Zendia
From Unofficial Handbook of the Virtue Universe
Zendia is a small mountainous East African country ruled by the Banished Pantheon. The government type is a theocracy, with Death Shamans and Avalanche Shamans ruling at the local, villiage level and ancestor-possessed totems and masks at the higher level. Many Pantheon cultists wanted by the world police often flee for Zendia, which has no extradition treaty. Worship of the Banished Pantheon is the official religion, and they discourage contact with the outside world, in particular Western or scientific influence. Women are not permitted to learn to read or attend school, and female genital mutilation is a common practice.
As Zendia is a small mountainous country that is insular, there is not much that many foreign corporations and nations want. The Banished Pantheon keeps out insiders, including international aid organizations such as the Red Cross. Missionaries in particular are especially discouraged and killed on sight.
It is known that Zendia was ruled by a tribal religious government, but the fact that the religion is the Banished Pantheon is a closely guarded secret. The human rights violations of Zendia are not generally reported, mostly because journalists are unwelcome. In a sense, the country's isolation and the general lack of interest in the rest of the world allow the Pantheon to do what they like.
Anything that threatens the power of the ultra-conservative Shamans is totally eliminated, including Western music, art and learning. Transistor radios are a contraband item, as are televisions (who receive signals from nearby Sudan) and there is a huge secret trade in underground books. Education is intentionally limited to discourage scientific and mathematical knowledge.
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Geography
Zendia is a mountainous country, with high misty hills and deep lowland valleys filled with rainforest. The majority of water flow between the mountains in minor river tributaries. The high mountains trap clouds and make the mountains perpetually rainy. Rain is the common condition.
Ethnic Makeup
The majority of Zendians are ethnic Tutsi, though smaller Bantu groups form a quarter of the population.
The most important ethnic minority are the Watari, who live in the more distant and unexplored valleys, the last surviving Stone Age tribe on earth. They are a small, slim tribe that wear ornate, carved wooden masks constantly. Their greatest taboo is on showing their face, which is considered indecent. The Watari are ferociously protective of their territory and slaughter any visitor. The Banished Pantheon captures and preys on the Watari for human sacrifices, and for that reason the Watari are extremely hostile.
Zantoria
The administrative capital, Zantoria is a huge formerly abandoned ruin, surrounded by a moat full of alligators. The huge stone carvings are filled with frightening mask designs, and totems stomp and guard the area. Entrance to Zantoria is forbidden to all but members of the Banished Pantheon.
Zantoria, in the ancient past of Zendia was a huge necropolis dedicated to ancestor-worship, and even today the majority of it is underground.
History
Because the Banished Pantheon discourage archeologists and anthropologists, much of Zendia's history is just not known, even to Zendians themselves. Huge ruins and gigantic stone idols break from the jungle at various points.
The area was first explored by Portuguese explorers in the 18th Century who described a gigantic face carved on the side of a mountain, cyclopean ruins, and inhabitants that practiced ancestor worship with fearsome masks.
The French conquered the territory after a series of battles in the late 19th Century. The former territorial capital was the trading city of Caloteville (Skull Town) named after the various skull idols native to the region. Skull Town remains the most populated point and is the trading capital.
Wonders
In many ways it is a shame that Zendia is banned to visitors because many of its natural wonders are incredible, all of which are not seen by visitors.
Star Canyon. So deep, that even in the daytime the sky is black enough to see stars.
The Moonbow. Zendia is one of the few places where at night, a silver bar comes across the sky after a rainfall with distorted moonlight, known as a moonbow.
The Tower of the Virgin. The Tower is rumored to be home to the legendary immortal virgin.
