Crushing Noise?

[Leingod]

So in the "Orlanth and Aroka" Heroquest, Orlanth shows his feet to Kyger Litor (known as Deloradella to the Orlanthi and the "Dark Woman" in the myth) and this is definitely a euphemism, because he leaves her with child. She bears a child identified by the myth as "Crushing Noise."

So... who is Crushing Noise? It just seems weird to me for the child of the chief god of Air and the chief goddess of Darkness to be such a nonentity. Is there any hint that Crushing Noise is just another name for some known god? And if not, how would you characterize the child of Orlanth and Kyger Litor?

[jajagappa]

3 hours ago, Leingod said:

So... who is Crushing Noise? It just seems weird to me for the child of the chief god of Air and the chief goddess of Darkness to be such a nonentity. Is there any hint that Crushing Noise is just another name for some known god? And if not, how would you characterize the child of Orlanth and Kyger Litor?

He doesn't need to be present in the Mundane World.  More likely he's a Hell Wind given who is mother is, so I'd put him in the Underworld or in the Spirit Plane (or both since they run together).  If my PC's were on a quest in Hell, I'd characterize as them suddenly hearing sounds of thunderous moaning, getting closer and closer, before a black whirlwind of deafening proportions is upon them.

[JonL]

Sounds like a great subcult for that Uz Wind Lord in the 13G art to discover.

[jeffjerwin]

I think he's Zolan Zubar.

The Bear-Darkness-Storm-Noise god.

He's also someone else.

 

See here: 

 

Edited September 8, 2018 by jeffjerwin

[Ian Cooper]

On 9/8/2018 at 8:47 AM, Leingod said:

So... who is Crushing Noise? It just seems weird to me for the child of the chief god of Air and the chief goddess of Darkness to be such a nonentity. Is there any hint that Crushing Noise is just another name for some known god? And if not, how would you characterize the child of Orlanth and Kyger Litor?

I always assumed that the dark thunder clouds were what was meant here, that Thunder itself is 'Crushing Noise'. But, I don't have any evidence for that, just assumption that I thought was shared.

[Sir_Godspeed]

19 hours ago, Ian Cooper said:

I always assumed that the dark thunder clouds were what was meant here, that Thunder itself is 'Crushing Noise'. But, I don't have any evidence for that, just assumption that I thought was shared.

As someone who heard about this for the first time now, my mind went straight to the sound of thunder as well.

Edited September 10, 2018 by Sir_Godspeed

[David Scott]

On 9/9/2018 at 7:08 PM, Ian Cooper said:

I always assumed that the dark thunder clouds were what was meant here, that Thunder itself is 'Crushing Noise'. But, I don't have any evidence for that, just assumption that I thought was shared.

I think you are on the right track, Greg actually uses the phrase in a story snippet in Tales 14. Here's a much edited down version:

Quote

Storm Bull approaches by Greg Stafford

Myself, I like to see the great wave of the Bull's Wind roaring towards us, pushing tons of dust at us like a huge wall, stretching from as far as I can see to the left and the right, rising high into the air, growing taller as it comes closer. Louder.

First, from far away, a far-hearer hears a low buzzing that means it's two days away, and we have to start soaking the nets. For our face masks, of course.

At a day away, the storm sounds like a low thunder, constant, and far away. The whole horizon from the storm's direction browns up.

A half day away and it is still a low, crushing noise, but louder now, and you can feel it down here in your chest.

When the dirt hits. it's like hard rain, but the noise disappears after a couple hours. I don't know if we're used to it, or ir it really goes away. But it's just like a really big sandstorm then. It gets weaker after the edge passes.

I always thought that Crushing Noise became one of Storm Bull's entourage. Not wanting to be with his mother or father, he joins his uncle doing what he does best. Would make a good heroquest, to get an air/darkness elemental cult spirit or a cool power - Summon Crushing Noise, Become Crushing Noise. 

Edited September 11, 2018 by David Scott

[Sir_Godspeed]

20 minutes ago, David Scott said:

I always thought that Crushing Noise became one of Storm Bull's entourage. Not wanting to be with his mother or father, he joins his uncle doing what he does best. Would make a good heroquest, to get an air/darkness elemental cult spirit or a cool power - Summon Crushing Noise, Become Crushing Noise. 

A bit of Praxian Fus Roh Da.

[David Scott]

14 minutes ago, Sir_Godspeed said:

Fus Roh Da

Not ever having heard of this, I reached for the urban dictionary and am none the wiser, other than Skyrim didn't have have Ken Rolston, but Prax did. Anyway if you've got to explain it, it's long gone for me...

https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Fus ro dah

Edited September 11, 2018 by David Scott

[Mankcam]

Well I just enriched my vocabulary, heh heh

[Sir_Godspeed]

15 minutes ago, David Scott said:

Not ever having heard of this, I reached for the urban dictionary and am none the wiser, other than Skyrim didn't have have Ken Rolston, but Prax did. Anyway if you've got to explain it, it's long gone for me...

https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Fus ro dah

Heh, it's a magical shout in Skyrim that by sheer volume and force will rattle and toss your enemies about like ragdolls. In the lore of the Elder Scrolls it's also been used to knock down city gates and the like. Pardon for not explaining it, I just made the post for a quick chuckle.

[jeffjerwin]

Considering playing a duck bagpiper who worships 'crushing noise'.

[g33k]

10 hours ago, jeffjerwin said:

Considering playing a duck bagpiper who worships 'crushing noise'.

You have inspired me, sir!

Begin with a trollkin...  who tries to Initiate into the Bloody Tusk, but fails; but he gains Riding and Animal-Handling (Tusker), and a warmount; and a lance!  He has named his lance "The Tusk.".

But he still plays the instrument he learned in the "mountains" (the Lead Hills) near the Shadow Plateau:  an alpenhorn.  And he has Initiated into the cult of Crushing Noise.

Now he rides with a tall "pair of tusks" on the right and the left (he has named his horn The Other Tusk).  Sometimes in melee, he forgets which is which, and couches his horn to a charge...

 

[Leingod]

Reviving this due to a random thought I had thanks to the "Trolls Don't Cry" thread: Could it be convincingly argued that Crushing Noise is actually a name for Hedkoranth?

• Hedkoranth is the Thunder Slinger, whose casts of Great Weighty are both very noisy and very crushing (and he's also described as a loud, boastful figure).
• He is described as the Thunderbolt of Orlanth made manifest in a stone but also as the son of Orlanth by a woman named Arvena, of whom nothing but that name is known, and so could easily just be another name for the Dark Lady i.e. Kyger Litor.
• The sling (and just straight-up throwing rocks) is a weapon often associated with trolls, and he's stated to have defeated a Darkness champion called Opanbobos (Vaneekara? One of her children/followers?) to obtain the power of the sling. Was that a normal battle, or was it him proving himself to his kin?

If you want to find a way to provide a way "in" for Darkness people to gain the powers of Storm, you could certainly do worse than Hedkoranth. Your average troll warrior might not even have to change how he fights all that much, and he's got the mythic "oomph" that it wouldn't be hard to make him suitably impressive to convince at least a few that this "new" son of Kyger Litor might be one worth allowing in.

Edited May 9, 2020 by Leingod