Amazon

Amazon is a vast area of the Black Kingdoms and lies south of Stygia and Darfar. It is bordered to the west by the Southern Desert and defined in the east by the River Styx. To the south, Amazon extends into the equatorial rainforest. The Amazons are a tall black race, more robust than graceful. Their skin is dark and they have black, kinky hair. The Amazon culture is organised as a nation constantly at war. The female warriors train by hunting and fighting. Husbands and lovers are captured, not wooed.
Culture: Amazon is host to a matriarchal and aggressive culture where the women are the valorous warriors and the smallish men are suppressed in near-slavery, quite the reverse of the rest of the Black Kingdoms. The culture originated with an ancient queen who assembled an army of female infantry and cavalry and attacked the villages she came across, subduing the men and recruiting the strongest of the women until she had consolidated a suitably sized region. The Amazons continue to be ruled by a queen instead of a king. The queen does not marry nor does she maintain a lengthy relationship with any one man lest a king arise and rule the Amazon people. The queen does have sons and daughters and her eldest daughter is the heir to the Ivory Throne of the Amazons. The queen enters into temporary sexual alliances for political gain at times, usually killing her lovers after a few intimate encounters.
Religion: Many of Amazon’s religions are dominated by superstitions and magic. Shamanistic beliefs co-exist with ancestor worship and the worship of local gods. The Amazons believe that their ancestors can influence them. They believe in a spirit world and that all things possess spirits. Amazon religion is ultimately animist. However, the Amazon who denies these things is not branded a rebel or even chastised. Her views are as welcome as any others.
Names: Amazon names tend toward female African names. Examples: Lyta, Njabulo, Nzinga, Tuta and Ukuza.