Some Snippets from The World: Yeola-Camay

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Re: Some Snippets from The World

Post by eldin raigmore »

I find most of this thread, particularly including elemtilas's most recent post, quite interesting.
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Re: Some Snippets from The World

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Government Structure in Auntimoanye
spanick wrote:I need to go back and read this whole thread but since you linked to this post, I just thought I'd say I think this looks great. It's really fascinating. Although however did such a complicated system come to be?
Thanks!


As for how it came to be? That's a long story. Best guess is something like lots of tinkering over a long period of time without any clear destination and no underlying philosophy to guide. Well, no underlying philosophy as Men would understand it, anyway!

Modern Auntimoanye started life, sometime after the 350s or so of the present age as something of a string of petty kingdoms & territories of commercial pirates. As the interior kingdoms began to coalesce and secure their power, the coastal & riparian freestates decided that they too would need to secure their own liberties. Whereas the interior realms were more associations of noble feudal territories, the approach of the rest was much more democratic. (Well, the democracy of a group of powerful trading house oligarchs & mercantile gangs & guild thugocrats, each with their own small army or navy.)

Eventually, perhaps by the 1000s or 1100s, all the pieces of the pie were in place: the power had shifted from the high castles of the princes to the palaces of the urban nobility. Those same nobles already met in council (I guess a quasi House of Lords) with the monarchs; the other thugs and plutocrats formed their own councils and grabbed the monarch's other ear. Not to be outdone, the Kristian & Jehudian Churches made it clear that they too would have their voices heard and the Pagans weren't too far behind in joining that band waggon. By the 1200s or so the middle class merchants and craftsmen, the doctors and philosophers, the academics and guildhouses got themselves together, trying to pull the monarch's attention their way.

As you can see, we're already pretty close to the modern situation. But the 1300s would see the social and political order trounced by outside forces in the name of the Empire of Hoopelle, the big inland country to the west. The Hoopolitans and Avantimen are cousins by ethnicity and language, but that didn't stop them being rivals. The latter enjoyed all the treasure flowing into the coffers from the sea trade, while the former really didn't care too much at all for lavishing so much money on their cousins and decided that they're really just prefer to cut out the middle man. This was largely accomplished by an invasion & several happy years of war, followed by occupation. This was still the era of the Episcopate in old Hoopelle, being as the empire was ruled from the espiscopal cathedra.

From the Hoopolitan perspective, all was hunky-dory. They obtained several spanking port cities and were able to engage in trade by overlaying their imperial bureaucracy over top of the native systems already in place. The kings became mere figureheads, and then eventually disappeared altogether. By the mid 1300s, Auntimoanye had become the stepping off point for a grand scheme of overseas conquests engineered by the mad bishops of Hoopelle. The Daine of that country (much maligned, much repressed and much desirous of their own liberty) tried their hands at regime change by engaging the services of the Red Brotherhood. (These were a group of terribly keen social engineers cum assassins who thought it great fun to dress up as Kristian style demons (largely by stripping entirely naked, painting themselves red with garish black and yellow stripes and grotesque blue and black face paint with fierce eyes) and slicing the throats of court officials, high bureaucrats, judges, nobles and military officers (.i., those same people who took great pleasure in repressing, torturing, enslaving and otherwise tormenting the Daine of the region) while they were comfortably at home. They engendered much consternation among the higher classes of the Empire, who lived now in perpetual fear of red & black demons lurking in their closets.

They considered it a great feather in their caps (mind you, they didn't wear caps, but did frizz their hair all up) when a small contingent of bold lads of the Red Brotherhood descended, howling demonically, from the high ceilings or else erupted up through the crawl spaces under the crypt. There in the middle of the liturgy, they marked a definitive end of the episcopate by garroting the dread hierophant himself.

Before anyone could cry the archbishop's dead! long live..., other forces already on the move in the political landscape seized the opportunity thus afforded by the Daine patriots. In this instance, the ancient Oswald clan (who had directly or indirectly ruled several petty kingdoms in the region in centuries past), sent their acclaimed heir to seize the Mace and, presuming he was able to heft it from its resting place(*), seize the right to rule the Empire. This was accomplished, and closer to home, life settled down much as it had been under the firm fist of the archbishops, only now Hoopelle had a proper emperor, young and dashing and terribly romantic. Young ladies everywhere swooned, and it wasn't long before they were queuing in front of the palace for tickets to attend to the imperial balls that had been much lacking in the prelates of the episcopate.

Many overseas territories, and among them Auntimoanye, chafed at the failure to seize the opportunity to break free of the imperium. Though young and dashing, the new emperor knew which side of the bread was buttered (both) and also that it took money to keep that bread dripping in buttery goodness. So, he summoned all the native governors, rulers, kings, wazirs, viziers, poobahs and nobles of his vast realms to a pleasant tete-a-tete. The basic gist was a friendly reminder to either tow the line and keep the tribute ships sailing, or else hang yourself on that same line and we'll install someone more capable of the task.

This didn't sit well, as you might imagine, and a general revolt was organised. This would be the great War of 1672, the Alarian Invasion. A veritable armada of warriors from the outlands across the seas landed at Auntimoanye and, seeing both the potential gain of siding with the rebels and the potential loss of siding with the imperium, welcomed the invaders with open arms. A new king was chosen and while it was largely his job to tow the new party's line, he was able to help the invaders see the sense in allowing for a stable local government to form. Largely with himself at its head. It was at this time that the Kingmakers came into being --- they're the ones who decide who the next king is to be. They're also the ones who decide if the present king has been on the job too long and needs to accept their generous retirement package. Certain political forces at work in the underworld of Auntimoanye, long awakened but warily observant of current events, had by now begun to make certain moves to solidify their own position and also to shape what Auntimoanye would become over the next five centuries into the present day.

Few among Men were even aware that certain folk, more or less hiding in plain sight, were to take an active role in shaping the government. They largely worked through agents of the occupying government, which was mostly busy destroying the imperium and conquering its lands. Again the Daine of old Hoopelle rose up and rather than just pinpoint regime change, had been angered to the point of boiling over. One thing you don't want to see is an army of enraged Daine. They get the blood lust and the red rage, and they'll just fight and kill their enemy until there's simply no one, no man, no woman, no child, no weak gammer or gaffer left to kill. They turned the long invasion into a rout and effectively cleared the lands around of all Men. The invaders weren't too keen on pressing forth with their plans to seize and plunder the fabulously wealthy capital of the Empire. The many Daine warriors who had come along for the excursion would have nothing to do with fighting against their own kindred, and in their (wise) perspective, the war was done. The Empire had been brought to its knees and its head had been whacked. Let's all celebrate and head home now!

