John Biles

The Glowline doesn't provide permanent Full Moon; it provides Permanent Half Moon, stabilizing Lunar fluctuations which Sheng had exploited. And it doesn't suppress other powers. Given Oraya is not thickly settled and Sheng is, well, Sheng, it's not surprising that he could roll over Oraya like a nightmare tide.

Rokar is an Old Testament style prophet, who goes into the wilderness and comes out sharp as a razor to tell you that you suck and must change your ways or die. Rokar is a logical response to the God-Learners' tendency to say that their will was the whole of the law. Going buck wild = apocalypse. For all his flaws, the Rokari are never going to try and turn everyone in Genertla into one big dragon or sink entire continents or try to wipe out all humans.

Two thoughts: 1. Rokar probably Heroquested to answer some of his questions about what to cut and what not. 2. He likely asked 'Did this lead to God-Learner abuses, like participating in pagan rites?' If so, he sliced it. Removing anything that would justify theistic or animistic practices.

It won't enable you to throw Sunspears on Earth, though. The Rokari use of older concepts is rather like a game of telephone. But the founding moment of the Rokari was Rokar purging the God-Learner holy text to try to purify it to avoid the sins of the God-Learners.

I don't think the goal of the Rokari church is to move to full Brithini practice. The Rokari believe in Solace, which is the goal of the entire system - obey caste law, know eternal bliss after death. The Brithini believe death = erasure, which is why they desperately cling to life in a screwed up world, until they accidentally eat cheesecake, break caste, and die. Further, the ruling elite of Seshnela is all about war and conquest and that's *suicidally stupid* in the Brithini system, because war = a risk of ceasing to exist forever. Whereas, going into battle is part of the job of Talars in Seshnela. So the Rokari are doing it wrong, but in Glorantha, if enough people do it wrong together, it becomes right for them.

I think the Guide is a little bit verballly sloppy when it talks about the Beast Societies. These societies are made up of *Horali*, though each Regiment is pledged to some Talar. And this likely reflects a differing understanding of what exactly Solace is.

Some thoughts on Seshnela: First off, I think it's important to think about the Rokari religion - basically, it says 'stay in your lane and play by these rules for a short human lifespan and then you will spend *eternity* in bliss with the Creator.' That's a pretty hefty prize at the end of your fifty-seventy years of life (assuming you don't die in the first ten years of your life). Different castes see this differently (a peasant basically imagines it being like Heaven or the pure land; a zzabur imagines it as Nirvana), but it's important to see this from the viewpoint of a believer. The degree to which we would call that viewpoint religious instead of sorcerous ranges by caste; the higher the caste, the more philosophical it is instead of religious. Thus, peasants will pray to the Invisible God for help even if it doesn't really do anything and see themselves as being prepared for a heaven. The religious instincts of the horali are focused around their warrior societies. Talars aid certain zzabur ceremonies which aid their territories but basically assume being a good ruler is enough, as they measure goodness. And the Zzabur practice mental disciplines they think will prepare them for Solace. Further, while the Rokari religion is oppressive in the sense of - we are the only legal religion - it isn't Puritanism. Rokari don't reject 'joy', they reject 'Joy'. Which is to say that Joy is a state of union with the divine in the world of the living which brings bliss and spiritual assurance. The Rokari see that as ludicrous. But Rokari have friends, fall in love, throw festivals, get married, love their children, etc. Even peasants, who have it roughest. Further, I have to imagine there is intense competition for status *inside* castes. We already know there are Dukes who are bigger and more important than other Talar. Horali need junior officers and NCOs. Dronars would have things like mayors and town councillors and guild heads and ranks of artisanship. Zzaburs no doubt compete to show who can qualify for various special titles through self-discipline, mastering schools of magic, etc. Also, keep in mind this is like pre-Charlemagne, Post-Roman Europe in the sense that this is a state built by barbarians aping an older civilization. There should be caste practices they are doing wrong because they don't understand the context or where they go overboard. Each caste has a traditional blessing for dinner which must be done before eating, but they don't actually understand what it says. The Beast societies for Warriors have codes which partly make sense, but also have things like commanding them to sacrifice three virgin doves at a certain location once a year and they do it but don't know *why*. Talars are not allowed to eat fish and land animals at the same meal. Why? Because the Sharp Abiding Book says so and Rokar purged the section that explained why. Outsiders are useful because they can break the caste rules *for you* without any blowback to you. The Sharp Abiding Book may forbid you to take up arms against anyone within four blood degrees of you, but Hanzel the Orlanthi can kill your stupid cousin for you. (A major use for outside adventurers is to do things that break caste rules or which are overly dangerous.)

