ATLAS OF MythIKA

THE UNTAMED NORTH

WILD LANDS OF BARBARIANS, AMAZONS AND CENTAURS

HYPERBOREA, AMAZONIA & SICANIA

Written by Olivier Legrand, Andrew Trent & Peter Politis

Cover map by Emmanuel Croquefer Roudier - Some illustrations Clipart.com 2012

 ATLAS OF MYTHIKA

hyperborea
True and Verified Facts About the Barbarians of the Wild North
by Eurymion the Far-Travelled, Lyrist, Scholar and Adventurer

Translated by Olivier Legrand

North of the Land of the Three Cities, past the monster-infested Helicon Mountains, lies the frozen
land of Hyperborea, home to fierce tribes of fur-clad, sun-worshipping Barbarians.

Maze Masters Guide, p 8

3
The Far North
The first thing to understand about Hyperborea is
that it does not really exist.

There is no Hyperborean nation or culture. The very

concept of Hyperborea is an abstraction invented by
Minean scholars and explorers to put a single label
on several very different tribal peoples who live
north of the Minean lands; as a name, Hyperborea
(which can roughly be translated as far north )
has no more cultural significance than other
cartographic expressions of ethnocentrism, such as
terra incognita or the orient .

This fact has not prevented most Minean scholars

from treating the various Hyperborean peoples as a
single nation of barbarians (another distinctive
concept of ethnocentrism), despite the fact that the
so-called Hyperborean tribes can be divided into at
least three very different cultural groups, with
different customs, different physical characteristics
and even different deities

The main reason for this over-simplistic

classification is that those tribes share a common
language, but anybody who has studied Borean
knows that this common language actually
includes many regional variations and dialects far
more than, say, our beloved Minean language.

Yet, those same scholars would cringe at the idea of
Thenans, Heraklians, Argoseans and Seriphians
being viewed as non-distinct components of a
single, hypothetical Minean nation, even though
they speak the same language, worship the same
gods and have very similar customs: if we consider
that the small cultural differences that exist between
our four city-states are enough to give each one of
them a distinct identity, then we must logically
acknowledge the major differences that exist
between the so-called Hyperborean barbarians .
In the course of my travels through the Hyperborean
lands, I have come across three very different
cultural groups, each with its own assortment of
clans, tribes and warring factions: Galleans,
Cimbrians and Thuleans.
A typical summer afternoon in Hyperborea
Galleans
The territories which are closest to the Minean lands
(roughly located between the Helicon mountains
and the river Rhena) are under the control of the
various Gallean tribes.
Most Mineans will be familiar with the typical
appearance of Gallean warriors (which has in fact
become the stereotype of all Hyperborean
Barbarians): tall, broad-shouldered men with long
moustaches and braided hair, wearing strange leg-
garments known as trousers, fight bare-chested and
have an inordinate love of drink, songs and chariots.

It is very difficult to ascertain which of these three
groups is the more numerous; my own observations
lead me to believe that they are roughly equivalent
in population size but occupy very scattered
settlements, making any form of demographic
census practically impossible not to mention the
fact that none of these folks keeps anything
remotely resembling archives or chronicles: they
have no written language and have a very limited
understanding of mathematics, making oral tradition
the sole vector of knowledge transmission.
I will present these three groups in geographical
order, from south to north. According to our civilized
standards, the farther north you get, the more
barbaric people become.
Their hair color ranges from the palest blond to the
darkest black and they often have green, grey or
brown eyes. Their fair-skinned, long-haired women
are renowned for their beauty - keep in mind,
though, that the Gallean idea of beauty is quite
different from our classical canons.
The gods of the Galleans may seem very different
from our Olympian deities but actually share many
common characteristics with them most of the
Gallean gods are anthropomorphic deities with
recognizable spheres of influence (such as warfare,
fertility, wisdom or even poetry) and are (more or
less) organized into a fairly cohesive pantheon,
known as the Tribe of Mother Earth (see Gods of
the Galleans below for more details).

4

A young Cimbrian warrior charging into battle
Cimbrians
The lands north of the river Rhena are ruled by the
Cimbrians, who are sworn enemies of the Galleans
and regularly fight very bloody wars against them,
as the Cimbrians try to expand their territory south
of the river. The Cimbrians tend to be even taller
and more massively built than the Galleans, with fair
hair and grey or blue eyes.
Unlike Galleans, Cimbrians do not wear trousers,
leave their hair unbraided and often display long,
unkempt beards which they adorn with gold rings,
knucklebones and other trinkets. While the Galleans
tend to fight with sword or spear, Cimbrian warriors
almost always select the sword or axe as their
weapon of choice and Cimbrian battle axes are
big, nasty things which have very little in common
with what a Minean soldier would call an axe.
On the whole, Cimbrians tend to be even more
warlike than Galleans and seem to be obsessed
with expanding their lands south of the river .
The gods of the Cimbrians are far more primitive
and primal than the Gallean deities (who would
already seem astoundingly barbaric to the
average Minean) in fact, god is a misleading
term here, since the Cimbrians deities include the
forces of nature themselves (such as Thunder, the
Sun, the Moon, Winter etc), what can only be called
animal archetypes (such as the Wolf or the
Bear) or even places (such as the Great
Hyperborean Forest or the river Rhena).
5
Thuleans
The third group, the Thuleans, can be found farther
north, in the mountains of the Thulean Range and
west of the Frozen Sea; they are very rarely seen
south of the Great Hyperborean Forest.
Physically, the Thuleans are very close to the
Cimbrians (and are often mistaken for them by
foreign observers) but their hair are often of a fiery
red, which has earned them the nickname of
Redheads among the Cimbrians.
Thuleans also share many cultural traits with the
Cimbrians indeed, an ancient Cimbrians myth
describes the Cimbrians and the Thuleans as two
feuding twin brothers. Despite these similarities (or
perhaps because of them?), the two cultural groups
are very hostile to each other and often refer to
themselves as blood enemies.
That being said, there are some significant
differences between Thuleans and Cimbrians,
especially where religion (I use the term loosely) is
concerned; whereas the Cimbrians worship the
forces of nature in a very primal (and surprisingly
abstract) manner, the Thuleans have a single,
supreme god: Ymir, who is, according to their
myths, the King of Winter, the Father of all Giants
and (of course) the distant progenitor of the Thulean
nation which is why many Thuleans refer to
themselves as being giant-blooded .
The Land
The Hyperborean lands are defined by three very
important natural borders: the Helicon Mountains,
which mark the border between the Gallean
territories and the Minean nations, the river Rhena,
which separates the Gallean and the Cimbrian
territories, and the Great Hyperborean Forest which
acts as a natural frontier between Cimbrian and
Thulean lands.
The River Rhena
The river Rhena acts as the perennial natural border
between the two nations - again, I use the term
very loosely, since both Galleans and Cimbrians are
divided into many fractious, often rival clans which
can only be united by the strongest, most ambitious
warlords and fortunately for Minean civilization,
Galleans and Cimbrians have never united their
forces: if such a thing happens one day, it will be a
matter of generations before the Three Cities fall
before the savage might of the wild north
But lets get back to the river Rhena itself: to the
Cimbrians, the river Rhena is not just a river but a
living goddess. Indeed, the river is home to a clan of
northern Naiads known as the Daughters of Rhena,
who act as the sacred protectors of the river and the
whole region.
 An invincible force of proud Gallean warriors rafting across the River Rhena
The Great Hyperborean Forest
The Great Hyperborean Forest is not only a perilous
forest full of dangerous creatures and ancient nature
spirits. It is also a sacred site, at least to the Cimbrians,
who view it as a border to the Land of the Dead, which
is why even the bravest Cimbrian warriors will simply
refuse to venture in the very heart of the forest, not
because they are afraid (never even suggest this before
a Cimbrian) but because no living man should willingly
enter the land of the dead. Those who transgress this
sacred rule are believed to become half-dead beings
known as Wights, who sneak back into the world of the
living to spread discord, strife and death.
The outer parts of the Forest are home to a clan of
northern Dryads, the Huldras, who act as the sacred
wardens of the woods and seem to have quite a lasting
rivalry with the Daughters of Rhena.
Society
The social structure of Cimbrians and Thuleans is, to
say the least, quite rudimentary: all free men are
warriors and all warriors are free men. The only people
who do not belong to this category are women, slaves
and children; in most tribes, male children are
considered to be grown men around the age of 13. As
in Minean society, women have strictly domestic roles
and slaves are, well, slaves.
6
There are no professional traders or craftsmen among
the Hyperboreans: blacksmiths, carpenters and other
essential artisans are simply warriors who also happen
to possess craft skills which they use in the service of
their tribe in times of peace.
Each tribe is ruled by a king but dont be fooled by the
royal title: most of these tribal kings are little more than
village chieftains. In most tribes, kingship seems to be a
hereditary privilege, inherited through the male
bloodline but other modes of succession, (including
election, designation by Druids and single combat to
the death) certainly exist.
Galleans follow this tribal organization too but have a
slightly more complex social structure, since their
society also includes what we might view as a form of
priesthood, whose members, the Druids, are held in the
highest respect by their fellow tribesmen, including the
kings themselves. The largest Gallean communities
also have a few Lyrists (known as Bards), who are also
held in the highest regard; they act as storytellers,
poets, musicians and keepers of tribal history which is
an especially important role in a culture which has
never possessed any true form of written language.
The greater cultural sophistication of the Gallean
people (again, I use the term loosely, since we are
talking about Barbarians here) is also reflected in their
pantheon of deities, who do show an intriguing
resemblance to some of the true gods (see below).

