The Tale of Ambassador King Emperor Mello

[soltakss]

This might not be the right forum, but it didn't seem to fit in the RuneQuest Forum. Leticia, the player of Mello Yello in our recently-completed RQ Glorantha Campaign, has asked for a summary of the deeds of Mello Yello, as some people asked her for it. So, here is my version, as the GM, of the Tale of Ambassador King Emperor Mello. Hope you enjoy it. Apologies for the length, but I had to cut a lot out as it wasn't relevant to his Yelmic Rise.

 

Mello Yello always knew he belonged to the Yelmites. Even when standing outside the Sun Dome Temple in Sun County, in the hot sun, smiling and laughing at the Templars as they came and went, running their errands, doing their chores, being the butt of their jokes, sometimes letting them take out their rage and frustration on him, nothing mattered, for he belonged with them.

Mello Yello first knew he was important when he was put with the Sun County Militia, commanded by Jaspar Yello, they even shared the same surname! Like any stepfather, Jaspar could be strict and sometimes cruel, but Mello belonged at last. Put alongside a bunch of Pavic Firemakers, he still belonged, even though they didn’t talk to him much. Mello Yello, Militiaman, he liked the sound of that.

Mello Yello, Militiaman, first knew that Yelm favoured him when Yelm made him a River Voice, with the other Firemakers. They were even woken up by a troupe of baboons, welcoming them back to life. Now, the River Voices weren’t much, but Yelm clearly favoured them as he was Oslir’s husband and the Count of Sun County was Zola Fel’s husband in turn. Mello Yello, Militiaman and River Voice, he liked the sound of that.

Mello Yello, Militiaman and River Voice, knew that Yelmalio loved him when the River Voices took him to Pavis and Karim Temris’ father initiated him into the cult of Yelmalio. Sure, he wasn’t a Templar, but he was an Initiate of Yelmalio. Mello Yello, Militiaman, River Voice and Initiate of Yelmalio, he liked the sound of that.

Mello Yello, Militiaman, River Voice and Initiate of Yelmalio, knew that Yelm loved him when he gained a suit of Golden Armour and the River Voices let him keep it. They also gave him Yamsur’s Spear, gained on a HeroQuest, although they took it away almost immediately and gave it to a total stranger, but that didn’t matter because Mello Yello was important enough to be given Yamsur’s Spear.

Mello Yello, Militiaman, River Voice and Initiate of Yelmalio, knew Yelm favoured him when the River Voices were made Citizens of Sun County and were given the holding of Rabbit Hat Farm. Mello Yello, Militiaman, River Voice, Initiate of Yelmalio and Citizen of Sun County, he liked the sound of that.

Mello Yello, Militiaman, River Voice, Initiate of Yelmalio and Citizen of Sun County, knew that he was Yelm when he played the part of Yelm in the Yelm-Oslir HeroQuest and wedded Kinope, nymph of the Zola Fel. Sure, the River Voices had performed the same HeroQuest many times, with Flargle becoming husband of Kinope, but he wasn’t a Yelmite.  This time, on the HeroQuest, Mello WAS Yelm. Mello Yello, Militiaman, River Voice, Initiate of Yelmalio, Citizen of Sun County and Husband of Kinope, he liked the sound of that.

Mello Yello, Militiaman, River Voice, Initiate of Yelmalio, Citizen of Sun County and Husband of Kinope, knew he was important when the Count of Sun County made him Ambassador to Monkey Ruins! Imagine that, Ambassador Mello, Ambassador of Sun County, the baboons liked that. It was even better when the River Voices deposed the wicked Gorilla King of Monkey Ruins. The baboon orgy that followed was even better still, as Ambassador Mello was a ranking Alpha with his own baboon harem. Mello Yello, Militiaman, River Voice, Initiate of Yelmalio, Citizen of Sun County, Husband of Kinope and Ambassador to Monkey Ruins, he liked the sound of that.