13th Age Glorantha has a Trickster class which is basically set up on the model that the Trickster's actons blow up in his or her face, but then buff some other party member or provide them a benny. Feckless Strike is where the Trickster attacks with a stuffed doll or a sex toy or a bag of coffee; the attacks do no damage but add to the damage done by the next PC to hit it. Abject Failure - you roll the dice twice on an action, taking the worst result, but giving the better result to an ally later. Fortunate Collision lets the Trickster get beat up in place of their ally. And so on. I did Tricksters in my ongoing series of Glorantha stories as essentially compelled to cause chaos and they either have to do frequent small things to bleed it off, or they can hold it in for a time, but then they do something *really* dumb to make up for it.

Those are pretty templates - where did you get them? The Commander should have some kind of leader ability - maybe when he hits someone with his pistol, other Dwarves get a temporary bonus to hit the target.

The Empire of Wyrm Friends started out as a religious movement exploring Draconic mysticism. As typically happens in Glorantha with any kind of mysticism, they managed to take the train to crazy town, while simultaneously becoming too entangled in the mundane world to achieve true Draconic enlightenment. They began corrupting the Orlanthi religion and taking over the Orlanthi lands and trying to missionize/conquer/mutate their neighbors. They took over Dara Happa for a while; the leader of the Golden Dragon Society passed the Ten Tests and became Emperor until a new one rose and killed him. By that point, the EWF was riding the crazy train and trying to carry out a plan to turn about half of Genertla into a giant dragon. This would have killed a LOT of people. Eventually, the Dragonnewts realized the EWF was beyond saving and wiped it out. The EWF operated on a pyramid scheme; the more people you had converted, the more power you got. People they converted fed some power to you. This let top dog EWF people do huge things.

Patron/Client relations fill the need for 'noblesse oblige;, to essentially soften Dara Happan rule by giving everyone someone they can turn to for help.

IF you want to run a Solar society without Lunar elements, you're going to have to go back to the Second or First Age. And even there, you have to find a period where the Dara Happans haven't been taken over by another culture, because the DH have spent a lot of history basically being someone else's flunky. Some comments from my own take on them which may not line up with other people's views or canon, but you might find them useful. Why did Dara Happans obey the Dragon Emperor *and* not like having a dragon Emperor? There's a central problem for the Solars, which has hosed them repeatedly. To be Emperor, you must pass the Ten Tests. In theory, this means the Emperor has Yelm's blessing. But a sufficiently mystically potent person (we're talking very high levels of power and/or heavily backed) can pass the tests even though they're no more Yelm's chosen one than I can eat the Red Moon. But passing the tests means blam, you're Emperor and no one can stop you. (Unless they can chop you to kibble, but anyone who can rig the Tests is not easily turned into kibble.) But the other part of it is that the EWF were a collection of split-tongued super-freak whackos who wanted to turn most of Genertla into a dragon. Imagine if Charles Manson was a howling tentacle beast but he managed to get the college of Cardinals to make him Pope. He's now Pope by the rules, but everyone knows howling tentacle Manson is not what you want as Pope. This central problem is how they ended up with Nysalor leading them to their death and how the Moonson controls them. How are the Dara Happans organized? The ideal is that each of the 10 holy cities controls a territory; every Dara Happan within that city's territory is under its authority. In theory, the Emperor appoints magistrates in each city which perform various duties and/or act as judges. There is a higher level of magistrates who form the central government under the Emperor. The Dara Happan upper class is divided into many individual, intermarried families, each typically associated with a specific city. In theory, this upper class remains the same lines of descent forever; in practice, there are always families self-destructing into poverty and others rising to the top, usually through marriages. (One family has status and needs money; the other has money and needs status). Every upper class family is officially the same in status - in practice, wealth and the offices you held or are still holding determine a pecking order. The lowest ranking nobles dwell out in the rural villages most of the time, instead of in the city proper. (Someone has to govern these people!) Everyone else is officially a peasant. Some of those 'peasants' are big, wealthy merchants who haven't found the chance to move up yet. Basically, anyone who doesn't be a noble for a living is part of this group, having more rights than outsiders, but less than the upper class. There is a definite social hiearchy but it has no legal existence. But some guy who owns a giant glazier shop is effectively higher status than Lucius the peasant farmer. Two major things bind society together - Associations and Patron/Client relations. Associations are formed by noble families to accomplish some kind of goal - they generally function rather like guilds, but they may also act like a political activist group, or serve to carry on some feud or contest. Patron/client relations may link two noble families, or a noble family and a peasant family or two peasant famiies. In practice, everyone in DH is part of a set of patron-client pyramids which spread down from the highest ranking officials. Patrons provide services and aid to their clients and clients support their patrons *and* provide a source of status. This is phrased as 'gifts', even if it's really more like 'rent'. So associations are horizontal, while patron/client is vertical. These practices overlap. So Julius the Orange, Origen, Marcus, Terrance, and Nigerius are Dara Happan nobles. They all have clients living in the rice belt along the Osilira. They form the Osilira Rice Farmer Association - their clients, who are tenant farmers, all pay their rent in rice, and the DH nobles use their Association to get a better price for their rice. They might have a feud with a rival Rice Farmer Association. Lucius the peasant farmer is one of Julius the Orange's clients; he pays 30% of his crop to Julius as a 'gift' which is actually rent. In return, when Broo invade the area, the ORFA hires mercenaries to kill the Broo. (And the ORFA 'shares' a plot of land with him for him to grow his crops.) How does Law Work? In theory, the written and unchanging laws of Yelm resolve every legal dispute. In practice, there's a lot of flex and authority in the hands of the judge. Past imperial decrees, judicial precedents, and the existence of varying schools of legal interpretation leaves judges with a lot of leeway to make up whatever sounds reasonable, within a system where crimes against your superiors is punished the most and against inferiors the least. Typically you can appeal from a rural court to an urban one, from an urban one to the city's high court and from that to the Emperor. Good luck there. How do Adventures work? PCs could be troubleshooters for an important DH noble or an association; in return for various benefits (like housing and food and gifts of money), they go deal with problems that require the usual violence of PCs. They also might be hired by a rural magistrate or an urban one for some suitable task. Caravans also need guards to protect them. Ruins from the God Time / Bright Empire / EWF all dot the landscape and are suitable for self-driven adventure to get loot