A political argument, Hyperborean style
Lastly, it should be noted that a small proportion of
Gallean Druids and Bards are druidesses and
bardesses and that Gallean women (especially
those of royal blood) are sometimes treated with a
degree of respect and devotion unknown among the
brutish Cimbrians and Thuleans, probably because of
the influence of Bardic songs and poetry, which often
celebrates feminine grace and also includes quite a few
tragic love tales.
Culture
To Galleans, Cimbrians and Thuleans, battle is
everything; it is in war that a man finds the best
opportunities to assert his personal strength, be in the
form of physical might, moral resolve or both.
Indeed, might and will are a Hyperborean warriors
most important qualities. They have little interest (or
regard) for things like strategy, troop formations or
military leadership: they do not have armies as we
understand them, but hordes of howling, savage
warriors (some of them even fight completely naked)
that pour on the battlefield like waves of rage and
blood Ah, I guess Im getting a little too poetic, here
Speaking of poetic metaphors, a Gallean Bard once
told me that Hyperborean warriors fight like wolves and
this image may actually be more meaningful than it first
appears: a lone Hyperborean warrior certainyl fights like
a savage lone wolf and a Hyperborean warlords
command of his warriors is indeed very close to the
instinctive, animal authority of a pack leader over the
other wolves and among the Cimbrians and Thuleans,
this authority can indeed be challenged in exactly the
same way as in pack of wolves, by single combat
(which is one of the reasons why most Hyperborean
kings treat their warriors with extreme largesse).
Despite some deep cultural differences, Galleans,
Cimbrians and Thuleans have very similar visions of
man, life and the world in general. They value courage,
honor and loyalty above all things; in Hyperborea,
7
traitors, cowards and oathbreakers are more hated and
loathed than ones actual enemies. They believe that
one mans word is his bond and that a mans honor (or
dishonor) is also shared by his kinsmen.
Family and blood are of extreme importance to them;
indeed, no Hyperborean will ever completely trust a
man who has no family or who does not know who his
ancestors were. Their deep-seated sense of honor also
tends to make them immensely proud, overbearing and
quick to take a slight or pick a fight but it also makes
them utterly loyal to their kinsmen and friends.
Aside from unfailing courage in battle, the most
important quality a king is expected to display is not
political acumen (luckily for their civilized neighbors)
or even common sense but generosity, in the forms of
largesse (gifts, boons, spoils of war etc) and hospitality
(feasting, drinking, more drinking etc).
Because they do not keep written records and rely
entirely on oral tradition, Hyperboreans have no
concept of history as we understand it. Their Druids do
not see time as a line but as a circle (and can be
represented by various circular symbols, such as a ring
or a serpent): events repeat themselves in a cyclic (but
often quite obscure) manner, which (of course) can only
be correctly interpreted by Druids and it is only by
observing the hidden patterns of the past that the future
may be foretold which probably explains the Galleans
obsession with patterns of all sorts (be it in crafts,
poetry or destiny) and the extreme importance of
genealogy (as opposed to history), which study is
another prerogative of Druids and Bards.
Myths
Each of the three Hyperboean cultural groups has its
own founding myth.
As mentioned above, the Thuleans believe themselves
to be the mortal descendants of Ymir, the first Giant
(exactly how their gigantic progenitor could actually
impregnate a mortal, human woman is better left to the
imagination). This mythic tale is almost certainly a
fabrication but may actually conceal a small measure of
truth, since the northern reaches of Hyperborea are
also home to a race of half-giants known as the Giant-
Kings, who are viewed with great awe by the Thuleans;
perhaps some of these Giant-Kings mingled with some
mortal women (probably of Cimbrian stock, which would
explain the many similarities between the two cultures)
during the Age of Myth, giving birth to the Thulean race
as well as to the whole Ymir legend.
The founding myth of the Cimbrians is at the same time
more prosaic and more mysterious: Cimbrians believe
their ancestors were the children of Father Sky - also
known in Borean as Crom ( thunder ) or Wota
( storm ) - and Mother Earth, often identified with the
Great Hyperborean Forest itself.
Galleans have a much more complex (and quite cryptic)
founding myth involving Mother Earth, the Sun and
the Moon, some sort of gigantic Serpent and a
Cosmic Egg which, depending on which Druid you
talk to, might represent anything from the world itself to
the womb of each woman or some sort of magical
cauldron tied to the cycles of life.
 Giant Kings & Dwimmerlaiks
During the Age of Myth, a small clan of
supernatural beings known as the Giant Kings fell
from the stars in the northern parts of Hyperborea.
Despite what their name may suggest, these
beings are not true Giants but Large-sized, pale
humanoids with sorcerous psychic powers. Soon
after their arrival, they started building five great
cities, whose names have now been lost in the
mists of time, all located in the farthest reaches of
Hyperborea.

They easily inspired awe in the local barbarian

tribes, the ancestors of the present-day Thuleans,
who soon treated them as living gods and became
their mortal vassals and servitors. To the Thuleans
of that time, the Giant-Kings were the Children of
Ymir; according to Thulean lore, Ymir was the
name of some primordial Giant but perhaps it was
simply the name of the star from which the so-
called Giant-Kings had fallen

During centuries (perhaps even millennia), the

Giant-Kings ruled over their small but mighty
empire as the undisputed masters of the
northernmost parts of Hyperborea. Then, during the
Age of Magic, the supremacy of the Giant-Kings
was challenged by a powerful alliance of undead
Autarch sorcerers known as the Witch-Kings or
Dwimmerlaiks. With the help of their dark sorcery, a
few unique artefacts and legions of undead
warriors known as Wights, the Dwimmerlaiks
obliterated the civilization of the Giant-Kings in a
matter of decades.
After the downfall of the Giant-Kings, Hyperborea
fell under the dominion of the Dwimmerlaiks, who
had established their own Dark Kingdom in the
heart of the Great Hyperborean Forest. Toward the
end of the Age of Magic, the Witch-Kings
themselves were finally defeated by an alliance of
Thulean, Cimbrian and Gallean heroes led by the
legendary warrior Corma, who was of mixed
Gallean / Cimbrian stock and later attempted to
unite all the Hyperborean tribes under his own
high kingship, only to be treacherously murdered
by a mysterious assassin, who still remains
unidentified to this day the Gallean bards often
say that the great dream of the North
(Hyperborean unity) died with Corma.
Nowadays, the glory of the Giant-Kings has sunk
into oblivion and only survives in a garbled form in
a few obscure Thulean tales about the great giant
Ymir and his children, the Giant-Kings. The ruins of
their Five Nameless Cities still exist in the northern
reaches of Hyperborea, beyond the territories of
the Thulean tribes and may still be inhabited by a
few degenerate remnants of the Giant-King race.
As for the Dwimmerlaiks, their Dark Kingdom no
longer exists but the last members of their undead
order may still be encountered in the darker depths
of the Great Hyperborean Forest
See the Mythic Bestiary (p 11) for more details on
Dwimmerlaiks, Wights and Giant-Kings.
A Druid blessing warriors before battle
The Gallean Pantheon
As mentioned above, the Galleans have a pantheon of
deities which is not entirely unlike that of the true
Olympian gods; indeed, most scholars seem to agree
on the opinion that most of these so-called barbarian
gods are actually Olympians in disguise.
There are many strong elements in favor of this
hypothesis: the similarities between some of the
Hyperborean deities and some Olympians (such as
Zeus and Taranis or Apollo and Belenos) are obvious
and uncontestable and it is quite logical to think that
gods and goddesses should assume forms that best
suit the culture of their human worshippers deities like
the almighty Zeus or Apollo certainly have the power to
appear as they wish to us mere mortals.
There are, however, a few problems with this theory;
the fact that some of the Olympians do not seem to
have any homologue in the Hyperborean pantheon can
easily be explained by various mythical and cultural
factors but there are also a few Hyperborean gods who
really cannot be interpreted as Olympian alter egos
which is quite unsettling if you consider (like most
sensible, cultured persons do) the Olympians to be the
only true gods in existence, since it brings forth various
metaphysical questions such as: if Taranis is in fact
Zeus, who in Hades is the sinister Gallean war goddess
known as the Morrigan? And if this entity does exist,
how can true Olympian gods accept to be associated
with them in the same pantheon?
There are of course some possible (but purely
hypothetical) explanations and I have included some of
these fascinating theories in my description of these
rogue Gallean gods (see below) but the truth of
the matter will probably remain a mystery, simply

8
because the gods of the Hyperboreans (unlike the
Olympians) never manifest themselves in person (with
the possible exceptions of the Horned God and the
Morrigan), a fact which has of course given rise to all
sorts of scholarly speculations.

