The Great and Glorious Saviour of the World The troubles and victories of Our Wonderful Sedenya, who is called the Red Lunar Goddess. Written in the year 6/7 of the Lunar Calendar to instruct and enlighten the people of the world. The Testimonial
“When you speak of me, tell of yourself yourself first,” said the Goddess. She She was instructing her followers how to teach others about Her. “How “How will we do that, Great One?” they asked. “Tell who you are, of your first memory, your akindling, and your your sevening,” she replied. Since then all persons who speak for her or about her have followed those instructions. These four facts are the perspective from which Her teachings must be looked at and worked from. These things are stated in the Testimonial which every Lunar being declares whenever they speak of Her. These are the essential events which shape a Lunar. They are a person’s name, or external identity; first memory; a person’s first awakening to higher consciousness, called akindling; and a person’s sevening, or waking of the secret Lunar consciousness that leads to Enlightenment. This last is the most variable, for it changes throughout a person’s lifetime, while the others events generally do not. The document begins with the Testimonial of the Living Goddess, Teelo Estara. The Lives of Sedenya Her Testimonial. She told us:
“Before telling you about myself, I will tell you of me. I am Teelo Imara, who has seven times seven other names. I was born in Jernamathalana, the Snow White Palace. My first thought was when I saw the Wanderer Wanderer pass close to my palace, palace, and it incited me to depart from my home. I never got back. I was akindled when Homura, the Gem, my first baby, was born. I was sevened by the eight arms of Taraltara, the face and the mask.” Natha is the living Moon Goddess. Goddess. She is the current manifestation manifestation of Sedenya’s Sedenya’s power of change and regular cyclicism. She is currently red, but has changed through Her own growth and through the actions of external forces. This changing has been both Her strength and Her weakness. weakness. Her changes changes have sometimes sometimes been so so radical that in ancient ancient times, many beings, even powerful gods, did not recognize Her from one mythic age to the next. She has previously been been white, a different different red, two different different blues, black, and and invisible, and in due course will change again to the other white. Initiates learn to recognize that these vast changes are simply Her external appearance, as if She had changed Her dress. She is always Herself. Early Mythology
In the Creation Age, She was a celestial being, immobile and unchanging, as was everything in the world. She was radiant white, pure in her Zayteneric dress of innocence. One day She saw a new god, and She moved from Her place to follow and watch it. She followed it about the Sky. When the new god dipped below the horizon, Zaytenera, now curious beyond
thoughts of safety, followed. There She met Him Below, a powerful god to whom She was forcefully attracted, and who She took as Her first lover. She left Her white dress behind, and rose again a vital, bright red. She called Herself Verithurusa, which means either the Wondrous Wanderer or the Changing Truth, or both. Scarlet Verithurusa kept wandering about the Sky, and there She took as lover the god Shargash, who hated Her afterwards; Asyrex, who was the father of Gem; Orbryix, who slew himself when She left him; Urnion, who was turned into a star; Zedada, later a great warrior; and Mur, whose daughter and son were healers. At last, weary of the world, She returned to Her own father’s palace. Instead of finding welcome and affection from Yelm, She was rebuked and scolded, then cast from the palace forever. Grieving, She left, but a shadow remained behind, fluttering about in the Palace of Light on dark wings. They were not Her wings, and Yelm did not claim them, but they flapped around like a bat caught in the daytime. Those wings dimmed the eternal light of Yelm, so he did not see so clearly anymore and allowed his foes to enter and come close. Much later, he was killed, and afterwards his wife and his courtiers said it was the wings of Verithurusa that had caused his death. So ended the Creation Age, and so began the Storm Age. Verithurusa cast off Her joyous red dress and donned one of blue. She found solace in the arms of Asyrex, a kind and loving god who was Her husband and the father of the Mernitan peoples. Their children took wives and husbands husbands from among gods, spirits, spirits, mortals, and essences. Their land was Dosvolos. The Mernitans raised a great city, and to protect them, their divine Mother stood overhead, a radiant topaz blue. She She was called Lesilla, Protecting Mother. Her brightest and wisest daughter was the Great Queen, Cerrulia. When the Emperor of the Center organized the world of mortals, Dosvolos was among those lands under his sway. They sent to him the High Crown of Mernita. When the Great Flood drowned the world Lesilla used Her powers of attraction and drew all of Dosvolos upward above the crashing waves. Her people were saved. Yet, for that sacrifice, She used so much of Her power that She was weakened and sank lower lower in the center of Her Sky. Lesilla always shard her power into the many bodies of with Her descendants. Whichever of them was strongest was Cerrulia, and many others had specific titles as well. One of them was Demiska, the Contrary, and whichever one she inhabited most weakly was called Demiska. Demiska was given the wonderful wonderful Bow of Lesilla Lesilla to compensate for her weakness. After the Flood, the Emperor of the World took Demiska into his palace, because he wanted her bow. Of course, she gave it to him, and she became his wife. Alas, he kept it, and the Mernitans were angry. They asked for the High Crown back, but instead the Emperor bent the magical bow and with it drove an immortal arrow through the heart of Lesilla, their Mother in the Sky. The Goddess, weak and old, stumbled and fell from the Sky. A part of Her is still visible as the Blue Moon Plateau, haunted and devastated, inhabited only by ghosts, demons, and trolls. The armies of the Emperor then conquered Mernita and put its people into slavery. When the Emperor died, his wife mourned him, despite the mistreatment She had received and the evils he had done. She took the name Sorrow, or Gerra, and went into mourning. She put away her beautiful clothing and jewels, and donned donned the black dress of mourning. Over the generations, Her power waned, both from Her unending sadness and because She was further stripped of power. The world continued to grow dark, miserable, and terrifying. The Storm Age ended, and the Darkness began.
thoughts of safety, followed. There She met Him Below, a powerful god to whom She was forcefully attracted, and who She took as Her first lover. She left Her white dress behind, and rose again a vital, bright red. She called Herself Verithurusa, which means either the Wondrous Wanderer or the Changing Truth, or both. Scarlet Verithurusa kept wandering about the Sky, and there She took as lover the god Shargash, who hated Her afterwards; Asyrex, who was the father of Gem; Orbryix, who slew himself when She left him; Urnion, who was turned into a star; Zedada, later a great warrior; and Mur, whose daughter and son were healers. At last, weary of the world, She returned to Her own father’s palace. Instead of finding welcome and affection from Yelm, She was rebuked and scolded, then cast from the palace forever. Grieving, She left, but a shadow remained behind, fluttering about in the Palace of Light on dark wings. They were not Her wings, and Yelm did not claim them, but they flapped around like a bat caught in the daytime. Those wings dimmed the eternal light of Yelm, so he did not see so clearly anymore and allowed his foes to enter and come close. Much later, he was killed, and afterwards his wife and his courtiers said it was the wings of Verithurusa that had caused his death. So ended the Creation Age, and so began the Storm Age. Verithurusa cast off Her joyous red dress and donned one of blue. She found solace in the arms of Asyrex, a kind and loving god who was Her husband and the father of the Mernitan peoples. Their children took wives and husbands husbands from among gods, spirits, spirits, mortals, and essences. Their land was Dosvolos. The Mernitans raised a great city, and to protect them, their divine Mother stood overhead, a radiant topaz blue. She She was called Lesilla, Protecting Mother. Her brightest and wisest daughter was the Great Queen, Cerrulia. When the Emperor of the Center organized the world of mortals, Dosvolos was among those lands under his sway. They sent to him the High Crown of Mernita. When the Great Flood drowned the world Lesilla used Her powers of attraction and drew all of Dosvolos upward above the crashing waves. Her people were saved. Yet, for that sacrifice, She used so much of Her power that She was weakened and sank lower lower in the center of Her Sky. Lesilla always shard her power into the many bodies of with Her descendants. Whichever of them was strongest was Cerrulia, and many others had specific titles as well. One of them was Demiska, the Contrary, and whichever one she inhabited most weakly was called Demiska. Demiska was given the wonderful wonderful Bow of Lesilla Lesilla to compensate for her weakness. After the Flood, the Emperor of the World took Demiska into his palace, because he wanted her bow. Of course, she gave it to him, and she became his wife. Alas, he kept it, and the Mernitans were angry. They asked for the High Crown back, but instead the Emperor bent the magical bow and with it drove an immortal arrow through the heart of Lesilla, their Mother in the Sky. The Goddess, weak and old, stumbled and fell from the Sky. A part of Her is still visible as the Blue Moon Plateau, haunted and devastated, inhabited only by ghosts, demons, and trolls. The armies of the Emperor then conquered Mernita and put its people into slavery. When the Emperor died, his wife mourned him, despite the mistreatment She had received and the evils he had done. She took the name Sorrow, or Gerra, and went into mourning. She put away her beautiful clothing and jewels, and donned donned the black dress of mourning. Over the generations, Her power waned, both from Her unending sadness and because She was further stripped of power. The world continued to grow dark, miserable, and terrifying. The Storm Age ended, and the Darkness began.
Manarlarvus was a weak, miserable, and frightened Emperor. He built a dome to hide in, with his favorite people, and left everyone else to be devoured and tortured by the growing populations of monsters. He blamed everyone everyone else for the problems and faults of the world. Gerra was first refused admittance to the dome. However, she made the door keeper acknowledge his absolute responsibilities, and with her superior mastery of matematics made him admit she deserved to be present. However, She was allowed in only as a menial and drudge. She was overworked and subjected to terrible and outrageous misdeeds. When food ran short, they ate Her fingers, then Her arms and feet, and much else of Her as well. The vileness of these deeds poved that the rot and evil of the world were inside the stronghold as well. The Emperor made everyone seek the cause of his troubles in the secure dome, and the perpetuators of the evil blamed it instead upon Gerra, labelled as an interloper and invader. She was dragged out of the protection and impaled upon a stake set upright into the ground to suffer forever. Then the dome cracked. Some say it was because of Gerra’s curse, or Her agonized screaming. Others say the cause was the righteous wrath of the Emperor, who was actually innocent and vastly offended. Others say it was the unrighout lies and evil of his underlines. Maybe it was just the monsters outside who broke in. The results were the same. The stronghold collapsed, all safety was lost, the Sky fell down upon the world, and Hell swallowed the remnants of both. Gerra was torn from Her stake and left to wander with the other unholy remnants of being. Demons ruled. Vengeance and hatred dominated. They destroyed everything, and would have destroyed Gerra as well, but they recognized in Her their own Mother. The shadows from the Realm of Light would not destroy Her. The miseries and tortures would not touch Her, who had been victimized to make them. And the things which were of otherworld origin, like Kazkurtum, ate Her and shat Her out whole. Miserable being! She wandered the world, and whatever She touched was awakened for a moment, aware of its own suffering and misery. Truly, She was Gerra, or Grief. But one time She found the stake which had impaled Her. It spoke to Her, and it said, “Rashorana, to live is to suffer, but to suffer is not not to live.” She lived, and She realized that She was more than suffering. With those words, She saw Herself, both Her miserable self and the radiant being that She had been. She was still all of that, and so She ignited a tiny spark. Some say that spark was hope; some say it was just fire. Whatever it was, She She treasured and loved it, and whenever She met others, instead of igniting them to grief, She shared this brightness with them. Slowly at first, but faster as the world warmed, life began began anew. Babies were born whole; laughter was heard; storms of ash congealed and gods rose from the ashes. Fires revealed their souls; stars rose; Bijiif separated the living from the dead, the immortals from mortals, the spirits and essences and gods from each other. Animals, plants, and minerals were differentiated, and Rashorana showed the inner life and purpose of each. The world was reborn. She called herself Ulurda. She found Her husband again, who had been lost so long ago and had been seeking the source of joy which was Her. Rashorana wove a new dress, sapphire blue this time, and with Her latest husband She rose into the Sky. Sky. She found Her bow, bow, and they hunted the pieces of the universe across Sky, Underworld, and earth until everything was found and put into place once again. She taught of fire, of hunting, of love, and of the secrets
of being. The sun rose. Nations separated, each to their own destiny. She began to become reborn in the world of mortals, from which all inspiration and change arises now. She was called Sethir, Verener, Morga, Sendaranpola, Urstenus, Davu, Nysalor, and Kerestus. Each of these men and women planted a portion of the knowledge that would be needed to dress Her in Her full glory. In 1220, as the world knows, knows, the Seven Mothers gathered and raised Her in all Her portions. The child Teelo Estara, clothed in red and glowing from within, led a band, then a league, then an association, and at last, a nation. And she learned about Her world, Her self, the Otherworlds, and Her other selves. At last Her time came; She stopped Her wandering and entered the Otherworlds to become complete with Herself. She conquered life, death, and Chaos, and returned in time to rescue Her loyal people. When the Old Gods resisted Her integration into the Cosmos, She proved Her presence. And when the time came, She rose again into the Sky, red and brilliant and shining. That is Natha, whom we know today, and love. We could tell ten stories about each of these phases She was in, and ten more about each of Her lifetimes. But however many times it is told, and however many beings She She seems to be, She is One who is Many. The Path of Immortality
Those persons of ignorance who do not live under Her light mock and scorn the fact that we, mortals all, walk in the path of a goddess. Presumptuous, they call us, and foolish, and deluded. They think there is a difference between Her, Our Immortal Guide, and us. Fools! Sedenya had been born immortal, beginning life in the aetheric realm and feeding upon the ambrosia of the gods. Yet She became mortal, a limited and finite being who had lost all memory of Her former divine existence. She worked and played, suffered and enjoyed, loved and hated just as all humans do. And She found her way back to godhead. Sedenya, The Great Being, did this because She wished to show human beings how to assist in the recovery of Godtime. Her journey is just like everyone’s. We all know that in the Green Age everyone was equal, a blissful being without care or worry who had had the universe at their fingertips. We were all supernatural beings who smelled of flowers and cast no shadow. Yet, sometimes one by one and sometimes en masse, we fell into the traps of desire, mortality, and the realms of limited consciousness. Unity shattered; love confronted hatred and failed; and peace gave way to war. The world has always been a worse place since the the Otherworld Beings destroyed it in the Gods War. Humans have been the primary victims, and are now the primary methods of recovery. Humans didn’t destroy the world, for they had no power in those days. Yet now they are the repositories of Free Will, and as such, wield the key to reconstruction. The endless cycles of being require that the world recover its former glory, and it is the job of She Who Cycles to lead the way. Hence Her life of suffering and love as a human being, to be the model for us all. Her ascent into the Heavens shows us the way for our own ascent, and Her promise is that the cosmos will follow.
