Cordele

The people of Cordele were known to the Tiberians as the "Riverine". They are a matriarchal culture dwelling in the flooded forests of Many-Rivers in Land's End, known among the Painted Kingdoms for having defied the Kindred Elves out of love for their children.

History
Cordele's history before it encountered the Tiberians is largely a matter of myths and supposition.

The War of Refusal
Because the Riverine dwelled so close to the Root of the World they had closer ties to the Kindred Elves than any other Landsmen. As part of the longstanding agreement with the Kindred the Riverine always gave up their firstborn sons, setting them in coracles and letting the currents take them downriver. The Elves demanded this so that they could cull the Landsmen's numbers and keep them enthralled with fearful superstition, thereby keeping men from encroaching on their territory. Unsurprisingly it also left the Riverine with a disproportionate number of girls, so they were never dominated by men the way the other tribes were. When the Queen of the Riverine, Andraste, married a Prince from another tribe (the Prydein) her husband intended to sacrifice their future sons as an offering to the Elves, so long as they spared his firstborn son (he was convinced by a prophecy that it would be a son, and knew the risks of having too many heirs, having been pushed out by his brothers). To Andraste's dismay the Elves agreed and she gave birth to only daughters; knowing that her husband would give them up she took many lovers when he was away so that when he returned he could not claim any of her children as his own. Her people likewise resented the Elves' monstrous demands and, inspired by their Queen's defiance, rallied to her rather than their "rightful" Prince, and refused to give up their children.

As the Riverine's numbers slowly swelled the Elves became uneasy and sent envoys to see their end of the bargain upheld. They demanded that all of the children who had been born in the generation since the Riverines had broken faith be drowned; unsurprisingly the Riverine refused, and the rebellion that followed became known as the War of Refusal. The rebellion was terribly bloody for both sides and the Riverine only "won" because the other tribes rallied to them, inspired by their defiance but also fearing that the Elves would punish them if they were not defeated.

The Elves eventually rescinded their demands so long as the Landsmen respected their territories (a dubious prospect given mankind's shortsightedness). The Riverine named their new kingdom "Cordele", after Andraste's firstborn daughter.

The Second Rising
Cordele was the last of the Painted Kingdoms to join the Prydein's uprising against the Tiberians. The war was dubbed the "Second" Rising because it was the second conflict to rally all of the Landsmen together in common cause.

Warfare
If they are childless it is not uncommon for a young Cordelean woman to accompany her brothers and uncles into battle or on hunting parties. When the men are sent away to war the women are responsible for the protection of their homes and families; the Tiberians called these women “Shieldmaidens”. In battle they bind their breasts with linen and tied their hair back (sometimes cutting it off to trick their foes into thinking they’re men, to avoid being raped). Often men will hesitate before attacking a Shieldmaiden, and Cordeleans have no qualms about using this to their advantage.

Women fight as men do, favoring crescent half-shields, vests woven from wood slats, and cold iron battleaxes. The battleax in particular is a symbol of their people, dating back to the The War of Refusal (the Elves did not permit felling trees). Cordele has neither a standing army nor a devoted warrior class because it is not in a continuous state of war with its neighbors and actively fosters good relations with other tribes.

Culture
According to the Tiberians the Riverine were fierce warrior women who drowned their sons at birth, castrated the men they took prisoner and hunted them for sport, and practiced foul blood magic. While the truth of these claims has certainly been sensationalized it is not far wrong either.

Fashion
Women wear their hair pulled back in elaborate knots. Crowns of wildflowers are worn in Thaw & Bloom. Their traditional garb is a thin sun dress rucked up to mid-thigh, secured with a high-waisted girdle, although they are very relaxed about nudity. They carried their babies in slings when they had to work or travel. Priestesses wear hooded red cloaks, catskin gloves, and crowns of thorns.

Government
Their ruling courts were made up of an equal number of men and women (always mothers and crones, but excluded blood witches). As leaders women scrutinized the men and had the right to veto any law or action they deemed inappropriate. Women also determined all issues that involved the taking of human life; declarations of war needed their approval and they also dictated peace treaties. They would decide when to send away their men to fight and would appoint war leaders. Prisoners captured in battle and criminals (usually rapists) were gelded and became eunuch slaves while murderers were hunted for sport.

Animal Domestication
The Riverine were especially fond of dogs and raised some of the fiercest war hounds on the continent. These dogs proved invaluable when it came to defending their homesteads while the men were sent away to war. Ravens were also kept.

Society & Gender Norms
Even in Cordele women tend to look after domestic life and take pride in childrearing and building dynasties. However, it is not uncommon for them to hunt, forage, and even take up arms to defend their homes and families. Neither sex was considered inferior but because women controlled reproduction they naturally held a good deal of influence. Society was ordered communally while children and elders were especially cherished.

Polyandry was the norm because it made paternity disputable (while maternity was not), so matrilineal descent and inheritance held sway. Children belonged to their mother’s clan and their maternal uncles were their father figures (fathers were generally dismissed soon after consummation). The fathers themselves always came from other clans and tribes and, at auspicious times in the Lunar calendar, Riverine women would seek out “bodyfathers” for their children. These men only had social standing within their own mother’s clan and rarely had any influence in their child’s life (though there are tales of men trying to claim their sons).

Women chose their lovers and were expected to be assertive in courtship; although romance was not unheard of men and women were encouraged to seek mates outside of their clan. The idea of “love” and romance was not attached to property (i.e. marriage), instead people loved freely and took many partners.

Religion & Beliefs
Witchcraft was generally practiced by women who were either barren or had only had stillbirths, practicing as midwives, witch doctors, and priestesses. Usually they would preside over fertility and healing rituals and their ceremonies followed the Lunar calendar. During these rites they could go into states of pure ecstasy. Blood magic was a powerful force in these nightly rituals; menstrual blood being an especially potent ingredient in "purifying" magic (as opposed to destructive magic which depended on bloodletting). A girl's menarche was an important rite of passage, however, it was the loss of virginity that marked the end of childhood. Pregnancy, motherhood, and eventually menopause were considered the other three pivotal life stages.

Andraste was deified as the "God-Queen", a rare case of pure monotheism. The Elves are regarded as child-snatching wood spirits. Unlike many tribes they are not afraid to clear trees or sow crops along riverbanks.

Habitat
Cordele is located in a region of Land's End called "Many-Rivers", a lush watershed where tributaries of the Broken Tine and The Braid have created fertile wetlands (flooded forests). Their villages are built on stilts above the water or simply float, moored to a strong, central tree. They get around in coracles and canoes.

Diet
The Many-Rivers watershed provides the Riverine with a bounty of food; frogs, toads, turtles, snails, mushrooms, fish, locusts, shellfish, crocodiles, tubers, etc.

Influences

 * Amazons - poorly understood society of warrior women, living outside proper civilization
 * Valkyries - shieldmaidens, the "choosing of the slain"
 * Hopi/Iroquois - gender roles, women in leadership
 * Andraste was an Iceni goddess associated with victory, and was invoked by Queen Boudica in her war against the Romans.
 * Cordellia was the daughter of King Lear and the second Queen of pre-Roman Britain
 * The Riverine's style of blood magic is loosely based on Voodoo and "white magic"