The only major Olympian male god that does not seem
to have a Gallean homologue is Ares. Oddly enough,
the Gallean pantheon does not have a male war god;
instead, this niche is filled by the sinister goddess
known as the Morrigan (see below). Neither Hera nor
Artemis seems to have a Gallean equivalent, which is
not as odd as it may seem at first, since the Galleans
view of women does not really leave much room for
jealous, scheming wives or for Amazon role models.

While these mythological similarities and scholarly

speculations are certainly fascinating, they should not
make us forget that the Galleans understanding of
religion is very different from our classic Minean
worldview: the gods of the Gallean pantheon do not
have individual priesthoods and are served as a
collective entity by the Druids this alone drastically
changes the way men interact with gods (and,
conversely, the way gods interact with men, too).
Taranis
This majestic, lightning-wielding god of storms is an
obvious local equivalent of Zeus. It should be noted,
however, that he is not perceived as the supreme ruler
of the gods but as one of the three god-kings, along
with Belenos and Lyr.
Belenos
This bright solar god is clearly the local form of Apollo;
like him, he is also associated with poetry and skill.
Akthough often described as the supreme god of
Hyperboreans by Minean scholars, Belenos is just one
of the three god-kings of the Gallean pantheon, along
with the more tempestuous Taranis and Lyr but the
bright, triumphant sun god does seem to be the most
popular member of the kingly triad.
Lyr
This mighty, wrathful sea-god is clearly Poseidon under
another name. Although he is recognized as one of the
three god-kings of the Gallean pantheon, he rarely
receives any form of active worship, the sea being seen
by most Hyperboreans (including Druids) as a hostile
territory well outside the dominion of man.
Ogmios
This god of learning, eloquence and wisdom shares
quite a few traits with the Olympian Hermes but is
usually depicted as an old crafty sage rather than as a
dashing, wing-footed athlete.
The Horned God (aka the Hyperborean Dionysos)
The Horned God
This savage, stag-horned god presides over the wilder
and darker aspects of nature (including madness and
wild sex) and also appears to be a trickster god (albeit a
dark and primitive one), making him a very probable
candidate for the Hyperborean incarnation of Dionysos.
Dagda
This enigmatic hooded god appears to rule over the
Underworld and the darker mysteries of life and death,
making him a very probable equivalent of Hades. He is
sometimes known as the Druid God.
Danu
This earth-mother goddess plays a major role in the
various myths of the Galleans; she clearly appears to
be the Hyperborean equivalent of Demeter but is
sometimes described as being the mother of Taranis
and other deities, which would take us in the direction
of Rhea, the ancient titan-goddess mother of Zeus.
Belisama
This graceful goddess is associated with skill and
wisdom, making her an obvious equivalent of Athena
but Belisama is also associated with hearthfire,
domestic life and womanly duties , which clearly
correspond to the sphere of influence of Hestia, as well
as with love and feminine beauty, which would make
her the obvious local homologue of Aphrodite

Gobannon Indeed, Belisama is often referred as the triple

The smith god of the Gallean pantheon is clearly
Hephaestos under another name. It should be noted,
however, than he does not appear to have a lame leg
or any other form of physical disability.
goddess and depicted as a triad of young women,
which does seem to suggest that Belisama is actually
some sort of collective guise shared by the three
Olympian goddesses.

9
Morrigan
This goddess of war, death and carnage is usually
depicted as a very ugly woman armed with a spear. As
the bloodthirsty queen of the battlefield, she is also
associated with crows.
Many wild theories have been concocted about the true
identity of this goddess some scholars have even
suggested that she could actually be a female aspect of
the strangely absent Ares (never even hint at such a
theory in the presence of a true Ares devotee).
The most probable explanation is that the Morrigan is
actually a barbarian daughter of Ares, forever exiled
(or barred) from Olympus because of her excessive
bloodlust and left in charge of the wild north by her
warlike father.
Life, Death & Fate
The way Hyperboreans envision concepts like fate and
afterlife may seem quite hazy and confusing by our
more civilized standards.
They acknowledge the existence of destiny (as a
cosmic and as a personal force) but have no real
concept of fortune as we understand it; they seem to
believe that a mans fate is cast from the moment of his
birth (and even before that).
And yet they also think that strong-willed individuals are
able to make their own fate, which is not as
contradictory as it might seem to the mind of a Thenan
Philosopher: for those northern barbarians, a mans life
is a constant battle between his own willpower and the
(often hostile) forces of destiny and it is at a moment of
a mans death that Druids will be able to tell whether
this battle was won or lost, by examining his deeds and
accomplishments as well as the circumstances of his
death and, in some cases, various omens that may
have occurred during his life.
If the dead man is declared the victor, his spirit will
either journey to some weird otherworld or be reborn in
a newborn babys body (different tribes seem to have
different and often quite nebulous beliefs about afterlife)
and his name will be celebrated by the Bards in their
song and tales; if, on the other hand, the dead man was
defeated by fate , his name will only be remembered
by his those who knew him in life and his spirit will
apparently dissolve into the mysterious, impersonal
forces of destiny.
This vision of life and death can of course be
interpreted as a mythical metaphor of mans struggle for
survival in a natural environment as savage and harsh
as Hyperborea but it also emphasizes two fascinating
aspects of Hyperborean culture: the role of Druids as
judges of the living and the dead and the importance of
personal renown (be it a warriors glory or a sages
reputation for wisdom) not only as a social asset but
as a vital, mystical force that defines the very fate of a
persons spirit after death.
10
The Blue Men
The Barbarians Barbarians
In the Bones of War mountains, west of the Great
Hyperborean Forest lives a fearsome folk of howling
savages known to the Hyperboreans as the Blue Men,
not because they have blue skins but because they
cover their bodies with blue war paints in the shape of
spirals, serpents and other strange patterns. They
sometimes come down from their mountainous
enclaves to raid the westernmost parts of Hyperborea,
especially the ones settled by the Galleans, who view
the Blue Men to be their most irreducible enemies.
Little is known about the customs of the Blue Men;
they speak a strange, guttural language which no
human throat can manage and they appear to worship
strange, loathsome, serpent-shaped gods known as
the Worms of the Earth, to whom they routinely
sacrifice human victims. One of the few certain facts
known about the Blue Men is that they are
anthropophagi eaters of human flesh. This alone is
enough to make the Blue Men odious and abhorrent to
Hyperboreans who (despite what some misled or
over-imaginative Minean scholars would have you
believe) have the strongest taboo against cannibalism.
Even though they do look humans, as far as the
Hyperboreans are concerned, the Blue Men are not
humans but beasts in human form which not only
explains why they eat human flesh but also why the
art of metallurgy seems to be completely unknown to
them. According to most Hyperborean Druids, union
between a Blue Man and a human (ie Hyperborean)
woman can only produce monstrous, accursed half-
breeds that cannot be allowed to live. The other way
around (a Hyperborean mating with a Blue Woman) is
simply taboo and for all that the Hyperboreans know,
Blue Women may not even exist. According to another
belief, the Blue Men are a degenerate race of humans
with demon-tainted blood; they are also said to abduct
Hyperborean children to replace them with their own
spawn - warped, evil babies known as changelings
but this may simply be a bogeyman story invented by
Hyperborean mothers to scare their unruly children
(Be quiet or the Blue Men will get you!). Or perhaps
the truth is both simpler and uglier and the Blue Men
simply capture human children to eat them, because
they are easier to carry away than full-grown adults.
See next page for more details on these abominable
painted savages in game terms.
 mYTHIC BESTIARY

HYPERBOREAN HORRORS
Undead, Giant Kings & Savage Half-Men from the Northern Wildlands

Children of Ymir
Taxonomy: Monster
Description: Also known as Giant-Kings; not true
giants but tall (9to 10), thin, hunched and hairless
humanoids with almond-shaped heads, albino-white
skin and reflective yellowy eyes.
Size: Large
Ferocity: Deadly
Cunning: Alert
Mystique: Eldritch
Movement: 90
Initiative: 15
Melee Attack: +8
Damage: 2d6 (weapon)
Defense Class: 16

Blue Men Hits Total: 36

Detection / Evasion: +6 / +4
Taxonomy: Folk
Mystic Fortitude: +8
Description: Howling, man-eating painted savages
Special Abilities: Crushing Damage (req. grapple),
from the Bones of War mountains; see the previous
Fearsome, Grapple (Might = 20), Magic Resistance,
page for more details on their origins and customs.
Sixth Sense, Supernatural Vigor, Tough Skin.
Size: Medium Awards: Glory 400, Wisdom 50.
Ferocity: Aggressive Additiobal Lore: See p 8 for more details on the
Cunning: Alert origins and history of the Giant-Kings.