Mello Yello, Militiaman, River Voice, Initiate of Yelmalio, Citizen of Sun County, Husband of Kinope and Ambassador to Monkey Ruins knew that Yelm favoured him when he rescued the Golden Barge and awakened the Angel Figurehead. Angelica, the Angel, became his servant. Imagine that, Ambassador Mello with an Angel as a servant, wearing his Golden Armour. The Sun Domers would just die if they saw him now.

Mello Yello, Militiaman, River Voice, Initiate of Yelmalio, Citizen of Sun County, Husband of Kinope and Ambassador to Monkey Ruins, knew that he was Yelm when the River Voices released an Angelic Lord from imprisonment. The Lord of Angles bowed down to him and greeted him as an equal. He even offered him his Army of Angels to fight for him when needed. Ambassador General Mello sounds too pretentious, so he should just stick with Ambassador Mello.

Mello Yello, Militiaman, River Voice, Initiate of Yelmalio, Citizen of Sun County, Husband of Kinope and Ambassador to Monkey Ruins, knew he was Yelm when he went to the Sky, yes, the actual Sky. On the Sky Ship, the one that had been pierced by his Golden Barge.  The River Voices had to repair the ship, rescue an Inhuman King to be the Soul of the Dragon Ship, rescue Dormal to be the Steersman and Anaxial to be the captain and sail it out of Hell, but that was easy. Now Ambassador Mello was going to the Sky on a ship. How many of the Sun Domers had actually been to the Sky, eh? None of them! But Ambassador Mello had.

Mello Yello, Militiaman, River Voice, Initiate of Yelmalio, Citizen of Sun County, Husband of Kinope and Ambassador to Monkey Ruins, knew he was Yelm when he got his own Star! Yes, an actual Star! Of his own! Well, one of a constellation for the River Voices, but his was the shiniest and brightest. A Star of his own, where he could sit and look down on Sun County and ask how many of them had a Star. None of them, I’ll bet.

Mello Yello, Militiaman, River Voice, Initiate of Yelmalio, Citizen of Sun County, Husband of Kinope and Ambassador to Monkey Ruins, knew that he was Yelm when he gained Yelm’s Mirror when he fried the bad Yelm Priests’ Brains in an important battle. At least, the River Voices told him it was important. Yelm’s Mirror was made of gold and was so big that it was carried in a cart. Ambassador Mello often looked in the mirror, gazing lovingly at himself, dressed in his Golden Armour, with his Angel by his side.

Mello Yello, Militiaman, River Voice, Initiate of Yelmalio, Citizen of Sun County, Husband of Kinope and Ambassador to Monkey Ruins, knew that he was Yelm when he played Yelm on the Lightbringer Quest to defeat Cacodemon. He wasn’t entirely sure what he was doing, but Shan Agar and Karim Temris knew what they were all doing, so he was happy to follow along. He had to sit on a throne and be sad that he was dead, but Ambassador Mello wasn’t really dead, he was just pretending, perhaps. HeroQuesting is so confusing, but everyone else knew what was going on. Ambassador Mello came out with the ability of I am Yelm, which he already knew, of course.

Mello Yello, Militiaman, River Voice, Initiate of Yelmalio, Citizen of Sun County, Husband of Kinope and Ambassador to Monkey Ruins, became King of Dragon Pass by defeating all the other candidates. He danced his Dance of Harmony, wove a cloak like a spider’s web, shone like the sun in front of Yelm’s Mirror and did lots of other things. The Feathered Horse Queen seemed to take a shine to him, but that was fine as he was an Ambassador, among many other things, whereas what were they? A Duke and a couple of Kings, Duke Harrek looked big and scary and liked to show off with his Wolf Pirates, King Tarkalor used to be King of Dragon pass before he died but that was a long time ago, Sartar was the first King of Dragon Pass but why should they be Kings again? In any case, Ambassador Mello defeated them all and became King of Dragon Pass. Which sounds better, King Ambassador Mello or Ambassador King Mello?

