The lands of Alphina were odd amongst the various human kingdoms throughout the world. It was not for the lands themselves, the geography was fairly standard, temperate climate, forested with a lot of rivers spread throughout, making the land prosperous. Nor was it the lands prowess, having little in the way of notable military, no world renowned order of elites, but still a respected military in its own right. No, instead what made the land special was the gender imbalance, while most having close to an even split, here women were the dominant numbers.
Legends tell, that their Goddess, Alphine, settled this land herself and blessed her daughters to spread throughout. True or not, the results were clear for all to see, all the women of the land gave birth to far more females, two out of every three births. As such, women dominated the land, from its government to its military. Men were hardly forbidden, but it was always far easier for powerful women to rise throughout the world. The firstborn woman, being higher than the first son in inheritance. Thus, the Queen was the absolute authority a royal bloodline of women stretching back to the founding of this land.
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Queen Cara, Princess Gabi andLady Evelyn all sat from the private booth, overlooking the arena. The fighting pits were one of the cities main source of entertainment, for upper and lower classes alike. There were two main types of fighter, those who signed up willingly for glory and those who risk death otherwise. Prisoners with no prospect of being released, could always choose to fight, earn some comfort in their life, all the while risking death.
Here they watched a Barbarian, a captured warlord, an enemy of the realm. They'd caught him and his band off guard. Now they watched the man as a cockatrice was forced from its pen, hissing and spreading its clipped wings out as it approached its would be victim. Its very breath, a deadly gas that could render most humans petrified and dead, quite the foe indeed for a warrior who had beaten everything else thrown at him from man to beast.
Legends tell, that their Goddess, Alphine, settled this land herself and blessed her daughters to spread throughout. True or not, the results were clear for all to see, all the women of the land gave birth to far more females, two out of every three births. As such, women dominated the land, from its government to its military. Men were hardly forbidden, but it was always far easier for powerful women to rise throughout the world. The firstborn woman, being higher than the first son in inheritance. Thus, the Queen was the absolute authority a royal bloodline of women stretching back to the founding of this land.
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Queen Cara, Princess Gabi andLady Evelyn all sat from the private booth, overlooking the arena. The fighting pits were one of the cities main source of entertainment, for upper and lower classes alike. There were two main types of fighter, those who signed up willingly for glory and those who risk death otherwise. Prisoners with no prospect of being released, could always choose to fight, earn some comfort in their life, all the while risking death.
Here they watched a Barbarian, a captured warlord, an enemy of the realm. They'd caught him and his band off guard. Now they watched the man as a cockatrice was forced from its pen, hissing and spreading its clipped wings out as it approached its would be victim. Its very breath, a deadly gas that could render most humans petrified and dead, quite the foe indeed for a warrior who had beaten everything else thrown at him from man to beast.