Mystique: Weird
Movement: 60 Giant Kings of Old
Initiative: 14 The stats given above represent the degenerate
remnants of the race; in their long-gone days of
Melee Attack: +3 glory, the Giant Kings had a more majestic
Missile Attack: +2 appearance, as well as a Clever degree of Cunning
and full-blown Psychic Powers; the mightiest
Damage: 1d6 (weapon) among them even had Crafty Cunning and
Unearthly Mystique. Whether or not such ancient,
Defense Class: 15 primal beings still exist in the current era of
Hits Total: 8 Mythikas history is entirely left to the Maze
Masters discretion. Perhaps such Kings of the
Detection / Evasion: +6 / +4 Giant-Kings are buried somewhere beneath the
lost ruins of their kins Nameless Cities in a state of
Mystic Fortitude: +2 artificially-maintained suspended animation which
Special Abilities: Charge into Battle (Initiative 16, could be the true facts beneath the various tales of
Melee +5), Missile Weapons (javelins, 120), Sharp buried sleeping giants found in Hyperborean lore.
Senses, Stealthy (16), Uncanny Agility.
Awards: Glory 50.

11
 Wight
Taxonomy: Spirit
Description: Undead revenants bent on spreading
discord, strife and destruction among the living. They
look like abnormally pale and gaunt humans with
hauntingly dead eyes; an eerie aura of gloom seem to
surround them at all time. Most of them haunt the
deeper parts of the Great Hyperborean Forest, as noted
in the Hyperborea gazetteer.
Size: Medium
Ferocity: Dangerous
Cunning: Alert
Dwimmerlaik Mystique: Eldritch

Taxonomy: Spirit Movement: 60

Description: These very powerful, dangerous and Initiative: 16

malignant undead beings inhabit the darker depths of Melee Attack: +4
the great Hyperborean Forest They look like human
skeletons whose empty eyesockets are filled with an Damage: 1d6 (weapon)
evil, greenish light. They use their psychic powers to
prey upon human victims and often use Wights (see Defense Class: 16
below) as their servitors and sentinels. Hits Total: 16
Size: Medium
Detection / Evasion: +4
Ferocity: Deadly
Mystic Fortitude: +8
Cunning: Crafty
Special Abilities: Fearsome, Magic Resistance,
Mystique: Unearthly Stealthy (16), Supernatural Vigor.
Movement: 60 Awards: Glory 65, Wisdom 90.
Initiative: 17 Additional Lore: Wights are brought back to life (or
Melee Attack: n/a rather undeath) by the Life-Energy Drain ability of
Dwimmerlaiks, as detailed above. There is no other
Damage: 1d6 (touch) way of creating a Wight. Since their soul is still trapped
Defense Class: 18 in their undead bodies, they qualify as Spirits rather
than as Animates.
Hits Total: 20
Detection / Evasion: +10 / +8
Mystic Fortitude: +10
Special Abilities: Fearsome, Life Energy Drain *
(touch), Magic Resistance, Psychic Powers (Psychic
Gift +6, Mystic Strength 18, Power 24), Sixth Sense,
Stealthy (18), Supernatural Vigor.
Awards: Glory 130, Wisdom 540.
Additional Lore: Dwimmerlaiks are the undead
revenants of the sorcerer-kings of a long-forgotten,
possibly prehuman race who battled against the Giant-
Kings (see below) during the Mythic Age. As hinted
above, they are responsible for the creation of Wights,
which are brought back to unlife by the Dwimmerlaiks
foul life-energy drain powers.
* Humans killed by a Dwimmerlaiks Life Energy Drain
automatically become Wights (see below). As soon as they
are reanimated, Wights become automatically Enslaved to
the Dwimmerlaik who created them; these undead slaves Creatures devised by Olivier Legrand & Peter Politis
do not count against the Dwimmerlaiks usual maximum of
Enslaved beings.

12
 ATLAS OF MYTHIKA

Amazons!
Secrets of the Warrior Women of Mythika
Written by Olivier Legrand and Andrew Trent
Tastefully Illustrated by Unknown Classical Artists

The scholars of Mythika, Artemis forgive them, have at best a poor understanding of the Amazons of the Wild
North but hey, all these scholars are males, arent they? Let this record do what it can to demystify my Sisters.
Dido of Amazonia

Heritage
It is understandable that a phallocentric culture such
as that of the Three Cities - and much of the rest of
Mythika - would find it difficult to grasp the nature of
the Amazons. Whereas so many of the nations of
our world seem bound together through common
heritage, we Amazons are not. A wide range of hair
and eye colors, skin tones and facial features are
found across the Amazonian spectrum.

This variation is so strong that any two Sisters are

as often as different as night and day. In fact, the
only consistent characteristic shared by the women
of the north is a tendency towards possessing
greater height and athletic ability than the majority of
females in other portions of Mythika. While your
philosophers and academics struggle to understand
how this is so - to find some divine or mystic reason
for the propensity towards physical dominance
exhibited by the Amazons - the answer lies before
your eyes. Our culture is founded on rigorous
training, both martial and physical, and a dedication
to the sanctity of our physical selves. While the rest
of Mythika tends towards indulgence, we live by the
simple rules of healthy diet and active bodies.

But enough about the source of our prowess.

Instead, let me explain the nature of our wild
variation in superficial appearance. No matter what
strange legends you may have heard about how we
procreate - that we are hatched from eggs or that
we grow from stones or are birthed by sexless
winter wolves - the truth is that we arrive on this
earth in the same manner as the rest of human kind.
However, unlike your cultures, our mothers receive
seed from any of countless slaves drawn from any
and all corners of Mythika. As a result, my sisters
often possess traits associated with other cultures.

Among the Amazons you will find those with the

flame red hair, piercing blue eyes and the pale skin
A noble Amazon warrior of Amazonia of the northlanders fighting alongside those with the
dark hair, brown skin and chestnut eyes of the east.

13
Still others resemble Hyperboreans with blonde or
red hair while a few Sisters could even be mistaken
for the almond-eyed ladies of the Land of the Sun.
Variation in form is expected and celebrated among
the Amazons.

There is one last thing to understand about the

nature of the Amazons. We place no value the
male part of the procreative pair. Our tongue has
no word equivalent to your "father." Nor do "uncle,"
"brother" or even "son" exist to us. A male is a male
and fit for labor and little else. Because of this,
lineage is tracked only along our maternal line.
Hence, the only way for one to be recognized as an
Amazon is to be born to an Amazon.

No doubt you have grown uncomfortable with the

frankness of my discourse. Such is the nature of
men. So perhaps you would fare better if I tuned
my attention to the kind of stories and myths that
you people of the Three Cities seem so enamored
with. To put you at ease, I shall relate the founding
myth of Amazonia.

Founding Myth
According to our legends, every Amazon is
descended from the same group of ancestresses
known to us as the Seven Sisters. Indeed,
"Amazon" means "sister" in our tongue.

Millennia ago, at the start of the Mythic Age, the

land now known as Amazonia was called
Scarmathia and was ruled by a mighty, despotic
monarch called Gargaros. King Gargatos had nine
sons and nine daughters; his nine sons were his
pride and Scarmathias most powerful warriors,
while his nine, beautiful young daughters were, in
his own words, his most valuable treasure.

King Gargaros was accustomed to utilize his

children to consolidate and expand his power: he
sent his sons on epic wars and quests to conquer
new lands and defeat formidable foes and offered
his daughters in marriage to his mightiest or
wealthiest allies.
The eldest daughter was married to the king of a
neighboring land but when two of her sisters
visited her one year after her wedding, they saw that
she had become little more than a slave, dominated
by her brutal and mean-spirited husband.
When the two appalled princesses reported this
shameful situation to their father, King Gargaros
replied to them that such was the proper place of a
woman. This attitude came as a shock to the two
sisters, who realized that their father had a similar
fate in mind for them. The older one, who was set to
be married in a few months, was so torn by despair
that she committed suicide, slashing her veins in her
bath. When King Gargaros learned of his daughters
tragic death, he was clearly more irritated than
devastated, for this suicide compromised yet
another well-laid plan of alliance-by-marriage with
another kingdom.
Antianera, the First Queen of Amazonia
The third daughter, upon learning of the death of her
sister, swore an oath that she would never bow
before the patriarchy. She locked herself in the
temple of Artemis and prayed for seven days and
seven nights for the Mistress of the Hunt to grants
her the strength and skill to fight as well as any man
of the earth. So moved by the grief and devotion of
the princess was Artemis that - against the counsel
of her brother Apollo - she granted the wish.
With her newfound prowess and the heart of a lion,
the third daughter rallied her remaining sisters and
began a bloody revolt against her father. The
slaughter, though terrible, was cleansing. With her
father and his warriors slain and the establishment
of a new form of government - a gynocracy - the
third daughter assumed her position as Antianera I,
Queen of the Amazons. From her family flows the
blood of the Amazons, blessed by Artemis to be as
strong as any man.

