Sheana

"'My people are proud and strong; there is very little that can get in their way when they set their heart on something.' - Matron Jaydenn Atzlynn"The strong, matriarchal race of warrior women who live around the outskirts of the Er’ac’sen desert are a culture wracked by many wars. They are fierce warriors with magical golden tattoos upon their skin who distrust any outsiders to their society. More than any others, they distrust the Noxcess, after a long war with them in the Second Era that the Noxcess have never repaid them for. There is a myth amongst lands unfamiliar with the race that the Sheana are a race of all women, much as the Noxcess are nearly all men, but this is very untrue. In reality, they merely have a very low number of males, at around 10 females per every male. These males, though not treated poorly, are seen as something of a weaker gender, and as such cannot attain political or military positions. As males are in such short supply however, it is uncommon for a man to have only one lover. In fact, Sheana tend to consider it a cultural taboo to not share one’s man with several other women in a women-led Harem of sorts. For these reasons, it is quite common for a relationship to be found between two Sheana women, especially within a Harem.

Golden Tattoos: Iconic to the Sheana are their tattoos, a the Sheana create these by trading with the Noxcess for gold dust that flows through some of the underground rivers of the desert and infusing it into an ink. This ink is given magical properties which are then tattooed onto the body of a Sheana to harden their skin to the toughness of armor. These tattoos are not put upon their breasts or near the womb or nether regions as the gold does have a drawback and can cause extreme birth defects in a child or when they are growing and nursing on the milk of the mother. It has been discovered that wearing this ink shortens the lifespan of a Sheana by half, which means they die within their late thirties maybe early to mid forties, depending on the individual. Fierce warriors themselves, their golden tattoos do not work well with mundane armours, so they are usually seen as just wearing the bare minimum in their homeland due to the desert heat, but usually adorned in gold as a symbol of their heritage.

Appearance
The Sheana are usually tanned humanoids who have gold tattoos painted all across their bodies. While they can wear any clothes or armor they desire, they tend to wear what is comfortable for the weather. In the blistering heat of the desert many wear as little as possible, but during the colder months they are wrapped in silks and layers to protect them from the cold or storms. They always adorn themselves with gold and other accessories, and their clothing can vary from as lacking as belly dancer outfits, or to long flowing robes of silk and other fine clothing to prevent them suffering heat stroke, though outside the desert they tend to wear many more layers of flowing fabrics to keep warm while still maintaining their cultural style. However, due to their proud nature, Sheana find it taboo for women of their culture to wear masks or other identity concealing outfits.

Cuisine
Each of the villages both have very different diets. Respite offers more variety because they have access to a river on the borders of the grassland. Jackrabbit of Woodsend tends to scavenge the forest, and enjoys game meat, berries, and other wild vegetables (at their own risk of course). The Crags of Mercy’s main source of meat are gulls and other sea birds, along with their eggs. Brine trades for most of their food with spices and salt, and their main diet consists of heavily spiced curries, meats, and dried vegetables. Tidesrest’s diet is obvious, they gained their bounty from the ocean, and Waypoint relies almost solely on trade from Compass Rose and the other Sheana villages.

Geography
The Sheana villages rest along the outskirts of the desert, as the middle of Er’ac’sen is too deadly to survive for long periods of time. At the six points of the Desert they reside, each Village unique and different from each other. They can boast that each village, with one giant terra cotta warrior at the center of each of their villages, also rests upon leyline nodes.

Art
The gold ink that is inscribed upon the Sheana and also painted on their terracotta warriors has a life giving property, but when inscribed upon a person it hardens their skin to near armor capability. They also mold and carve gold ore that they gain from the Noxcess into jewelry, armour, and other such decorative things. Dancing is a favored art amongst their people, and many of them pursue it from an early age.

Traditions and Holidays

 * Festival of Cathaea/Fertility Festival - A common and the biggest celebration that all the Sheana have is their annual celebration of fertility and community. All the sister tribes come together for one giant celebration in the village with the least population of that year, and all of them bring offerings of supplies for the week long celebration. The men dance to impress the females of the Sheana, dressed in the richest of fabrics, most outlandish of jewelry, and the sweetest of perfumes to make them irresistible to the women. The nobles of the clans choose first, and so on and so forth down the social ladder until there no men left to pick. If disputes happen between the women, the disputes are settled with duels and challenges.

