Daughter of The Lioness - The History, Politics and Culture of The Copper Isles

The History, Politics and Culture of The Copper Isles

The Copper Isles, the country where most of the series is set, are a group of islands roughly west of Tortall, in the Tortall Universe. They were once ruled over by the native raka, whose inheritance came from the mother's line, and who allowed the oldest child to inherit, whatever gender. The Raka are dark-skinned folk who live in tribes.

However, the raka were often engaged in disputes between tribes, and when the luarin - white-skinned invaders from the Eastern Lands, led by Rittevon of Lenman and Ludas Jimajen - arrived, they were able to conquer the raka quickly. They killed the queen, her family, and most of the high-ranking nobles. The raka that remained now either belonged to the luarin as slaves, or had to pay to live on luarin land.

The raka wondered why their god, Kyprioth, did not come and save them, and so priests spread the story that Kyprioth had been defeated in the Divine Realms by his brother and sister, Mithros and the Great Mother Goddess. However, hope was returned to the raka in the form of a prophecy, which promised that a new half-raka queen would arrive, who was royal to both the raka, through one well-hidden branch of the last queen's family, and to the luarin invaders, through the Rittevon line.

When Trickster's Choice open's, the Copper Isles is ruled by an insane king whose heirs include an obese, pleasure-seeking man, a five year old boy, and a scheming princess who is determined to seize power through her equally power-hungry husband. The Raka and Luarin have intermarried, and the majority of the population are mixed bloods. Social status is often determined by the color of the people's skin. (Raka with lighter skin are treated better.)

The Copper Isles is characterized as a place where foods are often spiced with hot peppers and other Asian-sounding goods. There is a lot of jungle, though there are also many wealthy cities. Some Lords and Ladies have plantations, which mirror the plantations the American South had before the Emancipation Proclamation, (Raka treated very badly, eventually rebel and overthrow their cruel slavemasters.)