That does provide a consistent picture for Arkat and Ralzakark, who both rather pushed it.

I favor 'Crisis of Infinite Arkats'. Five cults in Ralios all manage to Heroform a different Arkat and each of them latches onto a different 'Gbaji' figure. I like your idea of how the cults broke the Godlearner lock and that's how it happens. I would add 'It's because Argath was trying to tap into Arkat Power'. Chaos Arkat fixates on Argath as his new Gbaji to go after. (Chaos Arkat should call himself Malal, but that's just me mixing game universes.) Stygian Arkat tries to rebuild the Stygian Empire and goes after whatever is in the way of that. Another Arkat decides the Rokari church is fundamentally corrupt and can't stop until it's wiped out. Kingtroll Arkat goes to Dragon Pass, teams up with Argath and urges him on to kill everyone in Peloria on general principles. Doies this mean a Kingtroll vs Chaos Arkati battle? Of course it does. The Fifth Arkat should take his Arkating into Fronela.

Volcanic rock crumbles into high quality soil. That's why their Earth god is a Volcano god.

The War on Ernalda The War on Ernalda has been carried out to various degrees of seriousness by the Mounts of the Moonson. The fertilizing power of water and the existence of other Earth goddesses has allowed the Empire to mount this war without wrecking themselves. The degree to which all Earth goddesses get condemned as Ernalda fronts varies over time. Catticus has both amplified the War on Ernalda proper, while being pretty lax about anyone who looks 95% like Ernalda but gives fealty to the Empire. Catticus blames Ernalda for the failure of Dragon Pass and points south to bend knee properly to the Empire, though his growing diffidence and depression means he has largely left the war to others while he composes songs about how Ernalda did him wrong. The War on Ernalda has gone on for so long that it has become an excuse for just about everything. Every Satrap invokes it to justify what they wanted to do anyway. It's most consistently followed in the South, where there are rumors of a plan to shut down Enalda's power entirely, though no one is sure how that could even work. The biggest rumor is that somehow Genert will be revived and take Ernalda's place. Others think she will be forced to marry Yelmalio and thus be forced to submit if not destroyed. Some Trolls talk about feeding her to Zorak Zoran. But no one else, including most Trolls, wants that. At its most basic, it involves breaking up organized worship of Ernalda. This has tended to lead to cults which are basically Ernalda under another name or to other Earth goddesses (who are arguably just masks of Ernalda or vice versa) taking her place, though the Empire has erratically tried to replace her with the Imperial pantheon. The Bureau of Righteous Thought has the Ernalda-Hunter Division, whose job it is to roust out Ernaldan heretics. The wise don't call them in as they tend to favor 'burn everything' as a solution. In recent years, the Empire has promoted Hon-Eeel worship as an alternative to Ernalda Worship. This grows more popular in the southern satrapies. Jar-Eel has eagerly promoted this and it's especially common in Tarsh. Efforts to impose this in Dragon Pass and the Holy Country have led to a lot of violence, though most Sartarite clans have elevated Mahome or one of Ernalda's other handmaidens in response. The Clearwine Temple officially serves Orendana the Queen, who is totally not Ernalda at all because she is blonde. Mahome is the most common choice to turn to, though. Because Ernalda is not the dominant goddess of Prax, the War on Ernalda has little impact there outside of Pavis. Save for the Genert Project. An issue for another post.