Her blood runs in the veins of millions of people—perhaps in everyone, as some of Her teachers claim. We mortals are mixed, bearing portions of everything that existed before. In that mixture, we have all been carrying out Her struggle, inching the cosmos forward toward its objective. It is the responsibility of all conscious beings to assist in this momentous transformation. It is the destiny of our empire. Her journey took many lifetimes. It was blocked by the old and established powers. The last incarnation as Teelo Estara was only the final step, not the whole journey. But She served us with Her life, and so we can serve the cosmos by following Her principles. Enlightenment takes many lifetimes to acquire. She does not expect us to succeed at once. She expects us to struggle forward, under Her guidance and protection. She also expects us to fail, to be hurt, and to love and be loved. We must make mistakes in our earlier lives to acquire knowledge of everything, just as our last lives must be full of assisting, perseverance, and success at the Great Test. As we approach Enlightenment, we remember the keys to success, and these determine how we act, the powers we wield, and the success and happiness of our lives. At some point, determined by each person, the individual must undertake the Path of Proof. This can be attempted only once each lifetime, at most—some say it is only once every seven or ten lifetimes. Some say that many paths towards immortality and eternal bliss are possible, but success among the Lunar peoples has always been to follow Her Hero Path. She showed us, we are Her people, and it is foolish to innovate under such guidance. Let others seek new ways and continue to fall, as they do, into the abyss of failure. When it is your turn to attempt to find your immortal self, take Her Hero Path. Teelo Estara
Let us discuss her early life as Teelo Estara. A being woke up in the body of a young girl. She discovered Her true selves and Self, and became immortal. First, at her growth. Teelo Norri had been a girl, young and breastless, with neither the hair nor the hips of a woman. Powerful people performed the Renativity. Then the innocent street girl with the black eyes and the dirty face was no more. Her identity disappeared, submerged by the flood of lives and memories that overwhelmed overwhelmed whatever she had been before. Her first words were “We are all Us.” Teelo Norri vanished, and we know that Teelo Estara felt the girl slip beneath the waters of existence with some regret, at first, which disappeared quickly in the face of a hundred new selves and the immensity of the daily life that was set before Her. Hence Her new name, Teelo Estara. And Her new body—that girl grew preternaturally quickly, without the anxieties and discomfort of a human being. She had Her memories to call upon when She bled for the first time, or Her breasts ached with rapid growth, or Her blood heated from the looks that men gave gave to Her, or She to them. She did not have the trouble of innocence in deciding whether to take a first lover. She might instead have had the problem of too much experience, except that She She remembered, and so made wise choices.
Oh, those lovers. Surentholm, Maskore, Burdendarus, Venwhiser, and Eserela are known and revered today. Surentholm, who was at first so anxious and reluctant, and afterward so well-taught that he became known as the “great lover of Jalthil,” until killed in battle outside his city. Maskore, ambitious and loyal and unselfish, who became the first Satrap of First Blessed. Burdendarus, so sympathetic and understanding, who stayed with Her the longest. Venwhiser, who had sung to Her and made poems for a decade. First he resisted Her invitation to Her bed; then, after he made ten more poems, he reluctantly accepted, and after that, he fiercely and jealously defended it. She might have stayed with him forever, except that Mahedres Redbeard thought he was Her weak point and tried to torture him to death. Let us remember how Venwhiser sang “Ten Ways to Love You” on the rack, and how his lack of suffering nearly brought Mahedres to an apoplectic death. Nor will we overlook Eserela, that sweet woman who was hard where Teelo Estara was soft, cruel where She was kind, and, most importantly, kind where She was cruel. Teelo Estara was born to rule. We smile indulgently now at the story of “The Ten Rules of Rule,” when Deezola sat the girl down to start instruction, and was instead instructed. That good Queen was afterwards content to advise the goddess. She also learned, so that Deezola’s own city of Torang was always well ruled, and has been ever since. Teelo Estara coordinated the jealousy of warlords and dukes, balanced the ambitions of suspicious rivals, rewarded the just and trusting, and exploited the despoilers. It took the many lives of Teelo Estara to acquire the knowledge and experience to balance the likes of Deezola, who became so unquestionably good; against the unbridled corruption of Duke Pestenus and his archpriest, Aggavrimak; and yet to keep the loyalty of those famous lords and ladies like Entholm, Aggebeskora, Feneazura, Dardanog, and Aggatholm, who were neither so good nor so bad. Too, Her diplomacy brought the blue trolls of the plateau to friendship, and once even gained the commitment of the bat-winged ones, who won the Battle of Dorid. And what of Her leadership in war? First, no one questions Her wisdom in leaving battle leadership to Yanafal Tarnils, save for the Second Battle of Memkorth when the great warlord was humbled (and no general dares to forget the subsequent admission of Her wisdom by the great man afterwards, which led to his reinstatement and later caution whenever he saw the flocks of eagles). And it was She who advised the promotions of Aggavaskaru and Paktalus, and She who named Manazura to defend Dorid, Pesdarau to be the quartermaster and Opada to command the river fleet, though the boatmen so resisted the idea of a woman to lead them. But of all these actions, the most important to Her was to study. Irippi Ontor was rarely far from Her elbow, except when he was researching some history or divining some fact. She would always ask his advice and information about whomever petitioned Her, but She just as often seized odd moments to inquire of him about some landmark that piqued Her memory, to discuss some philosophy alluded to by a visitor, or to pump him for knowledge of a genealogy, a famous person, or one of Her own previous incarnations. No doubt the candor of that brown man was instrumental in educating Her of the faults of her past, as well as the virtues. She Herself credits Irippi Ontor with teaching Her to avoid the obscurity of Nysalor and the unbridled arrogance of Morga. And everyone knows it was She who discovered the secrets of the Mernitan Altar and of Taraltara’s Net, but it was Irippi Ontor who told Her about the cave where the altar was hidden, and of the impossibility of knowing Taraltara with Her mind. It was he, also, who revealed to Her so many secrets that he had learned from
Buserian, such as the conjunctions of Ulurda with the stars Miningu, Plura, and Beto, and the knowledge of the invisible bodies of Aggatherada the hummingbird. So with all those new facts and hidden insights, with the experience She had gained and remembered, She was prepared for when she departed from the everyday world. The Other Side
Teelo Estara first entered the Otherworld at the Falling Place. She did not know the method to become an independent deity. Others had become heroes, but no one had attempted to resurrect their entire body of past lives. She didn’t know what to do, and She knew that She had tried before and failed. But She tried, once again. Her Mothers gathered with Her other followers at the sacred place, and they erected a large tent to protect everyone from the elements. Inside that tent they erected a sanctuary, and inside that sanctuary they conducted the rites to open a gateway to the Other Side. They used prayers and sacrifice, spells and veneration, spirits and visions, as Teelo Estara had instructed them. In the center of their circle, the gateway appeared, and in the gateway a strange being whom only Jakaleel knew, and Teelo Estara walked towards it and then into it. The creature before Her was nothing She had seen, yet it was oddly familiar. It was something that had been rescued from oblivion by Jakaleel, the old crone who had been Her precious and protective godmother. It was a Lune, a creature unknown to the world. It was the first time that Teelo Estara saw one. She had, by that time, developed Her sorb well enough to discern what type of supernatural creature was before Her. She had been assaulted enough to know how to do this quickly. And with her sorb She peered closely at this thing, and it was clear that it was neither god, nor spirit, nor essence. “I am Your future,” it said, upon inquiry. “In the end I shall either devour You and suck Your bones dry of marrow and grind the rest to a powder, or else I will be three shadows for You, each from a separate source of light. But for now, You must either follow me, or stay here, or go off on Your own.” And She followed it. Since that first time, others have tried the alternatives. Some stayed, and their bones are a powder now that certain magicians use. Others have gone off on their own, and most have never been heard from again, though a few are known to exist in insufferable states of being. “Have You ever fallen?” asked the unknown being, and of course Teelo Estara knew the answer was yes, and said so. “And have you wished for a chance to change that?” it asked, and again, Teelo Estara answered “Yes, but…” and before She was finished the ground from beneath Her disappeared, and She plummeted through open space, with the wind from Her fall whistling in Her ears like a gale. Though She had grown strong and bold, She went white from fright at first. Yet She regained Her composure and had enough time to look around Her. She realized She was amidst other creatures, like and unlike Herself, as if there were a rain of people falling into the void below to water it with their frightened remains.
“I am not helpless,” She thought, and then She shouted, “You are not helpless!” to the others about Her. Most seemed to ignore Her cry, or found it to be just another frightening thing. She did not wait to see the result, but spread her arms like wings and swooped towards the nearest falling being. It was a small girl, much like the girl She had once been, and She scooped it into Her arms and zoomed away towards the distance, dodging the plummeting beings as She had dodged the rocks that were rained upon Her army by the birdmen of Danadix. A mountain hove into view, and She descended upon it, to find She was again alone. Or it is possible that it was that little girl who landed, who upon being set upon the mountain found herself alone, much to her surprise. She set off with diligence, having neither water nor food nor clothes, nor even an idea of where to go. Yet to go was better than to stay, and She went. Amidst rocks which watched Her, through grass and weeds which parted to let Her through, and under a burning brightness which had neither source nor mercy, She went on. She crossed a vast jagged plain of black obsidian that roiled in frozen waves and whose surface cut Her feet to ribbons, so that She left a trail of red footprints behind Her, wet and glistening and filling the tiny pockets in the stone. The Big Man was visible first as a hill which offered shade. She, now burnt from head to toe by the sun upon Her naked skin, sought its shade and shelter. She was nearly upon it when it moved and turned to face Her. A head like a hillock tilted to peer down; blue eyes looked at Her, and a low rumble tumbled from its throat in a wordless sound of curiosity. She remembered this. It was as though She had practiced it before, memorizing lines in a play whose climax and aftermath She knew. This meeting would be friendly at first, then curious, and climax at last in a fierce coupling which She remembered had been a terrifying and embarrassing spectacle. Then She heard a bird cry, a small red thing with a pointed cap and wise black eyes. It was off to the side, and She knew that this was a sign of escape. This was the Safety Bird, and if She chose to follow it, She could escape, and attempt to make an entirely new start to Her life and Her lives. She could avoid this spectacle of inept behavior, this embarrassment of unknown experiences. And for a moment, She considered just that. But instead, She stepped forward then into an old story, into a picture whose lines and creases and colors She already knew. It was, despite Her knowledge, a child’s drawing with scrawls instead of fine lines, of the wrong colors scribbled outside the lines of perfection. But because She knew it, and was willing to try, it was different. This time the meeting was joyful, comforting, and pleasant. So it was that She went first to the oldest realm, in the era of the early Golden Age when She was but a child, and changed Her world. She stayed with the entity known as the Big Guy, and She lived with him in a cave. She had lived there before, eons earlier, and in Her original life and this one both She gave birth to Homura, Her sweet gem. In Her first life, She had eventually fled from this place, but this time, She cast out the Big Guy for his infidelities. This time, when he put a curse upon her, She ignored it. She thought that his curse was finished along with their love, but She did not understand its nature until it revisited Her later.
She remained there even after Homura, Her sweet gem, departed. Some of Her other children and their relatives built a small village. She taught them to make an altar, too, and upon it, they sacrificed red cocks and black pigs, and offered the placentas of their births. Teelo Estara, who was called Teelo Verithurusa here, then arranged a great ceremony wherein She would be able to enter into the Otherworld. She had calculated that She needed to connect to another world of immortality at that very place. It was difficult, for She did not know all the prayers and gestures, nor the proper state of mind for assured success. She did get into the otherworld, but then the nature of Big Guy’s curse became apparent. Instead of establishing a connection, She was cast out again, not as Herself but as a newborn. She was her own descendant. When She was born, She did not cry, but opened her eyes and spoke to Her mother and Her grandmother. They named Her Lesilla, or this time, Teelo Lesilla. She grew up, and She was mighty among them. Overhead sat Her former self, her Other Self; a divine body like a planet, which had turned blue when she was thrust into mortal form. She eventually learned to travel to it again, and to claim it as Her own self. She and her people went back and forth from that idyllic world. But She needed more. Her tribe departed from that cave, as had many before them. They traveled about far and wide, noting the wonders of the world and learning what they could from it. They met, after some time, the Sons of Thunder, another tribe. At first there was conflict, but after a while they remained together and formed a new people. They built a town which became a city, and they were called the Mernitans. Teelo Lesilla did all that She could to prepare for Her Otherworld journey. She set up schools and instructed wise and powerful people. She made an alliance with the Emperor, to obtain his help as well. Alas, that was Her downfall. When She undertook her great rite of transformation in the Otherworld, She was betrayed by the emperor, and when She found her way to the Otherworld, they did not seek to help Her return. She struggled, and She did return, but She also lost a great part of Herself. Instead of establishing a living connection with the Otherworld, She left a part of Herself there, dead. The planet overhead crashed to the ground. Lesilla had been powerful. Her husband was an emperor, and so was Her son. But they did not love Her, being jealous in a world that was becoming overrun by such petty emotions. She was cast out among the ordinary people, and She despaired of ever finding Her way back to divinity. For a while, She rebelled. She worked with the people of Hagu and taught them how to cast out their own failed gods. They did, but it did not help Her. She tried surrendering. She went to the Emperor in the hill, called the Vast Dome, and She surrendered to him. She was put to work in the most demeaning and terrible ways, and She worked without complaint. Yet that gained Her nothing as well. When it came time to blame, She was cast as scapegoat and offered to the demons of evil. They impaled her upon a great pointed stake and the demons came and devoured her slowly. She was devoured, but regenerated. She was suffering, but untouched. She was the cause of trouble, and its victim. She was all things and nothing. She realized that her souls had been
peeled from Her and tossed away into the winds of change and time. She was down to her last scrap of dignity and self. She remembered the past, Her pasts, Her experiences and knowledge and everything which had ever been. It was all inadequate for this. That was when She realized her plight, and She stopped. She sat still, did nothing, save for being where and what She was. That was when the greatest monster of all came to Her and threatened Her. It is called Blaskarth by the Empire now, and others called it Wakboth, Kajabor, Invendith, Sekeveragata, or simply just Cosmic Death. Utter annihilation. Loss of self. It stalked Her, slowly, to drag out Her agony and fear. She was afraid, and then so afraid that the fear could not exist within Her and burned itself out. So She was brave, but so brave that the courage too burned itself out. And so She cried until She could cry no more, and then She laughed in its face. She laughed until She could laugh no more, and so on through every possible feeling and thought until She was at last devoid of thought and emotion, entirely calm. Blaskarth hovered over her, the shadow of nonexistence, and neither with nor without knowledge She offered Her throat and womb to it. It struck, sinking hollow iron fangs deep within Her soul. She died. All died. Everything. She failed to exist. She was not Her. She was. Not Her. Not. Her. Blaskarth hovered over her, and She offered Her throat and womb to it. It struck, sinking hollow iron fangs deep within Her soul.
