“Where passion reigns, truth bends.”
—Common saying among the Gnome scribes of Northrin Hollow
Overview
Tucked into the southern curve of the Cathall continent, Quontas is a kingdom unlike any other in Mernac. It is a place of allure and taboo, dominated by the Race of the Dark Faeries, specifically their female population. Known throughout the realm as a domain of sensuality, artistic freedom, and dangerous seduction, Quontas is both feared and secretly admired.
The kingdom derives its name from Quont, one of The Thirteen Fathers, who was transformed into a female body after offering his manhood to help create the Race of Man. That mythic act lies at the heart of Quontas’s cultural ethos: that identity, pleasure, and power are intertwined in ways few outside its borders can understand – or accept.
While the population is majority Dark Faerie (roughly 70%), the remaining inhabitants are a blend of Gnomes, Dark Elves, and those from other races seeking refuge from persecution related to gender or sexual preference. The kingdom is one of the rare places in Mernac where such matters are neither politicized nor taboo. Instead, they are embraced, celebrated, and woven into every aspect of society—from law to art to war.
Quontas does not have a single unified capital. Instead, it is composed of numerous small cities and enclaves, each ruled by a Matron or Circle of Succubi, and connected by hidden forest trails, magical waystones, and illusions that disorient those without a local escort. To the outsider, Quontas is a maze of temptation, mystery, and danger. To the insider, it is freedom incarnate.
2. Geography and Settlements
Quontas spans a lush, mist-shrouded region nestled between the Vinthian Glades and the Jorlin Foothills, sharing a rugged and often disputed border with Kezia to the north. Unlike the harsh, sun-scorched plains of its neighbor, Quontas is a verdant land of shadowy woods, bioluminescent mosses, and flowering vines whose scents are said to arouse forgotten memories. Heavy with humidity and layered in fog, the forests of Quontas remain evergreen year-round, creating a sense of timeless twilight.
Its geography is cloaked in magical illusions and naturally occurring glamour, much of it strengthened by the presence of Dark Faerie enchantments. Many travelers who wander the roads without permission or magical protection report losing all sense of direction, or worse, falling into trance-like states from which they never return.
Unlike most Mernacian kingdoms that center around a capital, Quontas is decentralized. Major settlements include:
- Velvene: The closest thing to a capital, Velvene is known for its dazzling open-air performance arenas and erotic frescoes that cover nearly every wall. It hosts the annual Reverie of Moonfire, where the best poets, dancers, and body-painters of Quontas compete for the title of Dreamweaver.
- Trelisk Hollow: Hidden in the roots of an ancient petrified tree, this city is renowned for its arcane artisans. Magical fashion, potions of attraction, and emotion-triggered jewelry are all crafted here in abundance.
- Northrin Hollow: A mixed settlement where Gnomes and Faeries work side-by-side. Northrin is famed for its libraries and script-houses, where censored texts from other kingdoms are copied, preserved, and even enhanced with illustrations that border on the scandalous.
- The Scarlet Labyrinth: Not a city but an underground network of tunnels and chambers, The Labyrinth is said to be home to the last known male Dark Faeries. Rarely seen, they live in secrecy and silence, hidden from the world and protected fiercely by their female counterparts.
Each settlement is governed by a Council of Matrons, always female and almost always Succubi. Decisions are made through a mix of debate, seduction, and occasionally, magical duels of passion-fueled willpower. The idea of male leadership is not only foreign here, it is taboo.
Society and Culture
At the heart of Quontas lies its culture of unapologetic eroticism, matriarchal dominance, and emotional liberation. Everything – politics, art, family structures, even war, is shaped by this central axis.
Dark Faerie biology plays a pivotal role in society. Every two reproductive cycles, females enter a period in which their natural enchantments grow dangerously potent. During this time, any male (of any race) who looks directly into the eyes of a Dark Faerie risks falling hopelessly in love, forever bound to her in mind and spirit. Unlike the Light Faeries, who sequester themselves during such phases, Dark Faeries actively encourage these encounters, often becoming Succubi to increase their power, influence, and pleasure.
Succubi in Quontas are not shameful figures, they are political leaders, military commanders, and spiritual guides. Entire villages are named after renowned Succubi of ages past, and each district has a shrine to Quont in both his male and female forms, celebrating transformation and fluidity as divine virtues.
Quontian art is as sensual as it is sacred. Temples and plazas overflow with erotic murals, sculptures carved in breath-catching detail, and public performances that range from poetic to provocatively explicit. Passion is not only accepted, it is expected. In schools, children are taught to express feelings openly, and even rage or grief may take theatrical or sexual forms as part of healing rites.
Importantly, Quontas is the only kingdom in all of Mernac where sexual orientation holds no political or social consequence. The kingdom is a haven for those cast out by the rigid norms of other lands. Same-gender pairings, non-binary roles, and magical transitions are commonplace and culturally encouraged.
While outsiders often whisper about Quontas with fear, their perception is shaped more by prejudice than truth. To those within its borders, the kingdom is a vibrant, inclusive, and enchanted society that has forged its own path in defiance of Mernacian norms.
Magic and Religion
Magic in Quontas is deeply personal, emotional, and sensual. Unlike the arcane disciplines of Cathall or the elemental rites of Brangrin, Quontian spellcraft stems from desire, attraction, and the power of emotional intent. Spells are often sung or whispered, enhanced by dance, touch, and sometimes even arousal. The concept of “Magicka of the Vein” governs their practice—an idea that magic flows through one’s blood and feelings, not through books or runes.
