jajagappa

Some years back I started a seafaring campaign centered on Maslo, particularly the Elamle peninsula. Didn't get real far, but the recent thread on what folk in Maslo look like reminded me that I did put together some odds-and-ends of myths and ideas. Part of my vision for Elamle was around the concept of the Right Sacrifice. The Sacrifice is a communication & exchange with the world of the Spirits. The Sacrifice energizes the Spirit World and the Spirit World consequently infuses the Mundane World with Life and Energy/Magic. The superstitions of the Elamle folk are connected to making the Right Sacrifice to maintain the balance with the Spirit World. Without Sacrifice, the Spirit World is not renewed in the right way, making beings of the spirit plane hostile and malevolent, warping the fabric of the Mundane World. The following are more conceptions or fragments of Elamle myths based on the different types of Right Sacrifice. Elamle and the Eight Villages of Sacrifice In Bayahote, the Sacrifice is of a limb, which is regrown, but the Limb establishes a link of the person to the earth and the trees. The person will feel harm to the earth/forest. In Neimingu, the Sacrifice is associated with the statue of Elamle and meeting the 294 conditions of the Oath of Elamle (the sacrifice broken into many smaller parts, perhaps each corresponding to a body part?). In Olyn, the Sacrifice is that of movement where the Citizens become like trees. All goes to this ultimate sacrifice and the spiritual connection of the Citizen. In Wendo, the elves have a dock and are part of the town. Undoubtedly, there is some additional element of the Sacrifice here as well. There were four other villages, now hidden [or just not named], which marked the other Sacrifices. One is on the Edrenlin Isles. One is near the Alyss River. One rises in the heart of the peninsula--the dock of the Sky Boat. One may have been carried off to Kumanku? In Onlaks, there is no equivalent of the Sacrifice and as a consequence the Sacrifice is the ritual devouring of humans by the jungle. The Hero to unite the land must find the Path of Elamle. Dimalanta and the Sacrifice of the Vadeli In the days when the foul Vadeli travelled the world, they came to Thinobuto. Dimalanta sought to end this threat. Dimalanta went to Bulayaom and found the Feathered Serpent of the Fiery Breath hidden within the stalk of the Star Reeds [rainbow?]. There was a contest and the Hero [Dimalanta, though possibly Thakinda] Sacrificed in such a way that the foul Vadeli were withered by the Fiery Breath and consumed by the Hungry Spirits and destroyed. When the foul Vadeli returned, Hoom Jhys called up this myth again to destroy the Fleet of the Vadeli. It was not that the Fleet of Maslo was destroyed, but that they had to participate in the Sacrifice to complete the task. Hoom Jhys should have been the Hero who made the Sacrifice, but being of Onlaks, who do not Sacrifice of themselves, the Sacrifice came from all the combined support. So the Vadeli were destroyed but Hoom Jhys survived to return to Maslo. Caylaota and the Fall of Hinaduc (Light of the Sorrow or the 'Idea') When the God Learners came and fashioned Umbertal, a Hero of Olyn (Caylaota) Sacrificed following the Way of Dimalanta and called forth the Spirit of the Dragon Breath to consume the Flame of Vadel. The Dragon Breath has since guarded the site and has been warded by the Flaming Serpents. Caylaota travelled the Shimmering Path of the Reflecting Lights and the Simmering Trail of Unyielding Tears to find the Dragon Breath Spirit hidden amidst the Sundering Blade Swamp. Caylaota and the Defeat of DucDucDa The Story of Caylaota and the defeat of the evil DucDucDa who watched the Spirit World with an always burning Eye. He went on the Trail of Simmering Tears and returned with the Dragon Breath to blind the Eye. He Sacrificed his own Eye to pass the Rocks of Blinding Rays and complete his task. He immediately appeared in the Western Half of Olyn and taught all within the Secret of the Laughing Tear. The followers of Caylaota cleansed the Rocks of Blinding Rays with the Serpents of the Flame.

Somewhat, but they get around plenty throughout the day, particularly when raising pups (I know this well as we've had foxes denning on our property for the last 4 years). What they are good at is blending in and being very stealthy. I'd link them more with Illusion than Disorder. They den in the earth, and their fur colors could certainly be seen as a range of earthy tones, so if you want an Elemental association, I'd make it Earth.

Of course! How can they possibly corrupt the followers of the Knowing God without them? Or get inveterate knowledge seekers to open the doors into the mysteries of chaos...