The Men who had been behind the invasion didn't quite share the Daine's clear understanding of the situation, however. Some tried to continue on, others decided that Auntimoanye itself might be a nice place to settle, and since they were already there... But several events took place simultaneously to quash that plan. By this time, the kings of Auntimoanye had ruled well and justly for the entirely period of the invasion (nearly 30 years) and folks were quite used to the new government and rather liked it. So the king was pretty much ready to tell the invaders to sod off already; but word came soon enough of domestic trouble back over the broad ocean. Most of the invaders left in such a hurry, thinking that they left a keen ally behind in the person of the King, that the vast majority of the treasure they had plundered was left in the warehouses they had obtained at lease.

The new government was pretty quick to stabilise itself, though power rocked back and forth between the Throne and the Parliament; the general progression of the next centuries were a gradual union of the two. Parliament absorbed more and more power to itself while the Kings devolved more and more authority to the Magistracy (the Auntimoanian civil service bureaucracy) for safe keeping. Eventually, the two came to be seen as pretty much inseparable. It came to be said that government functioned as "King in Parliament". The Parliament couldn't legislate without its King's approval; the King couldn't rule without Parliament's activity and legislation.

As time went on more and more people began to think that what Auntimoanye needed was a Constitution. They already had a Constitutional Monarch, after all, by now called an "emperor", but there was no Constitution for him to be an emperor by. This was solved very cleverly by a fellow called Baggshotte, who was a philosopher, and wrote volumes on how governments are constituted and function and most especially on how the Auntimoanian government functions. It was his clever idea to suggest that some comprehensive work by a loyal and deep thinking philosopher could serve as a Constitution. And, oh! what a coincidence! It just so happened that Baggshotte himself was a loyal and deep thinking philosopher and, well, it turns out had already amassed quite the productive collection of political philosophy and commentary at law. Well, the government fell for it and adopted Baggshotte's Constitutions, which allowed the good philosopher to jack up his book prices and sell hundreds of copies of all his works to the greater and lesser libraries and government houses across the empire. He spent the rest of his rather brilliant and certainly lucrative career writing and refining his Constitutions.

It was Baggshotte that wrote, for example, on various ancient ideals such as the Commission of Heaven and why proper kings don't have a Divine Right to Rule and how a parliamentary monarchy is supposed to work, anyhow.

And lastly, mention must be made of that behind-the-scenes underground Power that exerts so much invisible influence in Auntimoanye, even at the present day. The Government is entirely unaware of the existence and power of this particular organisation, but I'll just say that they have vastly misunderestimated the Daine of the realm. They live their own lives according to their own customs and generally seem to have little enough to do with the affairs of Men. But, oh! How wrong are those Men who think so! It's not well known at all, but I'd say that a very large majority of the modern trading houses are wholly or largely owned by a small handful of shadowy holding companies of the City. A large portion of the bearer bonds and credit notes issued by the Empire are held by unknown hands. A lot of real estate is also controlled by shadowy companies and guilds that seem to be controlled as if puppets on strings. No one seems to know who's calling the shots, but some call it the Underqueen or the Unseen Monarch. Less friendly detractors name her the Old Spider. Those who know better might think of her as the Unthroned One. Those who know best know she has a throne indeed and sometimes even sits on it in majesty; but not even many of them know how far her power extends or to what extent her domains are.

You see, Men like to think they're in control. They've had a stable, workable, relatively democratic yet firmly traditional monarchical government since the late 17th century. Pretty much unheard of in any country where Men rule their own affairs unaided. But in a land where wiser heads, even if those wise heads are hidden from view, Men may flourish if they are given good models to follow and a strong arm to lean on when they tumble.

So, I guess the short answer is because the Daine saw to it got that way. In all the long history of contact, woe and weal between them, I think
Auntimoanye is probably the best example of where the Daine got it right.

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Re: Some Snippets from The World

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Some Notes on Direction

It is not known, by any of the Wise, nor even the Eldest of All, from which direction the Powers first came into Gea, nor, of those that withdrew from the world, which way they went. (Of course, those that stayed are, well, still here!) In Narutanea, it is the North that is negative: the Nameless North, the Desolation of the North, the Dark North. Lots of bad joss up that way. Yet there's always one or two hardy Daine (foolish boys, usually) that wander the trafficless roads up along the shores of the Ocean of Congealed Waters. Even the Yarrows don't like going up there. It is the land of the North Witch and somewhere up there is the now sunken lands of the ancient Enemy. There are only three inhabited lands that far north: Mearby-on-Sea (a domed city far out in the Wastes of Weem); Pendar, a quiet land away in the east of the Desolation; the Island of Wark. The islanders have only one weather word in their whole language, chthekhchthack, which seems to roughly translate as tis bloody awful as usual, why do you ask?; there are three colour terms: bgog, which means grey, legeb, which means greyer and dmugdmug, which means bleak as you please. Warkians have two gods and thus two traditional religions, against whom the entire population of the island are staunch and iconoclastic protestants. Warkians heat their cave homes by burning the gnarly smelling blotchy walrus dung and they eat nothing but the reasty and rank meat and the naturally pickled and foul smelling eggs of the Wark Island penguins. By all accounts, the sandy crab meat, if one can manage to withstand the rotten muskrat smell and the embedded bits of sand, is quite palatable in comparison. No one (sane anyway) ever wants to visit Wark Island. Even the Warkians don't want to visit Wark Island! (Pop. c.78 humans; Motto: Wark Island! A Place so Horrid to Live, Who Would Want to Visit!?)

The East is the direction of orientation, and is seen in a positive light: the Bright East, the Dazzling Sunhome. The South and West are also seen as positive: the Lands of the Lady Sun, Sunlands, the Broad Lands, the Land of the Great Empire; the West is known as the Sunset Lands, the Wild Lands, the Greenlands (on account of the Great Northern Forest, which, from the perspective of easterners, and rather contrariwise, lies mostly in the West), the Lands of Marvel, the Lands Beyond All Mountains, the Empire of the Great West.

That perspective rather conflates many many leuyves (miles, more or less) of territory. But you must understand that, for most people of, say, Auntimoany, once you get to the Holy Hills and the borders of the Farther West, geography becomes rather blurry... And, when you get down to it, it's not a whole lot clearer even once you get to the borders of their own home grafdom!


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Re: Some Snippets from The World

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A Myth of Pendar

Pendar is a little country way up in the chilly Northlands where they tell this myth of the returning sun
goddess, Tammana. Towards the time of the winter solstice, folks will be preparing their midwinter festivals.
There is much dancing around the fir trees, feasts, story telling and the long wait for the sun to return...