14

A Sister dressed for war
The story of Antianera is taught to every little girl in
Amazonia; three days after her menarche, every
Amazon undergoes a sacred ceremony where she
receives her arms (bow, spear etc) and is
acknowledged as a true warrior by the rest of the
community. To complete the ceremony, she must
take the Oath of Antianera a solemn vow never to
let herself become a males slave or spouse (which
are essentially the same thing as far as we are
concerned). Indeed, a true Amazon will prefer death
to that kind of dishonor. Those rare Amazons who
do break the Oath of Antianera to surrender their
freedom to a man always suffer the wrath of our
goddess Artemis and die giving birth to their first
child - who is always a male child, the living
reflection of the mothers doom. This recently
happened to that Antiope who willingly surrendered
herself to Prince Theseos of Thena, a few years
before he became King: Antiope gave her man a
son (young Prince Hippolytos) and died in childbirth
from what those foolish Thenan physicians called
complications - but every Amazon knows such is
the fate of all those who break the Oath of
Antaniera. Antiope knew it, too, and I suppose thats
why she is seen by some as a truly tragic character.
History
The Amazon folk has a long, proud history, full of
glorious victories but dont worry, I wont bore you
with endless lists of queens, heroines and battles.
Suffice it to say that our Queendom has earned its
might and glory the hard, bloody way its a mans
world out there and, as the story of Antianera
reminds us, being a free warrior-woman in a male-
dominated age always comes with a price. For an
Amazon, freedom as a woman and as a warrior is
more important than her own life: it is the sacred gift
of Artemis to the Seven Sisters and is the true
motive behind most (if not all) the glorious deeds
accomplished by our heroines over the centuries.
It was this sacred freedom which made our
foresisters stand against the malevolent, power-
hungry (and predominantly male) Autarchs during
the Age of Magic (see Maze Masters Guide p 13).
15
More recently, it was the same sacred principle
which caused our wise Queen to declare war on the
Centaurs of Sicania, who, in a typically male,
overbearing manner, sought to encroach upon our
Motherland.
Society
Are you sure you want to learn more about the way
our society works? Im asking you because I know
how you outsiders usually react to such stuff.
Really? Well, dont say you havent been warned.
Ill try to put myself in your phallocentric Minean
sandals and focus on the differences between our
society and what you consider to be the norm no, I
can hardly say I enjoy this kind of perspective shift
but thats probably the only way to make you grasp
a few basic truths about how we really live.
First, Id like to discount a few misconceptions born
from centuries of gynophobic propaganda: we dont
eat men, nor do we usually offer them in sacrifice to
our goddess; we dont cut one of our breasts to
make us better archers (but most Amazon archers
do wear an asymmetrical breastband that tends to
flatten their bow-breast) and no, we dont kill our
male offspring, simply because we do not give birth
to sons, thanks to the special blessing bestowed on
the Seven Sisters by the goddess Artemis all our
children are daughters and will become warrior-
women, just like their mothers. Those who break the
Oath of Antianera are the only exception their first
child will always be male and his birth will always kill
the mother, interrupting the bloodline and ensuring
that no Amazon is ever born in slavery or in
ignorance of her heritage.
The society of our Queendom is based on two basic
principles: gynocracy and matriarchy.
Gynocracy means that all the power is in the hand
of women. We are ruled by a Queen and all our
warrior-women form what you might call our
aristocracy - in Amazonia, being a warrior and
being a noble are the same thing and, as you will
more fully understand in a few minutes, the concept
of breeding as you understand it has little
meaning in our Queendom.
The same Sister in more peaceful times

An Amazon warrior with spear and shield
Amazons belong to what we call Houses or what
your Philosophers might call extended matriarchal
clans , in their typically chauvinistic nomenclature.
There are seven Houses in Amazonia one for
each of the original Seven Sisters, with the bloodline
of Antianera herself forming the backbone of the
Royal House. Every House is ruled by its council of
elders, with one elected Sister acting as leader in
times of war or crisis; the head of the Royal House
is, of course, the Queen herself.
Our family trees do not record fathers , sons
or brothers , since these concepts do not exist
for us thats what the matriarchy bit is all
about. An Amazon has no father, only a Mother, and
will only give birth to other Amazons. It is as simple
as that.
How can a child be unaware of her fathers identity,
you ask? Well, wait until we get to our mating
customs yes, thats what we call them. Weddings,
marriages and other male-invented contrivances
simply do not exist in our society the closest thing
we have to wedlock is the life-bond that may exist
between two Amazon lovers - and no, I will not
pander to your basic instincts by providing further
detail about this.
Lets get back to social organization, shall we? The
Seven Houses form the military, political and
economic backbone of our society each has its
own army of women-warriors, its own lands and its
own special traditions. Feuds between Houses are
virtually nonexistent; unlike your male-dominated
aristocratic families, our Houses do not need to
16
increase or maintain their political powers through
inter-dynastic marriages (since these do not exist,
remember?); as a result, Amazonia is a very stable
political entity, united beneath the strong and
benevolent rule of our Queen.
In Amazonian society, everyone who is not an
Amazon is a slave. We have no room for intricate
concepts such as citizens or free commoners as
have told before, freedom, nobility and warriorness
are all parts of being an Amazon.
All males in Amazonia are slaves - and no, we dont
deprive them of their manhood (thats another myth)
but not all slaves are males. Most male slaves are
used for agriculture and other heavy labor (but
NEVER as an auxiliary fighting force, even in
desperate circumstances), while female slaves are
generally used for personal or domestic service. All
our craftsmen, scholars and artisans are slaves
and as everywhere else, skilled or well-educated
slaves can have a very pleasant life as long as they
remember what they are.
By now, were probably wondering how we have
children. Well, just like all other women by mating
with a man. The only difference in our case is that
these men are neither our husbands (another
word that do not exist in our language) nor our
lovers ; twice a year, once at the Spring Equinox
and once at the Summer Solstice, we perform our
fertility rituals under the sacred tutelage of Artemis
we go into the woods, wearing masks (and very little
else), where we meet the stronger, healthier male
slaves and
Ill stop there since nobody is allowed to discuss the
Sacred Mysteries of Artemis with outsiders. Im sure
you can rely on your own imagination. Thats right,
no Sex Secrets of Ancient Amazons stuff for you.
In ancient times, the male slaves who served in the
fertility rites were systematically put to death after
having fulfilled their sacred task but this practice
was abandoned several centuries ago, since good
male slaves became increasingly hard to find.
Today, the only ones we do kill after mating with
them are the crazy ones who think that their role in
the fertility rites give them special rights including
the one to talk about such things. Ah, I see you get
my point, now.
Each of the Seven Houses of Amazonia is named
after one of the original Seven Sisters. The seven
House names are: Antianera (the Royal House),
Diona, Attala, Tamara, Velleda, Hippolyta and
Marada. Thus, my full name is Dido, daughter of
Viria, from the House of Diona.
One last thing about names our Queen is always
called Antianera. She forsakes her birth name when
she receives the crown of Amazonia, thereby
becoming a living incarnation of the first Antianera.
Thus, there has always been an Antianera on the
throne of Amazonia and no, we dont bother to
give them a dynastic number, since there is only
one Antianera.

