Matawega

Matawega (mah-tah-wei-GAH) - Mountain People

For the last two hundred years the people of Matawe have lived in constant fear of war as the royals have split the kingdom and fight for the pieces.

Matawe has two capitals. Nesate is in the highest valley, and this is where Queen Kessara III and the Five Sisters rule. Hattute is on the eastern border of Matawe, near the Mahat city of Nepata, and is ruled by Hatturigus, the King Under the Mountain.

History
As legend goes the Matawega lived on the western slopes of the Matawe until a star fell from the sky. The people followed it into the mountains and discovered the great valleys where they made their home.

The civil war began with a dispute over the city of Hattute and the line of inheritance (circa 2825). As a result there are now two kings and one queen vying for control.

Hierarchy
Because of the instability cause by the civil war, the hierarchy of the leaders has taken meanings for the east and west kingdom respectively.

Hattute
In Hattute two kings sit on the throne, King Over the Mountain Laberne III and King Under the Mountain Hatturigus VI. However Laberne is seen as little more than a ward to Hatturigus and holds no power in the kingdom.

Nesate
There is only one Queen in Nesate, but there are five rulers. The Queen is but one of five women known as the Sisters, though the Queen is their leader. Together the Sisters rule by claiming to have the favour of the Moon God. Those in line to become a Sister are raised in the Moon Temple to retain this holy connection. Their power over the west kingdom comes from the people's belief in this spirituality.

Orope
Only the people of Hattute are seen, along with both their kings. They are shown as being fearful of Whisperers, but open to trade with foreign countries.

Physical Descriptions

 * People of the court: "They were much darker than those from Mahat or the Whisperers, and the men all had long moustached beards and long hair – though no man seemed capable of growing hair on their cheeks. Their eyes were much narrower too, their noses small and their brows less pronounced."
 * Guards in Hattute are described as "wearing boiled leather skins and half helms with nose guards... [holding] long spears" and having "wild dark hair coming from beneath their helmets and around their mouths... long moustaches and pointed beards."