Amazon

Amazons  (子軍, Joushigun) are a race of all female humanoids that reside on the Isles of Themi off the coast of Ishgar. The product of a village of women transformed by Black Arts (, Burakku Ātsu lit. Black Magic Techniques). They have inhabited this archipelago for around 400 years, after being ostracized by the men they were once married to. Now the Amazons breed asexually, living a warrior-based lifestyle on an island devoid of men, however in recent years the Amazons have been making more and more of an appearance on the continent of Earth Land. Most notably there is a Guild of Amazons that exists in Hargeon Town, known as Amazonomachy.

History
Around 400 years ago there was a local war in southwestern Fiore. In this skirmish of sorts, only a few towns were effected, one of those towns being the town of Forestden. Forestden was particularly small, and so the only people left behind in the war was a majority of the women. This made for a particularly easy target for a well known practitioner of the Black Arts, Getica. He had situated himself on the steeple of the church, casting a spell over the entire town. He referred to this spell as a Dark Permatransfiguration. With a giant magic circle cast across the town, markings crossed the bodies of the women, screams of pain erupting from each home in town. Once their pain had subsided and the women were able to stand and locate mirrors in their homes, they noticed the changes in their physiology. Many of the women shrieked out in terror, and cried out of fear.

There were a select few, however, that solely experienced rage. The women who grew into their new form with nothing but anger were led by a woman known as Hippolyta. Her leadership led them to discover the man above the church, and with her quick adaptions to her physiology made climbing the steeple easy. Getica tried to dispatch her, but Hippolyta was too quick. She grabbed hold of Getica and forced him to the ground. The other Amazons gathered around him, and gathered the rest of the women in town in the town square. They had attempted to question him, however he had met them with not more than telling them that he changed them solely to turn them into "costly slaves" for their "aesthetic detail" and "anthropomorphic appearance". Being met with this, Hippolyta slain him quickly, slicing his throat with her newfound claws. Soon after this occurrence the local wars had come to a screeching halt, and all of the men returned home. As they returned home they noticed the physiological differences in the local difference, and met many of their wives with disgust, disdain and anger. There was a lot of verbal ostracism, and much tension was created between the men and the women. Some men in fact resorted to bringing their wives and daughters to the forest, going to extreme measures by chopping off the new added features. This resorted to the deaths of three women in particular, Ocyale, Glouce, and Harpe. Hippolyta was outraged, and she united the women of the town once again. Delivering a speech in the town square, the women decided to rise up, killing their husbands and the people who ostracized them for these differences. With the mass murders of their people, Hippolyta decided that the women would have to leave the continent of Ishgar to an isolated island, far from the men who would ostracize them, with closed borders. They made the trek southeast to the bustling port of Hargeon Town, and asked for the help of a band of female mercenaries. Abandoning the children of the town after dark at the hospital in Hargeon Town, they left from port and set sail for a legendary archipelago, swarmed with terrifying monsters.

Hippolyta led the march onto the islands, the mercenaries and women in tow. The high class monsters fell to the claws of the Amazons and the magic of the mercenaries. They cleared the archipelago in a series of days, setting up camp on the largest island of the few. With the clearing of the monsters, few realized that there was an inherent ability for Monster Taming. Setting up ranches, the Amazons were able to domesticate a variety of monsters for ranching. They named the set of islands the Isles of Themi, the name of Hippolyta's daughter. The series of islands were all named after women who didn't survive until that point, the largest named after Ocyale, Glouce and Harpe, with the smaller surrounding islands named after women who hadn't survived the fighting on the archipelago. There they settled down, and began developing the islands to the best of their abilities. The women began to cultivate the forests and domesticate fruits and vegetables, living primarily off vegetables. They built complex wooden huts, rooted in their inherent strengths in craftsmanship, establishing the island as somewhere unique across the world.

Society was developing well under the hand of Hippolyta. She assembled a council of women, one from each island, and they got to work. As a Council of Amazonian Elders they began to make decisions, decisions that would benefit everyone. One of the first major pieces of business was establishing a location dedicated to suit the conditions needed for reproduction. They drilled deep down through an island, and made an underground laboratory of sorts that suited the conditions needed for their asexual reproduction. With this, the Amazons became quite self sufficient. They invited the Mercenaries to head back to the mainland, however they decided they wanted to stay with the Amazons on the Isles of Themi. The Mercenaries ran back to the mainland and looked for books and supplies the Amazons needed. Bringing back entire libraries of magic, the Amazons became proficient in using magic and became advanced in the crafting of weapons. Three generations of women have been born to the island, and since the founding of the island have become a bustling tourist port for female merchant ships and travelers. This sharing of tourism has caused several hundreds of rare artifacts ending up on the Isles of Themi, from rare books on magic, to rare holder items, making the Isles of Themi a pilgrimage many female mages try to make. During this time, invasion of men was also threatened, and so a series of marine-based battles took place. A few generations ago, as travelers and pillagers became abundant on the island, the Amazons banded together with strong female mages to form Amazonomachy, an all female strength based Guild that took whatever jobs the travelers might need to be done. As of recently a branch was opened by the current Guild Master in Hargeon Town, as Amazons are interested in rejoining society.