I thought the Wolfrunners were the Cinsina tribe. @Ian Cooper do you know or remember if that's the case?

Disease in Glorantha is not caused by things carried in the body such as bacteria or viruses, but by the appearance of disease spirits. These spirits might travel with rat packs/spirits. Or more likely the blighted conditions caused by rats are a sign of disorder, which then creates an 'entry' for the disease spirit into the mundane world. Otherwise, going with Spirits of Pestilence seems fine.

If you think of the Houses as a kind of cross between mafia-type families and Bedouin clans, headed by their respective Grandmothers (i.e. the Godmother), you'll have a good feel for how neighborhoods are run without any real centralized authority (the Queen being more High Priestess who renders decisions when other day-to-day processes can't resolve them). Oh yes, most seemed very plausible. The only one less sure of was the spirits of Excrement: (disorder) has ability to apply/cast poison. Quite likely exist, though rats tend to be rather fastidious themselves. On the other hand, rat excrement is pretty nasty too (as I can attest from cleaning out the cage of pet rats we had once upon a time). They also can be mean and vicious, which might be another type of spirit to consider, particularly for a group of outsiders at the fringes of society - useful for certain Houses to hire when they want certain work done but don't want their House directly involved.

Probably just a shaman (singular). She or he (and Nochet on all levels is quite matriarchal except in the Sartarite district, and even there it is present) will lead the group. Likely some strong apprentice, but the group will still focus on the will and direction of the shaman. The shaman likely has some agenda - but the question is whether it is directed by the shaman or the spirit of Short Fang? In a city such as Nochet, even under the guidance of Ernalda and her appointed leaders, disease and disease spirits are common. Disruption of city harmony is offensive to many goddesses and gods - under the powers of Disorder, they may withdraw their protections from the city and its citizens until proper rituals and sacrifices occur. Disease spirits may find entry into a city after a riot or violent feud, where garbage piles up, where disorderly acts occur, or even with the failure to properly perform important rituals. An increase in rats is likely a sign that Disorder is rising and Harmony disrupted. Chalana Arroy healers are adept at recognizing such signs and will act to see the return of Harmony. So the healers aren't "actively hostile" but they will be on the lookout for disorderly conduct or events and seek divinations on how to heal the city, and then direct others to investigate or take action (though there is no police force or city watch per se - the city militia mostly mans the walls and provides guards for the markets, so its the local or great Houses who will enforce things in their neighborhood as best they can).

Could just be part of Yelm's ordering and naming of the world. He drove off Umatum who was creating Disorder and Storm through the world, sent the Rebel Gods into the Underworld where they were locked away, etc. Corruption or disease likely arose at the end of the Green Age along with Hunger (e.g. unchecked growth or fertility creating beings blighted in some manner, the identification of ugliness vs. beauty or perfection vs. imperfection). It wasn't yet deadly or chaotic, but things could become diseased I think.

Yes, got some good background ideas put together. And if you want an idea for a creepy spirit, consider a Rat king spirit. See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rat_king

Yes, the Knowing God will have an eye out for these rats, and might well have both a recent influx of alynxes, and a traditional usage of snakes to fend them off.

Yes, those would be appropriate runes. Spirits will exist in the margins of Nochet. Lots of temples and shrines to varied deities, particularly the Earth goddesses and their large families. Serdrodosa is the Earth Witch - probably think of her having odd wise women, herbalists, and healers on the fringe of society. She'll listen to the earth spirits that may exist in stones, broken buildings, odd groves or gardens, trees, etc. The rats could be considered as messengers of news to and from various spirits. So I'd keep her neutral. But the serpents/beasts of Ernalda and the earth goddesses are likely hostile (or hungry), so you can have a certain tension where some earth spirits (particularly old ones buried deeper in Nochet) may be friendly, the wise women of Serdrodosa may be neutral, and those that aid the goddesses are hostile. Spirits of light will be either aloof or hostile, though bird spirits (including geese) likely hostile (since rats may pillage nests). Certain cults like Malia may try to use rats to spread disease (and rats will be seen as a sign of increasing disorder) - expect Chalana Arroy cultists to drive them away (though prohibited from killing them). Darkness spirits may be neutral, friendly, or foes (I'm sure the trollkin see the rats as food). Probably a range of Beast spirits that fall across the spectrum from friendly to hostile.