Folklore & Cultural Figures
Sheana Culture is far more divided than most, the 6 Clans having varied folklore and legends, as such there are not many full fledged Legends or Cultural Figures, however the one legend they all share, all Sheana know.
 * The 6 Sisters, as the founders and namesakes of the 6 Sheana Clans these 6 women stand as pillars of what every Sheana aspires to be, each representing the values of their respective Clan. Though little is known about them beyond the legends, they are seen as the saviors of the race, and the metaphorical mothers of Sheana as we know them today. Statues to them are quite common, and their likenesses not uncommon upon the faces of the most powerful terracotta warriors.
 * Matron Jaydenn Atzlynn of Faebane, Though Matron of Clan Jackrabbit for a very short time, it was her doing to end the war with the Fairfolk and renaming the Clan from Faebane back to Jackrabbit, ending the Age of Hate. It is said she was raised by the Great Wolf Spirit himself, teaching her to be the Alpha wolf her Clan needed at the time. She was among the members of the Grey Wardens who sacrificed themselves to end the War of Time.

Military
The Sheana are known for using their gold tattoos to bring life to the inanimate, and they hold a terracotta army of golems at their beck and call when they utilize a golden talisman linked to a squadron. The Sheana are also fierce warriors in their own right but are more tacticians rather than leaping onto the front lines. These clay warriors were originally created during a war with the Noxcess to counteract their poisoned wells that were severely depleting their numbers. The Sheana can make their own warriors but have been known to go trade with the Uragma in times of duress for their military numbers to be increased in a short span of time.

Social Structure
The head Woman is known as the “Matron” of the village, is a direct descendant of one of the Original sisters, and carries her name and legacy. The Six Clans: Each Clan has their own territory and are known to inhabit the borders along the more stable outskirts of the desert rather than the chaotic interior. Every village has a giant terracotta warrior at the center which, legends tell, has come to life to protect them in times of great need.

Clan Arnae
The closest tribe to the town known as “Compass Rose” and therefore this village is particularly heavy with trade. The other tribes come here before transporting their goods to Compass Rose. Because of their trade, Arnae are the most cosmopolitan of the Sheana races, and far less hostile and closed off to other cultures. If you meet a Sheana far from the desert in your travels, there is a high chance they are from Arnae. This village is known as “Waypoint”.

Clan Jackrabbit (Was Clan Faebane)
This tribe lies on the outskirts just before the Fae’s forest. The Old Empress, Brea, who tried to continuously expand her territory, found the Sheana in her way from expanding into the desert and so they have a long and hostile relationship with the Fairfolk. This tribe is well known rangers, scouts, and guerrilla tacticians, as well as some of the best hunters the desert has to offer. They have a significant portion of terracotta warriors that have also been fused with plants and wood, though they are still refilling their numbers after the war with the Fairfolk during the 3rd Era, which was ended at the Era’s close due to the legendary Matriarch Jaydenn Atzlynn. They also have the most widely known alchemists and herbalists within the Sheana. The name of their village is “Woodsend”.

Clan Salaman
Because they are so close to the ocean while not being on the deadly cliff faces they deal heavily with the Unda, peacefully and sometimes violently, and are known mariners; a rarity within the Sheana culture. Their main trade is fish, and their terracotta warriors are crafted in the likeness of giant fish and sea creatures, and are able to pull their ships and attack enemy ships that may encroach. Their fishing village is called “Tidesrest”.

Clan Cunicularia
Living along the salt flats vast salt flats of the southern coast of Er'ac'sen, these Sheana live a hard, though to them fulfilling, life. Despite a Grimness rivaling the Uragma and Gemna, they see the ever thirsty and rough lifestyle as proof of their race's toughness, and wear it as a badge of honour. They are the world’s largest salt supplier, sending wagons upon wagons of them to other cultures, as well as a high variety of spices. The Uragma escort these caravans through the center of the desert (the shortest route to the “Waypoint”) where this salt and spice is then delivered to Compass Rose and then scattered throughout Haven. Their village, stained white from the ever salt-filled winds, is fittingly called “Brine”.

Clan Pera
This tribe rests almost completely on a vast and extremely high up cliff face, their homes built directly into the side of the desert above the ocean. From here they have the highest resources in clay which they then can either make into warriors or trade to the Uragma for more intricate pottery. Since they have such an abundance of clay, they have the largest army of terracotta warriors amongst the Sheana people. Their village is known as “Crags of Mercy”.

Clan Uroc
Being so close to the grasslands, they are the very few farmers that exist within the Sheana people. Their farms however consist of aloe vera plants, various cacti, and vineyards. They are considered the more subdued and peaceful of the normally prideful and passionate Sheana. They also have vast silkworm farms and hold enough water from the river bordering the desert and the grasslands to sustain large crops. They are textile masters produce the finest silks in all of Haven. Their village is known as “Respite”.

First Era (before year 0)
The Sheana once lived in a dense jungle, but when the Phoenix crashed into Haven the Sheana survived only because of an ancient and magical technique which is seen commonplace on Sheana today, their protective golden tattoos. As the Jungle became Sand, the tattoos of the Sheana gave them enough protection to escape to the outer edges of the desert, where six sisters of the Sheana broke off with their respective husbands and started their own villages along the border of the desert.

