M Helsdon

It's a more than competent, and very colorful piece of art, obviously intended as a homage, and fun.

I didn't know until now that Red Sonja was an Uz! All makes sense now.

Sketch reworked. Have now found space for this by deleting an image that wasn't mine. As the document is pretty much full, decided to take a break as feel the most recent are getting stale. May aim to do one a week. (And today, recent real world events caught up with me and I didn't have the energy to proofread my, or anyone else's text). Now have to think on my next project. Whilst hopefully am familiar with the arms and armor of the West (which are partially covered due to the presence of the Carmanians and Western mercenaries in central Genertela) don't have access to sufficient material to populate more than a few pages. Similarly, an Eastern expansion is unlikely, and I lack sufficient knowledge of Chinese or Japanese armies to try to make assumptions (must have several hundred books on ancient Europe, north Africa and the Near East, but only read a dozen or so on warfare in the Far East).

And probably many war gods and demi-gods associated with shield-walls or phalanxes. When holding the line is important, Stasis might aid a formation retain integrity. Of course, cavalry and chariot gods conversely probably use Mobility, but when the two meet in combat, the conflict between the Runes becomes of the utmost importance...?

Afraid it has taken me a while, but here's a sketch of a peltast using an amentum/ankyle. There's not room for this annotated version in my layout, so it may appear only as a mini in the Army List. [As usual, this figure is a bit of a mash-up, mixing Mesopotamian and Greek arms and armor, and he's wearing Hittite boots. The shield design is based on a Pictish design, which seemed appropriate for a Yelmalion peltast.] His helmet is Dara Happan in style, but his sword (only the lower portion of the scabbard is visible) is Orlanthi in shape. Hmm, he looks a bit more nervous than I intended.

A not yet published document by Jeff, though am pretty certain I've seen the reference elsewhere.

There are rumors that the Vampire Legion is based in or near Spol.

The Starkin depot is at Pillini in Doblian, far north of the ancient borders of Saird. They have a history as horse riders going back to the First Age.

Yes. Kuschile archery is widely available to Yelmalions (though not very useful to those in Prax where they don't raise horse cavalry), and is available to Yelornans who are lay members of Yelmalio.

I also note that Mad Knight Castings have made use of one of my sketches (with permission), and one of my shield designs.

Thank you. I may continue doing sketches, but I don't know whether they will get in or not. Whilst the book can probably be read from back to front, it is in many ways a reference book, with detail people may or may not find useful. Have spent some of today looking for typos (finding some) and adding snippets to regiment entries. YGWV.

It did. My text and layout are now complete, barring fixing typos and contradictions. Only one chapter has any significant white space, and that's the Army Lists. To 'fill it' I would require more information (some regiments unfortunately have only a paragraph or two) or draw another ten or twenty sketches, which would only be used 'thumbnail' sized to illustrate a unit entry. Despite the rough count of sketches below, there are more than that in the book, as I don't count sketches used only as thumbnails, the sketches of horses and a chariot depicting different styles of fixtures, pictures of helmets, armor, weapons, architectural illustrations of gateways, diagrams, and maps.

And by massaging a table, have found a home for the latest sketch, which has been slightly modified (his head was too small).

Shortage of unicorns? According to the information I have, which may not be canonical, the Starkin regiment consists of Yelornans riding Seredae horses.

Latest. May do more work on the shading. There isn't room in the book for the full-sized version. The mini will appear in the Army Lists.

The other major turn up is a regiment in the Provincial Army called Saird Bowmen, with its soldiers recruited from the Sun Dome temples in Holay. Much like the phalangites they wear linothorax armor, but with long ankle-length tunics, and have a large shield. Have decided to try sketching one, though he's standing behind a wicker siege-shield. [There's no room for the full-sized image in my layout, but a mini will illustrate the Army List entry. I am now at the stage where the text is virtually done (though I did find a typo today) and unless enough new art is generated to fill roughly two pages, there's little to no space left.] There's a Yelornan cavalry regiment, though they don't ride unicorns.