Mello Yello, Militiaman, River Voice, Initiate of Yelmalio, Citizen of Sun County, Husband of Kinope, Ambassador to Monkey Ruins and King of Dragon Pass knew that he was Yeml when Yelmalio and Monrogh came to see him. Yes, they came to see him themselves. How many Sun Domers had Yemlalio come to see personally, eh? None, that’s how many, not even the Count. They looked a bit snooty, to be honest, but all high-ups of Yelmalio do, even the Red Emperor who had come to Sun County once, in his Moonboat and had walked on the backs of Yelm Priests rather than sully himself with the dirt of Prax. Anyway, Monrogh and Yelmalio came to see Mello Yello himself. They were not happy, you see, as Ambassador King Mello was, well, Ambassador to Sun County and King of Dragon Pass and he had been to the Sky on a Dragonship and had a Star in the Sky and had Yelm’s Mirror and an Angel as a servant and had command of an Angelic Army that he had used a few times. Well, they weren’t unhappy with that, no, they were unhappy that he was a baboon! They looked down on him, sniffed a bot and said that they would make him a Hero of Yelmalio if he became a human instead of being a dirty baboon. Imagine that, Mello Yello, a Hero of Yelmalio, none of the Sun Domers had become a Hero of Yelmalio, he would have s shrine in the Sun County Sun Dome Temple and the Sun Domers would come and worship him! Him! Him! Him, who they laughed at, spat on, whose fur they used to wipe their bottoms with when still attached to him, a Hero of Yelmalio! But, Ambassador King Mello could not accept and turned them down. Why, you ask. Because he was above all, more than anything else, a baboon. Sure, he was a baboon who had shaved his fur off and painted his skin and fur yellow, but he was a baboon and He Was Yelm. So, he turned down Yelmalio and Monrogh, turned down the chance of becoming a Hero of Yelmalio, turned down the chance of having a Shrine in the Sun County Sun Dome Temple. Because he was a baboon. Then Yelm appeared. Yelm. Not Yelmalio, although he was still there. Not Ambassador King Mello, playing Yelm on a HeroQuest as I am Yelm, but the real Yelm. The Sun God, Emperor, Mr Shiny himself. And he was smiling and he greeted Ambassador King Mello as his Son. Yelm’s Son! Like Yelmalio! He said that Ambassador King Mello had an important choice to make. He could become a human Hero of Yelmalio or a Baboon Hero of Yelm, whose job it would be to initiate Beast Men of all kinds into the Yelmic Ways, so Beast men would join his subcult of Yelmalio to become initiates of Yelmalio. He would have a Shrine to Mello Yello in every Yelmic Temple, whether Yelmalio, Yelorna, Pole Star or Yelm, wherever the Beast Folk wanted to join those Cults. Of course, he said yes, as Mello Yello, Militiaman, River Voice, Initiate of Yelmalio, Citizen of Sun County, Husband of Kinope, Ambassador to Monkey Ruins, King of Dragon Pass and Hero of Yelm sounded good and he liked the sound of that.