Before the gods came into the world was Tammana, she who sowed the seeds of life and was herself the
self-sown seed of life. Her gardens were the whole world and with her a race of seven beautiful girls
walked the paths of the world garden, tending, watering, pruning and reaping. Each one was a radiant
beauty, the sheen of sweat on their bodies reflecting the sun as they labored. One day, seven stars fell
from the sky, and from them came seven strange beings to the outer reaches of the garden. Like unto
the seven girls were they, but where the girls wore only the hair on their heads, the strangers wore
curious fibers wrapped around their waists and heads. They spoke, but none of the seven girls could
understand their harsh speech. The strangers became impatient, and began to grab the girls and lead
them away. All but one, the youngest. She saw what was happening and ran away, through the depths
of the garden and back to where Tammana was laboring. The seventh stranger pursued the girl who
cried out to Tammana for her aid. Even so, the stranger caught her and led her back to the place where
the stars fell; but not before Tammana heard the cries and came following. She came too late to the
edge of the garden, where she saw only where her girls had left their spades and pruning hooks.


Seeing seven strange stars rise into the sky — a sight never before seen in all the youth of the world! —
she left her beautiful garden and went in search of her seven girls. For many seasons she went forth,
even seeking for them in the heavens where are the stars; and in all those seasons, no one tended the
gardens, and in all the dark World, the plants and flowers began to fade and perish. Tammana searched
from star to star, coming at last to the place of seven stars together. There, she discovered her seven
girls being held captive as wives for the seven strangers, gods of the brilliant and cold stars far above
the warm earth of Gea! She pled with the lord of gods for the release of her seven girls, and he went to
the World upon a falling star to see the place whence they had come. Indeed, a desert place it was!
Cold and uninviting, and the beasts and people living there were perishing from hunger! Thus the lord
of gods decreed that the seven girls should be allowed to return to Gea and tend its gardens, and he set
a feast before Tammana and the seven girls. So grateful were they that they accepted wholeheartedly
and reclined with the lord of gods at table and four courses were spread and Tammana began to eat his
food, tasting the fourth course.


Alas that she took even one bite of this heavenly provender, had she but known the price of it! Yet,
before the seven girls could take even a single bite of the food, a great goose, grey as the stormcloud,
flew into the banquet hall, having come all the way from Gea! He turned about in the airs above the
table, and just as the seven girls reached out to the food, he loosened his bowels and sent down great
gobs of green birdslime, which ruined the food. The lord of gods roared, could do nothing against the
high flying bird, as he wheeled back and left the banquet hall, winging his way back to Gea.


The feast ruined, the fates of the gods entered the hall and spoke in thus wise: “Go, seven daughters of
Gea, who have neither tasted the food of the lord of gods, nor have touched it.” And they were led out
of the hall and taken back to Gea upon seven falling stars; and there they found themselves where they
had left their spades and pruning hooks, and seeing what a dreadful state of affairs the garden was in,
they immediately set to work tending it as of old. But of Tammana the fates of the gods said: “You have
eaten one course of the food of the lord of gods, and must even bide in the heavens with the lord of
gods as his wife for one season out of the four. You may return to Gea upon the New Year, but upon the
New Year less three turnings of the greater moon, you must even come up into the heavens and bide
here with your chosen lord.”


“Bitter indeed are the tears Tammana sheds for leaving her beloved gardens and her seven young girls,
the daughters of Gea! For I can see that while I am here in the heavens, the earth will put forth no
green leaf nor tender shoot nor flower nor fruit — all except for the pine and the fir, which shall be the
promise of green life to the people of Gea, who will dance about the fir tree in the depths of this dead
season. And they will know that Tammana returns anon and the grass shall green and the first flowers
bloom again.”


And ever since, the seven girls have labored in Tammanas gardens throughout the seasons of life; and
bidding farewell to their Lady when the leaves do fall down, they go to their rest and the peoples of the
world know that, for a time, Life itself goes away from the World yet comes again in its own time.


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Re: Some Snippets from The World

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Palisander's Paradox

Palisander's Paradox was a famous mid 15th century philosophical experiment in temporal awareness involving the shooting of arrows at random people, and then asking them when, precisely, they noticed. Never one to follow the well trodden paths of enquiry when a wackier one was available, Archibald Palisander often found himself at odds with the chancery of the university. Things came to a boil after the experimentation during the 1470-1471 academic year came to the attention of the Arch Chancellor.


The experiment itself had originally been academically sound. However, further study was discontinued by the Regents of the University of Hoopelle when it was discovered that upwards of 85% of Dr. Palisander's subjects had in fact been killed by the research assistants and Palisander himself was presently dismissed. It probably did not help matters that he had used Zombat's Surefire Zombificator on the decedants without consent of the families in order to obtain his data.


The use of the Zombificator upon a fresh decedent results is a kind of animated being that can understand and carry out simple instructions, often of the "kill all that lot of knights" or "stand there smartly like a good chappy and keep the hors d'oeuvres coming" sorts, and all without complaint, respite or calling in sick. Warlords rely heavily on hordes of Zombie warriors, on account of them being so economical to procure, house and train,
though they rarely care if their marauding zombie hordes are all that fresh. In fact, a detachment of zombie warriors with missing eyes or broken jaws or ripped open bellies or missing a wing or having ragged bones sticking out at odd angles impart a kind of rakish joie de morir that even ragamuffin hired mercenaries can not quite match. Palisander's position was found untenable by the chancery court when it was discovered that, rather than undoing the spells of binding after the data was retrieved, he was shifting all the Zombies into the grey market and reaping quite a profit on sales.


The Paradox, according to surviving records, largely seems to have involved the stretch of time between the victim's first awareness of the approaching arrow and the impending doom it spelled and their ultimate reactions to it. Most, of course, only conceived some evasive action after having actually died. By which time it was already too late. Though the records are incomplete, it appears that, at least when one sees an arrow flying towards oneself, time does in fact stand still. None of the surviving subjects were able to pinpoint by how much; however, all the Zombie respondents were able to offer a more precise enumeration of between 7 and 14 seconds, or and eighth and a quarter of a minute. Just enough time, apparently, to witness one's life flashing before one's eyes and utter "oh sh...!", or some other appropriate last invective before promptly expiring.


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Re: Some Snippets from The World

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Some Artifacts of Material Culture

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At the top is an andja, a small hand ax of the sort found in many Daine countries of Narutanea. The head is bronze and the handle is made from oiled oak. As is common for Daine made tools, decorative jingles (in this case, a couple small silver rings) and an extra shim are included. They make a merry music when chopping up a branch of wood!


Next is a qella, which is a kind of flat wooden or bamboo spoon. It is ideal for eating thick porridges & rice, or for stirring anything. A hole bored in the end allows its owner to keep it conveniently located on a string or hook.


At the bottom is a wewunnio, or rabbit stick. It is a kind of non-returning boomerang and is made from a heavy wood, I believe maybe elm. The broad blade is thinned somewhat like a wing. While a killing blow can be struck, it's main purpose is to stun or impede the quarry until a proper end can be made.