Yes, I could definitely see them infiltrating shipping, particularly to/from Karse since that lies just below the Shadow Plateau. They may even have some good connections in the Argan Argar cult. Alynxes will likely be prowling around the Great Market and the nearby warehouses as the Sartarites have taken up residence to the north. Other foreigners have settled in small enclaves further south (including the always pleasant Vadeli). The area south of the Sacred City known as the Dark Warrens is where the trolls live. The trolls don't tend to wander out much by day, more by night when they lead packs of trollkin around to gather or dispose of nightsoil and other garbage. There are also rubble runners in the Dark Warrens who might find rats to be a tasty meal.

Forgot I wrote about rats there! Yes, much better ties to Darkness spirit cults lurking about in the shadows. Of course, you've not only got to watch for alynxes (new arrivals, natural conflicts with them encroaching on spirit grounds, etc.), but also all the snakes which will be guarding temples, granaries, and noble houses from such pests. If the character was cast out of Kolating society, then Nochet and Esrolia are good destinations since the Storm gods and wind spirits are weaker there.

In two generations, you can see Nochet at least quadruple in size, and I'm sure explosive growth in Handra as well. Coupled with the rise of Greymane, the old Manirian Road is not in good shape.

Delaina is Earth & Mastery. Wisdom here is the petty and sordid facts that Lhankor Mhy gathers, but the experience that guides heroes. As David notes, the poppy and the music are connections to the Otherworld that heroes venture into. She probably originates in the Delainan Hills near Ezel, or the land between Nochet and Rhigos which was termed Delainaeo in the days before the Gods War. Delaeo is certainly her sister. There's not much else in extent texts about her. This is one of the mythic outlines I drafted for her in the Nochet material. Delaina and the Forking Paths Delaina was the youngest daughter of Asrelia, and consequently she was kept by Asrelia in her hut and not let out like her sisters. Some say it was because Asrelia wanted a daughter to tend the Hut. Some say the other sisters were jealous of her golden skin and locked her in the Hut. Delaina was lonely in the Hut for it seemed empty. But at some point she became aware of the Song (birds in most stories), and she tried singing herself. At first she was very bad and the Song was horrible to hear. Then someone in the Hut complained that the Bad Song woke them up. Some stories say it was the Mouse Queen or the Ashpit Serpent, others that it was One Gold Brow the Dwarf, still others that it was Spider or Eurmal or some other figure in Asrelia's Hut such as Short Broom or Long Ladle. Whichever it was, that someone told Delaina that there was a way out and agreed to show her the way if she would only take them with her because they could not leave on their own. They also tell her about or gift her with three tools (one was the Reed Pipes; one a pair of slippers so that Asrelia's guards could not track and follow them; and the last was usually said to be a pair of scissors). Delaina escaped via the Mouse hole or the Snake Mouth or the Knot Hole or some other small hole in the Hut. This led her to the Path of Action. In a couple stories, when Delaina went out the Snake Mouth, she found herself dissolved to nothing. But usually, she found herself at the first fork, the Fork of Illusions. Confronted here by the Questioner of Existence, Delaina discerned the right fork to take. Failure would have led to non-being, but Delaina succeeded here. She came to the second fork, the Fork of Being (though the Green Sages claim it was the Fork of Ignorance). At this fork, Delaina met the Speaker of Names who asked her what her name was, whether she was food or fuel, and what her essence was. Failure would have led to the Bliss of Ignorance, a land of darkness where she would forever be prey and eternally eaten and consumed, but Delaina succeeded here though she had to use one of her tools. She passed the Speaker of Names and came to the third fork, the Fork of Knowledge. Here she encountered Lhankor Mhy who was recording everything. He asked her the same questions as the Speaker of Names. Delaina answered as before, but discovered that this was the trap of Knowledge and she was sent off to put the same scrolls upon the same shelves in the Great Library forever and ever. She despaired to ever escape, but chanced upon her instrument (or heard a snatch of Song), and found the figure from the Hut here as well. That being told her the way to cut the strand of knowledge with her scissors. She did so but was forced to flee by the Guardians of Knowledge and entered a long empty hall. She stopped in the hall, despairing of ever finding anything, and wishing she was back in the Empty Hut. But she remembered the Song then, and started playing the Song on her Pipes. She was bad at first, but persisted. Eventually, she found that the hall was not empty but filled by many folk who wandered lost amidst the empty lands and came to join her in the Song. Encouraged by these folk, Delaina led them on along the hall until they came to the entry into a vast cave. Delaina entered the cave with her followers. And there she was greeted by Ernalda the Queen and all her other Sisters, and they welcomed her to the Hall of Life. Ernalda gifted her with the Serpent Ring of Wisdom and revealed to Delaina that she was truly the Mistress of Wisdom. With Song in her Heart and the Wisdom at her Hand, she led her folk out from the cave and into the land that took her name: Delainaeo. By Harald Smith 2017

