Location-Absolute: 7ºN, 140ºW

Location-Relative: north of Equator near Line Islands in Pacific Ocean

Elevation: 8,000 ft below sea level

Topography: flat--varies by no more than 10 ft elevation

Climate:

Vegetation: grassland--treeless plain

Temperature: 80º-90° year-round

Precipitation: 20-25 inches per year, in light "sun-showers"

Natural resources: large underground salt beds, all plants edible

Land use:

Arable land: 95%

Permanent crops: 30% (native plants)

Permanent pasture: 0%

Forests/woodland: 0%

Other: 15% (small portable buildings)

Water:

Fresh: Heme, Hamo & Meho (hot springs); Mede (cold spring); Xeme, Meta, Weme (streams)

Salt: Zeme (Lepidopteran Sea)

Seqege -- People & ideas -- Culture

Although most Lepidopterans have some sort of non-human ability (superpowers) they do not fight for any reason.

Slavery was practiced by Veye at the time of my Zaaa's reign and was abolished (and remaining Veye deported) shortly after I became Da of the Butterflyians.

Why are we called by insect names? We fly, of course. We have always had wings, but often prfer to walk short distances. The way our wings are designed they don't make accurate landing very simple. (Note from Daza: Dazi is the only one who can't land right!)

As for inter-island travel and communication, they are rare but communication is quite advanced. Every house has the equivalent of a video phone (because our language is so dependent on nonverbal communication) that can handle up to five separate calls simultaneously. The reason interaction between the islands is so rare is because the same Veye who introduced slavery also tried to pit us against each other in order to conquer us more easily. They succeeded in causing tension (there was quite an uproar when I married Kuzu, the Du of the Mothians), but not in conquering us.

You may wonder why I use the English names for the three main Ze groups. This is because any Ze will call a Butterflyian a Teze (pretty Lep.), a Mothian a Keze (night Lep.), and a Skipperian a Geze (wise Lep. -- for not getting involved in the Te-Ke feud); but we don't especially like it when Ye (even Zeye) call us that. That's why I teach you the English names given us by Zaya -- the first ye to meet the Ze.

Lepidopteran clothes consist of a tubetop and a miniskirt (mid thigh) for sa and a loincloth-like clothing for males. Both the skirt and the loincloth have a fabric strip serving the purpose of underwear (that is mentioned here because of the reaction I tend to get from ye to a loincloth).

As a Da I have over my people, the Butterflyians, but am one of the first to forbid anything since the laws were first set. Because the laws are written in Ze, they consist in their entirety of "Ze ze. Ve ve," ("Do good. Don't do bad.") leaving the concepts of ze and ve up to the Da. Of course there is no testing for loopholes because that is ve. :)

Za are especially attached to their children (not that zo aren't!) and until a child can freely move and express se-self (6 mo. to a yr. for Ze) no one outside of se immediate family may hold se. Children are carried in a basket (by all except the Roze who use a shawl) until they outgrow it. They have little dolls with wings to match their own. As the child grows they use the basket to carry the doll or flowers for decorating the house. The youngest capable child decorates the walls of the house by weaving the flowers in between the thatch.

At age 15 the children start dating. Customs differ by island:

Generally they marry when the younger is twenty (an adult).