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Re: Some Snippets from The World

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A Couple Books from The World


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The Chorography is a large compendium of in-world lore from a description of the Creation and cosmography of All That Is, to Gea's place in the universe, the peoples and treasures to found in her, the folks and countries of many parts of the world and many stories, tales, histories and legends from other lands. Profusely illustrated with an appendix on languages, a short atlas and an index.


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The Classic of the Way of Words is a lexicon of Talarian ideograms and short native treatise on Talarian grammar.

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A few smaller books. Squibbman's Cookery and Walton's Compleat Bestiary are interesting little works. The Bestiary includes pictures and descriptions of many wonderful and, quite possibly legendary, beasts as well as a cast of nefarious characters a careless traveller is likely to meet up with out away from the relative safety of hearth and home. On the cover of the former, note the pair of octopeds flanking Squibbman's great brick and bronze oven. Ironic, really, when you come to think on it. After all, why would Squibbman choose the beast with the ronchiest, stankiest and fetidest smelling flesh available to World cuisine for the cover of his book? One wonders...[/size]

NB: octoped flesh is given a good run for its money, I might note, by the equally rank and reasty pong of the vicious and territorial Wark Island penguin. These beasties are so horrible a food source, that their eggs are laid actually pickled in their own over-fermented garum.

The other two are small journals such as a traveller might pack in his kit while wandering about the countryside. The journal on the left is open to a picture of a Daine fellow and an Ytuunic maiden. The one on the right has a picture of a turonayan, curious kind of bird.
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One of the more curious birds of the Eastlands is the turonayan. More at home climbing and clambering among the twigs and branches of tall trees or even rooting about near their mighty foundations than flying free in the airs above, the turonayan makes its living by eating fruits and nuts and occasionally scavenging the eggs and younglings of squirrel and birdkind alike. Turonayan is one of the toothless birds and in shape and size and colouration does a fair job of silver-oak-leaf mimicry. It greyish-greenish feathers in the Spring and Summer give way, in the fall, to dappled patterns of russet, yellow and brown which it keeps throughout the Winter.

Each wing has four short stubby claws that allow it to dig and burrow in the earth, or into rotten bark and wood to seek for burrowing insects and to crack open eggs; its hooked beak allows it to dangle from branch or twig while at rest, nestled safely among the rustling leaves of the tree. Its feathers are small, and many, especially upon its back, are almost hairlike. Its bony tail is long and supports a broad flat plate of small feathers. Although turonayan can fly short distances, it rarely does more than hurtle itself up into the low branches of a nearby tree, or else glide and flap from one tree to its neighbour.

The turonayan is, at the most, about two and a half palms long, inclusive of its curved beak. It is interesting to note, regarding its wing-claws, that the two pairs of claws may be manipulated independently of the other, but only in pairs: the claws may not be moved independently like our fingers because the two sets of digits had become, in ancient times, fused into one but retaining the distinct terminal phalanges. This does not hamper turonoyan in any way, however, since it is able to fold over its medial pairs of claws, much the way Daine or Men may fold their thumbs against their palms & fingers. This allows turonoyan to grasp small objects like nuts or eggs or baby squirrels.

The song of the turonoyan is a kind of melancholic four note tune: Turonayan Call

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Re: Some Snippets from The World

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Storytelling in the Eastlands


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Storytelling is one of the most commonly practiced arts anywhere in The World. Every community, from the highest of the race of Teyor to the meanest hovels of Hotai, has someone among them who can spin an entertaining tale. But, as with all other arts and crafts, there those whose sole avocation and craft is the knowing and telling of stories. These professional storytellers rely much on the work of the Sawyers, those scholars and philosophers who collect and study stories from all over the world.


The term Sawyery refers to the study of the Old Stories, a set of disjointed but frequently crossculturally parallel or similar stories that tell of the most ancient of days. Typically, they relate to times before history was understood as an entity of its own and recorded for posterity, and thus describe the philosophical Golden Age. Typically, the Wise divide the Old Stories into various types depending upon their focus or intended character.


Granthund storyteller.pngThe philosophical study of the Old Stories is called sawyery and practitioners are called sawyers. Many are the collections of these stories that have been gathered in the libraries of the world. Fine examples can be seen at the great libraries in Alexandria of Kemeteia-Misser, Pretorias of Rumnias and Auntimoany as well. The sawyers' public trust is to preserve and expand collections of Old Stories; collect, collate and index the pronouncements and interpretations of philosophers, priests, and spiritual teachers; and to make available to the people whatever they wish to study from these collections. Therefore, anyone who can read or is accompanied by someone who can read is allowed unrestricted access to a library's collection of Old Stories. Several famous catalogues of Old Stories have been made by sawyers in recent centuries, especially those of Arny and Thompson, sawyers of Auntimoany who devised a topical and cross-referenced indexing system for their collection not only of stories but of the episodes and characters within them. Also well known is Franko Childer, a Husickite sawyer, who catalogued fables and various kinds of folk songs.

While ordinary story tellers rely on the diligent scholarship of the sawyers, they don't simply repeat stories verbatim. They retell, recombine, come up with wonderful new tales the like of which have never been heard before. Other storytellers keep closer to the old traditions conserved within the works of the sawyers. It is these granthund, or classical story tellers, like the fellow in the picture on the right, that bring the old myths and legends to life.


These granthund have memorised a great treasure trove of old story however, during more formal recitations, such as in the court of a gravio or in the emperor's Palas, it is usual for a large book of story to be placed upon a low stand for the granthund to refer to. By ancient tradition, story tellers always sit upon a low, comfortable stool and this is usually located upon a nicely woven rug, and they may only be served their food and drink upon earthenware vessels. This, they say, is a reminder to their own humility, for story should serve all folk of good will, and not serve the exaltation of the storyteller. Even so, some famous granthund are recorded in the annals of kingdoms and countryside inns, perhaps the best known of which Uthmanda, a nineteenth century granthund well known for his animated style and broad repertoire. It was said of him that he could hear a story of any length for the first time and ever after could retell the story without losing one single word or nuance of meaning.


Here is a little fairy story, or rather, what we'd call a "fairy story" *here*, from the Westmarche and Auntimoany of the Eastlands. The sawyers who diligently collect, record, categorise and make public record of all kinds of interesting lore would call this an animal tale or a grim fable. A story with a point, and generally a bloody one at that. Generally speaking, The World is not a place where fairy stories are devised to entertain small skulls full of mush. *There*, folklore generally exists to teach a lesson. That lesson is usually something like "don't be a stupid dolt like the character in this tale..." It is typical of tales recited by granthunds and is called

They Must Even Feed the Wolves

For in those days there was a proud grey hare and he was called Guthro and he fancied himself quite the brave swordsman and a fine hunter to boot. And although he lived in a modest house, Guthro often rode out upon his old bay and fancied himself quite the lord of the hunt. Living not far away in his ancient stone castle in the deeps of the dark forest known as the Old Woods was a lord indeed, Isengrim, and he was king in those lands and lord of all wolves in the Woods. And on this fine spring day, it being the day of the new year, Isengrim rode out to hunt in the wide woods with his twelve closest friends. By chance, Guthro also happened to be out riding to hunt in the wide woods on that fine spring day of the young new year. As luck would have it, Guthro followed a trail deeper and deeper into the Woods until he was quite lost.