Biological Characteristics and Behavior
Despite once, long ago, being human, the Amazons are now quite biologically different to who they descended from. Their biology was changed by the spell, both intentionally and unintentionally. Magic altered their bodies in terribly painful ways, however these changes are not limited to the primary set of women. With the intention to make them slaves, they were given the ability for asexual birth, particularly in a form of parthenogenesis which is a peculiar form of asexual reproduction that causes the creation of a sort of clone of the mother. Unlike with most species, however, the offspring do not end up sharing a number of traits with their numbers, as the Black Arts used on their family lines oftentimes has an impact on certain genetics of the daughters. To reproduce there is something very unique about the reproduction of the Amazons, in which they need to be in perfect temperature conditions at the right altitude during the Spring Equinox of each year to become pregnant. It is believed that this comes from the Black Arts aspects of their species, and so many of the women do not question it, but just welcome the birth of their offspring. Relocating to a totally new area and living in totally different conditions has also developed some differences between generation, for example a higher tolerance for extreme heat conditions.

Other intentional causes of the Amazons biological differences in characteristics include their rabbit-like physiology. Although at first many people had met their appearance with fear and terror, in the modern age people have become a lot more accepting of the differing characteristics the Amazons posses. Referred to locally as their Dóra Kounelión (ウサギの贈り物, Usagi no Okurimono, lit. Gifts of the Moon Rabbit), all Amazons have rabbit ears, leading to an increased sense of hearing. The rest of the characteristics can differ from woman to woman, including claws instead of fingernails, rabbit-like pointed feet instead of human-like feet or even a snout with an increased sense of smell. Although not consistent, there is no particular standard among Amazons for being particularly more beautiful for attaining or lacking in any of these features. Many view these parts of their physiology more as tools, and employ them to good work. Those with claws inherently have a very dangerous tool in hand-to-hand combat, whereas those with rabbit-like feet have an ability to jump much higher than the average human. Few individuals have all of these features, and one of them is well known to be Hippolyta. That being said, these features are often looked upon as being much more useful in battle.

With their primary purpose being that of slaves, there were some intended secondary effects that Getica had imparted upon each of the women, not realizing that these effects were what would lead to his downfall. The women are each extremely agile and possess a superhuman amount of strength. He believed allowing them such power would make them much stronger forces in areas like fields, or in carrying enormous things for their masters. Another aspect the were given to enhance their worth as slaves was the ability of inherent craftsmanship. Almost every Amazonian woman is able to look at a pile of materials and near instantly develop a certain blueprint for how to manufacture something extremely unique and useful. Amazonian women refer to this as their Architéktones (建築家の目, Kenchikka no me, lit. Architect's Eye). Despite this once being thought to be a high selling point of them, the women were able to employ this skill to build cities out of only the materials they had attained by clearing the forests a mere four hundred years ago. A testament to their abilities is the fact that all of the wooden structures are still standing, despite this enormous period of time.

With their magical transfiguration, it is believed that some gifts were also imparted onto these women with their changes. As it was a transformation caused by magic, the women have a natural affinity for magic, of almost all kinds. The women are able to learn a vast amount of spells and skills, and have been shown to be extremely proficient in wielding their magic. Although rarely on the mainland, the magical gifts of these women is sought after across Ishgar, and so many people hire them solely based on a knowledge of their genetic enhancements. They call this talent their Magikos Syngéneia (魔法の親和性, Mahō no Shinwa-sei, lit. Magical Affinity) and believe that this inherent ability was divine payment for their loss of human features. Another feature that was given to them in the transmutation is that of Legeonários (お化け 指揮官, Obake Shiki-kan, lit. Monster Commander) often referred to in the modern world as Monster Taming. With the changes in their physiology caused by the Black Arts, more violent and wild monsters are intimidated by the women, and will often submit to their command with little to no training. Due to this many of the women on the Isles of Themi have become ranchers, and have ended up raising monsters on farms over the wide fields.

In terms of behavior, trying to sum up the actions of an entire species is extremely difficult, particularly one so complex and human-like as the Amazons. Each Amazon has a very distinct personality in day to day conversation, and most of the time Amazons are generally very friendly despite their reputation for being extremely brave warriors. Although having a distrust of men and preferring to work alongside women, the belief that Amazons hate men is far in the past. Oftentimes, Amazons interact openly with men, and try to associate with them, but believe that they have major differences in opinion and so oftentimes avoid major relationships.

Most Amazons portray amazing charisma and unique leadership abilities, referred to often as their Goiteía (主人公の魅力, Shujinkō no Miryoku, lit. Charm of the Hero) as many people are able to look up to their distinct personalities with awe. Human women oftentimes follow the Amazons with ease, and oftentimes will work alongside Amazons on difficult tasks with a simple request. Men oftentimes try to oppose the Amazons, as they fear that the Amazons are directly trying to attack their masculinity, however most end up succumbing and becoming loyal workers for the Amazons. That being said, Amazons themselves are very loyal and focus hugely on the concept of Igétes Igétes (主の信義, Nushi no Shingi, lit. Leader's Loyalty) in which one is willing to die for one's leader than oppose their decisions. This oftentimes makes times of war difficult for the Amazons, however within Themian society Igétes Igétes is a highly respected way to die. Those who die in war are often memorialized forever, and the Amazons believe dying in battle to be an extremely dignified way to die.

