It is a relatively small region controlled by the dangerous hivebroods. The insectoid race holds as slaves thousands of humans, a degenerated branch of the Nailans that once held the region. Cymru is located in a hilly region, where the jungle gives gradually place to pine forest. The hivebrood soldiers patrol the few safe trails of the land, and capture immediately any intruder. If fertile humans, these are brought to the open prisons that are present in each of the hivebrood colonies in Cymru (there are six major, the size of small cities, and other minor, which host from 300 to 600 hivebroods and 100 to 300 human slaves), and used as broodlings or for slave reproduction.
The hivebroods produce sugar and honey; a big part of the production is sold to the Tangors, or more precisely to the merchant organisation known as the Ant. The mercenary guards and merchants of the Ant are the only strangers allowed to enter the land.
Area: 71'000 km sq approximately
Population: 280'000 humans (99% Tangors). Capital : Durhan (pop. 36'300)
Languages: Tangor (Durhanian dialect)
Coinage: Plant (gp), Animal (sp), Mineral (cp)
Taxation: System base on wealth, from 5% to 40% of annual income
Industries: Agriculture (bananas, cocoa, cacao, manioca)
Government type: Democratic confederacy
Important Figures: President Biko M'tala
The Republic of Durhan occupies the northern part of Tangor, a rich part of sub-tropical forest where they are able to sustain themselves cultivating tropical fruit plants and selling them to the surrounding nations. Durhan faces dangers at its west, where they border with the Goblands, although the relations shift often depending on the whim of the humanoid chiefs. At the southeast, the land gives way to the dangerous jungle area of Cymru.
The Republic of Durhan is free from the Empire of Tangor since AC 701, when the population decided for independence in the referendum set by Emperor Swahimi. The Republic is a confederation of many small provinces (the Constitution created a province for each of the Durhanian tribes), each of whom sends a representant to the Council of Elders. The Council meets in Durhan, where decisions concerning all the Republic (wars, foreign policy, taxations) are taken.
The Durhanians are another fierce and proud Tangor population. They call themselves the True Ones, in opposition to all other Tangors, except Tangormen, which they respect because they have been able to impose their culture on others, and not sheepishly accepted the other's sovereignty. The Durhanian politicians, however, plot whatever they can to bring the downfall, or at least the weakening, of their too strong and dangerous neighbour.
Area: 7'000 km sq approximately.
Population: 30'000 humans (males all Tangors, females 70% Demonettes)
Languages: Tangor (Mawuru dialect)
Coinage: Lamia (gp), Dia (sp), Sep (cp)
Taxation: 5% of annual income to be paid three times each year
Industries: Agriculture (bananas, manioca, peanuts)
Government type: Monarchy
Important Figures: King Mojambo; Queen Kasumi
Ekleke is an independent city located in the eastern part of Mawuru. The city is surrounded completely by the Empire of Tangor, in the mountains at the western edge of the Tangor Chain. However, the city is safe from all sort of invasions from their neighbours because it is taboo.
The reason for this is the weird composition of the population: all males are clearly Mawurus, while females belong to another race known as Demonettes. The origin of the Demonettes is not known to the Tangors outside Ekleke, nor are their particularities as a race, so the Tangors believe that the Eklekans have made a sort of infernal deal with demons or other weird creatures.
During the two centuries of Lamu-Ekleke cooperation, the intermarriage between the two cultures have flourished, and thus most of the females of the city are Demonettes. A couple of aristocratic families of the city marry only with other Tangors, but with the current pace, in time there will probably not be any female of Tangor appearance in the city.
The Eklekans are extremely suspicious of strangers- this, because anyone in Swanamutu is suspicious of Eklekans. No-one outside Ekleke knows of the City of Lamu, and thus of the presence of other Demonettes outside Ekleke. However, in the Empire of Tangor sometimes a travelling Demonette may fall in love with a Tangor human; a marriage of this sort becomes easily the target of racists and nationalists, if not of romantic tales.
The Elo Goblands are the mountainous regions of the western Tangor Chain where several tribes of Dark Goblins live. Goblands is a term used by the Tangors; the Dark Goblins call the mountains simply Elo (home), and refer to themselves as Elo Goblins. There is a number of independent tribes, that count more than 175000 individuals in total, plus other 50000 goblinoids under the control of the city of Lamu [these tribes will be covered in the Lamu entry]. The Dark Goblins live hunting and warring against each other, and are stationary, living in small villages.
