Life as a New Hire: Cast of Personas (September)

***

Key terms or Abbreviations as they relate to Havenstone/Amazon Society

A great perceived fallacy of Havenstone is the division of departments. Yes, every division has its 'day job'. They also cooperate across units boundaries without complication. Technically, all the division heads run their units independently with Hayden as CEO. Realistically, everyone reports non-business data to Katrina. The only 'public' division that does not share personnel is the Security Detail. Either you are SD, or you are not.

ES: Executive Service, Havenstone "gophers," also the Havenstone Counter intelligence/Assassination unit. This works primarily because Amazons don't have 'off hours'. They both run errands and train in espionage/counter-espionage.

SD: Security Detail, Security Department also Security Services, provides security guards, personal security details (Bodyguards), Armed rapid response teams. Full-blooded Amazons only. They are the Warrior Elite. All Amazons are fighters. The SD are the very best of the race.

FI: Financial Investigations performs public domestic intelligence operations. Also includes cyber-operations. They act as a distraction for ES covert operations in major metropolitan areas where Havenstone CI has a visible presence.

BM: Business Management. The balance accounts so that the finances end up where they are needed, obtaining outsider supplies and maintaining the illusion that Havenstone Commercial Investments is a capitalist enterprise.

IF: International Finances, International is the public face of Havenstone foreign Intelligence operations. They provide cover for ES covert practices in places Havenstone doesn't publically exist. They also handle the shipment of resources from base to base, though the 'work orders' go through ES.

MS: Medical Services, Provides general medical support as well as some undefined level of medical research/development. They not only handle in-house clinics, they also handle subsidiary medical corporate assets and maintain a massive database of historical medical data.

First directive: The beginning of (semi) systematic recruitment of women into the Amazon society, begins roughly in the 1950's. The initial plan was to bring in physically and mentally fit women into Amazon society, train them to Amazon standards and eventually induct them into the Host (the term the Amazons use to define themselves - present day it comprises only of House Amazons). Derogatorily referred to by Full-Bloods as 'Lost-Bloods' in Old Kingdom Hittite/Amazon. Since only Full-blooded Amazons are taught that language, the new women lived in ignorance of what they were being called until Cáel told them. Cáel began to refer to the new women as 'Runners', a practice that has been rapidly embraced.

New directive: The directive to recruit Males into Amazon Society begins roughly in present time. The initial plan by Katrina and Tessa was to recruit 100 ~ 500 men. The Council agreed on FIVE with the codicil that the men be 'morally tested' (sexually entrapped) during the intern process.

Ahhiyawa were the Mycenaeans in the time of the Iliad. Held responsible for the 1st Great betrayal 3000 years ago. Due to the nature of the Amazon-Greek blood feud, Amazons do not utter the Hittite name for their foe out of some unknown fear.

The destruction of Amazon society 2500 years ago is called the Second Betrayal. Having brought males into the Host to wage war on encroaching Celtic tribes, the women failed to adapt to the males changing role in their society. Many warrior males sold out the Amazons to their Celtic enemies.

The Ash Men were the males of the Host that stayed loyal to the Host. The name comes from two sources. When the Celtic warriors and the traitors captured the loyalist men, they would burn them alive over an extended period as a warning to the rest. No loyalist ever betrayed the Host despite that punishment. The second source of the name comes from the Amazon crime of slaughtering the few loyalist males that remained when the Amazons migrated from their Second Homeland (present day southwestern Slovakia). Despite being honorable members of the Host, the Amazons killed them without trial thus denying them a proper death - taking themselves to the cliffs - instead burning their remains to ash.

Ishara, Hittite Goddess of Love, Medicine and Oaths. Later she evolved into the Goddess Ishtar. Cáel is attempting to refer to her as Dot Ishara as of Chapter 25, something the goddess does not approve of.

Ishara is also the name of the 1st Matriarch of House Ishara, surrendered her name to unite her House. Cáel is attempting to have her referred as Yakko Ishara. The ancestor's view on the matter is unknown as of Chapter 25.

House: How Amazon Society is organized. There is one Woman in charge of A House with an Apprentice/2nd in Command. House leaders are often addressed by their House Name rather than their personal name to differentiate between them and their position within the House and the Host. Cáel is addressed as 'Ishara.' Total of 53 Existing/Living Houses, 6 Dead Houses.