Artemis the Archer, Goddess of the Amazons
Religion
This brings us to the topic of religion another
common source of misconceptions and
misunderstandings between Amazons and male-
dominated folks.
Many Mineans believe we Amazons do not have
any proper religion, simply because we do not have
priestesses, temples or other trappings of
civilized worship. Mind you, we do have a
religion but the forests are our temples and each
Amazon is responsible for her own faith. So no, we
dont have any form of organized priesthood our
Elder Sisters act as keepers of sacred lore and the
heads of the various Houses also lead the fertility
rites and other religious ceremonies, with our Queen
acting as what you would call a high priestess .
As you might have guessed, we only worship
goddesses in Amazonia and certainly not all of
them. Our main goddess is of course Artemis, whom
we worship under three different aspects: the
Maiden, the Huntress and the Moon Goddess her
most mysterious, mystical incarnation, which is tied
to our vision of royalty and matriarchy as well as to
our fertility rites but we do have room for other
goddesses as well Athena is especially popular
with some of our young warriors. Some of her
devotees think Amazonian society should
advance and embrace civilization , which has
recently caused some friction with the more
traditionalist Sisters, who still regard Athena as an
outsider goddess . Demeter is also worshipped
in Amazonia, but only by our slaves, since she is not
a warrior goddess; indeed, her cult is the only one
allowed among our slaves, giving her a very special
niche in our society.
17
What, no Divine Prodigies?
The fact that Priestesses do not exist in Amazonia
does not mean that Divine Prodigies never happen
here. How is it possible, you ask? In Amazonia,
spiritual power and temporal power are the same
thing, as Dido herself implies in her expos.
In game terms, an Amazon who becomes the
head of her House is granted the full repertoire of
Divine Prodigies of a Priestess by Artemis herself,
with a number of Power points based on her level
as an Amazon (which is usually quite high in the
first place). This is an exception to the general
M&M philosophy, which do not normally allow
characters to be dual-classed but it should be
noted that Amazon House leaders are no longer
allowed to leave Amazonia on quests, adventures
and other expeditions, because of their sacred
duty to their House and Queendom; in other
words, any Amazon PC reaching this exalted
status should be retired from active play, becoming
a NPC, unless of course the Maze Master is
willing to run an Amazonia-based campaign
focusing on the various political affairs of the
Queendom (and why not?).
The position of House leader should not be
available to Amazons with a level below 5 and
should require Will and Luck scores of at least 19,
representing an extraordinary strength of character
as well as outstanding divine favor. Even if these
requirements are met, promotion will not be
automatic there is only one leader per House
and she may only be appointed by the council of
Elder Sisters after the death of the former ruler. To
avoid political rivalries and internecine power
struggles, most House leaders select an heiress
apparent (usually their eldest or most promising
daughter) while they are alive but the real decision
belongs to the council of Elder Sisters and
surprises have been known to happen.
The priestly powers granted to the leader of each
House are a direct reflection of their sacred
sovereignty; they are bestowed on the newly-
chosen leader during a special ceremony where
the power of Artemis manifests itself and will
immediately disappear if the leader ever offends
the goddess or forsakes her duties as a ruler.
Amazons who worship Athena cannot count on
any form of local priesthood to lead them in their
worship, which is one of the reasons these
Athenians often leave Amazonia to become
adventuring warriors; most of them also strive to
become Divine Agents of Athena and thereby
establish a special, unique connection with their
patron goddess.
Despite what some misinformed scholars would
have you believed, we have little regard for Hera,
who has surrendered her freedom and womanhood
to her husband Zeus your typical self-
indulgent, self-centered male god. And dont talk to
us about Hestia goddess of hearthfire and
domestic peace, really? Goddess of submission
and passivity seems more fitting!

A Graceful Amazon Princess
And then there is Aphrodite. Her worship is
supposed to be banned in Amazonia, because we
have little interest for a goddess who uses seduction
and sexuality to get what she wants and who will not
touch a bow or spear. The whore goddess, some of
our Elder Sisters call her. We also know that she is
the unseen influence behind every oathbreakers
infatuation with a man but Artemis never allows
the so-called goddess of love to save her pawns
from the oathbreakers curse. Perhaps Aphrodite
had something to do with the fate of Antianeras
elder sisters we will probably never know because
she is never mentioned in our mythology.
Culture
Most scholars will tell you that our native tongue is
Borean, the language of the Hyperborean
Barbarians put this is only partly true. As Ive
implied before, we have liberated our Mother
Tongue from the influence of many masculine words
and concepts, just like our ancestresses liberated
themselves from the tyranny of men. Most of us also
know Minean, which we prefer to use when dealing
with outsiders. We do not have books, scrolls or any
other form of written records: in Amazonia,
knowledge is transmitted from mother to daughter,
through tales, poems, songs and other forms of oral
literature. Indeed, the preservation and transmission
of this knowledge is one of the main tasks of our
Elder Sisters, Amazons who have become too old to
fight and act as the living memory of our folk.
Over the ages, outright lies have been spread
across Mythika about how we supposedly kill or
enslave any man foolish enough to venture into our
territory. This is simply not true. Male adventurers
are welcome in Amazonia and will be treated as free
men (a real privilege, since this status does not exist
in our society) as long as they respect our customs
and forget about trying to turn us into real
women (whatever that means) and consider this
a warning: although this kind of attitude has become
rarer in recent times, we still know how to deal swift
justice to those who would abuse our hospitality or
try to take away our freedom. We have a popular
saying in Amazonia: Men who act like Minotaurs will
die like Minotaurs.
18
Amazonia
Amazonia is a magnificent, fertile land of deep
forests and rolling mountains; some western Lyrist
once described our Queendom as a living
metaphor of the female body but he may just have
had an overactive imagination (or perhaps it was
just some lousy way of trying to charm us with his
typically-male poetry). Outsiders usually find our
climate surprisingly mild for such a northern country,
especially when compared to nearby Hyberborea.
That being said, Amazonia holds many perils, which
often prove fatal to unguided outsiders including
savage Beasts, a few Monsters here and there and,
of course, the Sisters themselves. Artemis has
blessed us with a homeland made in her own image
- wild, beautiful and merciless to her enemies.
All human activity is concentrated in the Seven
Citadels which are scattered around the wildland at
strategical points, making Amazonia an impregnable
Queendom. Each of these fortified bastions is ruled
by a different House; the largest of them is the
Royal Capital of Antianera (our only real city), which
is roughly located in the Heart of Amazonia,
surrounded by the wild, sacred Forest of Artemis.
Like the royal citadel, the six other fortresses are
named after their ruling Houses (eg Diona, Tamara
etc). Thus, to an Amazon, her House and its bastion
are essentially the same thing the fortified citadel
is the body and the House itself is the soul (or the
blood, but soul and blood are the same things to an
Amazon).
You want to know more? Well, youll have to come
to our Queendom and discover by yourself Ill be
leaving Thena in two days to return to my homeland
and spend a few weeks here, among my people.
You could come with me, provided you behave
properly and forget about all your sexist,
misogynistic prejudices remember what I told you
earlier about Men and Minotaurs? Fancy a trip to
the land of truly free women?
Black Amazons of Charybdis
According to some persistent rumors, deep in
the southern jungles of Charybdis lies the
fabled Lost City of Negara (which, according to
some obscure scholars, mean something like
Vale of the Lost Women in ancient Charybdian),
inhabited by ebony-skinned Amazons ruled by
an undying Queen named Zenobia. While
completely unrelated to the Amazons of
Amazonia, those Black Amazons share many
cultural traits with their northern cousins,
including gynocracy, matriarchy and devotion to
a mysterious Moon Goddess, who may well be
Artemis in one of her guises. The only logical
explanation behind this mystery is that events
similar to the tale of King Gargaros daughters
also happened in Charybdis, resulting in pretty
much the same consequences warrior women
of the world unite!

Princess Titania, Mythikas Mightiest Amazon
Titania the Amazon
The Amazons of Mythika are famous for their
marksmanship and swiftness in battle but one of
them, Princess Dyana of Amazonia, is also
renowned for her extraordinary physical strength.
Indeed, her admirers often point out that she is
stronger than the strongest Hyperborean Barbarians
and Centaurs hence her nickname of Titania.
This overenthusiastic statement is not entirely true,
since Titania owes some of her extraordinary might
to a Girdle of Strength but even without this item,
Titanias natural Might makes her one of Mythikas
strongest warriors. She has never concealed the
true powers of her Girdle; indeed, she often takes it
off to demonstrate her natural prowess in contests
of strength and other athletic activities; she is
especially fond of wrestling and often challenges
arrogant male warriors to this form of unarmed
combat (those who refuse to wrestle with a woman
are usually met with scornful taunts about their
manhood and if things get nasty, Titania has no
objection against bloodier forms of duels).
That being said, Titania is not an Amazon bully
looking to challenge every male in sight to single
combat; she always behave in a courteous (if a bit
taciturn) manner with men, as long as they show her
the respect she deserves as a warrior, as a princess
and as a free woman.
Titanias extraordinary Might comes from her very
athletic build and constant physical training; it was
also boosted by her eating a magical Golden Apple
of Strength (see Maze Masters Guide p 40) during
one of her earliest adventures.
Dyana / Titania is the third daughter of the current
Queen of Amazonia; unlike her sisters, she has
chosen to leave her homeland to lead a life of
danger and adventure and unlike all the other
members of the Amazonian royal family, she is a
follower of Athena (rather than Artemis) a fact
which may also have played a part in her decision to
leave the Queendom.
19
Titania the Amazon
Level 5 Amazon, age 28
Personality : Fearless, resolute and honorable;
Titania values loyalty and friendship about all
things; she prefers action to words but is more
patient than your typical Amazon hot-head.
Attributes : Might 19, Skill 17, Luck 17, Wits
13, Will 18, Grace 13.
Combat : Initiative 14, Melee +12*, Missile +7,
Basic Defense Class 15**, Hits Total 34*.
Saving Rolls : Athletic Prowess +12*, Danger
Evasion +7, Mystic Fort. +7, Phys. Vigor +12*.
Personal Charisma : +7 (+12 to Amazons).
Weapon of Choice : Bow.
Special Abilities : +3 damage with bows; +1
melee EDC if unarmored (or +3 to Initiative with
bow (total 17) if using the variant version of the
Amazon class from the M&M Companion).
Background Talents : Healer, Wrestler.
Mythic Items : Aegis, Girdle of Strength, Spear
of Athena (Damage +3).
* These scores take into account the +2 bonus
granted by Titanias Girdle of Strength.
** Her Aegis givea Titania an EDC of 19 and a +9
mod in both Danger Evasion and Mystic Fortitude.
She sometimes returns to her homeland to visit her
sisters and mother but never stays very long, always
eager to embark on some new perilous quest or
daring expedition. Over the years, she has come to
be seen as a truly heroic role model by many young
Amazons, especially those who, like her, have
chosen Athena as their divine patron.
Her exploits are too numerous to be listed here; her
most famous deeds include slaying the Great Hydra
of Murias and the Chimera of Thelnos, defeating the
Great Brutaur Horde of Kromach, vanquishing the
maleficious Hag Sycorax and, of course, killing the
Three Giants of the Isle of Doom. She also went into
the Underworld at least once on some mysterious
quest but wont talk about it.
She has been known to associate with other famous
heroes on epic journeys and perilous expeditions,
including Pellias of Seriphos and Prince Argan of
Argos. She does not get on very well with Theseos
of Thena (probably because Theseos seduction of
her aunt Antiope) and loathes Tharsus of Heraklia.
According to some rumors, Titania once wrestled
against the Boar of Heraklia (thats Tharsus) after
he made an especially unsavory comment about her
womanhood but neither of them was able to best
the other and they eventually gave up after several
hours of furious grapples and key-holds. This was
the birth of a great mutual dislike.
 ATLAS OF MythIKA

