Stri: The sacred island of women

The island ‘Stri’ was founded two hundred and fifty years ago. It was founded by a group of women who were continuously abused by worldwide traditions.

Location:-

Stri is situated in the Taedian Ocean. It is located in the south of Yelonhta, in the east of Cholaivia, and the west of Jor islands.   

Founding:-

250 years ago, Ahnia Sietomaya, a depressed Lisdonian woman left her house, who decided that she could no longer tolerate being abused by her husband and his family. The reason behind their abusive behavior was that Ahnia gave birth to a girl, instead of a boy as the first child. Back then, noble families believed that having a daughter as the eldest child would bring misfortune to the family.

Ahnia took her six months old daughter and left the mansion. She was determined to find a place where she could raise her daughter properly. When she walked on the road and passed many towns, people stared at her and gave her weird glances because back in those days, it was rare for a woman to walk alone with an infant. Many men offered to take her into their houses, but not the child.

Declining all their offers, Ahnia escaped Lisdonia. By the time her husband’s family started searching for her in the neighborhood, she had already entered Mekanquo.

Mekanquo was no different. As Mekanquish had yellow skin and narrow eyes, Ahnia was easily targeted by anyone’s eyes. They stared at the foreigner who looked all messed up. But luckily, Ahnia met Quera Nathaq- a middle-aged Mekanquish woman. Quera was unmarried by choice. Therefore, she was abandoned by her family in her 20s. But she had managed to start a business using her skills. Her shop had everything for sale, from spices to furniture.

Quera offered to let Ahnia and her child stay there. But Ahnia did not want to be a burden to anyone, so she decided to work in Quera’s shop.

Meanwhile, two girls ran away from their homes in Nemphitre. One of them- Jina Wentonburgh was from a noble family while the other- Neli Imateur came from a family of slaves. Jina and Neli knew each other since childhood as Neli’s parents worked as slaves for the Wentonburghs.

Neli was supposed to become a slave legally when she turned sixteen. Although slaves were only there to work, most female slaves were sexually abused by their owners, and sometimes the owner’s friends. Knowing that, she planned to run away. And Jina, who was nineteen years old, wanted to stop being forcibly made a concubine to the Nemphitish king. Surprisingly, both girls had chosen the same night to escape their homes. They met somewhere near the capital and left their kingdom together.

They entered Cholaivia. There, they met a kind family, the Minghos. They treated the girls very well in the first few days. But with time, Jina sensed that they were up to something. The Mingho family was trying to take advantage of the girls. They heard that a Nemphitish noble girl had gone missing and suspected Jina to be her. The Minghos wanted to give her to the officials for rewards. Also, they planned to sell Neli to a prostitution center.

But the girls had somehow caught it and escaped there. Then, the girls accidentally met Nikang Chaema, a traveling healer in her 30s. She was on a temporary break in her hometown. Due to being an illegitimate child of a Cholaivian prince, she was often ignored and ill-treated by society. No one wanted to marry her. People considered taking her instructions or medicine only in a super emergency. She lived alone after her mother died.

Even though Jina and Neli were afraid to trust anyone, Nikang gained their trust through her acts and behavior. Together, they decided to leave Cholaivia and ended up in Mekanquo. Like destiny, the trio stopped by Quera’s shop to buy something they needed. There happened a historical meeting. Quera offered to let them rest for a while in her house. The five women who were meant to meet, Ahnia, Quera, Jina, Neli, and Nikang got the chance to discuss their struggles in life.

At some point, Nikang had told that she had been to an island in the Taedian Ocean, which was abandoned because of some weird myths. She had been there only because the boat she traveled on had a breakdown while returning from Taedia. That no-named island was believed to be cursed.

Nikang, who did not believe in those myths, suggested that they should go there as no one would follow them to that island. Though Jina and Neli disagreed at first, they eventually agreed.

After that, Quera sold her belongings and found enough Semiis for the journey. The five women could not go through Cholaivia as the Cholaivians were searching for Jina, who was said to be lost in there. So, there was only one more way to access the mysterious island; going through Yelonhta.

It took ten days to go through Yelonhta to meet the ocean. After buying a boat and enough food for a week, the team embarked on the sail. On the way, they saw a boat that carried a prisoner who was sentenced to death. The prisoner was Kai de Vinsec- a Yelonhtese military official who was caught having an affair with a minister because the rules said that any female military official in Yelonhta could not have relationships, marry or have children.

Kai was thrown to the deep sea by the soldiers, but Nikang saved her from death and asked her to join them. That way, six women entered the cursed island.

It seemed a bit spooky and dark at first. But soon they realized that the darkness was caused by a set of huge trees that were spread through the shore. Those trees had dark green leaves and dark brown trunks. Once they passed them and entered the inside, they saw the most beautiful scenario one could see in life.

That island was a paradise. It had literally everything that supports life. Food, medicinal herbs and water were abundant. Kai hunted a deer, Quera found a cave that was safe and big enough, and Nikang collected some essential medicines. Ahnia, Jina, and Neli observed the island and discovered new places that would be beneficial in the future.

Two weeks later, Kai found out that she was pregnant. She gave birth to a son. Well, some legends say that he died young, while others say that he left the island to find his father.

After making sure that they would never leave the island, one of them suggested developing it and establishing an independent state, so that any woman could live there safely without being abused or judged by anyone. Leaving Kai and Ahnia on the island with their children, the others left to spread the word.

The group roamed numerous towns and villages to find who truly needed and deserved to enter the island. After a year, it was fairly crowded with women who came from various backgrounds.

Instead of calling it a ‘kingdom’ and appointing a queen, the founders decided that the island should be ruled by a council that was led by an elected chief. Quera became the first chief. She suggested the name ‘Stri’ for the island; which meant ‘Women’ in ancient Cholaivian.

Step by step, Stri improved in every aspect. Kai made sure that every woman learnt martial arts. She was appointed as the head of security. Nikang taught healing methods. Quera took the trading industry into her hands. Jina became a part of the academic staff and taught little girls.

Neli helped them to excel in household work. Ahnia took care of children while their mothers practised martial arts.

Pregnant women were always welcome, but they had to agree that they would leave within a year of the delivery if the baby was a boy. Can you believe that some women gave up their sons for adoption just to remain in Stri?       

Current status:-  

With the contribution of thousands of women who came from all over the world, Stri was developed faster than any other region. Currently, it has the strongest spy system in the world.

Every woman learns martial arts. According to their skills, they are categorized into three groups. They are, “Improved”, “Still improving” (medium), and “Yet to improve” (weak).

Compared with the world outside Stri, the weak ones have similar skills to a normal warriors in any other kingdom. Medium ones can easily beat up any excellent warrior and handle at least three enemies at once. The “improved” ones are deadly. No other warrior in the outer world can defeat them. They can attack ten enemies at once.

Stri had seen many great chiefs. Luria Jeremy- the current chief is the 18^th ruler. She was born in Stri as her mother entered the island as a pregnant woman. Chief Luria is of Yelonhtese descent