In King of Dragon Pass, the formation of Clans usually involves a fair amount of wheeling and dealing around obligations a clan will have to the tribe and vice versa. Tribal moots are when arguments/legal disputes/brawls break out over these. Things like Clan X has the right to run a tavern on each clan's lands. The ladies of the other clans are angry their husbands spend too much time/resources at said tavern and set it on fire Should the tribe fix the tavern? Require Clan X to fix it if they want it? Ban taverns? Priestesses of the Barley and Rye goddesses have gotten angry with each other over which grain is 'more important'. This needs to be settled. Every clan is obligated to grow Y amount of various herbs and give them to Clan Z; in return, Clan Z supplies the tribal moot with food. Clan H is refusing to give away herbs because someone in Clan Z punched the Clan H chief's brother. Now Clan Z won't feed anyone until this is settled. Clan T supplies a certain number of blankets to each clan each year in return for the other clans supplying them with X amount of wool. Clan B hands over really lousy wool and T refuses to give them blankets for this garbage. This needs settling. Just because I had sex with Bogodan of Clan X the night before my wedding doesn't make it adultery! I wasn't married yet! I'm sure the baby is yours! You can't divorce me over this! Traditionally, we trade sheep for wood with Tribe AA. But they claim Elves blighted the wood. Do we accept blighted wood or do we end the agreement?

I had thought Androgeus was not around until the Third Age, but I yield to your knowledge. Huh.

Wait, Jaldon is the child of Androgeous??? Where was that established?

Ernalda Underground (Earth, Disorder, Fertillity) The persecution of Ernalda by the Empire has forced her worship underground, sometimes figuratively and sometimes literally. Some cults in the Empire are thinly disguised Ernalda worship. This cult, however, is the cult of Ernaldans working to destroy the Empire. The cult uses its fertility magics covertly to get aid and comfort from backwater communities, so it can turn its resources to undercutting the Empire. Everything from seducing Imperial officials to steal resources and misdirect orders to unleashing Earth elementals to turn the tide of battles to suddenly causing Satrap palaces to fall into new sinkholes. Strongly allied to Babester Gor and Maran Gor, this cult makes a big mess. The Bureau of Righteous Thought is on the move against them, which has limited their success; they have had great success in working with normal Ernaldans in Sartar against the Empire. Meika Ernaldasdottir The most notorious of Ernalda's agents. She is known to be somewhere in the Imperial court, quietly sabotaging the Empire, but her shapeshifting and her charms ensure no one can catch her. Some suspect she arranged for Igneous to die at the hands of Harrek the Berserk and that she is pulling the strings on him now in Sartar. (Others are not so sure anyone can pull strings of any kind on Harrek beyond putting people to kill in front of him.) High Flyeer is determined to find her and yet seems to have no luck at all. Meika is frequently blamed for anything that goes wrong at court, even something so minor as the Emperor's muffins being overly crispy. Aspasia In public, she is a Pelandan philosopher, noted for her belief that eight is the most sacred of numbers, being perpendicular to infinity. Her attempts to divide everything into eighths has gained her a wide following, about half of whom think she is nuts but entertainly so. In fact, she is the head of a network of Ernaldan agents in the west and her travels to give speeches let her make contact with them. Unlike most Ernaldans, she is versed in Pelandan sorcery. Heinala Get-Wrecked Reports of her are garbled. She is an Ernaldan assassin, noted for breaking through the floor, grabbing people, and then dropping off into tunnels she dug with Ernalda's power; the bodies are never found. Who tells her to kill remains a mystery to the Empire so far.

