Mataga is most known for its Nine Universities, which are the heart, soul, and center of civilization in the queendom. To understand Mataga, one must understand the universities, each of which is a powerful faction until itself, and co-extensive with a significant city named after the university. Across the ten queendoms scholars young and hold the universities of Mataga in the highest esteem, and while not every scholar, and not every wizard, and certainly not all bards are Mataga-trained, only those who are University trained in Mataga will ever be held in highest regard.

Geography

Mataga is bordered by Quumla to the north, Duumaba to the west, Bagali to the south west, and Bravari to the south. Mataga encompasses two mountain ranges that extend into the Eastward Ocean, with the Great Mataga Sea between them. The northern arm is the Daarita Peninsula, and the southern arm is the Colavaian Spur.

The land facing the Great Mataga Sea is generally fertile and temperate. Plains and forests, and some marshlands, rise into hill country which in turn loft into the rough mountains.

The northern part of the Daarita Peninsula, also known as the Karya Coast region, borders the Sea of Quumla, and is the stormiest part of the Ten Queendoms, even more so than Quumla itself, which is more widely thought of as the heart of storm country. The regions bordering the Great Mataga Sea, however, are more moderate in all regards.

Regions

Four regions comprise Mataga:

Of the four regions, the Karya Coast is most distinctive, as it is arguably constested land between Mataga and Quumla. The Karya Coast has none of Mataga's vaunted universities, and as such is of very little interest or importance to the life of the Queendom of Mataga, but Quumla has little use for it either, other than to occasionally punish the pirates, smugglers, and criminal guilds that make their home there.

Colavia is home to the universities of Gaudheya, Manava, and Rajatrika, and has the mildest weather in Mataga. It is also known as an excellent source of wines, beers, and whiskies.

The Heartland is home to the universities of Domoda, Kanva, and Vaisnava. The palace of the Queen is adjacent to Damoda. The Heartland has close access to Duumaba, and is also a center of trade for many of the caravans that operate out of that Queendom. It is rich with trade, as well as steeped in learning.

Daarita is home to the univerities of Adharatrika, Baudheya, and Pradanta. Daarita is rich in its own natural resources, but has more propensity for factional infighting than the other two core regions.

Universities

Gazeteer reporters are constantly gathering more information about the Universities of Mataga. For more, see: Universities.

The basics:

The Queen of Mataga

Queen Vidyakavi XII

The Queen of Mataga technically rules for life, but in fact rarely rules for more than 30-40 years. Since they are most often Vedalkan or Elven in background, the potential for a much longer reign is always there. Historically, the longest reign was that of Visnapuri IV, a Vedalkan who held the throne for 128 years.

The current Queen of Mataga is Vidyakavi XII, a Vedalkan devoted to restoring peace, balance, and a balance of true innovation with respect for the wisdom of the past. As such, she appears to bridge the gap between the dominant factions of Originalists and Traditionalists (see below), but in fact she tends to favor the Traditionalists in matters of ruling, while avoiding ruling on matters of substance.

Vidyakavi comes from an impeccable line of Vedalkan academics, but is also one of those rarest of Queens—a Queen who was not previously the provost of a university.

She was elected 23 years ago when an impasse between the Traditionalist and Originalist provosts was unable to secure the throne for either party. As Dean of Celestial Studies at Ardharatrika, she had shown herself to be above factional allegiance and an able administrator, and the council at last appointed her with the expectation that she would rule with respect for both parties.

Queens choose their name on ascension to the throne, and the choice of name is significant. Vidyakavi XII places herself in the tradition of Queens who are true scholars, and continue to pursue their scholarship, even as Queen. The Queen cannot publish of course, for who would could be critical of her contribution, but Vidyakavi XII has continued her studies of Celestial beings, and is thought to be a particular favorite of the Goddess Mataga.

Factions of Mataga

Each university is its own faction, within the context of the realm.

Within each university city there are factional balances between university administration, usually led by the Provost, and practical administration, which may be in the form of an independent mayor, a dominant merchant guild, a rogues guild, or a decentralized administrative council.

Each field of study has its own debates and allegiances. Some of these span multiple universities, but none moreso than the great tension between "Traditionalists" and "Originalists".

Traditionalists specifically hold to a rigor around domains of knowledge including what can be studied by whom, and what should not be studied at all. This is a generally accepted matter of both law and tradition, but is not universally popular. The academic view of traditionalists is that knowledge is advanced by specialists working in academic collaboration. Moreover, there are lines of investigation and exploration that have been proven to be destructive, deleterious, and dangerous—above and beyond any hazard to an individual practitioner. This matter of law and tradition has many areas of specificity, for example: there are rigorous guidelines around dealing with or summoning beings from the lower planes. But it also has very broad and comprehensive guidelines against the domain of knowledge sometimes called "The Black Mathematics," which is (or was) a field of study that posited that all schools of magic are derived from a single principle of arcane power, and that directly tapping into this power, which exists as a mediating force between the planes, can be exponentially more efficient than the fragmented and distorted lenses of the eight schools of magic. The laws against this dabbling date back over a millenium, and point to several high-profile catastrophic events that (scholars say) nearly destroyed the world itself. The traditionalist view is that theories of Black Mathematics are mistaken, misguided, and an academically sloppy oversimplification of reality. Moreover, at the practical level, that tapping into these energies between the planes, whatever they really are, is too dangerous for mortals to dabble in. The leader of the Traditionalist faction is Sampradayavida, the provost of Pradanta, and has extremely strong control over the thinking at the universities of Ardharatrika, Manava, and Vasinava.

Originalists hold that academic investigation must be never be constrained by dogmatic regulations, or fear on the part of the cautious, or because of the mistakes of the past. Rather, investigation must learn from the mistakes of the past, and tirelessly seek to expand the full scope of knowledge on the part of all sentient beings. They call themselves "Originalists" in reference to a commitment to "original" experimentation, exploration, and investigation, unencumbered by the legacy of prior efforts. Originalists have been ascendent in the last fifty years or so, despite the very crisp and clear dictates of Mataga law, and principles of scholarship. Moreover, many of the ancient and antique sources of scholarship are heavily locked down by the Traditionalists. The leader of the Originalist faction is S'mara, the Dean of Theoretical Mathematics at the University of Rajatrika. Although only a Dean, S'mara has significant control of Rajatrika due to the infirm condition of the ancient Provost Ipaxim, a gnome who has held the position for 268 years. S'mara also has significant influence over four other schools: Baudheya, Damoda, Gaudheya, and Kanva. Note that Gaudheya has absolutely no interest in the Black Mathematics, but every interest in loosening the regulations around necromancy.

The Traditionalists have strong influence over a slight minority of universities, but the Originalist faction is considerably less uniform in its belief and has a weaker control over university administrations, while having emotional inroads in all the universities.