Centaurs
Of THE sicaniaN plains
Written by Olivier Legrand

Located north of the Thanatari Mountains and east

of Amazonia, the great plains of Sicania are the
native territory of the Centaur race. Sicania is often
called the untamed land for it has never been
settled (let alone conquered) by humans which
makes it a unique case in the history and geography
of Mythika. This Gazetteer takes a closer look at the
culture and history of the Sicanian Centaurs, with
some never-before-published information about one
of Mythikas proudest Folks.

Centaur Tribes
Centaur society is formed by semi-nomadic tribes of
hunters-gatherers, with strictly defined roles: males
do the hunting and protect the tribe, while females
do the gathering and perpetuate the tribe.

A very important thing to understand about

Centaurs is that they are a very unruly and turbulent
people one that makes Hyperborean Barbarians
look strictly disciplined in comparison. This restless,
often bellicose aspect of their nature is directly
reflected in their society, which is based on a few
rudimentary principles and is constantly shaken by
conflict, from friendly quarrels between brothers to
endless family feuds and even all-out tribal wars.
Centaur society is loosely organized into a number
of different tribes. Each tribe is led by a chieftain
usually the strongest warrior of the tribe. His
position can always been challenged by other
warriors (or stallions as they tend to call
themselves) usually in single combat to the death.
Many young, ambitious Centaur stallions have risen
to glory (or met an untimely death) in this manner
and there are no clearly-established other methods
of succession. In many cases, however, ageing
chieftains choose to designate an heir apparent to
assume leadership of the tribe after their death but
such successions rarely go unchallenged.
Chironian Centaurs (Creature Compendium, p 25),
who, as detailed below, play a crucial role in
Centaur society, often try to limit the amount of
bloodshed following the death of a chieftain, which
is one of the main reasons they travel from one tribe
to another, instead of joining a particular community.
- This is Sicaniaaaa !!!
Clans & Bands
Two very important subgroups exist within each
tribe: clans and bands. Clans are extended families,
often ruled by their elders, while bands are groups
of young warriors united by friendship, common
experiences and a willingness to eclipse other
bands by their prowess, bravery and recklessness.
Of course, these two types of groups often overlap:
at the core of most bands lies a group of alpha
stallions who usually belong to the same clan.
The concepts of clan and band also tend to go in
opposite directions: while the clan, with its ruling
elders, embodies a form of stability and order (in the
loosest sense of the term), the band represents the
spirit of freedom and lust for life (including battle)
inherent to Centaur nature. Because of this, these
two social concepts often come into conflict but
they are also frequently rocked by their own internal
conflicts: personal competition and jealousies often
cause a band to split (usually into smaller, rival
bands) and many clans have been wracked by
internecine struggles and strife (which usually take
far longer to heal than mere band rivalries and may
sometimes cause a clan to split into two enemy
factions a very extreme and irreparable event,
which the Chironians always try to prevent.

20
 The Six Great Tribes
There are six great Centaur tribes in Sicania, each
named after its mythic founder (choose or roll at
random on 1d6 for Centaur adventurers: Epos,
Ekilon, Pholos, Arkantos, Pelion and Ixion.
The Epos tribe is considered to be the mightiest in
war, the Pholos and Arkantos tribes have been
sworn enemies for more than two centuries and
the tribe of Ixion is the main proponents of the war
against the Amazons.
Some legends also mention a seventh tribe, also
known as the lost tribe or the cursed tribe but
this latter title may actually refer to the Brutaurs
(see p 22 for more details).
Centaurides
Compared to their impetuous and bellicose males,
Centaurides tend to be very peaceful and amicable
creatures; in fact, they may well be the main reason
why the whole Centaur race managed not to
exterminate itself in an endless series of clan feuds
and tribal wars. They never become warriors; to a
Centaur (or a Centauride, for that matter), war is an
exclusive privilege of the male heritage, just like
motherhood is an exclusive privilege of feminity.
Within this worldview, a fighting Centauride is not
only impossible but simply inconceivable. This, of
course, may explain why Amazons and Centaurs
find it so hard to get on with each others.
Centaur tradition considers Centaurides to be the
property of their clan; they are closely watched by
the males (as the most valuable treasure of the
tribe) and the most graceful among them must
usually be won by conquest (another cause of
bloodshed among young, reckless stallions). A
Centauride is expected to take her own life rather
than let herself be sullied by a non-Centaur male
fortunately, this almost never happens, since
(despite what many stallions seem to believe) very
few non-Centaur creatures find themselves
physically attracted by Centaurides; the great
exception to this rule are, of course, Satyrs. The
offspring of such unions are the Sataurs (Creature
Compendium, p 26), who are always treated as
untouchable outcasts by Centaurs.
21
Sagittarians & Chironians
Two types of exceptional individuals play a very
important (and very special) role in Centaur society:
Sagittarians and Chironian Centaurs (see Creature
Compendium, pp 25-26).
As master archers, Sagittarians form the highest
rank of the Centaurs warrior elite and often have a
lot of influence over their own clan, band or tribe.
Chironian Centaurs tend to travel alone, moving
from one tribe to another, acting as itinerant Lyrists
and sacred counsellors. Each year, in winter, all the
Chironians of Sicania gather around a supreme
sage known as Chiron to exchange information and
debate the affairs of the world in general and the
Centaur race in particular. Despite what many
humans believe, Chiron is not the name of a single
individual it is actually a sacred name (which can
roughly be translated as poetic sage), held by the
wisest Chironian alive: when this Chiron dies, his
successor is naturally designated by a divine sign
from Apollo, during the next winter gathering.
So you wanna be a Sagittarian?
Over the last few years, some M&M players have
been asking for a Sagittarian player-character
class but (a) there is no such thing as prestige
classes in M&M and (b) the Centaur class as
described in the Players Manual already
encompasses the Sagittarian role: to qualify as a
true Sagittarian, a Centaur player-character must
have taken the bow as his weapon of choice and
have a Missile mod of +6 or better.
In other words, a Centaur archer may start as a
Sagittarian right from 1st level or may acquire this
status at a subsequent level, as soon as his
Missile mod reaches +6. This status will give him
no extra benefits in game terms, unless the Maze
Master is feeling especially generous, in which
case he may give the archer an extra Reputation
bonus of +2 when dealing with other Centaurs.

The First Centaurs
Nothing is known about the actual origins of
Centaurs, the earliest recorded moment in their
mythical history being the Quest for the Sun (see
below). It is certain, though, that the first Centaurs
appeared roughly at the same time as the first
humans, at the dawn of the Age of Myth.
It is generally believed that these progenitors of the
Centaur race were created by the goddess Gaia
(since Gaian is the native tongue of Centaurs); they
were much more primitive than their descendants,
falling somewhere between the two main branches
of the Centaur race in the present day: the true
Centaurs and the degenerate, beastly Brutaurs.
Those Gaian Centaurs (or proto-centaurs as
some scholars now call them) were little more than
primitive savages - but they had one thing which
already set them apart from the other Beastfolk: a
deep reverence for the Sun.
The Centaurs had regarded the Sun as their guide
since the first days of their race, always moving
from East to West, from the edge of the world where
the sun rises to the edge where it sinks into glorious
twilights of blood and gold.
It should be noted that Centaur communities
continue to follow this go west pattern even to this
day which is one of the causes of their ongoing
war against the Amazons (but more on this later).
The first Centaurs did not really identify the Sun as
a deity, because they had no concept of the divine;
they simply saw the Sun as a mysterious and
majestic presence, which they felt an instinctive
need to follow in its great course from one horizon
to another. This myth explains the roving spirit that
dwells in every true Centaurs heart but it also sets
the stage for the first recorded event of their
mythical history: the great Quest for the Sun.
22
The Quest for the Sun
Having no knowledge of astronomy (and little
knowledge at all, actually), the first Centaurs
wondered where the Sun disappeared during the
night. One day, a band of particularly valorous (or
foolhardy) Centaurs, whose names remain unknown
(but did they have names at all, back in these days
?) decided to go beyond the horizon and find the
nocturnal abode of the great shining globe. And
because this was the Age of Myth, they actually
succeeded; after many perils and tribulations, they
eventually reached the Sun and were consumed
in its glory. But their sacrifice created the spark that
changed the fate of the Centaur race forever, for it
had attracted the divine attention of Apollo.
The Olympian god was so impressed with the
bravery and spirit of the sun-chasers that he
decided to take the Centaur tribes under his
protective wing; the sun god appeared to them in all
his majesty, bringing them a revelation of the divine
as well as the two objects which would shape the
future of the true Centaurs: the bow and the harp.
The Gift of the Bow
The discovery of the bow did not simply give the
Centaurs a better missile weapon; it also
transformed them into more evolved beings, for true
marksmanship with the bow demanded a degree of
skill and focus far greater than that required by the
use of the javelin not to mention the craftsmanship
needed to actually manufacture a bow.
Those who mastered the new weapon became the
cultural champions of their race and the heralds of
its new way of life the first Sagittarians.
Ever since these mythical days, Sagittarians have
always been regarded with the highest respect by
other Centaurs not simply because they are good
shots but because they embody the very spirit of
their races destiny and mythic identity.
The bow: one of the pillars of Centaur culture