Androgenous is actually an intelligent potato who adds accessories as needed, depending on what gender is needed at a given time. (Or what limbs / clothing / tools are needed.)

I'm still fleshing this out, though at this point, I have to figure out what is yet to be done. Probably figure out how the Hero Wars go in DP with an alternate Empire and no Argath. (The Emperor's Dragonnewt advisor has basically ensured that.)

The Imperial Balazar Colony In the empire, they say that if you are bad, you go to a Hell when you die, but when you are really bad, they send you to Balazar. Balazar has two kinds of terrain - dry scrub and elf forest. You can kind of grow crops if you are willing to invest four times as much effort and a lot of help from Earth priestesses. But the locals gave up on farming - they are probably too stupid for it anyway - and rely on hunting and herding. The elf forests are fertile but are only for Elves and a few humans they keep around for laughs. (This is the leading theory about the Elf-Friend clans.) Part of the problem is that whenever you start to get a good farm going, trolls show up and eat everything. During the First Age, Elves dominated this area, covering it in trees and driving back the Trolls. However, the collapse of the Council system into the Bright Empire vs Everyone Else led to many Elves being eaten by Trolls. Someone set the forests on fire to stop the Trolls, which *did* drive the Trolls off, at the cost of many Elves burning to ash. Maybe it was Gbaji. Go ahead. Blame him. Everyone blames him for everything. The Bright Empire came in and kicked some ass until Arkat showed up. Then Arkat turned the Bright Empire into ashes, cursed its center to become a hellhole, then wandered off to have degenerate sex orgies until he burst a vein., Arkat laid waste to civilization in Balazar because he laid waste to everything he touched. Various humans moved in, because it wasn't so much of a garbage pit yet, or maybe they loved pain. So, then the Empire of Wyrm Friends arises and the inhabitants of Balazar decide it's a good idea to sign up to become dragon-freaks. Most of the humans become half-man, half-dragon, all-idiot beings. Only, when the leaders of the EWF said they had to be worshipped as GODS, the Elves revolted. I'm guessing they can only go so long without trolls eating them. So then it was time for everyone to *murder each other* again. Some of the humans also rebelled and the Elves gave them some of the forest if they would be bodyshields against the trolls. People threw around huge amounts of devasting magic. Elves died in droves anyway and the more they died, the more the land was screwed up. Eventually, a man named Balazar arrived; he brought troops and united all the rebels against the EWF. He built a great fortress, Elkoi, and waged war. Then the Dragonnewts just killed all the EWF followers because reasons. Balazar soon ruled all of what is now called Balazar, but he was ruling over a disaster area. It was so terrible that during the Dragonkill, one of the Dragons actually took one look at the area, made sad noises, and never came back. The Elves began reforesting it. Balazar's kingdom unravelled over the next century; periodically, warlords sat in Elkoi, united a dozen or so clans, then died and their heir was turned into kibble. Orlanthi and other clans pushed into western Balazar; the smart ones left and the rest degenerated down to the bare survival level of Balazar's inhabitants. The survivors found they could live by hunting, herding, and gathering and let forest cover everything. The Changing Way spread like wildfire here, but everyone is Hsunchen and they have no loyalty to the Empire. Indeed, when the Vizkinni Clan took over Elkoi and declared themselves Kings of Balazar and began raiding the Empire, Emperor Miletus decided that he had had enough. He sent troops to conquer Balazar; they captured Elkoi and forced the western tribes into submission but it's nearly impossible to keep a decent sized military force *fed* in Balazar. In practice, the Imperial Governor rules from Elkoi, pretending to give orders, while the locals pretend to obey and cause him endless trouble. Meanwhile the Elves, Elf-Friends, and non-Imperial Hsunchen defy him. Governor Halicarnsus (Water, Beast, Motion) A Horse Hsunchen and imperial cavalryman, Governor Halicarnasus wonders every day who he offended to get this stupid job. He is constantly riding around, trying to resolve feuds and protect the hapless colonists he has been sent, who are struggling to survive. He is in a constant state of screaming. The only question isn't will he start killing people, but *when*. He is of Dara Happan descent, but took the Changing Way out of ambition. He now regrets all ambition and dislikes ambitious people who aren't trapped in hell with him. The