Mnesea

Mnesea lies across the Atlas Mountains from Gadirea and resembles it in terrain, climate and mineral wealth, with Gadirea east and northeast, the foul-smelling Sargasso to the northwest, Elassippea and the Sea of Lost Souls southwest, and Poseidonea due south. Iron, tin, gold, silver and copper are mined widely, though most goes to Atlantis rather than abroad. It has no major ports, since the Sargasso chokes the northwest coast and brings Makara raids while the Sea of Lost Souls inlet is shallow, risky and shunned, and no big cities; even the capital, Mneseopolis, is small, and most people live in mountain-valley towns joined by poor roads.

Alone among the kingdoms, Mnesea requires every able-bodied citizen, man or woman, to serve at least five years. Mneseans trace this to their mountain guerrillas, said to have struck the first blow against the Amazon empire, and credit their soldiers with bearing the brunt of the second Amazon war, when Hesperia, fresh from its civil war with Gorgos, tried and failed to reclaim its hold. With little need for troops at home, the kingdom hires its soldiers out across the hemisphere; it is Nubia's chief military rival, and the two armies hate each other too much ever to serve together.

Mneseans fight as light infantry with javelins, slings and short swords, in leather tunics set with light metal strips plus helmets and limb guards. Rank brings lasting prestige, and many serve further terms or make a lifelong career. As Atlantis's main source of metal ore, the king in Mneseopolis carries real weight in Council.