The harp: another pillar of Centaur culture
The Gift of the Harp
With the gift of the harp came the discovery of song,
music and poetry. This opened a whole new world
to the Centaurs a world where things like honor,
beauty, love or sadness could be expressed in a
way that moved the heart and the spirit.
Simply put, the gift of the harp made the Centaurs
aware of their own soul something which definitely
set them apart from the Beastfolk tribes, allowing
them to evolve into nobler beings. Whereas those
Centaurs who mastered the way of the bow became
known as Sagittarians, those who mastered the way
of the harp became known as Chironians from an
old Centaur word meaning sage and poet.
Ever since the revelation of Apollo, there has always
been a supreme Centaur lyrist named Chiron, who
acts as the counsellor and mentor of the other
Chironian Centaurs, always trying to lead their race
on the path of wisdom which is not always an
easy task, given the impetuous and unruly temper of
their Centaur brethren.
The Brutaurs
But some Centaurs refused the gifts of Apollo.
Divorcing themselves from the rest of the Centaur
nation, they followed a path opposite to that of their
former brethren, rapidly descending into barbarism
and beastliness and forever forsaking any hope of
intellectual or spiritual development.
These renegade tribes became known as Brutaurs.
It should be noted that this mythical episode does
not only tell us how the Brutaurs came to be; it also
explains why they cannot make or even use bows
(let alone harps), which remain the sign (and the
sacred prerogative) of the true Centaurs.
23
So you wanna be a Chironian?
Over the last few years, some M&M players have
ALSO been regularly asking for a Chironian
Centaur character class.
While it should be noted that the Chironians
diplomatic duties and devotion to the cause of
Centaur unity do not really leave them with a lot of
time to go on quests and adventures, this option
could be a refreshing and interesting one,
especially in an all-Centaur campaign.
If this option is used, Chironian Centaur player-
characters should be created as Lyrists, with
Grace and Skill (rather than Luck) as their primary
attributes but their Orphic Voice should still be
calculated as (Grace mod + Luck mod), making
them somewhat less adept at Poetic Magic than
their human homologues.
Their Centaur anatomy, on the other hand, grants
them the Four-Legged and Extraordinary Agility
benefits of the Centaur class (see Players Manual,
p 10). It should be noted, however, that Chironian
Centaurs are not trained to be warriors (giving
them, of course, no weapon of choice) and respect
the same vows of non-violence as human Lyrists,
leaving them few opportunities to take advantage
of their high Skill score.
Honor & Glory
Along with the Hyperborean Barbarians and (quite
ironically) the Amazons, the Centaurs never bowed
down before the power of the Autarchs, against
whom they waged a constant and often desperate
war during the Age of Magic.
It was during these times of turmoil that Centaurs
rose to their current stature, gaining the respect and
friendship of many humans for their valorous stand
against the Autarchs and opening the way for the
Age of Heroes.
Many Sagittarians and Chironians acted as mentors
for young human heroes in exile; in return, young
Centaur warriors were often sent to the Land of the
Three Cities to seek adventure alongside human
companions a tradition which is still observed
today (and which also explains why, among all the
nonhuman Folks of Mythika, Centaurs were the only
ones to end up as a player-character class).
Men and Centaurs a friendship forged in dire times

A typical Aresian Centaur
The Aresian Strife
Most Centaurs worship Apollo, a god who, as we
have seen, has played a prominent role in their
evolution and mythic history but as noted in the
Players Manual (p 16), some of them prefer to
follow Ares, the god of war.
These self-styled Aresians form a very limited (and
recent) minority, which is not present in all tribes; it
is particularly well-implanted among the Ixionids,
who now claim that the founder of their tribe was
actually a son of Ares. Aresians are even more
warlike than other Centaurs and could be described
as the neo-conservatives of Centaur society, since
their declared goal is to lead their race back on the
path of its true fate: the path of war excluding all
forms of compromise with the natural enemies of
the Centaur race, such as the Amazons.
Needless to say, the Aresian Centaurs often come
into conflict with the Chironians, who represent and
advocate everything they reject in Centaur culture.
They also have very tense relationships with the
Sagittarians for Ares, their patron god, views the
bow as a cowards weapon; perhaps more than
anything else, this contempt for the revered archers
has prevented the Aresians from gaining any sort of
lasting political power among their kin. That being
said, they are becoming more and more influential
in some tribes and are actually the main driving
force behind the ongoing war against the Amazons.
For the Chironian sages and their allies, Aresians
represent the greatest menace to the Centaur race
an inner enemy, which could well lead the equine
folk back into barbarism, alongside the accursed
Brutaurs. Of course, the Aresians denounce this
discourse as Chironian propaganda, urging their
compatriots to forget about the bow and the harp
and embrace the bloody glory of Ares. Although
most outsiders are unaware of its existence, the
Aresian strife is the greatest conflict to have rocked
the Centaur world since the Age of Myth for its
outcome will obviously have a crucial impact on the
future fate of the race as a whole.
24
Centaurs of the Woods, Seas & Skies
The Sylvan Centaurs (see Minotaur n3 or the
forthcoming Creature Cyclopedia) are a unique,
hybrid branch of the Centaur race; their main
territory lies well outside the borders of Sicania, on
the other side of the Typhon Sea, in the dense
forests located north of the Helicon Mountains;
their patron deity is not Apollo but his sister
Artemis, the woodsy goddess of the hunt and a
great archer in her own right.
As noted in the Creature Compendium, the origins
of the Pegataurs and Ichtyocentaurs remain a
complete mystery; it should however be noted
that, despite what some true Centaurs might
think, these winged and aquatic hybrids simply
share too many distinctive traits with them to be
considered as completely unrelated species.
The question is further complicated by the fact that
Centaurs do not have any explanation or
etiological myth for their own hybrid anatomy
(perhaps because they do not perceive it as
hybrid in the first place I mean, do humans
need to explain why they only have two legs ?). So
far, the most credible scholarly theory seems to be
that of the great naturalist Telmon of Seriphos,
who theorize that Ichtyocentaurs were created by
Poseidon from Tritons and Sea-Horses in the
same manner that Centaurs had first been created
by Gaia from men and horses, and that Zeus
himself is responsible for creating the Pegataurs,
perhaps as some sort of reply or riposte to
Poseidons creation - perhaps the two divine
brothers had some kind of contest?
Friends & Foes
Centaurs usually get on very well with Nymphs, who
seem to be easily attracted by the men-horses
animal nobility and impetuous temper. They do not,
on the other hand, look very favorably upon Satyrs,
whom they tend to see as capricious, unhealthy and
debauched creatures - not to mention the fact that
Satyrs are very popular with many Nymphs.
Among Monsters, the Centaurs greatest foes are
undoubtedly Griffins, who are particularly fond of
horse (and Centaur) flesh but they also have
many sworn enemies amongst the nonhuman Folks
of Mythika, including Arimaspians (whose mounted
hordes constantly encroach on the eastern parts of
Sicania), Brutaurs, Lycans, Tragos and other feral
Beastfolks; it should also be noted that they do not
get on well with quasi-humans such as Wildmen or
Ogres or even the nobler Hawkmen (probably
because of this races closeness to Griffins).
Centaurs also display a particular hatred for the
twisted hybrids of their own species - Equinians,
Lycocentaurs and Sataurs, whom they usually try to
kill on sight, especially if they are encountered in
Centaur territory. This hostility does not apply to
Onocentaurs and Bucentaurs, whom the Centaurs
view as cousins albeit remote and inferior ones,
lacking the proud and noble spirit of true Centaurs.