Guthro soon came across a broad clearing in the trees and in the distance, at the far edge of the clearing, he saw there a stag, standing as bold as brass. Said he to himself: “Ho now! I shall have a fine trophy for my hall and a feast to boot!” Of course, his hall was little more than a one room farm house, but he did love to pretend.

Little did Guthro know it, but across from his position and watching the same stag was none other than Isengrim and his twelve stout huntsmen. “The winter was quite hard as we all know,” said Isengrim. His friends nodded agreement, well recalling the unusually deep drifts of snow among the trees. “And though this stag is old and weak, he is the best we’ve seen in many days and we need to bring home more fresh meat.” His friends nodded again, for all knew that meals of late were slim pickings and the larders of many were nearly bare.

And so, as Isengrim and his twelve stout huntsmen readied their finely crafted and matching yew bows with their long arrows of ash, so Guthro got out his poor home made hawthorn bow and arrows of dogwood. As Isengrim and his twelve stout huntsmen nocked their ostrich fletched arrows of holly wood, so Guthro nocked his crow fletched arrow of humble dogwood. And as Isengrim and his twelve stout huntsmen took careful aim, so Guthro took careful aim. In that instant, the stag’s head lifted up, ears straining for some clue as to the source of his ill ease, and he paused as if listening for the arrows’ song of death. Too late did their song come to his ears, and too late did the stag think to spring away to the safety of the denser trees beyond the clearing, for in that same instant, as Isengrim and his twelve stout huntsmen let fly their impeccably straight arrows, so Guthro let fly his own crooked arrow. As arrows with keen bronze points coursed through the air from the bows of Isengrim and his twelve stout huntsemen, so did the humble glass tipped but well crafted arrow fly through the air from the bow of Guthro.

Twelve songbirds of death flew free and twelve deadly beaks pierced the stag’s flesh. Instantly he fell into the curved arms of mother Gea, his red blood flowing gushing from twelve wounds, pumping from severed veins, flowing across the dead and dry brown leaves of the yesteryear just past, bringing them no new life, heralding only the stag’s own passage from this world to another.

Then such a whooping and yammering as Guthro never heard before came from the jubilant wolves. He now knew that someone else was in the vicinity, but he knew not who. And now the mystery became revealed: twelve bold wolves, dressed in fine cloth of gold and silver the like of which Guthro in his homespun green cloak could scarce believe, came forth into the clearing, Isengrim at their head. Twelve mighty hunters and one pretentious hare dressed in his humble green approached the fallen stag.

Immediately a dispute broke out among the twelve stout huntsment as to whose arrow was the killing arrow. Each one claimed the kill, or else avered that if not himself, it must be bold Isengrim himself who delivered the fatal blow. Then stepped forth a curious old chap, a jackal and a far farer and a clever shaman in his own homeland. His name was Auwau and he wore a bizarre costume of bones and ears and claws of every kind of beast in the world. He lifted his right paw and the wolves fell silent. He stretched forth this same paw over the still warm and steaming carcass and began to chant quietly to himself. The paw began to tremble as it moved over the form of the stag. Auwau pulled the arrows one by one, examining each and naming its rightful owner, for as everyone knows, a good hunter always marks his arrows with his own colors of threads. To each one in turn he said: “Twas not yours that brought him death,” or perhaps “a bold stroke, but not deadly” or else “had he but remained still half a second longer...”

At last Auwau reached down and pulled out Isengrim’s arrow, stout and stained black as pitch. Even to Isengrim, king of all beasts of the Old Woods, Auwau said: “twas not yours that brought him death.” The twelve stout huntsmen began their dispute anew, for if none of their arrows killed the stag, how could it be he had fallen dead? What they could not see and what Auwau could was the homely fletchings of an unknown hunter’s arrow. In response to their questions and clamor, Auwau turned the beast from the side where he lay and then all could see it plain: a fourteenth arrow had pierced the stag’s body and buried itself into his very heart.

“An ugly and homely fletching I see now upon that arrow, lord Jackal,” said one of the hunter wolves. But Auwau would not reply at once. He stretched out his paw over the fourteenth arrow and began again to chant quietly to himself. The paw began to tremble anew and when Auwau pulled that arrow from deep within the body, the last of his blood flowed out and the jackal said: “I know not the keen hunter who sent this singer of death to its target, but I can say twas his arrow that brought him death.”

In that moment, all the huntsmen and Isengrim as well, turned towards Guthro, who had hitherto remained silent and was standing a little to the side, in utter awe of the mighty wolf hunters in all their finery and bearing their powerful weapons. He had heard nothing of what Auwau had said. No one had paid him any mind at first, but now all eyes were on him.


Auwau turned and passed by his lord Isengrim, placed a paw upon his horse’s shoulder, and whispered: “All is not lost. As you say, the stag is old and weak. Yet here stands a fat and healthy, if fearless, hare who constantly eyes the clothing and weapons of your huntsmen. He may yet be useful.”

And so it was. Guthro took service with Isengrim and went back to his ancient stone castle deep in the Old Woods. Although he dreamed of wearing such finery as the twelve stout huntsmen had worn and shooting such fine bows as the twelve stout huntsmen had shot, Isengrim had other plans. “Nay sir hare!” he would say; “First, before you may hunt with us, let us test your skills! For example, how well can you cook?”

And so, Guthro was set to work in the kitchens to pare carrots and potatoes and to make gravies and biscuits for Isengrim and his court. For, Isengrim had said, there would be a fine feast on the morrow and only the choicest foods would be allowed to come out of his kitchens. Guthro was kept so busy going hither and thither that he scarecely took notice that the stag he had killed was nowhere to be seen, neither in the smokehouse nor in the salting cellar nor in the drying house.

In fact, the next morning, Guthro was busy rushing about preparing the pastries for the feast when Isengrim himself appeared in the kitchens with two of his closest stout huntsmen. Guthro asked him: “My lord Isengrim! I’ve prepared a sumptuous feast for all the castle, yet I have not found any meat worthy of the table. And now I see you with two of your huntsment. Shall we go forth today and hunt together?”

Isengrim grinned a wolfish grin and the huntsmen sniggered quietly. “Indeed friend Guthro! Today I think is the day we shall slaughter the meat worthy of the obviously fine spread you’ve so ably concocted for me and my court! Come now, friend! Let us go now and find this delicious meat!” All the while, Isengrim’s hard eyes never left Guthro, and for a brief moment, the grey hare felt a chill shiver down his spine. But it passed as his excitement rose over being invited to go on the hunt.