Second Era (0-1499 P.E.)
The six sisters remained level-headed and calm as the Uragma spiraled further and further into what seemed to be a fanaticism that the Sheana wanted no part of. Others joined them as their now ashen-skinned cousins wandered ever further into the sands, hoping to find some stability and respite from the unforgiving landscape and all were welcome, but the sisters would not allow the calamity that had befallen the Uragma to happen with their people. To ensure their continued existence each of the six sisters entrusted their eldest daughter with the leading of their village, instilling in them the matriarchal structure that would carry on in their legacy, the caring image of the Six Sisters becoming a proud symbol of the people. Though when the Noxcess arose they treated them with respect, bringing much gold to trade with the Sheana, the strange obsession the palefolk had with reproducing caused strain to form between their races. This was stretched further by the Noxcess beginning to charge for the Water they dug for in their extensive network of Wells. 
 * The War of Water (1376-1400 P.E.) - The Sheana had enough of paying for water in trade with the Noxcess, Sheana Male2.jpgcularly Clans Pera and Uroc. They worked together to begin taking the water their people needed to survive in secret from the Wells, though they did not realize quite how many eyes there were in the dark, or quite how noticeable light was underground… The Noxcess quickly learned of this and responded in the form that seemed most logical to them: As they were immune to poisons, they poisoned their own water so that when the Sheana stole it, it would poison the thieves. What they did not count on was the Sheana not testing it and instead bringing it home and giving it to their Clans, which led to a mass death of elderly and children. The Sheana were enraged by this and declared war upon the Noxcess, the other Clans of Sheana coming to their sisters' aid. Due to the Sheana using their golems and magical tattoo armour, the Noxcess's sheer numbers, and both of their resilience gifted by the Phoenix, the war lasted (though there were temporary armistices) for over 2 decades until a ceasefire was eventually called.

Third Era (1500-2019 P.E.)
The Sheana were a thriving people, each of the six clans developing their own unique identities over many years. They came to almost religiously paint the golden tattoos that protected them when the Phoenix fell on nearly every Sheana. It was around the dawn of the Third Era that tensions began to rise between Clan Jackrabbit and the Fairfolk Empire, with Empress Brea’s expansionist policies beginning to push in towards Jackrabbit territory. Other Sheana Clans were still struggling to trust the Noxcess again after the War of Water, but needed to in order to get gold and water, both essential to their way of life.
 * The Age of Hate (aka the Faebane Conflict) (1838-2019) -  Empress Brea marched her forces into Jackrabbit territory, to which they responded with what they saw as necessary hostility. The invading force were shocked with the power of these desert warriors, having never faced them in battle, and had to request reinforcements. The Sheana with their golems and golden tattoos fought like none the Fairfolk had ever dealt with, and with reinforcements from the other Clans they were able to keep the tide of “elves” (a commonly used racial slur for Sidhe) at bay. They pushed the Fairfolk back into Silva'natu, forcing Brea to come to the front lines. With a flick of her wrist, Faebane's giant Terracotta Warrior that was leading the charge was suddenly engulfed in a tree, unable to move or be freed. With the Fairfolk once again having the upper hand, Brea returned to Levant. Within the first decade of the year, the Sheana knew this conflict would end no time soon, and Jackrabbit renamed itself to “Clan Faebane”, a name which came to strike fear into any fairfolk who lived near the border, and invoke respect in any Clan who heard it. For just short of 2 centuries the war raged on, until a new Matron took charge of Faebane, Matron Jaydenn Aztlyn, who had spoken with Prince Dae’avel Somnia and convinced him of the war’s pointlessness. By the time she took power, Empress Brea was killed near the end of the Third Era and Dae'avel became Emperor, leading to the two newly crowned sovereigns agreeing to end the conflict. As part of the arrangement, Faebane became Jackrabbit again.
 * The War of Time (2019-2020 P.E.) - When the world was divided in two by the War of Time, the newly anointed Matron Jaydenn of Clan Jackrabbit went to the Matron of each Clan and sought to bring them all together, for the first time since the Second Era, to fight. Though difficult, she brought the Clans to march, dealing a great blow to the Forces of Tanana, but it was not until Matron Jaydenn sacrificed herself, along with the other Grey Wardens, that the War of Time was finally brought to an end. For the first time in many years, the Sheana had won a war instead of merely ending with a Peace Treaty, and this brought them a great deal of pride.

Fourth/Current Era (2020-2278 P.E.)
After the War of Time, the Sheana returned to the desert to rebuild. With the loss of the Matron that had brought them together, the Sheana split back up and returned to their Clans to resume their simple ways of life. Though they were effected nearly the least of all races by the War of Time (bar the Cultuni), the Sheana had found themselves a new cultural confidence, but also a new openness to the other races of the world as of yet unseen in Eras prior.