She then saw what She had not. An empty cave. A ruined city. A desolate landscape. A meaningless life. These, and others, were the places she had tried to enter the Otherworld and establish Her presence. She then contemplated, without emotion, how She might return. That was when Yanafal Tarnils found Her, a hollow husk, an empty shell, a meaningless being. Now, we need to tell briefly of this brave fellow, the boldest in the land. Yanafal Tarnils had been born well, with strength and intelligence. He was not afraid to kill, nor to offer himself to death for a good cause; nor was he afraid of life. He had also learned courage and, perhaps more importantly, discretion and the critical application of caution. This great man of war never wavered in his loyalty to the goddess that he had helped to awaken. He was never disobedient, even when he was sent away from battle at Memkorth. But like all those Saints of Her Life he was subject to doubt, for that was always a part of Her teaching. So when She went upon her great Godquest and left him in charge of the army, he was at the front or the rear of the fight, as required, to defend the sanctuary. He would never have left his post, except that the call of doubt nagged at him from across worlds. She had been gone for years, whereas everyone had expected it to be weeks at the most. Her followers in the Tent of Life had become discouraged; many had lost heart and abandoned the ceremony. Enemies had grown stronger and bolder, and they had begun to assemble and move upon the followers of She-who-would-be-goddess.
So he then left the command to Paktalus, and he entered into the quest across other worlds to follow that call. Disobedient to Her word, he was nonetheless loyal to his obligations. He wandered through known and unknown events of the Gods War, and everything which dared to oppose him was slain or imprisoned. He was finally confronted by the ghost of Death, an empty Death that could devour his soul as a bat eats a fly. It was the dead Death, which to him appeared as a gigantic wasp, the Carmanian incarnation of whatever lay beyond Death. It was the goddess Ak, which had birthed the first Sword, the first wielder of that Sword, and the first Death. Tarnils fought it, first without success. But he stopped fighting for just one moment, and that foul creature sank its fangs into his hip. Then, with cool detachment borne from limitless practice and experience, he lopped the head from it. Yanafal Tarnils continued to struggle forward with that head attached to him, dipping burning ichor as he walked. The Trail of Death is thus well marked and well known now, and it leads now to the place he found: the Fields of Waste, where he came upon Her ragged corpse, devoured by wasps and maggots and the empty ghosts of the bondage eagles which he had once, long ago, slain. She was staked upon a post, impaled like a puppet, and to his eyes She seemed to be suffering beyond all understanding. “It is your fault,” said a voice, and when the fear of that truth entered his heart, that was the moment of his greatest doubt, yet of his greatest trust in himself as well. And so, caught in that dichotomy of assurance and fear, he saw Taraltara, the impossible being who could not be seen. “You are the cause, Taraltara,” Yanafal Tarnils said to the Great One. He began to calculate how he might fight it. He felt the head of Ak gnawing at his hip. “Not I, but She,” replied Taraltara. And that was when Teelo Estara saw that Her tormenter was not Blaskarth, but Taraltara, the Great Mystery which underlay the whole of both cosmos and Chaos. And from the grisly post where She was impaled, Teelo Estara, or the ghost of Her spirit, spoke. “Good fellow, loyal man,” said Teelo Estara, “I am glad to see you.” And those words encouraged him to ignore the Greatest One, the Impossible One, and instead to focus again upon his job at hand. “Good man, I need your decision,” said Teelo Estara. “The world needs you and your skills. You have been gone from the world for months now. Back there, I see our people being slain, being captured, and their souls and spirits taken into cages like birds. You can go back. They need you.” Before he had set off to find Teelo Estara Yanafal Tarnils had heard Her one plaintive call for help from afar. Now he heard without doubt the innumerable moans of the wounded, the shrieks of the dead, and the cries of those in the sanctuary who were facing imminent demolition at the hands of their foes. Teelo Estara then gave him a choice. She reminded him of the countless loyal followers on the other side who were awaiting his return. “Your men and women,” said the goddess, “you can save them!” “Those are Your followers, as well,” he said. “They wait for You. And do I need to remind You that You have told me that the greatest sacrifice is of the Self?” he asked Her. And he
stood. “My decision is made,” he said. And he took the sword from his scabbard and looked at Her. “You, I love,” he said, and with a quick move, he turned the blade upon himself and thrust it through his heart. He fell to the ground. It was only then that the grisly head of the wasp dropped from his hip, and it chuckled as it did. “A life given for yours,” said the Great One. “You live.” And Teelo Estara fell from the stake, a small ember of life now independent of agony. Taraltara then gave the goddess a choice. “You live. You are not alone. You are alive, and You can return to Your life with one other.” And She was given a choice of others to take back to life with Her. “See, here are two beings who have given their lives for Yours. They are the most deserving, who gave without knowing.” And before Her were two, Teelo Norri the young girl, and Danfive Xaron, the criminal. “They have forfeited their lives for You, and as a reward for Your effort, You may bring one of them back.” When She looked upon them, She saw that Danfive Xaron, the arch-criminal, was full of fear, while Teelo Norri, the innocent girl, was full of acceptance. "Well, certainly these are equal, for though one in life was horrible and a terror, while the other was innocent and kind, they are both living beings of equal value. In the world of men they differ, but across the many lives they have lived, are they so different? Here in the empty plains of nothingness, I see they are equal.” Then Teelo Estara pointed to the bloody corpse of Yanafal Tarnils, “And him, too?” asked Teelo Estara. “May I go back with him?” “Oh, yes, of course. He took his own life, but it was for You,” said Taraltara. “So, should You wish, it may be him as well. Yet, would You prefer him, the death-giver, to her, Your gem?” Here Taraltara indicated Homura, the first child of Teelo Estara, who had brought Her from selfishness to an awareness of the world. It had been Homura who had akindled the Goddess, and made Her the Mother of Kindness as well. “Then I see I have many more choices,” said Teelo Estara. “I see that I may return with any being who has given his life for Me, or part of Myself which has given itself that I may be here now. Is that correct? I may take them instead?” asked Estara. She saw the faces of her lovers who had died, and even of those souls who were fighting desperately in the Tent of Life, leaderless without Yanafal Tarnils, who had been dead in the world for only an instant and were now joining the crowd. At that moment, Danfive Xaron became uncomfortable, for he sensed that there were perhaps hundreds of thousands who might qualify for this honor. And Danfive Xaron, of course, wished first for his own life to be returned. He had not relished his time in a suffering Hell. “Yes,” said the Great Goddess. “Choose any.” “Then,” said Teelo Estara, “I choose You.” No further dialogue was necessary. The truth of that statement was evident. In that place, no more trickery or choice or option was possible.
Taraltara smiled then, and Her smile was that of Teelo Estara. Each looked upon Herself. Two were not there, nor was One. It was not Zero, either, but something else. And there, around Teelo Estara, rose a tent of wondrous beauty. Its fabric was of celestial silk, which Homura had first woven. “I live,” said six beings at once, in that moment. Three stood beside Teelo Estara, on the plains which were no longer those of nothingness. Teelo Norri, Danfive Xaron, and Yanafal Tarnils were with her. And in another world, where life and death were separate, the words were spoken by Deezola, a queen who had a moment before been pierced by a sword and two spears; and by a badly wounded scholar, armed with just a dagger and a shield; and by a great and powerful shaman who had been stripped of all her defenses by sorcery that ate spirits. “We are all Us,” they said, all six and another one, who for that second knew they were a part of the Great Sedenya. “Hell and damnation,” swore a great wizard at that same moment, though he was far across the field of battle, and then he faltered and fell, unconscious with blood running from his mouth, nose, ears and eyes. His lord, the son of a Shah, saw it and paled. “Take him up,” commanded the shah’s son, “And follow me. Page, get our horses.” And around that commander, his lieutenants and messengers and staff were all suddenly afraid too, and they all dashed for their own horses. Now, when the Goddess had departed she left a body of worshippers behind, all of them dedicated and loyal and sworn to pray, even in the midst of fear and terror. They had worked and prayed for two years, relentlessly continuing a task that they had thought would take two weeks. They had stayed there, sometimes taking time to sleep or stepping out to bathe, but generally sleeping and eating there. Winter had not deterred them, though the fires inside that tent were never warm enough. Nevertheless, they persevered, for they thought at first that a few more weeks would be the worst they would have to endure. Then they thought that the first winter cold would be the worst thing they’d have to bear. Then the endless days wore on, and the second winter seemed like the worst. But they discovered that truly the worst thing was the Carmanian army which came upon them, slicing great rents in the cloth and charging in to kill. At the “We are all Us” moment, the Lions of Carmania were among them, hewing and slashing in that sacred tent where the devout prayed for the return of their goddess. Oh, always remember those poor gentle folk who were being slaughtered at that very moment, praying and undistracted even though they were beyond hope. They were kneeling, or lying dead and bleeding, around the central Holy Tent, from which they hoped to see the emergence of their Goddess. Instead, from it leapt a man, armed and armored, who was their commander. His sword flashed, and with each blow, a foe fell dead or wounded. Of course, that was Yanafal Tarnils. Another emerged, naked and scowling and desperate, yet more fierce for those conditions. He fell with bare hands upon the wounded who would have risen despite their wounds, and of course that was Danfive Xaron, who strangled them, and snapped their necks, and gouged out eyes, and bit the throat of one who dared to rise from the dead to fight again.
A third came, who did not fight, who did not struggle, but who instead raised her own voice in a prayer of supplication and mercy to help her beloved fellows and helpmates who were watching. That was Teelo Norri. That assault drove the Lion Guard from the sacred tent. But never doubt the courage and training of those enemy soldiers, for they rallied to the barked commands of their remaining leader, and would all have fallen upon Yanafal Tarnils and reversed their defeat. It was the howling moan from above that distracted them. That howl caused everyone to look upward, from the lowliest shovel man who had been impressed into the army to the son of the shah, who was even then seated upon his great stallion and spurring it away from battle. Even Mahedres Redbeard, the sorcerer, unconscious and draped upon another steed, looked skyward with bleeding eyes. There She was. The Goddess, Teelo Imara as She would thereafter be known, radiant and the size of a mountain, standing upon the back of a screeching crimson bat. That bat was death and more than death, the Death of Gods. It was the color of fresh blood, sticky and wet, and the blood dripped from it in living tendrils. Its thousand eyes looked everywhere, and those eyes each saw what they sought, and they sought to look into the eyes of whomever wished harm to its rider. The eyes of the shah’s son looked there, and the eyes of Mahedres Redbeard opened and stared, and the gaze of the Lion guards as well looked upward into a vision that was impossible for them to behold. And each of them—a thousand foes!—felt their sanity drain out their own eyes, sucked into the impossible vision, and half of them fell dead upon the spot. The rest howled as they eyes burst, and they ran, panicked and mad, unable to see where they were going. Minds were just husks, unknowing of themselves or of others, all of them empty of purpose. The bat’s eyes which had fed upon the souls of those now dead then turned and looked upon other foes, who in turn were driven mad or died. Every foe of the Goddess tried not to look, but they were compelled to see what they did not wish to see, and the madness and death entered them as well. And what of those who loved Her? They had looked too, yet they saw only their radiant goddess, hovering there upon the back of a hummingbird, with Her extended hand bestowing blessing and healing. Those dead worshippers in the tent saw Her with their dead eyes, and they sat up, healed, and they joined in the song of praise and love that Teelo Norri was singing. Out of that canopy, beautiful music swelled, and men and women who had been struggling a moment before were filled with joy. They raised their weapons and sang as well, and watched as an army which had been trampling upon them a moment before all dropped their weapons and ran, if they did not fall dead. So She returned. The Bat continued, screeching and howling and driving the foes deeper into madness. She stepped gracefully from its back and descended, floating, down among Her followers and alighted where the Sacred Tent stood. Under the radiance of Her presence, the wounds of the dead and hurt were healed. From the pockets of Mahedres and the cages of his minions, the hummingbird souls and the butterfly spirits were freed, and they alighted on corpses as if they were feeding on flowers. The nectar of life flowed, and the dead rose alive. Sedenya looked upon the field, and all saw Her. Then Teelo Estara stood there for a moment, and everyone recognized Her. Then she was more, and so afterwards everyone called Her Teelo Imara.