Guthro was delighted and turned towards the kitchen door as if to go outside. But Isengrim stayed him, saying: “Nay, good friend Guthro! Let us not go by that door. Rather, let us go by this way here.” He indicated another door, one which Guthro had not yet had the time to explore. “It will be quicker this way.” The other wolves glanced at one another and grinned slyly.

Guthro didn’t think twice, saying: “Very well then! Let us be off!” So saying, he took up his humble bow and arrows and headed for the door Isengrim had pointed to.

Isengrim grinned again and winked to his companions. Just as Guthro opened the door, a sight of such horror met his eyes that he could scarcely credit his own eyes and what they were seeing. For the door led to a spacious larder and it was indeed well stocked with all sorts of carcasses: a few deer and boar and indeed the stag that he himself had slain but a short time past; but it seemed that Isengrim’s favorite meats were rabbit and hare, for the larder had no fewer than twenty hare carcasses hanging by their hind legs from the rafters. He also saw there the butcher’s table and the clean, glinting bronze meat saws, cleavers and knives that would be surely be put to use carving the meats for the king’s table.

And oh, was Guthro stunned by the sight! And he turned to leave, desperately seeking for any way to get clear of Isengrim and his larder! But he found the doorway blocked by Isengrim and his friends. He could scarcely get out one word of protest before the three wolves, red eyed, ravenous, lunged towards him and backed him into the butcher block. Guthro let out a shrill scream and they threw him to the floor. They snatched him up again in their claws and flung him, still screaming, upon the butcher block and there began to ply their cleavers and saws and knives upon his still living body.

Guthro moaned his last, knowing that his own end was near, seeing his own bright red blood spurting from every wound, a river of red flowing along the channels in the butcher block, dripping to the cold stone floor, each a drop of life ebbing away. “At last I know,” Guthro said to himself, for he had no strength left to speak or even struggle against his tormentors; “whence shall come the meat for the grand feast! And it is me! Ah, but woe is me. For indeed they must even feed the wolves who would bide among them!” And that was an end for proud Guthro the Grey.

INDEXICON
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Re: Some Snippets from The World

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It's been so long since I said anything.
I just love all of this!
Clearly, you enjoyed creating it!
[:D] [:)] [:O] [O.O] [<3]
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Re: Some Snippets from The World

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Spurtlekins

Spurtlekins are a kindred of wee folk, thought to be distantly related to domestic fairies of the great House Elf kindred. Rarely exceeding six inches in height, the Spurtlekins, unlike most other fairy folk, are rather stout of build and solid and quite strong for their size.

The kit of a Spurtlekin warrior consists of a kind of hide kirtle or kilt, either scraped and painted or else with the fur left on, a pair of leather booties, leather gauntlets, a prick which they use in the manner of a rapier and the namesake spurtle. Spurtles are made in two varieties: one is a nicely turned wooden club-like weapon with a narrow pointed end and a bulbous head; the other is a flat, narrow spatula-like tool, made from bronze, that they hone and skilfully use like a harpe or poleaxe.

Spurtlekin warriors love to hunt and fight against smaller rodents and large invasive insects. Like roaches. The fact that a warrior's prick is wood and that she's wielding an ordinary spoon means, well, she's obviously in training as she hasn't earned a proper spurtle yet. But once she does, she'll be wicked fierce with a sharpened and needle pointed weapons!

During the summer half of the year you most often find Spurtlekin clans dispersed in the woodlands just beyond a farm or village, though some will remain in a favored house year round. But come the winter half of the year, and they like to get in close. Attics, garrets, garages, cellars, workshops. Right handy chappies to have around too, and no mistake! Some have taken up the tinkers' trade, and will often mend or replace small broken bits of this and that around the house. Like that teacup you swore had a broken handle last week, but now it's just like new? Spurtlekin tinker, at your service! These warriors will take out any vermin they can find. They're fearless and will even face the greatest terrors one can imagine: feral cats, rabid coons or fox, even New York City sewer rats!

Just leave em in peace and you'll have friends for life. Unlike many wee folk, Spurtlekins won't demand bowls of milk or other payment. They just want to live free and hunt the wee beasties that stalk the night.

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Re: Some Snippets from The World

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Grandfather Twilight

This story is a myth explaining the coming of night and the rising of the Lesser Moon. Such tales are common
to all Daine, though the details are often quite different. Grandfather Twilight is a tale that is told by the
Daine of the hill country away north of Severn. (Collected in 1674)



WHEN DAY is nearly done, and Sawel is preparing to sink beyond the West, it is then Grandfather
Twilight gets up from his bed. He puts on his britches of deep spangled black cloth, the color of midnight,
and his robes, which are made of cool mist; and he puts on his boots which are made also of shimmering
dew. Grandfather Twilight has near his bed a magic bag, made of fine, well tanned leather and is closed
with buttons of horn. He opens it and reaches in and picks up a long, long, long string of shiny white pearls
from the distant sea. He takes one from the end of the string and sets it in the palm of his hand. He walks
out of his house, deep in the wild woods, with his shaggy grey dog and walks a long time through the woods.


As he walks along, the mists stream from his robes and the dew drops from his boots; and all the birds and
beasts hush their cawing and callooing and become quiet. Grandfather Twilight walks through all the streams
and vales, along the bottoms of gullies and up along the ridges of hills. He walks all the way to the great
waters of the sea. As he walks, the pearl has grown brighter and brighter, and now its light shines from within.


Then, opening his hand, Grandfather Twilight pauses at the seaside and lifts the pearl up towards the sky above
the waters. Letting it go, it rises and rises above the sea, and enters the darkling sky where it becomes the
first star of the new night!


Only then will Grandfather Twilight turn and begin his long, long trek home, under the waxing light of stars,
through the cool mists and damp dew. All through the night he walks, past the sleeping birds and beasts,
through all the streams and vales, along the bottoms of gullies and up along the ridges of hills. Aand when
he gets home, it is nearly dawn again. Only then will he go into his house; and there he takes off his robes
of cool mist and his boots of shimmering dew and his britches of spangled black cloth. As the first rays of
Sawel caress the edge of night, Grandfather Twilight at last sits down in his bed, buttons up his magic bag
by the bed and curls up with his shaggy grey dog at his feet, and goes to sleep.

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Re: Some Snippets from The World

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I really liked your 18 Oct 2017 post and your 7 Jan 2018 post!
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Re: Some Snippets from The World

Post by gestaltist »

Did you make the things in the material culture post yourself or where are they from? They look really cool.
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gestaltist wrote: 09 Jan 2018 10:40 Did you make the things in the material culture post yourself or where are they from? They look really cool.
Oh, thanks for the compliment! I did indeed make the tools and books. Caveat: I don't have any bronze casting skills, so the ax head itself was made by another person. Also, the green book that the Talarian dictionary is in wasn't made by me. The cookery book and the bestiary, those I wrote & illustrated & bound.
eldin raigmore wrote:I really liked your 18 Oct 2017 post and your 7 Jan 2018 post!
Thanks!