Society and Culture
"Although one time we were very similar, we have developed our own sense of society and our own sense of culture. Amazons are so different to humans now."

- One of the Elders explaining what life on the island is like.

Although once human, culture and society on the Isles of Themi have evolved far beyond their mainland predecessors. Fearing interaction with men from Ishgar if their island was discovered, the women long ago developed their own language and system of writing. They refer to this particular language system as Paillon (ペーロン, Peeron). Their language is not used heavily in day to day, but is instead used in recounting important events or in transcribing parts of history to keep their lives and government secret from the people of Ishgar. Inscribed on giant blue cubes, their history can be found inscribed in various parts across the archipelago. In addition to blue cubes, specific books of lost magic have been transformed into red cubes, and are only allowed to be seen upon permission of the Elders.

Despite being very secretive about certain parts of their history, the Amazons no longer lead a life in an isolationist society. The ports to the Isles of Themi have been open for centuries to women of all kinds, and have particularly drawn the eyes of other inhuman species that are primarily women. With that there are massive communities on the island of creatures like Harpies and Mermaids who have also been ostracized or sexualized by massive communities of men on Ishgar. The Amazons have a certain amount of respect for both creatures, and think that as they are all similar in being women with changed appearances they should unite for the greater good. That being said, creatures like Harpies and Mermaids have become a major part of Amazonomachy, and are often thought of as being unique and important creatures.

The women of the Isles of Themi also seem to be very non-judgmental of one another. They do not realistically have standards of beauty among each other and oftentimes do not judge each other based on what they wear. They also do not sexualize each other in the regular sense of people on Ishgar, and do not find exposing certain parts of their body to be all that embarrassing. That being said, many women are allowed to wear whatever they want, explaining Kjtn Greta's love of outfits that feature a lot of skin. Many of these women, when dealing with the mainland, are met with surprise when people have comments to make about their beauty or the way they dress.

On the topic of how the women view each other, partnership among Amazons is not uncommon. These partnerships, however, typically do not focus on being intimate with one another, but instead are deep bonds forged in the fires of emotional love. The women are there for each other when it comes to just about anything, offering each other support, care, and direction when necessary. The Amazons view these relationships as very important for the development of Amazonian Culture, and in some cases do indeed become more similar to human relationships. That being said, that does not mean that Amazons are all strictly interested in strongly emotional relationships with other women. Now that Amazons are on Ishgar, it has become evident that the Amazons tend to have more of a bisexual leaning, interested in both men and women despite the origin story of the Amazons.

As previously mentioned, there has been a number of marine-based battles and so the women of the Isles of Themi are quite prepared for war. Each of the women finds being a warrior one of the best things they could do with their life. As aforementioned they have a sense of Igétes Igétes (主の信義, Nushi no Shingi, lit. Leader's Loyalty), in which they follow their generals to the ends of the world. This sense of loyalty is a major piece of Amazonian culture, and it makes them extremely valuable in the war.

The Council of the Moon Rabbit
A group of three of the most influential women in Amazonian society, the Council of the Moon Rabbit (月の兎協議会, Tsuki no Usagi Kyōgi-kai) is the democratic body of the Isles of Themi. They make all of the choices for the people of the island, and as they are the democratic leaders they were elected after about a year of running for their positions. The woman with the most votes, or the Chief of the Moon Rabbits (月のウサギ主席, Shuseki Tsuki no Usagi), is the leader of the three women, and directs all of their political conversations. She often is the one who makes public speeches, and is the representative in foreign affairs. These women are looked up to and revered by other Amazons, and are viewed as role models for the masses. Currently, the council is composed of Ulia Oto, Secretary of the Moon Rabbits, Trtia Alfhea, Vice Chief of the Moon Rabbits, and Freja, as Chief of the Moon Rabbits.

Dóra Kounelión
Dóra Kounelión (ウサギの贈り物, Usagi no Okurimono, lit. Gifts of the Moon Rabbit)...

Architéktones
Architéktones (建築家の目, Kenchikka no me, lit. Architect's Eye)...

Magikos Syngéneia
Magikos Syngéneia (魔法の親和性, Mahō no Shinwa-sei, lit. Magical Affinity)...

Legeonários
Legeonários (お化け 指揮官, Obake Shiki-kan, lit. Monster Commander)...

Goiteía
Goiteía (主人公の魅力, Shujinkō no Miryoku, lit. Charm of the Hero)...

Paillon Fluency
Paillon (ペーロン, Peeron)...

Extras

 * This race was authorized by Perchan.
 * Despite being based on the Amazons of Greek Myth, the race also bears some resemblance to the Valkyries of Norse legend, emphasized in the way many Amazonian women spell their names.
 * Paillon comes from the French word Papillon, routed in how many of the women feature butterfly symbolism.