Teelo Imara
Let us discuss Her life as Teelo Imara. Her Quest was not done. She had made her Tent, but it was not yet full. It stood like a field of light, surrounded by a garden of beauty. It shimmered, translucent from the outside, solid on the inside. Yet She was not done. That tent stood in an Otherworld. Yet, which one? It was not clear. It was not done. She was not finished. Teelo Imara had Her task before Her. She was surrounded by her most loyal followers, the Seven Mothers and the others who would be called Saints of Her Life. And they, in turn, had with them their followers and devoted people. And they, in turn, had as followers those who would never be leaders, but who would benefit from being followers. Teelo Imara was back in History, the world of the living, and many tasks lay before Her. But She placed most of those tasks into the hands of Her followers, who carried out those deeds in Her name and with Her power. They did the deeds of humans. When the deeds of a deity were required, She stepped forth. Thus, Yanafal Tarnils led her army in Kostaddi and into Dara Happa. But when they stood before the walls of Raibanth, it was She who walked alone to the fore, and stood within the range of arrows. The archers shot, and their arrows had been blessed and enspelled and empowered and borne by spirits. Yet they fell upon her as flowers, and when the odor wafted upon the walls, all the archers stopped. The orders of their superiors, whether delivered with promise or with threat, were met by stares of incredulity. The archers could not believe that their officers did not see what they saw: a goddess of grace and wonder. So it was left to the priests, who in their turn summoned the very god of their city. Ancient Raiba, who had been reawakened fourteen centuries before, sat up in his temple. The great statue creaked and groaned as only moving stone can do, and after it stepped from the confines of the building, it took on the suppleness of flesh and grew to proportions suitable for such a being. It walked down the grand Imperial Way, stepping carefully over the astonished soldiers assembled as reserves in the streets. Raiba gazed over the walls of the city at Teelo Imara, whose own proportions grew to match his. They looked at each other, and after a short time without words heard by any but the most powerful humans, the god stepped over his own walls onto the plain before the city. There he knelt, and paid homage to a deity greater than he. The priests, watching from the walls of his temple, wasted no time, but gave word to their leaders. And in no time at all, the leaders assembled and opened the gates to their city. They came out in procession, and they offered honey and pearls and the tokens of beasts and grains to Her.
And so it went with the other gods of Dara Happa, even monstrous Shargash, for all of them are wise and perceptive. Meanwhile, in other lands Her legions fought on. But this was not Her main work. She had other tasks, more important. She gathered to Her the awakened memories of her former selves. Velortina and Deveria and Davu and Ferandarus were recalled, relived, and rejoined. But all that was only a prelude. Her task, at that time, was to make Her place in the Otherworld. To take the tent which was nowhere and place it into the known universe. This was not easy, but She was not weak either. She tried several times, but each time She was thwarted. She realized that Her opponents were the Old Powers, who had gathered from the Three Otherworlds to resist Her. They prepared an expedition to destroy Her immortal tent again, and set Her work back for another hundred lifetimes. An army of immortals assembled to venture forth from the Otherworlds and bring down Her ethereal temple. Though She had failed at this in the past, this time She assembled Her own army. So it was that She sent Her minions against Castle Blue. She did not fight there. She remained in Torang, and then traveled to other places and consecrated them. She went to Hagu, to the Tent Cave, to the Stake, and to other places where she had, in previous lives, attempted to make Her temples. In each of those, Her worshippers gathered, praying and making sacrifices. The fight was left to Her minions. She assembled the requirements for a leader there, and from the many men and women who struggled to meet them, She selected or constructed Rufus, the Red Emperor. It was a trick of Hers, with parts and powers joined together from an apparent defeat. At another time, a range of Otherworld mountains turned into giants, which were broken by gods into bits, which then changed into birds of fire that incinerated the defenders of Castle Blue. That was a fierce war, and not every victory went to the Lunars, but in the end, the forces of the goddess were successful. Only then did She go to Castle Blue, and She accepted the homage of the forces of the universe who had thwarted her in the past. Then She retired to the Dancing Ground. There, with a core of Her worshippers, including the victors of Castle Blue, She performed Her last terrestrial rite. She danced, and upon that ground She created the Otherworld which was to be Hers. Every place and every time where She had tried before to make Her Otherworld was joined in that moment to Her, and when She ascended into the Sky World once again, all of those places where She had struggled were brought with Her. In that way, She created Her Otherworld, which included some of everyplace. The world is made of everything, and so is Her World. She finished Her task of the Impossible, and She created Her Otherworld, which includes some of the Gods World, and the Sorcery World, and the Spirit World. She rose, and She remade the world.
Yet To Come
She told us: “We are All Us. We are born, love and hate, we create and destroy. We die, are transformed and return yet again in new form. We all come from The One, unimaginable Taraltara; and to That shall we all return once again. This world and this life is not the end. As illuminated beings it is our duty to protect the weak, to defy the strong, and to teach the Great Secret of Being to all who are yet to attain it. It is our duty and obligation to recall our common origin, our common life, and our common ultimate destiny. We must remember: We Are All Us We are all Us The Victory shall be ours
(Rule One Magazine)
The Egg
The Second Council developed a new philosophy around their capacity to construct the perfect being, who would be able to harmonize all intelligent life into a highly spiritual relationship to the universe, much like that of the Gods Age. For years they discussed how it might be done, and there were theories of what it might really mean, but it seemed to be a dream of the future which was as unreachable as the dreams of the past. Then an artifact called a “pseudocosmic egg” was discovered and delivered to Dorastor. The exact nature of this thing was unknown, but much sought after. Whatever findings were made are still a secret, though we know what it was used for. This egg formed the nucleus for the creation of a new god born within the bounds of time and fashioned by the dreams of perfection by imperfect beings. The new god had many names: Rashoran, Nysalor, and Gbaji are the best-known.
The Black Eater The trolls were more offended by the unity of Dara Happa and the Broken Council. They retreated to their own lands, deserting Dorastor completely, and began an ancient summoning of an entity called the Black Eater. This unknown force had been summoned in the Great Darkness but the ritual was not finished. The trolls began it anew, and their magic was so powerful that the sun was actually forced to stop in the sky by their powers.
(Trollpak 1, Uz Lore)
The Body of Rufelza (Geography of the Moon’s Surface)
Rufelza invites us to inquire about Her. She promises that anyone who looks towards Her will find Her looking back. When we look at Her overhead we see Her benevolent face looking down upon us. Rufelza is the Mask, and we should start our search into Her Being wit h that which we can see most easily: the Red Moon. We need to know what the face of Rufelza is. We look at Her in the sky and ask, naturally, “What are those marks?” Before anyone can answer, we must first ask, “¿Which marks do you see?” Rufelza has taught us over and over that our perspective is important, and that not everyone always discerns all things to be the same. These visible features are emanations of Her spirit into the Material Worl d. They look different to the uninitiated, depending of keenness of sight and the modifications made to their natural vision. Physical Markings This is to the place to both praise and chastise the Materialists. They provide us with the most consistent interpretation of our world, and we are thankful to them for their clarity – when it is in the right place. I take the following words of description from Aklaritus of Raibanth. Apparent Features “The Red Moon is a physical object which hovers in the sky overhead. I have never met any one normal human, even among the hundreds of foreigners whom I have met, that can honestly deny its presence. Normal humans see it. “We now know that quality of sight varies, even among normal humans. Some see only a dim blur of anything at any distance. Others have naturally superior sight, even seeing into the so-called ‘magical spectrum.’ “Most often the Red Moon appears to be a round ball wit h shadows upon its surface, which are called its Apparent Features. To the ignorant, these appear from below to form a lopsided face wherein the unusually bright spots of the Self Plateau and Ruby City are the eyes and the vast Os Mountains are the mouth. “With our keen eye for seeing accurate details over a long distance, we have assembled a complete list of the physical features of the moon. Given here is a list of the largest highlands and peaks are, and where the level places lie.” [Authors’ Note: Aklaritus’ list is incorporated into our own list of Places of Interest, below.] The Energy Net “When we view the Red Moon with our best energetic magic, we discern a network upon it. They are first seen to be like large darker points which are connected by straight lines. These are sometimes called craters and canals. Those among us with the
keenest eyes discern that these points are actually pulsing, with radiant waves flowing from them. These points of power are connected, not by canals, but by streams of force.” The Living Moon We do not refuse the observations of the Materialists. The supernatural keenness which materialist seers can see does not differ greatly from observations made by some of us. Their crude geography helps us to analyze our experiences there, upon the surface of Rufelza herself. But the Materialists can not reach beyond the ‘facts’ of t heir observations to grasp the truth that the surface they see as a series of ‘features’ and ‘energy nets’ is swarming with life. The “centres of power” spoken of by Aklaritus usually correspond with the great cities and holy places of Rufelza’s sacred form. The facts that follow have been obtained first from Rufelza and Her Son, and from Her Saints. They have been verified by thousands of visitors who have travelled to the moon, and journeyed back. The Divine Face When we look at Her overhead we see Her benevolent face looking down upon us. Even the half-blind materialists see a shadowy half vision of Her features. But any initiate looking upward sees more certainly. People who look upward from directly below have the advantage of seeing the face of Rufelza most clearly. They look right at Her. She is beautiful and gentle, and She is decorated with the Jewellery of Liberation. She wears upon Her head a gleaming white diamond, upon which is held the Light Bird of Freedom. Upon Her brow She wears a band of gold, and upon its sides gleam two fiery red rubies. A pair of sapphire earrings glitter bright blue, while about Her throat is a pearl which is so black that it gleams. Finally, She wears a nose ring which is sometimes said to be rainbow coloured and other times to be pulsing, but in fact appears differently to different people. Features More subtle observations have been made and recorded, and subsequently verified b y observers. Any initiate, and many ordinary people with good eyes, can see more details on the surface of Her Body. Those of us who have been there can vouch for intimate details as well. Gross Portions To the learned, the surface of the Red Moon is divided into eight parts, determined by the direction which it faces, and whether it is Above or Below. Each of these one-eighth parts has a directional abbreviation/name (such as SWB, for South West Below) and also an Official Designation, and finally, often has one or more popular names for t he area.
The Eight Surfaces are: SWA SEA NEA NWA; Scar
SWB, Verithuric; Drobe SEB, Nathic; Rubes NEB, Orogeric; Played NWB, Lesillic; Pussy
Vernacular Terms Commoners use these terms when they talk. The South The South is the part of the Red Moon which faces towards the centre of the world, or southward. The most prominent features of this side include: Ocular Palace, the Hero City, some of the Stellar Palaces, the Moon Wood, the Fire Palace, the Ruby Sea, the Pulsing House, the I-plateau, the Lunar Wood. (Also called: Palace Side, Front, Centrelooking, etc.) The North This is the part of the Red Moon which faces north. Its most apparent features are: Occluded Sea, Ocean of Despair, Sheng’s Scar, Os Mountains, and the Hunter’s House. Blindside, the Topside The top of the Moon cannot be seen from below. It is surrounded by the Crown Wall which cuts it off from all which is Below, and whose gateways are a mystery to all who have not been there. The area inside the wall is a perfect land, and is contiguous with the Sky World. The landmark in the centre is called Sedenya’s Footstool. The Up Side The Up Side is so-called because it is what we when we look up from below. We don’t see the Face or North, but probably a part of each. These views are all called “upside views,” even though they are of the bottom of the moon. This habit was begun by the ignorant, propagated by the witless, and supported by the common. Places of Interest Given here are the most common names of the centres of power and major features that are on the surface of the Red Moon. Arrow Wound (SEA). From a distance, this looks like a single large mountain. From the surface of the moon we can see it is a huge broken arrow, its shaft only a stub, and with the stone head only partially buried into the surface. This is the arrow which Yelm’s archer son shot at Her. She carries it like a badge now, and from the trickling streams around the wound grow the plants which can heal any arrow or spear wound. Bat Pen (NEA). To those of the right mind, and with the right sight, from a distance this
spot can sometimes be seen to be a huge bat rune. This occurs when the Red Emperor calls for his great pet to come to the Surface World. Closer up we would see that is a zoological park where many odd and most often frightening creatures live, all of whom have been tamed by the Red Emperor or his Wilding Hunters. Birdland (NWB). Sometimes this can be seen from a distance as a glowing speck, like a fallen ember. Rufelza granted this place to the ancestral gods of Her land to honour them, and so the eagles and quails have made their nests here. Here live too the resurrected flocks of augner, a great riding demibird similar to dragonewt’s mounts. It is sometimes also called the Moon Eagle’s Eyrie or the Quail’s Nest, or sometimes the Fire Palace. Conflict, Fields of (NWA, SWA). In this wide expanse are many traps, natural and unnatural dangers, and hostile beings intent upon harm towards anyone else found within the region. Yanafal Tarnils regularly sends parts of his immortal Moon Corps here to train. Crown Wall (Around Above 1/3). From the Surface World, the Crown looks like a fuzzy band around the topmost visible edge of the moon. Closer, we can see it as a strong crown atop the Red Moon. Up close, from the Below side, it is clearly a gigantic wall without any gates. Darinex (Precise centre bottom). Here is the precise centre of the bottom of the moon. Darinex stands exactly there, turning upon that spot to always face his twin brother, Destix, at whom he points. This place is also called Pivot, because upon it Darinex turns. Despair Ocean (NE and NW Centre). From our world, this wide expanse is slightly darker when in the light, and slightly lighter when in the dark. On the moon, it is a vast and sluggish sea whose winds are moaning souls, and whose denizens are swimming and floating corpses of people who have failed their own lives. Amid this is Grief Island. Emperor’s Forest (SEB). From our perspective, this is a featureless part of t he Red Moon. But up close, it is a shifting forest whose very trees and land forms may change shape while we watch. The denizens include many creatures which are found only here. Some are too monstrous to be contained elsewhere, such as Harkazon; others are sacred, such as the sickle-horned Nosehorns. The Red Emperor loves to hunt here. Fenderian Parade, or Mountains (NEA and NWA). One day the Emperor asked, “Mother, what is the most sorrowful thing here?” At that thought She wept, and the tear fell upon the surface of the moon. From it leapt a thousand cheerful and joyous sprites who ran out to entertain Her and change Her mood. She laughed so hard that t hey froze there for Her, that She may ever find delight, and they still are there. They look like mountains to outsiders, to but to us each one is a source of pleasure or comic antics. Fort of Spears (SWA). Invisible from a distance, up closer we are delighted by a dense field of upward pointing spears of wondrous variety in substance and size, all crowded so closely together that no person could slip between any of them. Nearby is the New
