Sometimes, curiosity can lead you to strange and dangerous places. I’ve heard of one of the Amazon meeting, and was curious to see what it was about. I took a ship leading me to Psamathe, a litte settlement on the south end of the Sinfera island. The air was warm, damp, smothering, and a sense of dread assaulted me as I began my mission. I spotted one of them, going toward their camp, and followed her through the jungle. When I arrived, I barely had the time to knock on their large wooden doors than it opened for me… And a spear was about to say hello to my face. After a quick discussion with their leader, Linda Wetteel (the owner of the spear), they kindly agreed to answer my questions outside their camp, on a nearby beach.

Can you introduce yourselves to our readers?
Linda Wetteel: I’m Linda, Queen of the Rexuria Amazons. Linda Wetteel is my full name. Bexy over there is my blood related sister. However she is an amazon of the Syrene amazons.

What are the amazons exactly? What is their goal?
Linda Wetteel: I will speak of the Rexuria amazons. We are a sisterhood of females that are just that, Sisters. We see each other as a family and protect each other as one. The Rexuria amazons have no need for any males, some sisters want male company, but it is done outside of the village. Our goal is for us to have this haven where we can be free from males when we want to and to stand together against pirates, or whatever that may try to attack these lands, including Psamathe.

Can you tell me more about the amazonian history, and the relation to your goddess? Represented by a dreadful lizard, right?
Linda Wetteel: Too many people think the lizard is our goddess, but it is not. It’s merely an avatar. Many think they can kill the lizard and thus defeat a goddess. I will show you the mortal appearance of the goddess later, she is on the isle embroiled in an unending battle. But, back to our traditions. Our village was located in the Dread Lands a long time ago, where we were at war with the pirates. After many battle the pirates slowly grew silent and departed elsewhere. Many of my sisters requested that we should move, but our old village was on Rexuria’s blessed lands, so I refused to move. But, one day, Rexuria herself spoke to us. She said a powerful force would come that not even she could stop. It would wipe out the village and us. Rexuria used all of her power to move the village to these lands, where it is now.
Bexy Wetteel: As for the Syrene amazons, we follow these gods: Sune, Lor, Shar, Bane and lastly, the most powerful goddess in this realm, Sinfera herself. Sune, Shar and Sinfera being our three main gods, with the other two being our lesser deities.

How did you become a queen?
Linda Wetteel: The first Queen in my time was Antianara, who I named my first born daughter after. When Queen Antianara died I took over. Then, Savannah took over while I was gone. When she vanished I took power once again.

Bexy, you mentioned the Syrene amazons. What are they? What do they believe in, and how do they differ from the Rexurian amazons?
Bexy Wetteel: I was born a Rex amazon, but left a long time ago and became a Syrene amazon. Biggest difference between the two villages would be their views on males. To the Syrene amazons, males are seen as trophies or prizes, strong amazons having the most males serving under them. As for where Syrene amazons came from, I guess the northern end of Chult. Mostly a mix of humans, elves and even a few giants. Syrene herself was a Bright Elf. They were summoned here by Sinfera’s magic to face the Mad God Prince when this realm was first made. After the battle was over Syrene was gifted by the goddess with the first title of the realm, Queen Syrene. After that Syrene went onto making a home for the humans, the amazons, forested lands for the elves, and ruling over all of them to keep the peace.

The question of the position -or lack thereof- of the males seem central in your culture, for both clans. Can you explain why?
Linda Wetteel: Well, for Rexuria, it’s quite simple. We like to prove we have no need for males in our lives.
Bexy Wetteel: There are two main places for males in Syrene village. There are males that had been selected and allowed to serve the amazons. We also have males selected as champions who are loyal to only one amazon. There are other sub types of males too. We have outcasts who are sons of amazons but who don’t wish to live in the village. Then we have slaves, males who have broken one of our many rules. Slaves normally are cast into the silver mines and left to die.

And when an amazon gives birth to a son, how is it handled, for both clans?
Bexy Wetteel: In secret normaly, and handled by a chosen tribes member with the necessary skills. All depends on how the offspring came to be.
Linda Wetteel: If a male is born in the village of Rexuria, he may be raised in the village to an age of 12, in human years. While he is raised he will be trained to survive on his own. So, when he reaches the age of 12, he must leave the village. This is because as he grows older he turns from a boy into a man. In the old days the male would be trained to survive in the wilds, which we still continue, however now we have Syrene who will gladly take the males from Rexuria. Back in the past I reached an agreement with Aglon that they would gladly welcome them too, and offer them work if need be.

That’s never a problem for a mother? To have to be separated from her child?
Linda Wetteel: If the mother wants to be with the child, after the age of 12, she may choose to do so but outside of the village. So far this has not been a problem. Irae had a son, and it worked out just fine.

Any other tradition you’d want to speak of?
Linda Wetteel: None that I can think of right now.
Bexy Wetteel: Countless traditions. For one; it’s taboo for Syrene amazons to marry a male unless both the amazon and male have the blessing of the queen. This is however very rare that Syrene amazons would marry a male. Also, the tradition where one sister may challenge another for the right of ownership over her males.

Who is Syrene amazons queen?
Bexy Wetteel: To my knowledge, last I heard, it was Queen Xalynne. That said I tend to call Vena The Queen.

With the disparition of the pirates who you were warring against, and the disparition of old figures of the past as well, how do you manage to keep your identity throughout the time as a clan?
Linda Wetteel: Keep the identity as a clan? Not quite sure what you mean by that. We overcame the challenges the world threw our way and moved forward. The Pirates are still out there, we are prepared to face them should they endanger the village or Psamathe.

You’re saying the pirate fleet is still a thing?
Linda Wetteel: It is, very rarely though. Well slavers or pirates.. or both. We had a fight at sea with some. They kept escaping back to the sea where we couldn’t reach them. Till one day we made our own raid and chased them down. Luckily, we encounter them very rarely these days.
Bexy Wetteel: For Syrene amazons we mostly deal with the orc horde issue, and a whole lot of nasty lizardmen.

Do you have any last words for our readers?
Linda Wetteel: Not really a last word, but a last thing to show. Because I want you to spread the word correctly, so that people stop thinking the lizard is our goddess. I will show her to you.

And so she did, leading me through the dense jungle, until the sound of a mighty roar assaulted my ears. There Rexuria’s aspect stood in front of us, in all her glory… And seeing the scene, I felt the sense of something more. Ancient, ferocious, untamed… The embodiment of the amazons, indeed.

Vincent D. Ryder