This episode is sponsored by Paradox Interactive.
It is rare to find a world untouched by the Star Union.
From the vast ecumenopoleis of its great capitals, to the minor settlements and research stations
of the frontier, few areas remain untouched, pristine.
But that has begun to change.
In the centuries since the cataclysm and the fall of the Union, nature has started to reclaim
what it had lost.
The ruins of abandoned cities, once barren now teem with new life, relics of the past
slowly fading back into the wilderness.
The apocalypse has fallen, but life goes on.
For many it is a race against time.
A competition to loot the last secrets of the Star Union before they are lost forever.
For others, the revival of nature is yet another obstacle in re-establishing all that was lost.
To the Amazons however, this is merely the first step in a necessary crusade.
A war that can only end with the restoration of the natural order, perfectly balanced,
as all things should be.
Of all the twisted reflections of the Star Union to emerge from its collapse, the Amazons
are perhaps the most mysterious.
If myth and rumor can be trusted, their origins lie with an expedition of bio-engineers, stranded
on an untamed world at the time of the cataclysm.
To survive, they applied their expertise in genetic manipulation on themselves, forcing
their evolution across the generations.
The society that has grown from these unlikely circumstances is an entirely female matriarchy,
united under the worship of a deity they refer to as “Mother”.
Likely a personification of nature itself, their reverence for this blessed figure is
expressed in their steadfast belief that planets must be cleansed of any disruption and returned
to a natural state.
To achieve this, the Amazons, perhaps somewhat surprisingly, embrace their technologically
sophisticated roots.
If these women truly originated from an expedition of terraformers, they have not only refined
their bodies since the fall of the Union, but their methods of planetary engineering.
Where Amazons appear, lush and verdant forests quickly follow.
In an instant, ravaged deserts and crumbling ruins are transformed, entire continents enveloped
in new life.
This hyperactive plant growth is achieved through the use of Amplifying Field Pylons,
repurposed from their former role in the Star Union.
These pylons not only heal the Amazons physically and mentally, but they can also make local
wildlife more amenable, easier to train, guide and utilize.
The ancient stories of the Star Union told of the regal maiden who journeyed into unspoiled
forests, singing songs that brought forth legions of obedient birds that returned her
song in cheerful response, the Amazons have made this a reality.
Through selective breeding, cloning, and genetic manipulation, life is altered to suit the
requirements of the Amazons, producing new organisms for use in war and labour.
Riding atop avian reptiles, or silent jungle cats, the Amazons possess a relationship with
their mounts built on physical, emotional, and even spiritual bonds.
The most fearsome creatures utilized by the Amazons are often enhanced with bioelectrical
weaponry, such as the toad-like Bombardon, a type of living artillery, or the enormous
Tyrannodon, an apex predator revived from some horrific prehistoric time and equipped
with twin-laser cannons.
While the Amazons are no strangers to conflict, they seek to win a galaxy without it.
Even in battle they prioritize healing and meditation, eschewing the senseless brutality
of other races.
Aggression was genetically removed from their species long ago, when it must be used, it
is applied deliberately and efficiently.
The Amazons are masters of guerilla warfare, rarely fighting a pitched battle and instead
relying on hit and run tactics.
They are particularly deadly in heavy forests, disappearing into the woods before striking
again where it is least suspected.
Many who have gone to war against the Amazons have sought to burn their forests to ash,
to remove their places of refuge and draw them out where they can be destroyed.
The spirit of the Amazons enhances all things however, few who enter these woods with destructive
intent ever return, and of those who do, tales are told of the trees themselves awakening
around them, crushing the invaders with the quiet force of the forest.
Thanks to Paradox Interactive for sponsoring this investigation into the mysterious, dinosaur-riddled,
jungle refuges of the Amazons.
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