Black Axe: These goblins have settled the northern mountains, where they have risen to power given the presence of iron mines. They are excellent smiths and are mostly peaceful, because they are able to trade their iron with the Tangors and thus are quite rich, and are better organized than the other goblinoid tribes. Population: 16500, scattered in a couple dozens of villages.
Fire Dogs: The Fire Dogs live on the western part of the Tangor Chain, and often raid the eastern Minaean cities. They are expert wolf-riders, and wear wolf-furs. Their typical weapons are short swords and bows, and they are very savage and brutal. However, they often have internal frictions and wars, and thus they are dangerous only when united by a strong leader- which is not the present case. Population: 19600, divided in many small bands of 200-300 goblins each.
Hammerers: The Hammerers have settled the central plateau of the Goblands, from which they plan their hunting expeditions in the surrounding pine forests, and their raids against other goblinoid tribes. The Hammerers' chiefs are on the Ants pay book, and thus they almost never attack Tangor caravans. They control the trade rout to the Black Axe villages, and never attack humans if they pay a small tribute (the Ants caravans have free access). Population: 19300, with Mogg (pop. 3100) as their capital.
Nightwatch: These goblins are controlled by shamans of Nyx. They master necromantic arts and are feared by all other Dark Goblin tribes. The Tangors consider taboo their land, a small part of the central Goblands east of Mogg. The Nightwatch tribe is dangerous: usually they conduct raids in northern Mawuru villages and goblinoid ones to get slaves for their undeath experimentations, then remain secluded and peaceful until they run out of bodies... Population: 8400, living in seven villages.
Stone House: Another western tribe, the Stone House take their name from their habit of building villages in mountain caverns. They have become good engineers, and are now exploring the mysteries of Skothar's underworld. They have worked for centuries on a complex of tunnels that connect most of the villages of the tribe. They farm goats and grow fungi in the caverns for sustenance. They are not particularly savage, but they don't like strangers and attack all intruders, other goblins included. Population: 19200, divided in nine Stone Houses.
Throatslitters: A southwestern tribe, the Throatslitters are hunters with the bad habit of cutting the throat of their enemies, which they impale outside the wooden walls of their villages, leaving them there for weeks. The foul stench of a Throatslitter camp can be smelled miles away; it is a religious ritual in the name of Vaprak, and the smell is particularly awful after a battle against another tribe. They never impale others of their brethren. Population: 18400, divided in about thirty small villages.
Lifestealers: The most coward Dark Goblin tribe, the Lifestealers carve out a dull existence in the eastern parts of the Goblands; they have few contacts with the Tangor area, and their occasional raids are most often directed at the kingdoms of the Westbay region. Their main activities is, however, goat herding. They are vassals of the Red Fox. Population: 15500 living in twenty villages
Red Fox: The strongest Dark Goblin tribe of the Goblands, the hobgoblins of the Red Fox occupies the eastern Goblands, near the borders of Blande [see Westbay entry]. They are creating a true kingdom, and not simply a tribeland like most of the other tribes. The hobgoblins of this tribe control also the Lifestealers, although they are nearly useless. The Red Fox attacks often the Blande outposts in the mountains, and are determined not to unite the goblinoid tribes, that are anyway not a threat, but to bring the Blandeans out of the Tangor Chain, although their king doesn't know how yet. Population: 23600 living in six towns and thirty villages, the capital being Salamandra (pop. 6800 ).
Crypt Guardians: This is a tribe composed of goblins and hobgoblins. They live in the northern part of the Goblands. Their name comes from the fact that they control an area where the Tomb of the Ancients lies. This is a goblin-chief cemetery, where several past goblin chiefs have been buried. The Crypt Guardians have very little to do with the Tangors and their southern cousins. Population: 17700, living in about forty villages
Ants Marching: This is a tribe composed just of hobgoblins, living in the central-eastern part of the Goblands. They are currently holding a low profile, because they don't want to raise the attention of the Red Fox. All the warriors of the tribe wear ant-masks, and it is possible that they have some contact with the Hivebroods. Their leader is known as Kaphtal, and has unified all the tribe under his rule. Population: 16900, scattered in more than twenty villages.