There's not necessarily a lot of dogs in Nochet. This is still Heortling territory - remember that Nochet is not only the largest city in the world, but the largest gathering of Sartarites in one city (something like 25k Sartar refugees - alynxes and all). The Sarli district is effectively the Sartarite quarter within the larger whole. Geese are another common watch animal, and pigs roam about too. Snakes are most common in the household to take care of vermin such as mice or rats. Ensoval, and dog-worshipping Orlanthi, are more a feature of Saird (and they are theistic there, not animists like the Brother Dog followers of Balazar or Prax). That said, there's room for Sairdite Orlanthi migrants who came to Nochet earlier. They've just been overwhelmed by the heavy influx of Sartarites who are not going to be dog-friendly. The Short Tooth Spirit Society sounds good though - and a spirit cult around dogs should be workable. Just dealing with a lot of competition (and suspicion in some parts of the city).

I don't know that we have much background on the region before the present era, by which point the Opening has occurred and the Trade Route been diminished. Caladraland, Thonble, and the areas west into Maniria are populated by hill barbarians, mostly Orlanthi though other deities in Caladraland. The Vinavale is orchard land, so more settled. The clans raid each other, and likely did so through much of the 3rd Age. Expect periodic charismatic leaders to arise (such as Greymane), who likely sought to get richer via the Trade Road, but who wouldn't want it to collapse or leave their territories.

From Staton go on to Dizbos (since there doesn't appear to be a good city on the upper Gorphing River). Continue the road via Donbry to Jorsh and Rhigos (or spurs to Mylagos-Nochet or Storos). Given the long, cross-country travel, I don't see that you'd need to have the Trader-Princes take the water route to Rhigos. Thelos is probably the main shipment point downriver to Rhigos bringing timber from Caladraland and harvests from the Vinavale. I think that is likely.

Lots of opportunity for that. Another thief cult I created for Nochet is that of Auntie Nym. Whether she is associated with the Earth Witch, or a part of Asrelia, or just a spirit cult is unclear. Auntie Nym ci The Acquisitive Spirit, she sets her vermin upon the world to gather and acquire that which she thinks is her due. The House of Auntie Nym is located in Deresagar near the Muddy Way.

The endpoint is Rhigos, not Nochet. Nochet is the spur. It's noted in the Guide "Rhigos was the end of the Trade Road across Maniria" You can see this based on which city dominated through much of the Third Age. It's really only with the Opening that Nochet as well as Handra have dramatically flourished. A shift towards Nochet had already started during the reign of Queen Bruvala, but I think that's a direct effect of increasing ties between Nochet, Karse, and Sartar. From the Guide, we know that Staton and the Ditali Valley are on the Manirian Road. Dizbos is noted for trade with the Trader Princes. There's a stone bridge at Jorsh. For a spur to Nochet, I'd go through Mylagos - that's an important holding for Queen Hendira and House Norinel.

Fully agree. I really like the updated looks provided in the Sourcebook.

And Ethilrist's Doom Hound.

Yes, this would be the main spirit cult you would find in Nochet, though certainly uncommon. And the trolls may have their own, too, but largely secret from humans. From the Nochet work, you can find a shrine to her in the Deresagar district: G144. Serdrodosa’s Shrine. Serdrodosa the Earth Witch, who had always been considered an outcast and a crazy woman, had the secret of speaking into the rocks and soil so that Ernalda would hear her. After Ernalda’s return most abandoned her worship, but a few remembered her ways, and adored her for her continued ability to help them find the secrets hidden within the earth, and passed such knowledge on to their children for the day when Ernalda would be taken again. Led by Granny Bemelisa, the Earth Witches of Deresagar keep alive the traditions of Serdrodosa, listening to the words of the earth and giving advice and healing to the poor folk who need such help.

HQ1 p. 118 - black & white, so no sense of skin or hair coloration though I could easily picture it with blue skin and white/grey hair. Simon Bray's woodcuts are another example from Thunder Rebels, but those are fairly standard human forms/appearances. Also cover of the Cult Compendium. Though not explicitly stated, I think we'd presume this to be Orlanth.

I think most were. And it's gone now.