The Realm of Seasons is a fae High Kingdom in the far south of the Land of Ancient Dreams. Much like Concordia, it broadly operates as a single gestalt kingdom, albeit far more decentralized and egalitarian in structure than its North American counterpart. It corresponds to the countries of Angola, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
History[]
The Realm of Seasons is a living history of migration. In the beginning, these were the lands of hunter-gatherers: tribes like the San, Khoisan, and Himba. These peoples saw the first season here, and it was a season of plenty. Game and wild fruit flourished abundant across the plains. Then the season changed, and brought a large and varied people group now referred to as the Bantu peoples, all speaking varied tongues, but possessing a common root language. The Bantu came from the north and brought agriculture and commerce, altering the lands forever with the imprint of man. With time and growing migration, some of the sister languages became unintelligible to each other, despite once-common roots. The Bantu speakers became many peoples, with tribe identities like Tswana, Mthetwa, Chewa, Basotho and Zulu, each with their own ways and identities. The season changed and the Realm now knew many rulers.
Over time, the fae of the region followed their mortal relatives, establishing their own kingdoms and elevating the worthy among them to rule. And while their ways changed over the generations, each still held the notion of seasonal rule, though the metric for what counted as a 'season' varied widely among the fae. In this realm of change, there are many crowns: some tied to regions, some to forces of nature, and some to the will of the people directly.
The rise of mortal rulers such as Shaka Zulu and the invasion of foreign powers further altered the political landscape as centuries slipped by, until the need for a single voice to steady the region became a driving goal for the native fae. And so the tradition of choosing the King or Queen of Seasons arose, which remains in effect to this day.
Political structure[]
Not a single kingdom but a collection of many allied lands, each with its own ruler who bows to a chosen 'first among equals'. Among the queens and kings of the greater Realm, one monarch is chosen to serve part or all of a Season as the 'first among equals' in question and the arbiter of disputes. The choosing ceremony is a week-long festival, hosted by a rotating list of kingdoms, where the rulers confer while each delegation attempts to outdo the others in friendly contests of dance, athletics, storytelling, and of course, cooking.
Once chosen, that ruler is respected by all as the highest fae authority of their shared lands, even as they must simultaneously navigate the needs, demands and egos of all other monarchs of the Realm of Seasons as well as see to the stewardship of their own subjects. They may issue declarations across kingdoms but most tread lightly to avoid the appearance of tyranny and usurpation, as well as any semblance of favoritism in treating with one kingdom over another. They are also the ultimate authority when treating with local Prodigals, and they are also responsible for handling serious breaches of the Mists and conducting any backchannel political maneuvering with mortal governments necessary to keep the fae of the Realm safe and prosperous. It is, to put it mildly, not an easy job.
In theory, each high ruler reflects the current spirit of their subjects and the state of their lands. Of course, the selection process itself is a political event, with the rulers gathering for plenty of public feasts and speeches as well as all the deal-cutting, alliances, rivalries, and other attendant complications of such occasions. Short of bloodshed, not much is off-limits, but it is also worth noting that the process has tended to produce far more benevolent rulers than tyrants. Even the most grasping king or bloodthirsty queen realizes that while being first among equals over so much land is a tempting prize, it also places many more demands on them as well as focusing a great deal of attention on their every move. They are thus much more likely to vote for a more virtuous choice to draw attention and weather the endless demands of the position, the better to return to their shadowy dealings. Of course, they’ll also see what they can get for their vote if they can...
The cool harvest season of the 2010s have been marked by the rule of one such benevolent ruler: High King Kutloano Mamello, otherwise known as the King of High Snows.
Geography[]
For now, as it has been since time immemorial, the lands of the Realm of Seasons still vibrantly reflect its name. While the majority of the vast miles experience the cyclical shifts of weather, there are bold reaches where the earth’s cycles hold less sway. The highlands of Lesotho see winter temperatures of negative 28 degrees Celsius (-19 degrees Fahrenheit). Many miles away, the Dead Vlei of Namibia boasts air so hot and dry that thousand year old husks of dead trees petrify upright under the sun, too dry to even decompose. The Skeleton Coast may be famed as the doom of all sailors, but this has made it a true haven for vast herd of seals, and a startlingly large population of local selkies and their kin. These beautiful seagoing fae are known to travel several hours inland to party in the big cities, and bask in the vibrant Namibian music scene. Inland lies the northerly, verdant wonder of the Okavango Delta. An atypical geological formation fosters the creation of a floodplain so vast that the regional animals have all adapted to life in and among the water. Cheetahs swim after their prey, and monkeys dive after each other as they migrate from tiny island to tiny island. Each small island and channel is an ecosystem, full of wonder, danger, and curiosity.
An uneasy alliance has been forming between conservation minded fae nobles, and the Realm’s growing pride of Bastet shifters. The current Bastet Queen is a notoriously bloodthirsty lioness named “Greets with Fire,” whose methods have strained the peaceful relations between her pride and the local fae. While all celebrate successful joint wildlife conservation efforts, the Bastet strain against some of the ownership-minded humans and the “help” they provide the wilds. Bastet reprisals against modern poachers are increasingly more common, and while they may be seen as laudable by many fae and mortal who cherish their animal-kin, the scenes they leave behind are the things of vindictive nightmare… the sort of gory excess that will eventually bring the attention of the mortal world.
Flowering[]
This vast collection of climates share a realm with the best preserved fossil record of human and early hominid life. The region the mortals call “the Cradle of Humankind” is the home of anthropological discoveries going back 10 million years. Fae scholars have argued that this eons-long presence of early humans joined with stark examples of climate extremes have contributed to a greater amount of Inanimae activity than is known of in other regions of the world. The expansive stretch from Namaqualand in the north all the way to Cape Town at the southernmost tip of the continent is home a miles-long flowering unlike any other in the world.
When spring comes to Namaqualand, the fields from horizon to horizon explode in a riotous burst of colorful, untamed wildflowers. The yearly palette of the flowers are dictated by the weather leading up the great bloom – each year seeing a very different and unpredictable map of color and flora. A unique species of seasonal flower Inanimae have lived here from the dawning times. They have a lifespan no longer than the spring that brought them forth. Each spring, one of these flora Inanimae (and only one)makes a prophecy that comes to pass before the next bloom.
Dreaming[]
Though the local kingdoms vary widely in the Realm of Seasons, as suits their extremely diverse nature, the embodiment of the current chosen high ruler’s nature always shades the local Dreaming. With the King of High Snows on the throne, that means chill breezes blow even in the hottest parts of the year, and the icy peaks of Lesotho always seem to be visible on the horizon, no matter where you stand.