Mello Yello, Militiaman, River Voice, Initiate of Yelmalio, Citizen of Sun County, Husband of Kinope, Ambassador to Monkey Ruins, King of Dragon Pass and Hero of Yelm, knew he was Yelm when he became a Golden True Dragon. How did that happen, you ask. Well, he had gained a Draconic Soul when he raised the Dragonship and went to the Sky and had been practising his draconic nature for a long time. The River Voices had freed a True Dragon from the Crimson Bat when they turned it inside out and made it non-Chaotic, then they used the True Dragon to eat up all the Lunars in Sartar and forced them out of Sartar, Prax and the Holy Country. Ambassador King Mello had done a lot of other draconic stuff after he had become a Hero of Yelm, as the Beast Rune was just a Dragon’s Eye and he had been to the Dragon Kill, taken part in the Dragonewt’s Dream and danced with the Dragons and Dragonewts in a Harmonious Dance, so he was well in with the Dragons. The River Voices were in Dorastor, see, trying to get Ralzakark’s Crown, which was Arkat’s Crown, which Flargle wanted to be crowned as Arkat, so he could march against Ralzakark, who had buggered him, been covered with acid and impregnated with his own child, and Flargle’s, that’s where it gets a bit complicated and Ambassador King Mello didn’t really understand all of it, anyway. But, they were in Dorastor’s Cleft and had hidden the True Dragon that they had rescued from the Crimson Bat, in Dorastor’s Cleft, so that it could poke its head out, breathe over Ralzakark’s Humakti Broo Army and kill them before they could attack the River Voices. Well, it all started off well. The True Dragon stuck his head out and breathed fire over the Humakti Broos, but they were brought back from the brink of death by Humakt, all of them, as he was not keen on his forces being beaten by an Arkati, even though Flargle was a Hero of Humakt and had Arkat’s Sword. The River Voices broke the link between Ralzakark and Humakt, proving that he was not worthy to command a Humakti Army, so Flargle became their commander instead, Flargle, Hero of Humakt, Hero of Storm Bull, now led a Broo Army and Ambassador King Mello would not let him kill them as they were Beast Men and Ambassador King Mello could get them to worship Yelmalio. Anyway, where was I? Oh yes, the True Dragon. It had poked its head out and breathed fire, when the ground shook and one of the Seven Hills ruptured and out flew a Chaotic True Dragon, with Two Heads, roaring a challenge to the True Dragon that had just appeared in its territory. Our True Dragon roared its acceptance of the Challenge and burst out of Dorastor’s Cleft, leaping to the Skies. Well, Ambassador King Mello wasn’t going to let two True Dragons fight it out above them, so he jumped into the air and transformed into a Dragon, becoming a Golden True Dragon and flying to meet them.  He danced the Harmonious Dance and the Dragon Dance, sucking the other Dragons into his dance, while the other River Voices sucked all the Chaos into one of the Heads and cut it off, with Shan Agar swallowing the head, having become the Chromatic Dragon, another True Dragon. The four Dragons then danced the Harmonious Dragon Dance and became friends. Golden True Dragon isn’t really a title, but Dragon Friend is, so Mello Yello, Militiaman, River Voice, Initiate of Yelmalio, Citizen of Sun County, Husband of Kinope, Ambassador to Monkey Ruins, King of Dragon Pass, Hero of Yelm and Dragon Friend sounded good and he liked the sound of that.

Mello Yello, Militiaman, River Voice, Initiate of Yelmalio, Citizen of Sun County, Husband of Kinope, Ambassador to Monkey Ruins, King of Dragon Pass, Hero of Yelm and Dragon Friend knew he was Yelm when the River Voices deposed the Count of Sun County and put Karim Temris’ father in place as Duke instead. Imagine that, having the two Dukes bow before Ambassador King Mello, in front of his statue in his own Shrine. Of course, the old Duke had a price and the River Voices allowed him to found a new Sun Dome temple in Rist, where the River Voices had broken the power of the Red Moon and installed the White Moon instead. So, Ambassador King Mello had gone against the Red Emperor and established a Yelmalio Temple in the Lunar Empire without asking the Red Emperor’s permission.

