Halcya

Halcya lies between Asterea and Qaddan and is chiefly remembered as the place where the Amazons' push against Qaddan, an attempt to rebuild their empire after the Gorgon wars, was halted. The defeat forced a truce with Qaddan that still rankles, and Halcya is counted the lowest colonial post, almost a place of disgrace. Its Amazons are less haughty than elsewhere, partly from lost pride and partly because the Lotus Cult drains the warriors more than those in charge admit.

Narcotic Lotus Powder, less plentiful than in Dabba, is its main product, traded to Qaddan and shipped to Electa for sale to Tharshesh. A strong local Lotus Cult thrives among the natives; revolt is unlikely, but addicts work poorly, limiting output and quality. Amazons may not join the cult's rites, yet many take the powder anyway, and as a dead-end posting Halcya suffers from lax discipline, unfitness for duty and plain incompetence that repeated clean-ups have failed to fix.

The capital, Halcyon, is mainly a military post with some trading facilities. Its Foreigners' Quarter is for Qaddani merchants and diplomats, and other outsiders generally may not travel freely. Qaddan's treaty terms gave the natives some freedom, but their dependence on the powder makes it more apparent than real.