The Spurtlekins are one of those bits of oh so fortuitously happy & conjunctivally serendipitous cross-world pollination! A fellow traveller over on DeviantArt (Moeberguine) drew up an awesome wee "Wooden Spoon Warrior" that just smacked of being a girl of two worlds. From there, the whole history and nature of Spurtlekindom arose!
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Ancestor Veneration

Many peoples practice ancestor veneration of some sort or other. For some, ancestral voices prophesy war and strife. These are clearly disembodied spirits, perhaps what we think of as "ghosts", that have some quality of permanence and connexion with the physical world.


Many peoples, both Man and Daine, revere their Ancestors. The Posvo of middle Eosphora, an ancient kindred of Men, went so far as to construct elaborate underground mausoleums where families would place their dead in "houses" complete with costly furnishings and decroations; they would then spend much time in the mausoleums with their dead relatives. The practice got to the point where some families were spending so much time with the Ancestors that they took to the practice of choosing representatives who would, on a rotating basis, live full time with the Ancestors, leaving the rest to make do in the land of the living. Others went into the mausolea to live full time, hiring out their lands in exchange for meagre food to sustain the living inhabitants of the Land of the Dead.


The Rum have long practiced the sepulture of their dead within intricate delvings called catacombs. Into these places they go down every sabbath for church. Long ago, the catacombs were little more than niches dug into the stone wall where a body could lie comfortably. Anymore, families are excavating large multi room suites decorated with fashionable frescoes and copies of classical statuary. It is interesting to note that the Ancestors themselves continue to lie in narrow niches carved into the walls, but the living who tend to them apparently like some comfort in an otherwise cramped space.


It might also be of interest to note here that above the altar of a Kristian church there is, set into the stone of the wall, an empty tomb, a catacomb niche, upon which is written an icon of the Good Shepherd or the Fisher of Men or the Diligent Vintner. Even small home chapels are so constructed as to portray a catacomb niche.

INDEXICON
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Re: Some Snippets from The World

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How will Death spend the Last Day?

I am Death, the Lady whom many Men seek to cheat, though none may overcome.

I am not alive, as mere mortals understand the notion, yet I see the farthest and
know well the Last Day.

Long ere your world and its tiny Sun coalesced out of the dust of an age more ancient
still, I am there.

Even now as Men fight their wars and kings seek to keep their authority and ambitious
men seek to wield power over many in my name, I am there.

Long after your youthful world is consumed by its dying Sun and long after your empires
fail and ever new ones rise from the dust of their falling and long after the very last
seed of your race has been ground into the dust that drifts among the galaxies and
stars of boundless space, yes, I am there, as well.

I am Death! What shall I do on the Last Day? There are none on that day with whom I may
spend the last hours of the very existence of All That Is. All That Was. There are none on
that day with whom I may share fond recollections. Indeed, on the Last Day, there are
none. None but me, the Lady Death whom none may excel, in all the dead Void.

Yet I shall not be alone. For when the Music of The World shall come at last to its final
cadence, All Things living shall have crossed over, and then at the last, I too shall cross
over, for all things in The World shall have died. No thing living shall remain to sing under
the dead and cold stars; none shall remain to watch over the slow dissolution of
Matter and Energy, as even these crumble to dust, and the dust dissolves into naught.
None but me.

Yet I shall not be alone. The Witness shall accompany me upon the Last Day. Who sees
without eyes. Who observes without sense. In that Day, all that which is dead shall fall to
the within, and rapid shall be that fall! Dead stone and lifeless dust shall fall, fall headlong
into the dark Void. I shall oversee this final death of All Things. I too shall fall headlong into
the dark Void, among the carcases of once mighty stars and broken slag of worlds.

And at the Last, the Witness, the last Eye of God in a dead world shall submerge into the
bitter Void and there seal within the Void the Worldseed.

And I, with the Seed upon my breast, I shall at last go to my Rest.

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Re: Some Snippets from The World

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[O.O] [:O] Wow!! [B)] Cool!

I wish I could be so poetic!!
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Thief of Giants

Aynosaqam had come to the Wild Country prepared for this adventure. She had a map, for one thing. Well, it was kind of vague, but that is common enough when it comes to treasure maps! And she had a big leather satchel, just right for keeping safe anything valuable someone happened to have dropped. And she had a sword. Nothing fancy, just your basic hardwood handled & double riveted bronze sword. It wasn't magical or anything -- too expensive that! -- but it did have pretty silver inlaid vines and cunningly wrought runes. She got a good price on the package deal. Seems some weaker sod had given up the adventuring life and settled down in a comfy pub somewhere. Probably spinning fanciful yarns about all his "adventures"!

The Wild Country was terribly beautiful. Empty woodlands seemed to stretch forever. Although they said no one lived here, one could find promising tumble down ruins poking up out of ancient thickets. Aynosaqam considered poking around in what appeared to be great stone temple at the head of one long valley in the Hills of Vuze. A stream flowed out of it, and she was certain some ancient cult must surely have carved all those wiggly runes and icons into the mighty stones lining the cave entrance, and must just as surely have secreted their hoard of warm gold and bright gems within some inner sanctum!

But she decided against further exploration in the deep cwm and began the long climb up the round & curvy north slope. Anyway, she said to herself, the Giant Ruby of Wuze was said to lie hidden further east, not too far away. And that was her quarry. That would certainly make me rich! And, perhaps, after flogging the bauble I can properly equip some companions and we can explore the old temple! And then I'd really be rich! And after that, maybe I can settle down and buy some queendom somewhere and sit on my throne and tell tales of all my own adventures...

Such were Aynosaqam's musings as she trudged along among the trackless depths of the overgrown forest. It was late in the evening she came across a round stone lined pool in a pleasant glade. She made camp nearby and drank from the pool, marvelling at its perfectly round shape, the smooth roundness of the stone as it dipped under the still clear water. A funny thought came into her mind at that moment and she giggled: it looks just a belly button, only bigger! She looked down at her own belly, and sure enough, it was similarly round and smooth! Only not so large and by no means made of stone!

Under the canopy of white stars and the great Red Chasm, she sat by firelight and studied her map. The Hills of Vuze rose up from the forest floor of the Marches of Druun. They reminded of Aynosaqam of the ancient mounds south of Mareor, rounded spirals and snaky shapes. The loremasters said they were shrines out of the ancient days. Probably jam packed with jewels and golden objects, too! It looked like maybe another day's rough slogging and she'd come to a rounded hill with an old ruined fortress on top. That would make a splendid place to look out over the Wild Country and see if she could find the broken country marked Yotenhede. A tiny red X within a bit of low land marked where the fabled Ruby must lie.