Mello Yello, Militiaman, River Voice, Initiate of Yelmalio, Citizen of Sun County, Husband of Kinope, Ambassador to Monkey Ruins, King of Dragon Pass, Hero of Yelm and Dragon Friend knew that he was Yelm when the Red Emperor gathered together the draconic powers of the Dara Happan Empire and gathered together a group of Full Priest Dragonewts, worshippers of the Sun Dragon, various Dragon Mystics and various important people in the Court of Dara Happa. The Red Emperor appeared, dressed in the robes of the Sun Dragon, carrying an Utuma, or sacred Dragonewt dagger. Being draconic, Ambassador King Mello knew he was about to commit Utuma and die, taking the sins of the Empire with him. The Red Emperor recited all the sins and calamities that had befallen the Empire. The attacks of the Pentians, the raising of the Sky Ship, Harrek and the Wolf Pirates in the Lunar Empire, the Dragonrise, losing Prax, Sartar and the Holy Country, losing the Crimson Bat, the Crater being blocked by an Iceberg and many, many more things, all instigated by the River Voices. In turn, Ambassador King Mello recited the good things the River Voices had done, in particular the good things that he had done, as Ambassador, King and Hero of Yelm. When all recitations were complete, the Red Emperor committed Utuma and stabbed himself in the stomach, drawing the Dragonewt Rune in his flesh, but the wound did not bite, for Flargle had transferred the wound to Ambassador King Mello, the Golden True Dragon, who died of the wound. Ambassador King Mello, the Golden Dragon, attempted a Dragonewt Rebirth and Shan Agar redirected the rebirth, making Mello be reborn as a Golden Egg, laid by the Chromatic Dragon, as Shan Agar had become. Ambassador King Mello Yello, the Golden Dragon, was consumed by a burst of flame from the Sun, burning up instantly with no smoke or ash left behind, as all true Yelm Heroes die. The Golden Egg hit the ground and broke apart, revealing Ambassador King Mello, the Golden Dragon and Dragon Emperor of Dara Happa. The Draconic Forces that the Red Emperor tried to contain proved too much for him and he died of shame, exploding in a shower of blood and flame, because he had failed and because Mello Yello, a baboon, had succeeded. Mello Yello, Militiaman, River Voice, Initiate of Yelmalio, Citizen of Sun County, Husband of Kinope, Ambassador to Monkey Ruins, King of Dragon Pass, Hero of Yelm, Dragon Friend, Golden Dragon and Dragon Emperor of Dara Happa smiled with the serenity and inner peace that only a Master of Harmony and Emperor could bring, while thinking “What do I do now” …

So, here are the full titles of Ambassador King Emperor Mello: Militiaman, River Voice, Initiate of Yelmalio, Citizen of Sun County, Citizen of Pavis, Constable of Pavis, Husband of Kinope, Ambassador to Monkey Ruins, Master of Harmony, Master of Water, Master of Light, Prophet of Pavis, Golden Sage of Heaven, Companion of Pavis, Companion of Tada, Companion of Genert, Companion of Arkat, King of Dragon Pass, Hero of Yelm, Dragon Friend, Golden Dragon and Dragon Emperor of Dara Happa. Contrary to popular belief, Companion of Shan Argar and Arganaut are not titles that Ambassador King Emperor Mello accepts.

Edited August 17, 2018 by soltakss

[soltakss]

Leticia might add some odds and ends. If she does, I'll update here.

The other players are starting to ask for something for their PCs as well. Damn them, damn them all ... 😉

[Revilo Divad Of Dyoll]

All hail Mello Yello!

[The God Learner]

What did the character sheet look like?

[soltakss]

On 8/21/2018 at 12:12 PM, The God Learner said:

What did the character sheet look like?

It's from 2015, despite my many pleas to update it, but the PDF is attached.

It's functional, not pretty, but should give a flavour of the shiny thing that is Ambassador King Emperor Mello, although at that time he was just Ambassador Mello.

charsheet_Mello_Yello_07022015.pdf

Edited August 23, 2018 by soltakss

[Richard S.]

Now this is the type of quality content I come to this site for.

[Darius West]

Verily Mello Yello is the Great Sage Equal of Heaven!

[soltakss]

On 11/2/2018 at 11:51 AM, Darius West said:

Verily Mello Yello is the Great Sage Equal of Heaven!

He is "Golden Sage of Heaven", which was a very thinly veiled reference to the Great Sage Equal of Heaven.

[M Helsdon]

Mello Yello is currently held at the Sun County penal salt mines.

[Sir_Godspeed]

What a story, Mark.