Fort. [This is the spot where the Orlanthi Jumper, who leapt off Mount Top of t he World, landed. They are hoping another one will jump here.] Gerra’s Pit (At North Pole, where NEA, NEB, NWA, and NWB meet). From a distance, this appears to be a darker spot, even when the dark side covers this part of the moon. It is a deep four-sided pit, with many steps leading down to the bottom. At the bottom is the place where many of the Blessed Ones arrive when they are transported to the blissful life upon the moon. Surrounding the pit is a city of people who are never sad. This site is also called the Palace of the Black Pearl, the Pendant, and the Pit of Sorrow. Glory, Plain of (At South Pole, where SWA, SWB, SEA and SEB meet). Featureless from a distance, the Plain when we are upon it is dotted with innumerable camps of the blessed dead who haven taken up residence in its pleasure. Grief Island (in the Despair Ocean). Indistinguishable from a distance, this can be found only by sailing upon the Despair Ocean. It is a very large and barren, rocky island in the midst of which lies the Pit of Gerra. Hero City (SEB). This is one of the power nodes, from a distance. From the surface of the Red Moon it is a large number of resplendent palaces where live many of the saints and heroes of Rufelza. Hospital (SEB). From a distance or close up, this place appears as a different colour to different people at different times. Only Rufelza can know what pattern lies within it. A popular court game is to guess what colour the Red Emperor will see this spot to be each morning. Surrounding this is a peaceful and unattended wild area, wherein lives Rashorana and Her entourage. This is also called the Palace of Rashorana, House of the Nose Ring and the Pulsing House. Lunar Wood (South Side). Featureless from a distance, this is a vast forest without any habitation larger than a village. Within this live all of the most superb creatures of our world, as well as an array of fabulous beasts normally found but rarely in our world. This is where the noble dead go hunting for their leisure. Mernita (NWB). From the surface world, we can see that this is a bright burning blue light. Here lives Queen Lesilla, hence its name of Palace of Lesilla. This ancient site was resurrected here when Rufelza recovered Her past. Here, too, live any of the women who have served the Lunar Way while in human form. This city is also called the Sapphire Earring. Natha’s Fortress (SEB). From a distance, this is a brighter red spot upon the Red Moon. Here lives Natha. Up close, the palatial city is surrounded by a great wall in which 17 gates are pierced. The particular aspect of Natha who can be see therein depends entirely upon which of the gates the petitioner has entered. This is also called the Palace of Natha, and also the Ruby Crown. [Entering by going over the walls provokes a rapid appearance by Natha the Defender.] Occluded Sea (SEA and NEA). Although actually a vast water which is covered by fog, this area appears from the distance to be flat and featureless. The purpose of the fog is to obscure, however, and to hide any of the things, creatures, beings, and desires which
the sailors would normally prefer not to see. Lunar heroes therefore regularly go harpooning here for sport and personal development. Ocular Palace (in the Ruby City). Surrounded by the Ruby City, this i s the favourite palace of Rufelza, who can always be found relaxing in it. In Her throne room is Her Throne of Sight. Whoever sits on it can see anything and anywhere known to Rufelza. Although mortals are destroyed by it, this is where Herendus sat when he saw Kerende, and began their doomed epic. Orogeria’s Camp (NEB). From our world, this is a bright blue spot upon the surface of the Red Moon, amidst the Tendarshan Forest. It is also called the Turquoise Earring, the Palace of Orogeria, and Deer Heart. Os Mountains (NEB and NWB). From a distance, this is one of the most distinctive features visible to the naked eye. This is the largest range of mountains on the moon. Within it live the Outlaws of the Moon, who are those creatures that can find no other place to live. Here too is the Unfailing Oracle, in a cave; and also the Bottomless Pit, where the unprepared are cast down from the splendour of the Red Moon and into the world of mortality below. Also here is the Rebirth Chamber, where the people ready to be reborn are sent to a new life. Ruby City (SEB). From the distance of the ground, this is one of the most distinctive features visible on the moon. It is sometimes called Beyond Glamour, because places from the Imperial Capital open doors right into this city. This is the central site of the theological council and is usually where the Egi meet to reconstruct the Emperor, and where the Supernatural Council meets at Sacred Time, and so on. Ruby Sea (SEB, NEB, NWB, around the Below Pole). In its centre, which appears to be a power node from a distance, is the great red fish which Rufelza rescued, and which swims around and around after its tail, now and forever. Saint City (NEB). This is one of the power nodes, from a distance. From the surface of the Red Moon it is a large number of resplendent palaces where live many of the saints and heroes of Rufelza. Sedenya’s Footstool (Top of the Above). The topmost part of the Red Moon is surmounted by a great pyramid, far larger than the ancient Imperial Pyramid in Raibanth. Upon it the fortunate among us may reside, as close to Great Sedenya as is possible while still maintaining identity. Self Plateau (SWB). From a distance, this is one of the most distinctive features, being visible to most people with good eyes. It is a huge level plateau, in the centre of which sits Mirroreyes, who is prepared to explain the secrets of the Gr eat Self. This place is also sometimes called the Right Eye, the I Hill, and Within Sight. Sheng’s Scars (NWA and SWB). These two very visible features are an ugly reminder of reality. Our Goddess, innocent and whole was drawn into conflict by nature of kinship. When She shielded Her own son, She was struck by his foe, who laid bare these great gashes upon Her head. Though stunned, She recovered (for no one knows suffering like Her), and with that outrageous blow Natha was freed to avenge Her.
Tormented Sheng Seleris now suffers forever, wracked and slashed, reborn and burnt forever, tortured eternally without any chance of the liberation of Knowing. Serenity, Fields of (NEB and NWB). A wide expanse of rolling country where the inhabitants live in utter ease, untroubled to gather food or b y any form of inconvenience. Six Revenge Mountains (SEB). These are mountains carved to be great palaces for six heroes of old times who did well by Natha, and have received reward here. Their names are Geogana, Isalatha, Oka, Nesthasalos, Jaganatha, and Bethana. Tendarshan Forest (NEB, NEA). Featureless from a distance, this is a pleasant forest of red trees which is named after Tendarsha, a daughter of Orogeria and the chief forester. It is the place where all red creatures live after they die, and they may be hunted for pleasure and love by those who worship them and live among the trees. Transetan Ridge (SWB). When Deka and Antara, the two house keepers of Rufelza, argued they raised this wall between them. Wardrobe (SWB). From a distance, this centre of power appears to be a bri ght red spot of light. Upon closer inspection we can see that it i s the wardrobe of the Red Goddess. From here may be chosen any suit of clothing which is desired to descend to the world. Nearby is the Well of Ease which erases memories from drinkers who have chosen clothes to wear. This place is also called the Palace of Verithurusa, the Crown Ruby. Zaytenera’s Palace (Plain of Glory). This is the only white spot which is visible on the surface of the Red Moon. It is also called the Diamond Diadem, and also the White Palace. Up close, we see that the palace is a huge crystalline structure whose only permanent inhabitants sit motionless in luminous meditation chambers. Destix (The Radiant Shadow) Destix is the source of the shadow which obscures half of Rufelza’s body at any time. Destix appears, to the materialists, to be a tiny body which radiates darkness and which revolves around the Lunar body. Where its influence falls upon the Lunar surface the light is cancelled, making it dark. Destix is one of three brothers, children of Rufelza and born from parts of Her body after Her ascent. One died at birth and is unnamed (even though it was reborn instantly). The others, Destix and Darinex, are among the teachers of humankind. Destix teaches Balance, and Darinex teaches Direction. The Mystical Perspective (What does the moon look like from a mystical perspective?) Any or all of the above. But the important point from a mystical perspective is entirely lost when we look at the moon at all. I will tell you in another way: you’re doing the wrong thing if you are looking at the moon to see Sedenya. Sedenya is the source of all power, whether cosmological, material, or Mystical. But you can never properly perceive the whole of the outer world. Rashorana has taught us that Sedenya lies within us as well as outside, and that we can more easily reach the infinite inside of us, for that contact with Sedenya is finite. We cannot see behind the mask by looking at the mask, and any form of Rufelza i s a mask. You cannot see Sedenya, because she is beyond visibilit y AND invisibility. She
is beyond the duality of deity and not-deity, or of d emon and goddess, or even of male and female. Sedenya, the source of the individual’s Self, is. As are you. AS. (Tales of the Reaching Moon 16º)
Hidden Castles
The Hidden Castles were magical places, often of fairly large expanse, which appear infrequently in Glorantha. Other examples include the Hidden Green of otherwise deserted Prax, ghostly and deadly Kartolin of Ralios, the City of Rose-Colored Glass Towers in the Far East, and several islands. The origin of these places is questionable, and possibly varied. It is certain that their origin lies, like all else, in the spawning of Time. It seems likely that these Hidden Places were not of temporal origin, but were mostly magical in nature and thus able to appear in other places to some extent. Their regular appearances in the mortal sphere may have included years of absence sometimes, and a flickering back-and-forth reality at others. The inhabitants were evidently immortal to a 'natural' death, or else were extremely long-lived. They were generally of considerable power, but seemed lacking in ambition or ability to expand far beyond their own flickering properties. Nonetheless, they were unusually good-natured if unprovoked, and it was easy to maintain friendly relations with them, whether the friends, who occasionally offered sacrifices as well, were human, troll, Aldryami or Mostali.
The Quest of the Red Goddess
The Goddess Enters Godtime The Empty Victory of the Goddess The Goddess Meets Arachne Solara The Binding of Gbaji The Goddess Riding the Sky Bear The Full Victory of the Goddess Return of the Goddess Triumphant
A History of the Lunar Empire: The Zero Wane The Carmanian Empire
Around the year 700, portions of Fronela were engaged in a deep and intense war over succession. Among the contenders was Syranthir Forefront, a skilled knight and general who gained his name from his particular form of battle, which was to give strict and explicit orders to his officers, then ride to the front of his army to watch the events occur or fail, and be prepared to lead the decisive charge himself. He left home and enemies after being betrayed by his wife and brother. His army, ever loyal to him and having as little to lose as he in the ravaged land, set off to follow the Great River (the Janubian) inland, eventually finding employ by the Sweet Sea merchants to combat the savage Baloris barbarians. Settling that, Syranthir and his army set out eastwards, to lands fairly unknown to civilized peoples. Around 729, Syranthir met the people of Lake Oronin, who guided him down the Oronin River to the place where Dolebury, later the Carmanian capital, was established. The Carmanians established a feudal society upon the "pauper farmers" who they encountered, and pressed conquests into the rich river valleys. They were militarily feudal in nature, favoring an armed nobility, superbly trained and equipped, to a rabble of foot soldiers. They also introduced a new type of farming into the land, which increased the yield of every field it was used upon. Finally, they brought the Third Eye Blue cult of metal-smiths to Peloria. These innovations, and a brute band of gods to maintain their power, established the Carmanians early, and greatly aided their growth. They eventually helped the Empire of the Wyrms Friends dispose of the decadent Dara Happan Empire, and led nations aiding in the disposal of humans and dragonewts of Dragon Pass many years later. By the time of the war with the Lunar army, the Carmanian Empire had changed little in internal structure, despite its conquest of large territories and populous cities. The metal-smithing had spread across all of Peloria, and the old agricultural methods were known to the enemy. The old kingdom could not respond to the changes forced by the Lunar Empire, and collapsed under pressure. Zero Wane: The Goddess on Earth The Birth of the Goddess
1220 S.T. is the recorded and accepted date of the birth of the Red Goddess. The event took place in a town, Torang, in the land of Rinliddi within the region known as Peloria. The magical event which precipitated this divine act was brought about by a conspiracy of seven beings, later known in the religion as the Seven Mothers, although three of them were men. At that time, Rinliddi was broken into small, mistrusting duchies, each ruled by established dynasties, and each working for their own petty ends. To the west the Carmanian Empire manipulated the border duchies, while t o the east the increasingly
hostile horse-barbarians were regularly raiding the country in growing numbers. Little is actually known of the political motives for the Seven Mothers. Lunar legend gives them only the highest praise and moral righteousness. Other hints indicate that political expediency and a simple lust for more power motivated at least two of the conspirators. Whatever their motivation, their results were permanent and inspired. Four days before the birth of the Goddess, a horse tribe shaman, who was probably in the conspiracy as well, ambushed and wounded the Carmanian wargod (Humakt) during a ceremony in Spol while an enchanted hunt had drawn off most of t he regional nobility. The birth was attended by three miraculous signs: the Young Elementals appearing to promise homage, the Song of the Animals, and the Spider's Protection. Shortly afterwards the Spol noblemen who managed to return from the hunt began a search for the infant Goddess which resulted in their deaths. Establishment of First Blessed Sultanate
Torang declared itself in support of the Goddess, followed by other towns nearby. A battle on the Arcos River established the ragtag army and nation of the Goddess, and the followers immediately named the battle "First Victory". The Goddess, in turn, named her new lands "First Blessed," and named a lover as first Sultan. In 0/6 (1226) the army of the Goddess drove off neighboring invaders at the Battle of Eleiu Hararn, established her control, and expanded her territory. In response to harassment and plain desire for additional territory, the Goddess began encroaching upon the neighboring duchies who did not join her rule. In 0/8 (1228), while raiding the territory of Duke Nandelus, the Lunar army was confronted by a major nomadic invasion, possibly at the hire of said Duke. At least four tribes had sent warriors, probably numbering some 12,000 riders in all. The engagement is called the Battle of Seven Horses, because the Goddess captured that many trained steeds from their barbarian Runelord masters. One barbarian contingent was virtually annihilated by a dazzling array of magic from the Goddess, two others wasted themselves upon fixed Lunar infantry squares on a hilltop, thanks to the promptings from the Lunar mages. The last contingent, the Char-Un, were fixed into place first by spells, and then by enchantment at the spectacle of their allies' destruction. At the end of the day, the Char-Un warriors swore loyalty to the Goddess in the most demeaning terms, virtually offering themselves in slavery to her. She accepted, and shortly afterwards the savage barbarians moved close to the Lunar lands, shielding the eastern border from the other nomads. They grew quickly in strength, thanks to Lunar money and training, and were loyal allies through the whole period of the Goddess' stay on earth. In 0/8, after the Holy Time at the end of the year, the Goddess left the mortal realms upon adventures which carried her beyond the lands of her followers. The Battle of Chaos
Two years after her departure, the Carmanian sorcerer Mahedres Redbeard, who had served four generations of Carmanian kings, declared that the Goddess was gone,