Votanki: Those humans who didn't turn into dragonish things, then die, are the Votanki. Their ancestors might have been worth something, but they are basically stone age hunters and herders and scavengers now. They are mostly dog, horse, and pig Hsunchen; some are allied to the elves and known as 'Elf-Friends'. They all fight endlessly over land and produce nothing that lasts. The men hunt and murder each other, and the women collect natural fruits and berries and raise the kids so they can grow up to kill each other. The cycle of life. To be fair, the Votanki know how to survive in this dangerous hellhole where others die in droves, despite basically only knowing how to make weapons of stone and bone. They're tough, I'll give them that. The strongest clans control ancient stone fortresses they could never duplicate or rebuild. The Odaylings: The Odaylings pay homage to Odayla, first and foremost. They pay homage to the Empire now but they don't like it; most fled here to escape it. They will slit our throats and dump our bodies in pig troughs if given the excuse. A few have embraced the Changing Way but most persist in being a slightly higher-tech version of the Votanki. (They at least have metal working and basic literacy for priests) The Colonists Poor bastards. A mix of the condemned, morons, those seeking opportunity and those who are too stubborn to die. They manage to eke out crops with heavy assistance from Earth priestesses. Actual blood sacrifice is disturbingly common, to help the corn grow. The Elves Want everyone else to go die, save their elf-friend allies, who live off the bounty of the forest and kill for the Elves, helping to protect their masters. To be fair, if I lived in Balazar, I would want all the other groups to die also. The Trolls Non-Imperial Trolls who cause trouble both here and in Dragon Pass. They want to eat Dwarves, Humans, and Elves. At least they are fair. They possess the 'Show Up At The Right Time To Eat All the Food' secret. This makes them doubly a pain. The Ancient Evils Most of Balazar is just lousy soil with scrub trees or else it's Elf forest. But some sites remain tainted - Bright Empire relics, Arkat relics, EWF relics, God-Learner relics, mysterious yet deadly relics of unknown origin. Places of Note: Bear Hills: These hills were home to a bear god until Balazar came; his skin now hangs behind the throne of the Governor in Elkoi. Balazar and his kids hunted and slew him. Now bears rampage murderously through Bear Forest, ripping up humans and elves alike. However, the Odaylings can pass safely through the forest and claim that Balazar lied about killing a bear god because Odayla actually did the killing. Bear Woods: There was a Great Tree here once. It burned at the hands of the EWF during the Elven revolt. Now Elves lurk in the woods, being eaten by bears and trying to revive it. Dog Hills: This area around Elkoi is mostly grass with scrub brush. Colonists farm in the valleys and the Votanki herd animals on the heights. This area is typically under the influence of whoever rules Elkoi - right now, that is us. A lot of the Votanki are Dog Hsunchen. Dwarf Hat: This outpost of the Greatway Dwarves has a peak which resembles a dwarven helm. Dwerrow River: This thick river is very hard to cross and is full of salmon. It basically splits Balazar in half; there is reason to think the Dwarves of Greatway created this river for some unknown reason during the Dark Age. Dwarves launch small stone ships down the river to catch salmon during the salmon runs, which happen every four years. Dykene: One of the three ancient stone citadels built by Balazar. Now home to Hawk Hsunchen, who like to raid everything from the air. Bastards. Eleven Big Giants: Defeated by the gods they fought, these giants were turned into mountains; sometimes they somehow spawn and send giant cradles down the Zora Fel in Prax. Since they no longer cause any trouble, they're my favorite thing in this whole god-forsaken region. The Elf Sea: This is actually a giant, deep lake. Legend holds the Elves once sailed on it, but with Elven civilization in ruins, now it's just home to salmon. Unfortunately, during the war with the EWF, some bozo dumped banes in the lake and now it spawns giant monsters. Some natives live on the shore and fish anyway. This is some combination of bravery and stupidity. Elkoi: One of the three great citadels. Now home to a Sun Dome and some Imperial troops and a very cranky governor. The area around the fortress is home to Lunar Colonists and tribes theoretically under Imperial authority. Er’oring Wilds: Ancient elf-dominated woods, where anyone who isn't sworn to them dies. The Elves at least have the decency to mostly stick to themselves. But without a Great Tree, it's said to be anarchy in there. Gonn Orta's Pass: Home to the