Bana-Mighdall

 Theme: The Bana Mighdall Write-up


Diana, T'Challa and I worked on the following idea as a way to integrate the Bana-Mighdall Amazons and Wakanda, as well as open the way for Nubia and other Bana-Mighdall Amazons (such as Artemis) to be playable:

TIMELINE:

* 1236 BC: Herakles betrays the Amazons and enslaves them. The Amazons are delivered from captivity by their patron goddesses, and charged them to abandon the warlike ways of men. They are escorted by them to a secluded island, still within reach of the mainland, but under edict to be separate from the world of men.

* 1194-1184 BC: The War of Troy. A contingent of twelve Amazons joins Queen Penthesileia, sister of Antiope, Melanippe and Hippolyta, to fight for Troy and against Achilles. The contingent consists of Clonia, Polemousa, Derinoe, Euandre, Antandre, Bremusa, Hippothoe, Harmothoe, Alcibia, Derimakheia, Antibrote and Thermodosa. Penthesileia, the more warlike of her sisters, had chafed under the interdict and wanted to re-establish an Amazon nation in the mainland. Penthesileia is slain by the demigod Achilles, while her general, Bremusa, is killed by king Idomeneus, son of Deucalion. The other Amazons were soon slain, with the exception of Derimakheia, whose ultimate fate is unknown. The goddesses, outraged at the breaking of their law and the senseless killing it engendered, took the Amazons to the island of Themyscira, sealed from the world of men by the mists. Themyscira had a direct portal to Hades, the Doomgate, and part of the Amazons' penance was to stand watch over the portal eternally

* 1118 AD: Queen Hippolyta is granted a boon from Zeus and is given two daughters, made out of clay and animated by the breath of life: Diana and Dione, on 22 March 1118 A.D.

* 1119 AD: Queen Melanippe, Hippolyta's sister, is awoken one night by a vision. In it, the shade of her sister Penthesileia commands her to leave the island of Themyscira and to bring justice onto the world, to punish men for their lawless ways. She encourages Melanippe to take Hippolyta's duaghters with them to be the princesses of the new Amazon queendom.

* 1120 AD: Melanippe, in secret, manages to recruit a sizable number of Amazons and plans their exodus for a year. The conspiracy is discovered by Philippus, however, and a clash between sisters occurs. Melanippe's Amazons manage to flee Themyscira using Hippolyta's fleet, but they are only able to kidnap one of the princesses, Dione. The Amazons land in Lycia and proceed on a conquering war party. They become enmeshed in the Siege of Sozopolis, where many amazons fall. They retreat and regroup.

*1125 AD: Over the next five years, the Amazons see their numbers dwindle to conflict and strife. Eventually the Amazons call out to Athena, but the patron goddess does not answer. Instead, she sends fleet-footed Hermes to chide Melanippe for breaking the oath to never leave Themyscira in the name of war. Athena repudiates the rogue Amazons and leaves them to their fate. It is later learned by hearbroken Melanipe, consulting the oracle, that the shade that urged her on was not of her dear sister Penthesileia, but the goddess of Strife herself, Eris, in disguise, in a ploy with Ares to bring down the Amazons. The gods of Olympus were not aware of this, however, as at the time the majority of Olympus was enmeshed in a conflict with a group of Titans of myth that had escaped their bonds and were trying to bring about a second Titanomachia.

*1130 AD: The Amazons, worn and weary from wandering, arrive in Wakanda. It is there that they settle down and form a new society. Forsaken by their goddesses for their lack of faith and their warlike ways, they sought to find a way to survive. They established a settlement located in the high mountains of the Jabari-Lands of Wakanda. They were always quiet, secretive, and anti-male. Any men that attempted to explore what they considered their borders were murdered.

*1931 AD: Azzuri the Wise, a Black Panther, challenges Melanippe and fought her to a standstill. Impressed with Azzuri's skills, a peace was brokered. Azzuri married Nanali, a member of the Amazons, making her Queen. Melanippe supplicates to the gods of Wakanda, and the Orisha extend their protection to them. Melanippe takes up holy orders and becomes a priestess of Bast, and the Amazons begin to honor Bast, Thoth, Ptah and Mujaji, and rename themselves the Bana-Mighdall- "The Temple of Women."

In return, Wakanda does not interefere in the lands that Bana-Mighdall has claimed as theirs, but a member of their tribe can come to council. Furthermore, the Bana-Mighdall agreed to accept two daughters of every Wakandan tribe each generation. These women would be trained as Amazonians. One would remain with the Bana-Mighdall as part of their peace, the other would be given to a new tribe that has been created, the Dora Milaje, or the 'Adored Ones'. These would be the guards of the Wakandan ruler, as well as a retinue of possible wives for an unmarried King. The later has been more relaxed in later years, but the Dora Milaje is still a high honor and a reminder of the ties of Amazonian and Wakandan.

Princess Dione, now named Nubia, remains princess among the Bana Mighdall

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The following is T'Challa's blurb for a potential News file:

The Bana-Mighdall tribe of Amazonians is located in the high mountains of the Jabari-Lands of Wakanda. Noone knows when this tribe of women, a splinter group from Themyscaria arrived, but they were always quiet, secretive, and anti-male. Any men that attempted to explore what they considered their borders were murdered. This lasted until Azzuri the Wise, a Black Panther, challenged the leader the Bana-Mighdall and fought her to a standstill. Impressed with Azzuri's skills, a peace was brokered. Azzuri married a member of the Bana-Mighdall, making her Queen.

In return, Wakanda does not interefere in the lands that Bana-Mighdall has claimed as theirs, but a member of their tribe can come to council. Furthermore, the Bana-Mighdall agreed to accept two daughters of every Wakandan tribe each generation. These women would be trained as Amazonians. One would remain with the Bana-Mighdall as part of their peace, the other would be given to a new tribe that has been created, the Dora Milaje, or the 'Adored Ones'. These would be the guards of the Wakandan ruler, as well as a retinue of possible wives for an unmarried King. The later has been more relaxed in later years, but the Dora Milaje is still a high honor and a reminder of the ties of Amazonian and Wakandan.

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Additional Cool Thing:
This integration of the cultures ties together something very unintentional, but which I think it is nevertheless cool:
 In the 80s, Perez made the crossed bracelets an Amazon greeting thing: https://i.imgur.com/Sb9SzrF.jpg,  https://i.imgur.com/P22q0fo.jpg.

Wakanda, of course, has a similar greeting. The salute can be one more hint of the shared culture and history between Wakanda and the Bana-Mighdall, since the Dora Milaj may have learned the salute from the Amazons in their training, and it later received wider usage.