trapped in the Seven Teeth and Two Jaws, and that her lands were ready for reconquest. Yanafal Ta'arn'ils, the Superhero, had gone to try to rescue her, and the other remaining Mothers were unable to properly defend the lands of First Blessed. Probing attacks were followed by invasions and culminated in 0/12 (1232) when the Carmanian army marched to the walls of Torang, besieging seven forts or cities along the way, and laying assault ladders upon the walls of the sacred city five times before t he arrival of the relief army under the command of the returned Duke Yanafal. The Battle of Chaos was a three day affair, excluding the skirmishing between scouting cavalry as the armies closed. The first fight took part far from the city, when a tribe of Char-Un cavalry took the initiative and attacked wildly down the main road, drawing much of the Carmanian infantry to stopping it in the late afternoon. A solid infantry square held off the Char-Un, and awaited reinforcements which scared off the cavalry. But the maneuver had been a feint, and a select band of people managed to break out of the city and join their friends outside. There followed a Lunar ritual which lasted two full days, and was a dangerous attempt to find the Goddess wherever she lay. On the second day, the alerted Carmanians drew up to await the Lunar relief forces at Horgaf's Pass. The half-crazed Char-Un gladly charged at the Carmanian knights, who impetuously met them with charge and countercharge. The heavily armored knights carried the day, but were too winded to follow up properly against fresh spear- and bowmen. During the night, fresh troops arrived from the Carmanian armies left behind to besiege the forts. The Lunar ritual had rewarded them with several valuable allies, and a force of Yuthuppan mercenaries had arrived as well, with a mercenary force of Sable People. But the Carmanians still outnumbered the Lunar forces, who were relying heavily upon magic to withstand the attack. On the third day the Lunar forces stood desperately on the defensive while the Inner Circle magicians finished their long search for the Goddess. The army formed into a large square atop a hill, where the exhausted magicians and Char-Un took refuge. The Carmanian commander threw his infantry against the fortified position and managed to breach it with his own leadership and magic. The Char-Un reserves fought poorly on foot, and the Carmanian knights had reached the sacred Lunar band and even slain two of the Mothers before the search was completed and the Goddess appeared. She came riding atop the demon known as the Crimson Bat. This was a creature from Chaos itself, with unearthly powers and abilities even when constrained to the Physical Plane. Never before had a mortal exhibited such control over a Chaos creature, but the Carmanians were not heir to such knowledge. The Goddess rode among them, spreading appalling death wherever she went, and driving many mad who were unable to defend themselves against the mind-warping properties of this Chaos influence. The sad survivors of this fight wandered madly off in a group, and roamed the countryside for generations as a dangerous band of crazed and semi-chaotic marauders known as the Mad Sultanate. The Carmanians who managed to escape went home with tales of Lunar evil, and in their way of thought saw that as Truth. Proof was easy to present, and the Carmanian Empire began girding itself and seeking allies against this force in the worl d which
flaunted its power over abomination and evil. Nations and peoples who had previously stayed neutral in the war quickly joined the Carmanians in their fi ght against the Lunar Queendom. This fanatical and unthinking hatred and psychic fear of the Lunar potential would plague the Empire for all of its centuries of existence. The friends of the Goddess who viewed the victory and the subsequent control of the Goddess over the demon were only further convinced of the truth and strength of the magic present before them, and their internal and integral Power increased with their connections to the Goddess thereby. Afterwards this battle was called the Battle of Chaos, though this was later amended to be the First Battle of Chaos. The overwhelming Lunar victory assured them of a period of peace to rebuild their losses, and glory in the power of the Red Goddess. Conquest of the Pelorian Basin
After the establishment of First Blessed as the center of the Red Goddess' power, the Lunar country began a period of solid growth and expansion. Under the tutelage of the Goddess the troops and magicians were able to learn many new spells and tactics for the battle, and other more creative skills went to work in constructing the legendary realm of peace and prosperity which the Goddess promised. The losses of the Carmanian feudal nobility in the Battle of Chaos weakened them seriously for years, forcing a reliance upon allied and mercenary troops for the fighting while the younger children and newly knighted families trained to skill and grew in numbers. The Carmanian Empire held solid allies among all those peoples who did not witness the abilities of the Red Goddess. Those beings who did view the carnage included many immortals who viewed the event with varying reactions. Particularly important was the reaction of Raiba, city-deity of Raibanth and one of the deities of the Dara Happan Tripolis, which had been defeated and occupied by the Carmanians for a hundred years. When the Goddess led her armies to attack the Carmanians in 0/15 (1235) or so, she led her army through the land of Kostaddi, whose inhabitants were available as untrustworthy mercenaries, and dangerously left the lines of communication open to enemy attack. The Carmanian general was no fool, and promptly sent forces to cut off the Lunar retreat and stir up trouble among the Kostaddians, and then took his main force southwards through the Oslir Valley to intercept at Raibanth. Much of his force was made up of native Yuthuppans, although at least half were allies from Spol and Arir. The Lunar army camped at the gates of Raibanth, and the Goddess began her great greeting ritual for the city god. The inhabitants waited patiently while this went on, under strict orders to wait for the approaching army. To the astonishment of the people of the city their own god Raiba rose from his temple and went to greet the Goddess, promising friendship and honor between them, and the immortals made terms for their alliance. By the time the Carmanian commander arrived, he found the occupying troops of the city dead or captured, and the whole of t he
Raibanthan army mustered beside the Goddess. When Raiba spoke secret words to his cousin, Yuthu, the troops of that city deserted as well, leaving the Carmanian commander to delicately extricate himself and his troops from the rebellious province. Shortly afterwards, the city of Alkoth, unconquered by the Carmanians and strong from its lands called Dara-ni, joined its brothers, and the Dara Happan Tripolis once again raised its triple-spheres over the battlefield. The Kingdom of Karasal resisted the Lunar attack for some time, but when Elz-ast fell in 0/18 (1238) the rest of the land surrendered as well. Twice Blessed, a thinly populated and wildly hostile land, maintained a friendly relationship with the Lunar Empire after that. The Four Arrows of Light
Fighting between Carmania and the Lunar forces continued for ten years after the liberation of Dara Happa, but intermittently as both sides probed and hoarded their strengths for the big battle to come. In 0/17 (1237) it seemed they would prematurely be drawn into battle, but the Carmanians withdrew from their attempt to rescue High Duke Korlov Ogolthor, brother to the king of Carmania, and the Lunar Empire withdrew from their attempt to recapture the city of Carantes, leaving behind many prisoners. (Little else is known of this incident, which was written as a play in the Second Wane by the scholar Jananin Heeraru, but seems to have been extremely unpopular with Lunar audiences. Non-Lunar magicians contend that the play held secret weaknesses of the Lunar Way up to public light, and so was suppressed by the Empire to hide their vulnerability. Scraps of the ancient text were prized by some of them, but the whole play has never been completely recovered). The Carmanians had been fighting desperately to lure or draw the Lunar Powers into a fight when the Carmanian Deities were at the height of their abilities. Based on similar Fronelan examples, I believe that the Carmanians used the Seven-Year Buildup (probably based on a sea-related ritual of Loskalm) for their deities. The Carmanians wasted many months and sacrifices in ploys and diversions, for the Red Goddess was likewise working all of her energies towards the same point of climax and conflict, but without wasting men and magic on diversions. Even so, most of the Pelorian Plains fell to the Lunar troops at this time. The Carmanian deities chose to fight from their position of greatest strength, and gathered about the axis of their oldest altars, located in the capital of Dolebury. The armies were strengthened by all those peoples who were convinced that they fought against the growing of evil chaos, and awaited the invading Lunar host in the wide plains before the capital. On the day before the Lunar scouts encountered the Carmanian outposts, the monstrous Cacodemon was sent by the Red Goddess against the Carmanian priests. The Chaos demon and his allies were driven off by a small deity from Ssar On Gror, who was born of Darkness and had the shape of a giant scorpion. The next day, as Char-Un cavalry drove off the Spol, Worian and farther Fronelan allied cavalry, the four Young Elementals made a determined attack against the Will of Humakt, the Carmanian Wargod. Humakt summoned the deepest of his dark powers to
combat the servants of Chaos, and the einherjar of the True Warrior chased the f our Young Elementals to the edge of the world. The morning of the third day dawned, and saw the Lunar army assembling for battle opposite the mustered Carmanian host. The body of Carmanian deities drew up in shadowy form hovering over their army, endowed to their fullest power and manifested in their Dark Aspects, as destructive agents rather than the bringers of Life. Thus, by mustering the natural forces of Darkness to overcome Chaos, the Carmanians prepared to meet their Lunar foe's most hideous aspect in battle. The Char-Un cavalry drove off the Spol allies again, but were shattered by the Carmanian Exile Knights, who pursued them wildly off the field and past the camp where the Lunar priests were completing their ritual. The Elemental priesthoods attached to the Lunar forces provided battle magic support against the Carmanians, but the enemy superiority soon exhausted the Lunar forces. The manifestations of the Dark Sides of the Carmanian deities were naturally finished earlier in the da y than their Light Aspects would have been, and the spirits moved forward with the priests and the worshippers' power. This forced the Lunar priests to expend portions of their energy earlier than hoped, for their ritual could not be completed until more of the Power of Light had surged into the surface world. But the Lunar priests had again tricked the Carmanians by revealing a yet-unexposed side of themselves, and exposed the inner New Light of the Goddess, every bit as powerful as that of the ancient Fire Gods, and with all of the natural advantages of Light against the forces of Darkness. Once committed, the aspects could not be changed, and the Dark-visaged deities of the Carmanians hurled themselves upon the Lunar forces. The Lunar mages loosed the first of their deities bathed in a weak glow of Lunar Light. This was Irrippi-on-tor, Master of Secrets, who revealed the First Arrow. These were the weakest aspects of the Light, which was an array of Glamour with enough Power to bedazzle the powerful deities of Carmania, and a foray of Illusions powerful enough to slay the weaker deities and spirits of the foe. But Irrippi-on-tor was knocked down by a Hammer of the Sky, and the Carmanian deities moved forward and were met by the Second Arrow. The Second Arrow struck the Carmanian gods just as the Lunar Priests cast great magics of Binding and Demoralize upon the Carmanian knights, and succeeded in stopping all but the Elite, who were engaged by the Full Moon Corps in close combat. The Second Arrow was Yanafal Ta'arn'ils, Wargod for the Empire and Wielder of Fury, who fell first upon the King of the Carmanian gods. King Karmanos was wounded in the assault, but brushed Yanafal upon the several sons of the Carmanian deity, who engaged the Lunar Wargod and were slain. At last Humakt fought Yanafal, but they fought each other to a standstill, even though Yanafal was aided by his einherjar and Humakt was not. The Third Arrow was delivered at High Noon, and was the Arrow of Pure Sky Light. This was controlled by Kana Poor, Scribe of Time and Wielder of Age, who used the immense and all-pervasive light of the world to drive back the minions of Carmania with his Truth, and there followed a general attack to drive away all of the Carmanian deities except those with Secret Powers.
The Lunar infantry fell upon the Carmanian infantry, but the surprise appearance of an Altinae demigod for the Carmanian side temporarily held the attackers as he sacrificed himself and his fellows for the escape of a good portion of the men, who by this time had noted the defeat of their deities and were leaving the fi eld. The Fourth Arrow was delivered by the Goddess herself, and was her own secret Lunar light exposed in brilliance to the few remaining Carmanian deities. Their secret powers withered before the glare of the Goddess, and the enemy deities fled or died. The Goddess allowed her army to celebrate the victory with a complete sack and burning of the city of Dolebury, which has remained in ruin ever since then. This completed the major conquests of territory by the Goddess herself, and left the Lunar forces controlling or allied to most of the major powers in Peloria at that time. Castle Blue
Castle Blue is the name given to the hidden castle located in Oronin Lake, at the edge of the territory conquered by the Lunar advance. The inhabitants of this castle were typical of the type, and were very close to the inhabitants along the shores of the lake. Castle Blue considered those people among their own followers, and had always defended them from external aggression. Even the Carmanians had respected the holding of Castle Blue. Harash Darbeest was the name of a human lord married to a princess from Castle Blue. Harash was slain in the Battle of Four Arrows of Light, and his sons took powerful oaths to avenge the death. With their family connections the Sons of Darbeest soon involved all of the magical isle's inhabitants, as well as the remaining humans from the lake's shores. The Red Emperor first appeared to lead the fight in this battle. The Goddess mustered a wide array of powers to confront the growing foes, including the Crimson Bat, who gained a semi-permanent state of reality in the physical plane after the long fight. The Old Gods chose Castle Blue as their last stand. It w as as if the Goddess proved her right to exist in the world to all of the beings that she had conquered, but the Old Way had not yet completed their own test. The gods, often with some reluctance, entered themselves and their followers into a two-year fight about Lake Oronin, during which the normal separations of Myth and Mortality were erased as gods and mortals met and died upon magical fields of blood and belief. At its end, the Old Gods abased themselves before the Goddess and swore acceptance of her. Some swore allegiance as well. The Natural Order had been torn by the fi ghting at Castle Blue, and after peace came again the universe was made whole once more by including the Red Goddess and her Powers. The magical city of Castle Blue was reoccupied by the surviving members of the old race, who accepted a single migration of strangers to enter, then shut their gates to all but the most determined of seekers. Inside, it is said, t hey nurse the maimed and weakened casualties from among the immortals who also survived the War of Castle
Blue, although no one knows if this is for mercy or vengeance. The Apotheosis of the Goddess
In 0/27 (1247) the Goddess danced her last dream upon the face of the earth, sketching out the plans for her heavenly and temporal domains, revealing the secrets of her inner soul to the High Initiates of the Lunar cult. Then she took the ground she had danced upon, and wrapping it about her like a cloak or a cuirass, clinging her secrets close to herself, she ascended into the sky, rising higher and higher into the Upper Air, where she sits and turns slowly, looking over her domains in history and m yth from the heavens. Upon the Surface World the Red Emperor was left in the void of the Goddess' leaving. He summoned the first of his Inspirations. With the other High Initiates he led them in the Dance of Returns, and drew upon the world the plans and dreams where they would live, giving strength and comfort to those who had made the dance, and making secret doors for reaching the Goddess and other worlds. Where the Goddess had taken the earth for herself was left a great gaping hole, whose bottom no mortal knows. Its sides are lined with steep impassable walls, but one entrance is available. This is protected by the capital city of the Lunar Empire, called Glamour, which is also the First Inspiration of Moonson. From there the Red Emperor, son of the moon, rules over the Empire, while his scarlet mother watches from overhead. A History of the Lunar Empire: The First Wane The Blood Kings War source: The West Reaches ballad cycles The west reaches of the new Lunar Empire erupted into war almost i mmediatly following the ascent of the Goddess into the sky. Heirs to Carmania, true and false, launched a furious war in the misguided hope that the Empire would be weaker without their Goddess present. The Red Emperor led his army to meet the invaders and gained the first of many victories. He left Vakthan, one of his sons, in charge of securing peace upon the West Reaches, and returned home with most of his army.
