Themyscira

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Themyscira is a magical island in the Aegean, near the edge of the Mediterranean. It is the ancient home of the Amazons, a city-fortress built to guard the entrance to Doom's Gate.

The most well-known residents of Themyscira are Queen Hippolyta, Donna Troy, and Princess Diana.

It hosts a population of 3,000 Amazons, who largely dwell in the single city. No other groups or organizations live there. Themyscira has a temperate climate and rich soil that easily bears agricultural animals and a diverse array of plant species. Much of the flora is extinct or inaccessible in other parts of the world and has useful curative properties. There is little industrialization or modernization on the island. Most of the animal life is domesticated and friendly to the Amazons.

Themyscira neither imports nor exports any goods. It has virtually zero contact with the outside world save for a rare person being stranded on the island. A few female refugees over the millennia have been permitted to live out their lives among the Amazons. Males are escorted to the beach and pushed into the ocean currents. The Amazons react with warlike fury to anything that smacks of a landing party or invasion force.

Themyscira is normally obstructed from access by mystical weather. Strong currents flow away from the island, and a dense and virtually impenetrable fog springs up if anyone gets within fifty miles of the shores. Electronics behave erratically and unpredictably, compasses do not maintain a correct bearing, and a feeling of general unease clings to people. Amazons have an unerring sense of where the island is and can easily bypass the obstructions if necessary.

Of particular note is the Enchanted Forest. Themyscira was built by the Goddesses to be a home for the Amazons. The act of creating the island and affirming the immortality of the Amazons draws heavily on the essence of the Astral Plane. The Enchanted Forest can be circumnavigated in a day or two of steady horseback riding. Proceeding through the forest can take weeks. The topography often changes in ways that only magically sensitive individuals can perceive and it is populated with many mythical creatures. The Grove of Antiope sits near the heart of the forest. It was created by Gaea as a gift for the Goddesses when the Amazons relocated, and the Grove contains a temple dedicated to her. The goddesses use the temple as part of the most sacred mysteries and ceremonies for the Amazons.

The temple and grove are home to a genus locii, an intelligent ideologue that represents the spiritual balance of Themyscira. From below the temple the raw potential of the Astral plane bubbles up, and is in turned fashioned by the genus locii into the creatures of myth and legend attached to Greek lore. Periodically a malfeasant entity sneaks past, or the harmony of the island shifts enough to create a monster that poses a serious threat to the island. Amazon hunting parties are assembled and great honor is bestowed on any Amazon who defeats the beast.