The story of the Assuwa League begins with the city-state of Wilusa. Wilusa was a profitable town in the before-time, populated with skillful farmers and fishermen. It enjoyed a wide array of trade networks as well, thanks to its position upon the Hellespont. As the myth goes, Wilusa was raided and sacked by the fierce Sea Peoples during the reign of King Priam the Great - the great port was ruined, and the Wilusans were driven into the hills, exiles from their own city.
In their mountain refuge, the priests of Wilusa gathered all of the survivor's possessions, and built a great pyre with which to burn them in sacrifice to the Peerless One. They prayed for redemption and for revenge. Legend tells that while the survivors were gathered around the pyre, King Priam collapsed into a furious seizure. When he awoke, he adamantly described a vision as vivid as those who stood before him. He claimed that a terrible horse descended from heaven, on wings of fire. Its rider was wreathed in flame, shining so bright he feared he would be blinded. The rider dismounted, and placed a hand upon his cheek; it was cool, despite the flames that licked his beard. He looked into the face of the rider, and found he was not blinded; he looked upon the face of the Peerless One, and beheld a woman so beautiful, that the plights of the world melted away. Indeed, the Peerless One was a woman.
Enflamed by the King's vision, the Wilusans charged down from the mountains in a holy rage and drove the Sea Peoples back into the very waters that brought them upon the city. Upon retaking the city, Priam the Great immediately abdicated in favor of his daughter, Andromache, First Queen of Wilusa. Wilusan society as it is known now, the myth goes, was born this day.
Women hold the most important positions in Wilusan society - indeed, even the bloodline passes through women, and while men are not forbidden from the throne, no man has ruled Wilusa since the legendary Priam. The Priesthood of the Peerless One is female-only, as are most of the top administrative positions in the government.
Lastly - the sea-faring skills of the ancient Wilusans are long since lost - abandoned in favor of horsemanship, in honor of the horse of flame that bore the Peerless One into the hearts of Wilusa forever. It is often joked among the subjects of the League that a Wilusan is as likely to fantasize of bedding the Peerless One as to take an oar in his hands.
This has created a large weakness in Wilusan society - with the majority of women taking jobs in the government, the Priesthood, and even commanding detachments of Wilusan cavalry, there are not many women available to rear and raise children. Wilusa's birthrates are dangerously low, and the population of the city is only increasing due to immigration (which itself is very low). Further, peoples are all too often resistant to following the whim of a woman - and conquests are rarely pacified quickly.
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The Assuwa League
Originally Posted by Dan the Man