The Vakthan-ilart clan ruled the Oronin Sultanate at the time, and waged a private war against the foes afterwards by maintaining an aggressive position. Forts were established in the Brass Mountains and were used as bases for war. The entire Wane was spotted by war in this sector as the Empire and the Sweet Sea Confederation raided, prodded allies to war, and attempted to seize land. The area was more of a place for skill and adventure than large-scale invasions, although the latter did occur. We have no dates or names except for the opening fight, mentioned above. This long struggle was a triumph for the Vakthan-ilart clan. It officially ended in the next wane (2/12) when the Joker Prince of Worian threw his children into the raging Assail river and beheaded himself atop his fortress. Dara Happan Rebellion and Jannisor's War The Tripolis of Dara Happa had been liberated from the Carmanians in the Zero W ane
by the Goddess, but although bound by treaty and oath, the Tripolis was not a portion of the Empire. Additionally the god Alkoth had never sworn to a treaty wit h the Goddess. When the Emperor forbade Dara Happan river boats passage north of Elzast, the Tripolis ejected Lunar government officials from their cities. Lunar agents incited some Kostaddi tribes to revolt, but failed to bribe the Sable High Queen. The Tripolis seized all the property of Lunar citizens and sent them into exile, then began searching for allies. Jannisor the Hero, a native of the Imther region, was one of the allies. He had gained his great fame and Herodom for the feat performed in 1/15 called "Jannisor's Triumph," wherein he imprisoned the Crazed Tribe. This tribe of mad people were the survivors, and descendants, of the (first) Battle of Chaos fought in 0/12. They had been wandering south through Jarst and Garsting wreaking havoc upon land and spirits, and defeated several terrible armies which attempted to fight ohm. Jannisor made new magics, depending on the local earth nymphs to imprison the mad people with the nets which the Hero had made. The act was successful, and the first of the Mad Sult anates was formed in Tork. From this Jannisor gained the name Chaos-Binder. In 1/24 Jannisor answered a Dara Happan plea and raised an army of Laramite and Wilktar tribal warriors and magicians to accompany him. Two successive battles were fought at Einar's Farm (1/24) and Vashpolis (1/25) where Jannisor led the Dara Happan army and allies to crushing victories. In 1/26 the Red Emperor was maimed and his spirit bound within his body after a personal duel with the enemy Hero. In 1/28 Jannisor led a volunteer army against the city of Glamour. The Outer City fell easily to his eager and skilled troops. The Great Bridge was assaulted and carried, and the cheering army entered the sacred city upon the wake of a Sable war band. Jannisor was aware that the Sable Folk were immune to the Lunar influences outside of the Inner walls, but he seemed ignorant of the deeper contacts between the "Lunar Deer" people and the Red goddess. This proved his undoing, and the Hero was killed by the Elder Star Twin, while the Sable People received the secrets of inspiration from the Younger Star Twin. The army of Glamour drove the rest of the invading army mad, to death or to slavery. There followed ten years of sieges to conquer the Dara Happans. The cost was great, but the Dara Happan river allies were bought off and their mi ghty fire deities were dimmed by the growing Lunar Glow. By 1/38 the city of Alkoth, always the most powerful, surrendered, and their deity humbled before the Goddess, and accepted the pantheon. The Char-un and Skyburn source: Char-Un legends, especially the "Daka Panishi", or Chores of Panishi The reason for the deterioration in Lunar and Char-Un friendship is not known at this time. It may have been longstanding, as hinted by their non-appearance among the troop lists at the first victory against the Blood Kings mentioned above. A famous Lunar vase illustration shows a mounted warrior assaulting Glamour, but we do not know if this was Char-Un.
The Char-Un legends state that their Kahn, Panishi, was cheated in a game by the Red Emperor, and robbed of his inheritance. When Panishi complained, the Emperor calmed
him with a promise of "more land than you came from, more richness than your spirits could count." The Hero accepted, then learned that the Emperor had given hirn the realm of Erigia (the Emperor later used this method to rid himself of Ethilrist). Erigia was, at that time, a dense conifer forest whose northern reaches were unknown to men, and whose Aldryami population had swollen after the overthrow of the elvish kingdoms of the Second Age. The prospect of nomadic cavalry overthrowing elves in their own woods looked dim, except that Panishi stirred his own magics and created a fearsome weapon. The ritual was begun in 1/30, and maintained by refugee priests from the citi es of Yuthuppa who had taken refuge with the Char-Un Kahn. It ended in 1/32 with the spell and event called Sky burn. Skyburn began at dawn,"pale fire dripping from boughtips," and increased in intensity until at noon "Hellfire pouring from the sky, burning stone and soul." By dusk the entire land was naught but glowing embers, which still smoked the next day as the Kahn led his tribe to explore their new lands. A large number of Aldryami survived, preserved by the most ancient magics of the inner forest. They assembled and met Char-Un in a battle called Elf Hate Won, fought in 1/32. Afterwards the Aldryami turned westward, and moved over the Greystone Mountains into Fronela. Panishi then set upon his final Quest. He accomplished this by performing three tasks for Erigia's goddess, Mother of the Forest, whom had been badly offended by his actions. The successful completion of these heroic labors earned him his Herodom, and later immortalization as Founder of the Tribe. The land suffered cleansing winter until Panishi completed his task, but afterwards burst into renewed splendor for his people. Southern Expansion and Moonburn
The southern lands of Peloria had maintained an uneasy peace with the Empire since their aiding Jannisor. They were fearful of the Empire, which erupted into a war in 1/4 when the Butterfly Princess was killed. Despite foreign intervention the land fell to the Emperor within two years. Dara-ni, a previous subject state of Alkoth, provided refuge for the River People and Dara Happan refugees, and held a firm alliance with the elves of Rist, and maintained powerful allies among the barbarians of Sylila. In 1/44 the Emperor ordered a Moonburn begun, modelled on the earlier Char-Un event. The different forms of Lunar magic required five years to complete the spell, and allowed the defenders to prepare some countermagics as well, which dampened the final effect in comparison to the original Skyburn. Many portions of the land were untouched. The Elves, caught without allies and in open ground by the Lunar Army, were killed or forced to leave their native land. They kept their old Centers which survived, but most
of the race abandoned their roots and moved into haunted Dorastor. Colonies were planted at Rist, and warfare against Dara-ni continued. No decisive battles were recorded between 1/49 and the end of the Wane.
Magical standing stones: The magic-wielders among the Twice Blessed peoples had discovered some secret to the use of stone arrangements which dot the Pelorian Basin and other parts of Glorantha. Those Twice Blessed shamans could draw power from the stones to aid in the casting of their magics, and naturally the Lunar priestesses were interested in learning the secret.
Door Stones: (not to be confused with the stones of power discussed above) are thought to be lost treasures of the Mostali. Mostal lost them on his way from his workshop beneath the Spike to the Court of Acos to deliver special locks (the Door Stones) for use by the gods when they became jealous and territorial. Only the ancient Mostali know the spells of their use, and so they remain only curiosities to surface dwellers. A History of the Lunar Empire: The Second Wane The Empty Conquest
Lunar contacts with the peoples of Twice Blessed had been friendly ever since the Red Goddess aided their Council of Queens during the Zero Wane after the fall of Karasal. In return, the peoples had maintained a helpful attitude toward the Empire, sending mercenaries and gifts to their aid. Many people from Twice Blessed tribes had studied in the Empire's schools as well, and their knowledge of the magical standing stones and their use was always sought after by Lunar priests and priestesses. In the year 2/3 (1304 ST.) all Twice Blessed peoples were expelled from Karasal and South Eol, and their lands and properties were impounded. This event, called the SaltDiamond Incident (for reasons now long forgotten) also included the military seizure of two strategic forts in Eol. Another motivation was to sieze certain door stones to trade to the dwarfs of Yolp. The peoples of Twice Blessed knew better than to war against the Empire, and so withdrew to their forts and their islands in the Thunder Delta. In 2/29 (1330 ST.) trouble broke out anew when the Sultan of Karasal attempted to throttle a visiting Etyries merchant named Erian Soor. Erian managed to kill him first through luck and, when set upon by the Sultan's guards, called upon the ancient powers of Twice Blessed. After a miraculous escape she and her party were joined by kinsmen who had hurried south to heed her mystic summons. At the Poralister River she was met and engaged by Aronius Jaranthir, a Lunar nobleman commanding a company of heavy cavalry. Aronius was nearly ki lled and his cavalry thrown to the earth by her magic, and the priestess Erian lost a foot and half of her powers in the struggle. Parg llisi, a general noted for his skill in dealing with
barbarian tactics, was dispatched with picked troops to teach the people of Twice Blessed a lesson. To combat the great magics of the land, several schools of magicians were also sent to accompany him. After a year of fierce combat, in 2/31 (1332 ST.) the Eldest Elder of the Council of Queens offered herself as a sacrifice for her people. She promised that her people would give up all of their lands, possessions, and lives, but not their beliefs or souls. Parg llisi proceeded to take all that was offered and, with a cruel t wist of Lunar magic, stole their souls as well. Free to act as he desired, the demented general proceeded to rape the land, people, and powers of the region. The subsequent horror is a blot on the Lunar name, and an eternal shame that was allowed to continue for ten years. By the year 2/41 (1342 ST.) the stories of Parg llisi's horrors and debauchery began to spread to the other Lunar provinces, forcing the Emperor to act lest the provinces rebel. On touring the once-beautiful land, he was staggered by the destruction and personally dispatched demons to drag Parg llisi to the pits of perdition. The Emperor lamented and mourned for a week, then rose and granted all survivors of Twice Blessed these things: 1. return and restoration of all bodies, souls, beliefs, and properties if possible; 2. a propitiatory sacrifice every eleven years, offered to the survivors or their descendants until the recipients should decide to release the Empire from this task; 3. imperial protection of lives, properties and beliefs for as long as t he Emperor shall live; and 4. freedom from taxes. In return for this astonishing gift the people of Twice Blessed agreed among themselves to embrace the Lunar Way, and changed the name of their lands to Thrice Blessed to mark the magnitude of the gift. This whole episode is called The Empty Conquest in Lunar annals. The Bindle Wars
The Kingdom of Bindle was the most powerful of many such territories bordering on the Sweet Sea. The lands between the Brass Mountains and the sea were all Bindle territories providing good, rich grazelands on the interior, and three large cities upon the sea: Talst, Prin, and Banlot. The Bindle navy controlled the eastern sea and the Upper Poralister as well, and its river ships plied their trade as far within Peloria as they were allowed. In 2/25 (1326 ST.) Bindle, aided by other Sweet Sea allies and the Char-Un tribes, went to war against the Empire attempting to seize territory in the West Reaches. Spol fell, and the forts of the Brass Mountains were besieged, but in 2/30 (1331 ST.) the Char-Un changed sides and the Bindle army was defeated in two successive battles. In 2/31 (1332 ST.) Orlik Bearface, a mercenary working for Bindle, boldly led a devastating raid into Char-Un territory and flailed the Char-Un's sacred Great Horse.
