The town of Amaryth is situated at the centre of The Unified Tribes of Mendaria. Up until Kaine's violent subugation of the Mendari tribes, Amaryth withstood many attempts by its neighbouring tribes to invade it. It's success was mainly attributed to the martial arts of warfare taught to its children from an early age—a tradition introduced by Amaryth's legendary founder, Praetorian Masuda. His ancestor, Okita, is known as the Child Warrior of Amaryth and was chosen by Kaine to join the Scions of the First.
“A creature as old as the ancient Hen Rai, Its home is the forest, in slumber it lies.
It waits for a movement, a scent or a sound, Then out of the forest, the Bwgan crawls out.
As silent as a tomb, it nears its prey, All tucked up in bed, sleeping they lay.
Then out of the shadows, it stretches its limbs, Slithering and shimmering on the ground they skim.
It worms through windows, chimneys and doors, Slipping past those it knows to ignore.
Until a child it finds, that brings it delight, And steals them away, in the black of the night”
The Carreg Isles are four small islands located around twenty miles north of the Northern Taranian coastline. The towering cliffs of the islands accommodate many species of bird and the surrounding waters are home to seals, whales, dolphins and orcas. Apart from the ruins of whaling stations and makeshift dwellings used by smugglers, there is little evidence of people inhabiting the islands.
Apart from the monarch and nobility, all other caste children must receive their identifying brand on their thirteenth birthday. There are many rules regarding caste, with the lower castes bearing the harshest restrictions. Caste interactions are strictly regulated and those deemed in breach of the rules are punished. The most serious cases could result in the perpetrator and their family being banded 'casteless' and sent to camps run by the Communion's Grey Cloaks. The Caste Uprising of 1185 by the People's Alliance was in response to the failure of King Rodric to uphold his promise to abolish the caste system.The monarch*,
the noble,
the clansguard and the priest,
the skilled, the farmer,
and all that dwell beneath.
* Added after the first monarch, Queen Tara of the Ovantae, subjugated the other clans in the year 245.
Far in the past, when the world was young,
The gods came down from the Void above.
They spun their lies, and they promised us hope,
Of a home in heaven, with lives full of love.
While he seduced them with false promises of travelling the Void, the First hunted the young. They enslaved them and carried them off to their chariots. When the elders realised what was happening and tried to resist, Velak slaughtered all of them. The Book of Enora says that Velak was eventually defeated and killed by the goddess during the final battle. However, the Mendari believe his spirit endured.