Daughter of Mara WIP

A work-in-progress pic from Andrew

The Daughters of Mara

The Armatures...

"During seven days while the Buddha was experiencing of the bliss of deliverance under the banyan tree, the three daughters of Mara came and tried in vain to lure the Lord to worldly pleasure."

In the Garden of Kama, the Daughters are demons: both seductive and deadly. Those that resist their temptations they attack in a vindictive rage. They are spiteful, sadistic and bloodthirsty.

The Kshatriya - the Warrior Caste

The Kshatriya are the warrior caste in the Garden of Kama, as they are in India of old. They are the ruling caste of all nations except Champakou, the Land of the Black Lotus, where the priest-kings hold sway, raising the priestly caste above that of the warrior.

There are several recognized dynasties within the Kshatriya, as the various clans claim descent from different deities or ancient heroes. The four most prominent are:

1) The Suryavanshi or Solar dynasty, claiming descent from Surya, the God of the Sun;

2) The Chandravanshi or Lunar dynasty, claiming descent from Chandra, the God of the Moon;

3) The Agnivanshi or Fire dynasty, claiming descent from Agni, the God of Fire;

4) The Nāgvanshi or Serpent dynasty is a sub-clan of Suryavanshi kshatriyas. These two dynasties are often friendly towards each other.

There are also several "lost" dynasties, so-called because they are rarely found or have thought to have died out completely. These are the dynasties of Water, Air, Earth and Darkness. The Water dynasty still exists in isolated pockets along the coasts or the southern islands. It is said that the only Air dynasty left are in the mountains to the north and on the Terrible Plateau. The Earth dynasty is said to exist in deep forests and the remote parts of the western desert. The Darkness dynasty is held by many to be extinct.

Some Background to the Garden of Kama

The North
To the north lies the mighty Shan Shan [name may change] mountains and the Terrifying Plateau where dwells Mara, the Lord of Evil and his demonic minions, the chief among whom are known simply as the Mara and the Daughters of Mara. There also lies the Kingdom of Jong Yu [name may change], the last realm of man in the North.

The East
From the plateau several rivers descend onto the lush central plains. To the east, the Pirya river [name may change] flows into a series of large lakes, of which the Tara Ji, is the largest; the others being the Gong Hu, Tara Ki and Gong My. [all these names subject to change]

Here lie the amazon realms of Aoa and Ologog, and the great Kingdom of Kamjola. From the lakes the river flows into a wide delta, the Mu Jan [name may change], at the mouth of which is the island Kingdom of Kana Ko. The river Xa [name may change] flows into the Mu Jan from the north-east forming the border of the realm of the Priest-Kings of Champakou, also called the "Land of the Black Lotus."

During the wet season these rivers overflow their banks, inundating much of the land from the lakes all the way to the delta. As a result all these lands have large inland navies of war canoes and galleys.

The West
Two other large rivers descend from the plateau, flowing west and south. The Xir takes the westernmost path, meandering through dry hills and the Desert of Xi [name may change] before emptying into the Bay of Xang [name may change]. This river forms the western border of the Kingdom of Panam. [name may change]

The river Koranga [name may change] flows more directly south across the central plains before winding its way through the highlands and forests of the South; it is the longest river, skirting the Padmanak Plateau [name may change] before reaching the sea almost at the southernmost head of land. There are many small kingdoms and principalities along the banks of this river and along the seacoast it runs parallel to for most of it's length. The mighty Kingdom of Lohwand rules the plateau and the seacoast that runs along its eastern edge.

The South
The Koranga finally empties into the sea after flowing through the great southern forests. Many small kingdoms continually war for control of these lush landscapes and the fertile island of Kasyan La [name may change] which lies merely 100km off the coast.

Notes:
1) As noted, many of the names are subject to change, having mostly been made up on the fly as I typed this out. Those shown in bold are the primary factions;
2) I have changed some of the countries from my first draft. Aoa and Ologog are both Amazon nations – bitter rivals who are none too friendly with their other neighbours either;
3) The Kingdom of Kamjola has become the “Khmer inspired” faction;
4) For the Kingdom of Jong Yu I am intending to use the Perry Miniatures Koreans, or at least the ones in the cool heavy armour!
5) For the Kingdom of Panam I will be using a combination of Games Workshop Easterlings and Warriors of Khand;
6) Champakou has been developed slightly, to be ruled by the “priest-kings” rather than a warrior dynasty as the balance of the kingdoms are. I am styling it as the “Land of the Black Lotus” because of their “lotus patterned” headdresses, inspired by the Cham;
7) There are kingdoms of Naga and Rakshasa interspersed between these human nations. There are Rakshasa who fight for the human nations as well as those who oppose them;
8) There are also tribes of Hanuman, monkey-men, living in the forest. In fact, many types of beast men exist;
9) There are wild tribes of humans living in the forests, mountains and desert as well.