ancient giant Gonn Orta, who is a priest of Issaries and controls the only pass between Balazar and Prax. He is friendly to visitors and one of the few lights of civilization, even if civilization = a stone floor, a decent fireplace, and people who aren't thugs. Gork's Hills: Once upon a time, this was Elf Forest. Now it's forested, but home to the roving dead, weird mutants from the end of the EWF, dangerous artifacts, the roving dead, bears with the head of a dragon, cows who claim to be Storm Bull's children, the roving dead, the hungry dead, the soul-eating dead, more mutant bears, and an ancient Vampire who once was part of the EWF. And his children. And their children. Their zombie friends. The corpse-eating dead. Other vampires from Kralorela whose heads fly around trailing entrails. It's bad news. Greatway: The Dwarves largely keep to themselves save during salmon season but they trade on a small scale with the locals, mostly for certain herbs and hides. Obsidian is the biggest item they trade to the locals. Griffin Mountain: Three guesses what lives there. The locals periodically try to tame them and get eaten. They may be guarding an ancient treasure of the EWF, but if you know what's good for you, you don't want it. High Woods: Brown elves tend both conifers and deciduous trees. This is Elf-ruled but the Elves are somewhat calmer than the ones of the Er'oring Wilds. Highbridge: A Dwarf-forged bridge; it is the easiest way to cross the Dwerrow River. During the salmon run, you will find many Votanki here busy fishing. Look Hill: The highest point in the West Plain; an ancient shrine to Ernalda stands here, which the Empire has not been able to keep destroyed. South Wood: Theoretically elf-ruled, mostly inhabited by Elf-Friends. They trade with the Greataway Dwarves. Trilus: One of the three ancient citadels of Balazar. It has been captured by Odaylings, who now have a temple to the Lightbringers here. This temple enables them to raise the dead. The hills around here are particular prone to brambles, though also fruit. Evil Ernalda cultists here constantly plot against our beloved Empire. Valley of Hammers: Nothing grows here; you can easily pass up the valley to Greatway to trade with the Dwarves. Great hammers line the road and beat up any trolls who get too close. Adventure Seeds: Ernalda Rising: Ernalda cultists are up to something on Look Hill. Put a stop to it. The Giant Mutant Chaos Bear: Some bear found old EWF kibble and now he's 100 feet tall and rampaging with a dragon head that breathes poison gas. It comes running for the taste of colonists. Please do something about it. Greatway Trade Run: We need metals, they have metals. Protect this caravan, go to Greatway, buy metal, bring it back to Elkoi, don't die at the hands of the Elves. Heal the Tree: If you can find a way to heal the Great Tree of Balazar, the Elves would do just about anything for you. So make it so! Mork the Dork: Mork is a vampire child of Gork; he claims he is an 'orc', but no such things exist, so we assume he's crazy. He may also be infected with Nysalorean Riddling. Put him down before he 'enlightens' anyone else. Rescue the Official: The new Imperial Tax Collector, Phillipus, has been carried off by the Hawk Hsunchen to Dykene. Please rescue him. The Treasure of Griffin Mountain: Sure, the locals claim the treasure is a rare berry but we can use the loot; recover it and you get a cut!

Ducks who live in a clan's land likely have a special mythological relationship to the Clan, and would be part of the Clan. This, however, is pretty uncommon.

The Thrice-Blessed The Thrice-Blessed are Reindeer Hsunchen who live east of Charg and north of several provinces of the Empire. Almost everyone is Hsunchen, unlike the rest of the Empire; conversely, there is no central government; the Thrice-Blessed pay fealty to Little Sister, sending her an annual tribute and supplying her with the Thunder Delta Slingers, their main imperial military unit. You might expect the Red Claws to be strong here, but in fact, they are weakest here - the Thrice-Blessed basically focus their violence on the animals they hunt and have little interest in fighting each other or other groups. They worship the Blue Moon, but see her as the spirit of the Blue Moon, not as a *person*. They basically reject most gods in favor of spirits of natural features. The Thrice-Blessed trade hides, salt, and flint to the rest of the empire, mostly to get workable metal. They sometimes export meat as well, especially when called on during times of famine. They get on poorly with the Charg, who they hate more than any other group. A common theme of Wind Novels is some naive Thrice-Blessed person who comes into the Empire and turns everything upside down because they don't accept the normal way things happen in the Empire.