Temples in Quontas are not solemn structures but sensuous sanctuaries: wide halls with incense-laced air, silk-draped walls, and carvings of intertwined figures locked in eternal embrace. The most common religious figure is Quont, depicted in both male and female forms, symbolizing transformation, sacrifice, and liberation. Altars often include mirrors, perfumes, candles, and offerings of wine or blood.
Alongside Quont, Kala, the Mother of Love and Desire, holds reverence, especially among the Gnomes and exiles. Shrines to Kala dot city entrances and riverbanks. It is said that travelers must light a candle to Kala upon entering a new Quontian city, or risk being cursed to never find satisfaction in love.
Despite Quontas’s strong association with darkness and temptation, there is little worship of Barak. The kingdom’s alignment is not one of evil, but of sensual power and the rejection of dogma.
Military and Defense
The military structure of Quontas reflects its cultural ethos, fluid, unpredictable, and intimately tied to its society’s feminine dominance. The standing army is not large, but it is highly effective, relying on magic, seduction, and guerrilla tactics rather than brute force.
Most combat units are composed of all-female Spellblade Circles, led by Succubi who specialize in illusion, mind magic, and short-range psychic assaults. Their presence on the battlefield can turn hardened warriors into lovesick fools in moments. It is said that entire skirmishes have ended before a single weapon was drawn, such is the power of eye contact with a fae in her peak cycle.
Defensive architecture throughout Quontas is designed to disorient and mislead. Settlements are shielded with illusion veils, and many pathways are lined with faerie fog that causes hallucinations in the uninitiated. Defensive strongholds are often hidden underground or built into enchanted hills that appear as meadows until it’s too late.
The Luremaidens, an elite unit of infiltrators, specialize in espionage, seduction, and political sabotage. Each is trained in twenty languages and fifty ways to steal secrets with a kiss. Rumors persist that even some High Lords of Cathall have fallen to a Luremaiden’s embrace.
Economy and Trade
Quontas thrives not on agriculture or industry, but on art, enchantment, and indulgence. Its economy is primarily based on three exports: erotic art, seduction-based enchantments, and potions or trinkets of desire. These are bought at steep prices by nobles and merchants across Mernac, though most would never admit the origin of such treasures.
The cities of Velvene and Trelisk Hollow are trade hubs for magically-enhanced perfumes, soul-bond jewelry, and potions of irresistible charm. It’s said that even the Ring of Sola worn by the Queen of Cathall contains Quontian moonstone, mined only during a fae’s flowering season.
While many other kingdoms refuse official trade with Quontas due to its scandalous reputation, nearly all engage in covert exchange. Smugglers and freelance merchants abound, often guided by Gnomes who excel at discreet dealings.
Quontas uses no standardized currency of its own. Instead, trade is conducted via bartering, favors, enchantments, and Mernals from other nations. A kiss from a renowned Succubus may be worth more than a chest of gold.
Myths and Moments
The Offering of Quont
One of Mernac’s most whispered myths tells of Quont, originally a virile male god who sacrificed his genitals to help create the Race of Man. In return for this offering, The One allowed him to live—but in a female body. From that day forth, Quont became both Mother and Father of the Dark Faerie Race.
This tale is retold each year during the Moonbend Rite, when Dark Faeries reenact Quont’s transformation through ritual dance and symbolic shedding of garments. It is a time of vulnerability, beauty, and powerful magic.
The Luring of Kelromir
In 1833 AM, a Cathallan warlord named Kelromir the Bladed set out to conquer Quontas with a force of 5,000 men. He underestimated its defenses, believing his men immune to “pretty dancers and prancing pixies.”
Only 312 returned. The others remained, not dead, but enthralled. It is said they still serve the Matrons of the Scarlet Labyrinth as gardeners, guards, and eternal lovers, blissfully unaware of their past.
Quont’s Gambit
Perhaps the most impactful tale in Quontas’s history, Quont’s Gambit is both myth and political origin. Long ago, when Kala, the Mother of Desire, controlled the Samerzee, elite entertainers of Mernac, Quont (in her female form) grew jealous. She kidnapped Kanola, the Mother of Music and Kala’s sister.
As ransom, Quont demanded the Order of the Samerzee. Kala, furious but desperate, agreed. Quont then installed the elite Succubus Traesha to oversee their training. To this day, all true Samerzee must complete part of their training in Quontas—ensuring the Father Quont’s influence remains etched into their very souls.
Relevance
In modern Mernac, Quontas continues to serve as both a cultural refuge and a political outlier. It is a nation that others fear to acknowledge but cannot afford to ignore. Despite its relative isolation, Quontas exerts disproportionate influence through the Samerzee, its enchantments, and its spies.
Diplomats from Cathall and even Paizes are rumored to have secret liaisons with Quontas’s Matrons. The Succubi Guilds wield soft power across Mernac, having ties in courts, trade houses, and academies from Traddlebow to the Tian Islands.
Many prophecies warn that if Quontas ever fully unites under one Matron Queen, its influence might rival Cathall’s. Some whisper this unification is already in motion, led by Traesha, the Eternal Matron of the Scarlet Labyrinth.
Quotable Lore
“To look into her eyes is not to fall—but to leap willingly into ruin.”
— Carved on the mirror-walls of Trelisk Hollow
“Only in Quontas can a whisper cause a war… or stop one.”
— Scribed by a Gnomish merchant in Velvene
“Love is the strongest magic. Lust is just the spark that starts the fire.”
— Succubus Traesha, to her students on the night of the Blooming Veil