Cydonya

Landscape

Donya is a rather large area of land, and so ranges from sandy and hilly in the south to rocky and cold in the north. In the east, the most fertile areas abound, but one can only feel so comfortable near to the ruins of Triadus.

History

Donya was at one time, several smaller regions, constantly at war over territories, landmarks, and philosophy. In the north, closer to Te Nebra, several of the nations touted Entropist philosophy, while in the south, the Naturalists held sway. Throughout all regions, slow interest in the Industrialist movement gained momentum until an all out war of belief took hold of the nation. It was during this bout of chaos that the Titaness Queen Donya came to power.

Lady Donya came to the area from the islands far to the west. Settling in the area which is now her namesake, she slowly carved a niche (a rather large one, at that) for herself running a shipping company on the coast and maintaining a spy and informant network within the city and abroad. When the capital city of Theos succumbed to the Soapbox Riots and was taken over by neighboring Ariga, Donya herself strode out into the streets to do battle, clad in magnificent armor and wielding spear and shield. After the battle was over, she proclaimed herself Queen of Theos over the towering mound of corpses she had created. One by one she took advantage of the unrest in the other city-states using her network of spies and loyalists who tired of the constant street violence, and when each nation either launched or received an assault against/from Donya, each fell to her might.

The last great march of that time that Donya launched was against the nation of Cadwal, armored behind their towering ramparts. Donya believed that even the great wall could not withstand her might, but she was mistaken. The keen tactical minds of the Cadwaller generals out-manuevered her, pinning her and her armies against the wall. When the Titan Queen would not surrender, she was hit with repeated barrages of catapults and ballistas until she collapsed atop her own troops, breaking their ranks and morale. Her remaining generals surrendered and the price of their peace was a limitation on military strength and that a large portion of the Donyan fighting force be traded to the Cadwallers, including Donya's own son, the half-titan Dobrad. He serves as Ward of the Walled City and proof against Donya's attempts at conquest.

Now, the region swears fealty (pretended or earnest) to the Queen Donya, who rules the land from her home city of Titania (named after herself) and maintains order in Theos and abroad. After her coronation as Queen, Donya set down the Queen's Edicts. Firstly, no citizen living in a city under the protection of her grace, Queen Donya, may have hair of any color but black, white, or grey. Citizens may neither have hair longer than that of the Queen. Citizens may feel free to shave their heads. Secondly, Donyan citizens may not be clad in any garment or ornament of any color but black, grey, silver, white, ivory or gold. Lastly, failing to comply with the Queen's Edicts will result in heavy fines, incarceration, disfigurement or death.

Since the Queen's Edicts, the land of Donya has conformed to the Titaness' wishes, though they exploit the loopholes of the law to their advantage. Art is held in high regard, and the more colorful the piece, the better. Home decoration is also respected and used as a means of impressing others. One of the most accepted ways of making ones self more attractive is to pay for colorful and artfully done tattoos, since tattoos defy the definition that one is "clad" in ornament.