She slept fitfully during the night. A cool breeze had sprung up and brought some mizzle from off Lake Orr to the south.

Setting out early, Aynosaqam made good time trekking eastwards. As the Sun rose, she burned off the morning fog and rose clear to the noon. Soon the great round hill of the fortress rose before the path and Aynosaqam began the long deceptively steep climb. By noon, she stood at the summit of the tumbled ruins in the middle of the hill. Looking north, she could see another rounded hill, though there was no sign of a fortress. The hill wasn't even marked on the map! For a moment, she began to misdoubt the map maker, after all, how could you make a bonafide treasure map and neglect some key feature like a whopping great hill! But looking to the east, she could make out some rocky outcroppings that must be Yotenhede, whatever that means!

Making her way down the northeastern slope of the hill and across a broad relatively flat country, she hoped to find maybe the next day the hidden dale where her treasure lay hidden. The map was, almost curiously, of little help in this country. The tangle of trees hid the round hills to the west and Yotenhede to the east. Aynosaqam became quite lost! She wandered aimlessly for much of the day until, a while past noon, she broke through a line of thick undergrowth and screeched with fright. She lost her footing and tumbled right down the smooth slope of the very dale she was looking for! By the time she reached the bottom, she found herself bruised, her britches torn, her long blue hair truly touselled and her map lost. Well, britches can be mended, and she'd just have to find the map during her climb out of the dale once she had the great Ruby safely in her satchel!

As she ran her fingers through her hair in an effort to tame the shaggy tails, she looked up and caught her breath in amazement. It was there! Right in front of her! What appeared to be almost a vein of pure gold meandered up out of the loam and came to an end in a broad gold disc, cunningly wrought and set with bizarre runes and interwoven traceries of vines and leaves. Resting on top of the gold platter was the Giant Ruby of Wuze. It dazzled her eyes in the dappling sunlight. She whistled through her teeth. Forget diamonds! Now this was a gem! It seemed to be mounted by only a few thin gold clasps, almost claw shaped.

She couldn't help but say alound: "Now this is really going to make me rich! Very rich indeed!" And she set herself to the task of carefully bending the gold claws in order to release the gem from their grasp. It was hard work swinging the wooden mattock against the pry bar, and noisy, too. She cast off her pack and sword and cloak, stretched her tired arms and began work again.

She hardly took notice of the distant rumbles of thunder off to the north, though a warm breeze from the east made her sweat under the hot Sun. After a while, she paused her banging and prying. The last of the great golden claws was bent aside and the Gem lay loosened before her! As she reached down to place her tiny hands along the edge of the cut gem, she could hear a great rumbling in the east. Hm. Must be a rock slide or something over by that Yotenhede. She remembered seeing what looked like slopes of broken rock when she stood up on the pinnacle of the fortress of the rounded hill. Well, no matter! Those rocks won't get all the way down here! She bent over the great gem and lifted gently. It began to shift!

Then the great Gem seemed to become caught on something! Drat! Is there another claw I missed? As Aynosaqam paused to consider this problem, she wiped the sweat from her brow. Suddenly the sky darkened. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw something rather strange. Several trees had just fallen from the sky not too far away. She shook her head as if to dismiss the oddity and turn back to more pressing issues. This is the Wild Country, after all. Odd things are bound to fall from the sky every now and then! She chanced to look up at that moment and her eyes widened in terror: more than just a few trees had fallen from the sky! For coming down at speed as if from a great height was a huge arm! Its skin seemed a deep earthy brown with lighter patches of glasy green and grey. Several tenacious saplings still clung to the hand and wrist that were coming straight down for her.

"Oh shit," was all Aynosaqam managed to get out before the great fingers, longer than the longest house she'd ever seen, snapped her up into the air by her long shaggy hair. She must have been dangling two hundred feet up and as she twisted in the air she began to understand what was happening. Off in the distance, the hand brought her closer to Yotenhede and, indeed, it was a head: of a great irate Stone Yoten woman! The gravelly rock slide was nothing more than her enraged roar. As the Yoten woman sat up, the whole forest sloughed away from her deep brown skin. Aynosaqam looked down and far below she saw dangling between the two round breasts a flashy red Gem on a gold chaim; she could see the fortress crumble and slide off the giant's left nipple, tumbling to dust amid the trees far below. The Yoten roared incoherently at her for the better part of the evening, the hot air of her voice rushing by and dashing the poor girl round like a furious whirlwind!

The Yoten woman spat derisively, apparently satisfied that she had said everything that needed saying.

And with the deftest of movement of her long fingered hand, she flicked Aynosaqam high up into the air. Up and up she went, and the great angry Yoten woman get smaller and smaller! Aynosaqam could see that the huge figure began to lie back down, its arms akimbo, the bright gleam of gold and ruby perched high on its left breast, perhaps waiting for some other, luckier, adventurer to discover! The woman's huge purple eyes stared into the late afternoon sky, watching with satisfaction as Aynosaqam rose ever higher and higher. You might think Aynosaqam would be terrified at the prospect of falling back down to earth again, but really she was quite philosophical about the whole turn her adventure had taken. Sure, she would never buy a queendom of her own or even tell the tales of her adventures; for that matter, she thought with a chuckle, she wasn't even going to live long enough to find out how this story ends! Until she began to slow. Then her reality set it and Aynosaqam's heart began to race: having reached almost all the way to the stars, she began to tumble back down towards the hazy forest of the Wild Country far below. She could see the lake to the south, where she had trekked up from and the Holy Hills off to the east and the broad woodlands of Druun all around.

Soon, the Yoten woman became distinct again. She was now smiling. Aynosaqam nodded appreciatively as she tumbled over and over, diving back down to earth. The Yoten woman's mouth opened into a wide toothy grin, the polished white and sharpened teeth faced up to greet the tumbling figure of Aynosaqam, one time adventurer girl extraordinaire! She stuck out her great stony tongue and Aynosaqam plunged on into the dark cavern of the giant's warm, wet mouth. So, this is what it's going to be like to die, thought Aynosaqam. I often wondered. In an instant, all light was extinguished as the tongue slipped back in and the teeth clacked shut and the lips closed off the early evening Sunlight.

"Snrk!" was all Aynosaqam could manage before her fall was broken. Darkness and heat consumed her, and she knew no more.
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eldin raigmore
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Re: Some Snippets from The World

Post by eldin raigmore »

1. Fascinating!
2. Is this the end for Aynosaqam?
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elemtilas
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Re: Some Snippets from The World

Post by elemtilas »

eldin raigmore wrote: 24 May 2018 08:04 1. Fascinating!
2. Is this the end for Aynosaqam?
Hmm. Good question!

I kind of wonder what the answer will be, myself!
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