Tarsh in the 1450s (discussion)

[jeffjerwin]

Tarsh and its history in the 1450s is a bit of a mess.

This might be because the Illaro dynasty minimized the history of Blond Arim. Also, the death of Erantha Gor and 'birth' of Eneera Tor seems curiously connected.

These are my crib notes on the subject: 

1430   Spider Wars between Far Point and Cragspider’s trolls.

c.1440                        Birth of Illaro Blacktooth, later king of the Hendarli tribe.

1448               Orios the Fool is killed by the Mad Sultanate. Several candidates for the kingship emerge: the matrilineal candidate [Erantha Gor] offered by the Earth cult, the Prince of Far Point [Tarkalor the Huge] (slain prior to 1458), Jornkalor of Talfort (a Sylilan/Lunar ally), and Blond Arim (from the ‘Lowlands’).

1449               Aldachuring ‘tribe’ founded.

1449-1453    Tarkalor seizes Bagnot, moves into Kodros Island.

1450               The Quivini, led by the Colymar, reject Tarshite dominion.

‘Chaos Flood’ comes from Snakepipe Hollow; steads along the River are destroyed. [WF 15]

Telmori arrive in Tarsh. [WF 15]

Tarkalor the Huge raids the Oslir valley into Holay. [WF 15]

1455               Blond Arim kills Erantha Gor using all-women troops and besieges Maranaba [the Shaker Temple] with the help of Lunar magicians. Blond Arim becomes king of all Tarsh (save the Far Point [and Kero Fin?]).

            Eneera Tor emerges from the womb of the Goddess. Illaro Blacktooth becomes ‘prince of the Kerofini’ and leads their faction to victory in the Civil War (by c.1470).

A new incarnation of Sorana Tor manifests to turn back the Lunars.

The Telmori pour through the Trader’s Valley en route to Quiviniland.

1458               Jornkalor was captured at Talfort by a Sylilan/Lunar invasion. Blond Arim was ‘killed by treason’, Tovtarsar ‘Gaptooth’ of Alda-Chur attempted to conquer Tarsh but was defeated.

Northern Tarsh revolted against the Sylila but Fllichet was annexed by the Empire [?].

The Alda-Churi submit to Illaro and join his invasion of the Quivini. Fall of Dangerford and destruction of the Ferfal Alliance. The Dondalf Flats are seized for the Alda-churi by Tarsh.

1459   Holay, including Filichet, becomes a Lunar province.

1470   Eneera Tor is courted by Temernim of Dunstop; that same year Tastinim, son of Illaro, becomes king of Tarsh. Sartar, a student of the Puppeteers and a Larnsting, enters Dragon Pass from around Whitewall.

[jeffjerwin]

I wonder if the Lunars from c.1455 might be refugees from Sheng, as much as they are agents of Sylila.

[Joerg]

1440 birth of Illaro? Illaro becomes Sacred King of Tarsh in 1455 or so, and fathers three sons on Sorana Tor. The first, Black Fawn, born from his consecration rite, runs away into the wild - claimed by Velhara/Tara, the Lady of the Wild. The second, Tastinim, is born at Illaro's first renewal of his sacred kingship. The third, Halifitoor, would be born at Illaro's second attempt at renewal, which he doesn't survive, assuming that each sacred king period lasts for 7 years.

Illaro dies in 1470, and his seven year-old prodigy child Tastinim inherits the throne and the sacred kingship. After seven years, Tastinim fails to renew the kingship and dies, possibly leaving a pregnant Sorana Tor representative behind, and his brother Halifitoor comes to power, another then seven or eight year old child prodigy.

Now there is a possibility that already Illaro was a child prodigy, possibly bred for in magical rites similar to those that produced Hon-eel and Jar-eel. In that case, his kingship of the Hendarli tribe could have been achieved at single digit age, and his marriage to Sorana Tor at age 14 or so - if the Hendarli had such a 7-year prodigy child kingship, the time of his test of passing on after having served the royal half of his life.

Otherwise, Illaro would have to have been born at least about seven years earlier, and the child prodigy line would have been through the accelerated maturity stemming from having Sorana Tor (or an incarnation thereof) as the mother.

My assumption used to be that Illaro was an adult king of the Hendarli, but if he already came from a lineage of child prodigy sacred (tribal) kings, that would explain the short generational sequence of the dynasty prior to Phoronestes.

Edited November 6, 2018 by Joerg

[jeffjerwin]

Joerg, are you stating that the children of Sorana Tor grow up like the Rattle-born of the Cinsina? (at perhaps a x4 (sacred Earth number) speed?)

Could they be related to the Earth Twins, or the Sacred Twins?

I wonder if Baroshi also germinates after seven years.

Note that the first Feathered Horse Queen is born c.1430, 'reborn in the Earth' in 1455 and dies in 1535 at the age of 104 or 105! Does the act of mating with the sacred queen also transfer vitality, causing the sacred queens to become ageless? The FHQ bears children in 1496 when she is 69 years old.

[Joerg]

2 hours ago, jeffjerwin said:

Joerg, are you stating that the children of Sorana Tor grow up like the Rattle-born of the Cinsina? (at perhaps a x4 (sacred Earth number) speed?)

No, it is even worse. Think Harsaltar.

Greg said that these are child prodigies, magical children. Perhaps heroic adults trapped in what looked like children's bodies.

In a literal reading of the Tarsh CHDP Pyjeemsab would have been three years old when Hon-eel seduced him. Not that child-like if Phoronestes was the result.

My own interpretation of those sources had older kings in the Illaro dynasty, but Greg was quite insistent.

See also Peter Metcalfe's take on this:

https://glorantha.wikia.com/wiki/Problems_in_Tarshite_History

2 hours ago, jeffjerwin said:

Could they be related to the Earth Twins, or the Sacred Twins?

Similar, not identical - the twins had a divine mother, a nymph, whereas later Sorana Tors appear to have been human avatars rather than divine entities. The twins displayed their divine magic at rather young age, but their Falling Hills feat is inherited from the goddess. No king of Illaro's dynasty had any similar powers. The Earth Shakers in the Dragon Pass boardgame whose exotic magic is that of the Falling Hills are the Maran Gor priesthood of Shaker's Temple.

2 hours ago, jeffjerwin said:

I wonder if Baroshi also germinates after seven years.

No idea.

2 hours ago, jeffjerwin said:

Note that the first Feathered Horse Queen is born c.1430, 'reborn in the Earth' in 1455 and dies in 1535 at the age of 104 or 105! Does the act of mating with the sacred queen also transfer vitality, causing the sacred queens to become ageless? The FHQ bears children in 1496 when she is 69 years old.

The FHQ reborn in the Earth receives powers similar to Bruvala, contemporary queen (then Grandmother) of Nochet.