The White-Legs regiment from New Lolon in Vanch has not been mentioned in canon, so far as I am aware, but its origins date back to a very old Greg Stafford text relating to a board game: ‘White-legs painted themselves from the waist-down before a battle.’ Subsequently they appear in army lists as ‘medium infantry’ and in a document about the Provincial Army: Provincial, tradition native, 1000 soldiers, medium shield, linen cuirass, metal helm, spear, sword, white coloured trousers into battle. Most recently, after going missing for several years, an old annotated army list has been unearthed, in which the White-Legs are heavy infantry, equipped with a linothorax cuirass, closed helmet, large shield, long spear, kopis, fighting in close order, drilled and ‘a native regiment of Vanch from the city of New Lolon, the White-legs paint themselves from the waist-down before a battle.’ This document gives their cult as Yelmalio, which isn’t surprising because Yelmalio has been the Light Protector of Lolon since the First Age. This regiment obviously isn’t a Templar unit, as its troops are armed and armoured as hoplites, and they are clearly of a distinct tradition. I have assumed that a solution of white clay or powdered chalk is used to paint their skin; limewater is too corrosive to be used as body paint but might be used to lighten hair, bleach linen and wash their shields. Their lack abdomen and leg armour might be due to a regimental geas, but painting themselves and appearing to be naked from the waist down marks them as a distinct Yelmalion sect. Whilst their undress may seem surprising, it has terrestrial equivalents, both in Greek depictions of hoplites (where heroic nudity may or may not always be an artistic convention) and in descriptions of some hoplites, especially in the archaic period. For that matter, the Galatians often fought naked, even those serving in the Ptolemaic army. The sketch shows a White-Leg wearing a white linothorax, what I term a Sairdite closed helmet, carrying a spear (his sword is on his left hip and not visible) and a shield where the black-painted rim is a Light Rune decorated with Truth Runes. This is probably the last sketch. The project is 'finished'.

In central Genertela, the Wolf Pirates and slave takers for the Lunar market will be the main source of slaves. Others, such as the Praxians and Pentans take captives, and their activities probably indirectly feed the Lunar and Kralorelan markets. In Dragon Pass, the economy of Slavewall is heavily driven by the slave trade, especially Balazar, and prior to the rebellion, Sartar and slaves from Prax.

Not yet annotated: Carmanian cataphract.

Based on a chart I created whilst proofreading something: Title Inhabitants First Hell Deepest Hell Gorgorma, Subere Second Hell War Hell Veskerele, Natha, Humakt, Zorak Zoran, Babeester Gor, Shargash Third Hell Bright Hell Deshlotalas (Lodril), Yelm Fourth Hell Grey Hell Xiola Umbar, Deshkorgos (Monster Man), Daka Fal, Ty Kora Tek Fifth Hell Wonderhome Kyger Litor, Aranea Sixth Hell Dark Waters Styx, Jeset Seventh Hell Night Argan Argar, Xentha

Cataphract's horse drawn - next the rider... To save space, the rider will be standing beside his horse, holding the reins. Wanted to show in more detail the sort of horned saddle heavy cavalry used prior to the introduction of stirrups. Finished the second pass through about 700 pages a few days ago. Taking time off to do some sketching.

Am presently about a quarter way through a second pass of over 500 pages... Reading fairly normally, I can just about do forty pages a day. In the past, when reviewing documents this complex have either reread chapters in a random order or in reverse order. Not certain if will do a third pass without an updated copy... True, though this isn't my own stuff. In proofreading my fan book found loads of sillies, but generally a few months after writing those sections, so you do need to allow your memory to reset to a degree, so that you read what's there instead of what you thought you wrote. In the case of the fan book, given that it has been written over more than two years, sometimes unintended contradictions get in. It has been complicated a little by more canonical information becoming available over time in published and unpublished sources, and requiring adjustments. The current exercise is about as complicated as the proofreading of the Guide to Glorantha, which should provide a clue of what it is...

Currently proof-reading 'stuff'. When I finish the second pass through the first volume, may take a break and do another sketch. Proof-reading is hard, even when you are interested in what you are reading. Past experience tells me I can cover about forty pages a day before concentration wanders.

Not far off: in Old and Middle English wyter means 'wise', and in some contexts might refer to a wise spirit.

Balazar is a subcult of Yelmalio and has a paragraph; Hearth Mother is probably an aspect of Mahome, who is covered.