In a personal setting, equals use their own/first names. In the workplace/public, first names are always used as this helps Full-Blood Amazons to not stumble over their 'false' surnames. As an example, Katrina, Caitlyn and Aya are all House Epona and would internally (formally) be referred to by their first and house names - Katrina Epona, Caitlyn Epona and Aya Epona. To the public and for security purpose, Katrina's last name is 'Love' and Aya's is 'Ruger'. Any outsider looking for a member of the 'Love' family wouldn't be automatically be drawn to Aya.

To be a member of the Host (Full-Blooded), you have to be born of a member of the Host in good standing, survive your 12th year test and be eighteen. In extremis, an Amazon born of an honorable member of a house is accepted as a member of the Host without the 12th year test if taking it is too risky/impossible. Remember, the Amazons spent a good deal of their history as nomads, thus the exception.

Women can be adopted into a house on the orders of the Head of House. Contrary to the current Full-Blood/Runner rift, throughout history Amazons have adopted 'outsider' women. House Epona was recruited en masse from female Celtic Warriors (probably around 20 to 30 members at inception).

The source of the controversy is that around 1900 ADE, the Amazons rapidly moved from a feudal society to a centralized one. Every House Head had ruled as she saw fit. This made sense when High Priestess were only selected every thirty years, or so, and travel and communication between houses was dicey.

It was easy for the Head of Houses to be fanatically devoted to the High Priestess when she was nowhere close. Suddenly the globe shrank and of an Amazon had a problem with a Head of House, she could take her grievance to the High Priestess within a matter of days, or weeks. The power of the High Priestess and her officers (like Katrina) grew and the power of the Council decreased.

After WWII, the High Priestess of the time was taking in the Big Picture - Amazons needed more numbers than their society could produce, genetics were starting to become a problem, and the Host had a great deal of territory and wealth to manage. Since inducting Runners in WWII worked out so well, she, with the Council's consent, created the First Directive. Then the Council had the 'what have we done' moment. They 'rebelled' against the High Priestess by refusing to induct the Runners, using social shaming to keep the more liberal houses in line.

Before long, non-induction became the Status Quo. The Runners had no idea how induction worked and weren't given benchmarks to aim for. Every other year one Runner would get promoted to keep the others guessing. Things worked like that until Cáel arrives; clueless and shameless. Katrina alone warns the Host of the disaster on the horizon.

Pure Blood and Full-Blood are interchangeable, though Full-Blood is far more common.

Poison Blood: a new, derogatory name used by 'Lost Blood/ Runners' for overly proud (Stuck up) Pure Blood Amazons recently.

Lost-Blood: Derogatory Term for women recruited, not born, into Amazon Society by 'Pure Blood/Full/Poison Blood' Amazons. See also 'Runner'

Runner: Name introduced by Cáel to replace the term 'Lost Blood' for women recruited into Amazon Society. Runners can be adopted into Amazon Houses becoming "Full' Amazon.

Cliff Walker: Amazons will "go to the cliffs' (commit suicide) when they can no longer effectively serve Amazon Society. Pamela went to the cliffs in her thirties, but then returned without explanation.

***

Great Secret Societies

Illuminati: Primary Goal, World Domination through Hyper Capitalism (as in anything to make a buck,) Enemies of the Amazon, Possibly Changing as Cáel is a member of one of the Illuminati Primary Families

Condottieri: Primarily Mercenaries and Arms Dealers, Enemies of the Amazon, responsible for Ferko Nyilas death

The Nine Clans: Hashshashin, Ninja, Thuggee, Black Lotus, Coils of the Serpent, Brotherhood of the Wolf, the Black Hand, Cult of the Jaguar and the Ghost Tigers. Primarily Assassins, open to most races or genders. Sorta kinda friends/not enemies of the Amazon

Egyptian Rite Masons: the oldest enemy of the Illuminati. Primary Goal, a Global Autocratic Government. Open to any race or gender. Sorta kinda friends/not enemies of the Amazon

Earth and Sky Society: descendants of Genghis Khan, Primary goal, Reincarnating of Genghis Khan. Sorta kinda friends/not enemies of the Amazon

The Seven Pillars of Heaven: An ancient Chinese Secret Society. Primary goal- World Domination. To be a member, must be Pure Han Chinese and a man, or bound to one. Sorta kinda not friends/ enemies of the Amazon

Amazons: If you haven't figured this out yet, beat yourself to death with a large blunt object, preferably studded or spiked, until your head and shoulders look like the south facing end of a north bound mule [Storyteller's Note: I did not write most of this and certainly not the last bit, but I liked it so I kept it]

There are other, smaller secret societies, usually in small numbers, a lesser ability to impact events, and/or with limited regional activity.