Retaliation was swift and fierce, and the horsemen swarmed across the Bindle farmland, sacking the interior and successfully assaulting Talst. The rest of the kingdom surrendered, but the barbarians would not be appeased and attacked a second city, Prin. Aronius Jaranthir, recovered from his wounds and now a famous Lunar general, finally drove off the Char-Un in 2/34 (1335 ST.) and began a program of resettlement and rebuilding of the devastated West Reaches. His efforts finally led to a conversion of the inhabitants to the Lunar Way, but because his family was not a member of the powerful and ruling Vakthan-ilart clan, Aronius and his heirs never gained Sultan status within the Empire. However, their insistant presence and native loyalty assured that no other clan or cult could rule there. As a result, the region was finally given Citizen-Foreigner status in 3/30 (1385 ST.). The Conquering Daughter
Hwarin Dalthippa was a daughter of the Red Emperor and a High Priestess in her own power. She had been present in the resettlement of burnt Rist in 1/49 (1296 ST.), and was the leading peacemaker with the earth spirits there. Under her leadership the Lunar colonies were established and she gained many estates in her own name. In 2/8 (1309 ST.) she married Ingkot Axe-and-a-half, the most powerful chieftain among the Sylilan clans, and together they quickly subdued all of that land. The inhabitants of Dara-ni could see the fate of having lands of the Emperor's daughter on both sides of their country. They made one daring and desperate attempt to use their river magics to muster the old Tripolis (Alkoth, Raibanth, and Yuthuppa) to their aid. Lunar power was greater and the expeditionary party fell to the clutches of t he Lunar guardians. The land-dwellers of Dara-ni then sued for peace, but the river peoples withdrew in disgust and moved upriver in 2/15 (1316 ST.) where they lived i n isolation but in great strength. Lunar expansion into Sylila provoked widespread hostility among the t ribes of the south, who laid aside petty differences to fight the looming foe. In 2/16 (1317 ST.) the Blue Deer Princes of Vanch invaded and burned Jillaro. The retaliation was swift, and the hides of the Princes decorated the army headquarters in that town afterwards. In 2/25 (1326 ST.) Sylila (expanded now to include the old lands of Rist and Dara-ni) was adopted into the Empire as a Sultanate, with Hwarin and Ingkot as founders of the first ruling clan. The acropolis of Jillaro was rebuilt and the surrounding city seemed to leap into being under the watchful eyes of the Sultaness. She prepared the cities' grounds herself, and her calm beauty is apparant. The lands around the city were made to grow a luxuriant clover to forage Ingkot's favourite steeds, and so the city is sometimes called Jillaro of the Prince's Green. Barbarian troubles continued as a rabble called the Kynnelfing Alliance was intercepted while boldly transporting some especially hostile river people, worshipers of Bold Vareleus, across the wide land of Aggar, but the Lunar forces received a severe military and magical defeat. Gwythar Longwise is named in Lunar sources as the leader of these enemy forces, and under his command a great force of gods was assembled at Mirin's Cross, a fortress on the junction of the Oslir and Black Eel rivers.
In 2/32 (1333 ST.) Phirmax, a son of Hwarin and Ingkot, was killed while building the bridge which later bore his name. The bridge was finished later, by his chil dren, while his father sought vengeance. He hunted the river spirit called Bold Vareleus and slew him with "dwarf magic blades, noiseless and handless, which returned to their caster upon command." Ingkot was drowned in the battle as well, and washed downstream until his body was caught upon a footing of his dead son's bridge. In return for these acts, Hwarin Dalthippa began her celebrated Daughter's Road Campaign. After several years of active preparation, the Conquering Daughter initiated her physical and magical invasion of the barbarians of the southland. She chose the greatest line of Power across the land and determined to move directly along it to the object of her desires. All her preparations had been made to complete this task. In 2/46 (1347 S.T.) she set out, heading south from her beloved city of Jillaro upon a hearse, her face painted black, with many magicians and priestesses chanting a funeral dirge. At the Bridge of Phirmax she spoke with her husband and son, and at the far side mounted a war unicorn, put on a red mask, and began marking the straight road with her tracks. At Mirin's Cross she and her allies confronted the gathered power of Gwythar Longwise in a four day battle of magic which raged wild upon the world. Spirits were broken, dead gods rose, and the New Fire of the Lunar Way burst brilli ant through the barbarian midst. When it was done a path across the Black Eel River was made, hard and indestructible, but as clear as the purest crystal. It was held stable on the changing waters by powerful runes. Atop it now stands the blinded guardian called Gwythar Grimwise of the Two-handed Axe. The army which followed and supported the Conquering Daughter crossed upon this Crystal Bridge and stormed the barbarian fortress there. Many fought desperately and savagely. Many others surrendered to the daughter. The path continued and finally halted at Filichet, upon the shore of Lake Invaress, where the Daughter took for herself the Helmet of Perides and accepted the submission of many barbarian chieftains. By the end of the year she had returned to her home in Jillaro and, after a year's rest, she began the ritual again with a new goal in mind. At this time the Jillaro Stelae was also begun. The second road began in Cafol, a small town in Sylila, and ran eastward crossing the Oslir at the second branch of the Bridge of Phirmax. In Vanch her army defeated the barbarian mob, and bound them to their road-building duties. She halted at Hilltown, a trade center near the Imther Mountains, where she exchanged the blades of Ingkot for a belt with three stars on it among the diamonds, three iron eggs laid by a cardinal, and three blue furstones. In 3/3 (1358 ST.) the craft god, Iphigios, came to the city and constructed a beautiful statue of the Sultaness in ivory and gold. It was placed in the entrance to the family palace. While celebrating that night the Conquering Daughter was caught unawares by the otherwise unknown assassin called No Print (so called because he left no physical or magical trace to follow him by). Her body was cast into a crevice afterwards called Hwarin's Well. Her worshipers can go there to receive oracles if they can brave the terrors of the pit. At other times she can be summoned by the city as their war goddess, and she is also worshipped by many warrior women, wives, or people who honor the arts.
A History of the Lunar Empire: The Third Wane The Southern Wars
Although many chieftains and wizards had paid homage to the Conquering Daughter the changes and flux of barbarian tribal politics meant that her worship gained no permanent position in those lands. Even the crippled deities of the previous pantheons were replaced by unruly fellows of their own divine clans. Most powerful among the new foes of the Empire were the young demigods of distant Dragon Pass known as the Earth Twins, and Mitchuinn, a war spirit who had once been Human. The latter provoked the Lunar Empire to action by leading a powerful raid right down the Daughter's Road, wounding Gwythar Grimwise and defacing the Bridge of Phirmax before being driven off. In 3/7 (1362 ST.) the Lunar army approached, seeking a grove of trees and armed with fire magics. The Earth Twins first displayed the awesome power of their cult in the Battle of Falling Hills. The cream of the Lunar army was destroyed, including two members of the Sultanate clan. In 3/19 (1374 ST.) fighting between the Empire and hill barbarians ended when the great invasions by horse nomads reached the region. This was the southern prong, led by the Opili nation, noted even among the horse peoples for their savagery who had already laid waste to Garsting and cities upon the coast of the Elf Sea. They penetrated to Imther before being met in pitched battle. The Battle of Quintus' Vale was fought between the Opili and their allied horse nations, aided by their shamans and plains spirits. The Lunar army had many barbarian allies and were aided by the Powerful Lunar College of Magic and many native cults. The slaughter was terrible and the vale is still haunted on New Half Moon nights, but in the end the horse nomads were defeated. Shields on their backs they withdrew. They were later ambushed in Balazar by the kings there. The Opili tri be stayed in Garsting for some time afterwards. The army of Sylila, fresh from its victories, marched northward to aid the Empire against the greater barbarian invasion. It was one of several armies destroyed by the invaders over the next few years. The Sultanate of Sylila shrank in size as hi ll barbarians and mounted nomads raided more heavily upon the borders, but during the entire wane the citadel of Jillaro was never plundered and the goddess there took no wounds. The Nomad Invasion
The northern invasion was led by the Vay-uang nation, a powerful alliance of tribes controlled by a single clan. Also mentioned, as less powerful allies, were the Bao, Kroft, Huang, and Dovgarsh nations. None of these tribes were strangers to the Empire. They all l ived in the region called the "red lands" (because of the immense amount of blood shed there) for at least two
Wanes. Two tribes were survivors of the Battle of Seven Horses in 0/8 (1228 ST.), which had so impressed them of the Goddess' might. They all hired out as mercenaries of the Empire or its foes at one time or another, but, except for their internecine warfare and individual raids, they had lain dormant for fear of the wrath of the Goddess. Sheng Seleris, Son of the Morning, was a demigod who grew powerful enough to oppose the Goddess, using a combination of his own secret magics. In 3/20 (1375 ST.) the Great Army moved from the Redlands across the river Arcos into Jarst. Rather than oppose this force the natives either fled or joined forces wit h the enemy. The Great Army moved into First Blessed pushing quickly across the whole province. The citizens retreated into their citadels to await the army. Foot warriors followed the horde (hungry in the ravaged land) to begin their plunder of the walled towns, temples, and sacred preserves. The first battle, at Yuthuppa, was in the autumn of 3/20 under the light of the CrescentGo Moon. The Lunar hoplites were surrounded and slain. Arcane alchemy from Sheng Seleris exploded the mighty gates of the city, its inhabitants were slaughtered, every temple was defiled, everything mobile was taken and anything immobile was broken. The Lunar feud with the spirits of the Oslir River caused the Empire ill for the next year when they assaulted a Lunar relief convoy sailing north from Sylila. They then aided the nomad horde to cross the great river without trouble. Another Lunar army, marching to meet the foe, was destroyed. The plains of Peloria were filled with unbeatable, rampaging barbarians who drove people from their lands and into the cities which had not yet suffered the barbarian touch. Other refugees fled westward to the West Reaches, which had turned away enemy raids throughout the Wane. Others went south to Sylila where the devastation was not so bad. Many fled to the Sil ver Shadow, to live or die in the shadow of the Red Goddess and rely directly upon the magics of the E mperor and his city. Lunar magicians succeeded in resealing the Erinflarth River against the passage of the water spirits, thereby trapping a large number of them wit hin the Empire. They were killed or driven out by 3/32 (1387 ST.). In 3/33 (1388 ST.) Sylilan refugees formed an army which reinforced Alkoth and helped prevent a second sack of the city. From there they began an active pirate campaign against the unlearned barbarian traffic. Without their former river allies the nomads were easy targets upon the river, and within a few years the Alkoth pirates had reached the Thunder River. In 3/34 (1389 ST.) the barbarians laid seige to Outer Glamour, although pestilence drove them away before they could enter. Sheng Seleris wrestled with the Red Emperor at the gates of the city, and though neither was hurt the Emperor drove the invader away. It was not for ten years, though, that a Lunar army would claim a victory in the field. As meagre as the pirate victories on the Oslir were, they provided a communication link between several very important cities who gained strength enough to close their gates to the invaders and expect some relief for doing so. After the Emperor wrestled the enemy
deity there was close contact with Glamour as well, although the losses were heavy among those who passed between the city and the river. In 3/42 (1397 ST.) a large army marched north from Sylila to relieve the city of Alkoth. The enemy cavalry eagerly attacked but were virtually destroyed through Lunar magic. Word spread quickly and the army of Glamour marched south to meet them. An attempt to prevent the link-up gave the Emperor another victory as well. Other battles followed, and some were Lunar defeats, but none were decisive. Although the Lunar citizens began expanding their area again, the nomads still held great portions of the land. Fronelan Settlements
The onslaught of horse warriors dislodged much of the population of the Empire, and the largest portion which fled escaped westward, away from the invaders. The West Reaches, still ruled by the family of Aronius, absorbed many people, but there were some who preferred to keep going. In Fronela they were accepted into the Kingdom of Valmark, and allowed to settle in three cities, (one of which the colonists founded) called Holvburg (entered in 3/29), Starvdyke (3/33), and Norri's Hill (founded 3/41). The latter was ruled by Jarl Norri Spliteye, who married a refugee Lunar priestess. These regions contributed little to the restoration of the Empire, having given allegiance to another rule. Most of them maintained their Lunar outlook and were the first infusion of this belief into Fronela. Yara Aranis, The Second Inspiration of Moonson
When the Red Emperor wrestled with Sheng Seleris it was not merely a battle of muscles and grips, for both were Runelords and mages, and their conflict extended beyond the physical plane. During the psychic turmoil each was probing the other, seeking secret fears to use as a weapon in the struggle. Both emerged wounded and victorious, and both set about constructing great plans built on the other's weaknesses. The Red Emperor used the secret fear of the barbarians to summon their G oddess of Tormented Death, who ruled over a hell reserved for outlaws, exiles, and captured sylphs. He courted her grandly using alien sorceries as his calling card; inhuman promises as his proposal; and sealing their vows with unholy rites performed by forgotten deities. The child of this union was named Yara Aranis. Yara Aranis' first temple was built outside of Glamour, without walls but with a central courtyard open to the sky and surrounded by rows of columns on all four sides which were roofed over in places. Underneath each of these irregular roofs lay an altar, idol, or other minor place of worship. Within it, exposed for all to see, lived the daughter of the Emperor and the hell demon, accompanied by priests and priestesses dressed in imperial scarlet. In 3/42 (1397 ST.) a barbarian warrior was tempted to rob the temple. He is now called First Slave by the cult and his spirit still guards the temple there.
Emboldened or freed by this victory, Yara Aranis set upon her first trek outside the temple. She stopped to rest on the banks of the Oslir, and there her second temple was built. She did not await robbers here, but set off on several hunting expeditions to capture slave spirits to guard the place. This is the place where boats from Sylila stopped to unload and was called Good Shore by boatmen. By the end of the Wane Yara Aranis had established two more temples, and instituted many training schools for her cult. An attempt by Sheng Seleris and his horde failed to dislodge her temple at Good Shore in 3/50 (1405 ST), and even caused a quarter of his followers to desert a year later. In 3/54 (1409 ST) the Red Emperor named his daughter the Goddess of the Reaching Moon, and revealed her powers to be those of the probing and battling for ward edge of the Lunar front. The temples provided centers for magical defense, and the "Glowline" which they could set up formed a decisive and permanent barrier against hostile magics as long as the temple was inviolate. The Wane ended with the hopeful apotheosis of the Goddess of the Reaching Moon into the Lunar pantheon, and the spread of her cult among the remaining Lunar strongholds in the Pelorian lowland.
A History of the Lunar Empire: The Fourth Wane The Strong-Making Peace
The Lunar name for this period, The Strong-Making Peace, is a euphemism for their overall weakness. They claimed to be preserving their strength during the relative peace, though they actually had a tough time maintaining themselves at all. Strong points did remain, for Glamour and the region of the Crater spread their influence to the shores of the Oslir River (including Good Shore and the remains of Raibanth) and t he cult of the Reaching Moon Goddess kept those regions well protected. To the south the lands of Sylila were severely restricted by incursions from Tarsh, but the region about the city of Jillaro preserved themselves from any raids throughout the entire barbarian occupation with the aid of the Conquering Daughter. East of Glamour the Sable People remained strong within their fastness of the Hungry Plateau and their ro yal house often led raids against the barbarian hordes. Farther west from Glamour the hills of t he Western Reaches preserved Lunar civilization under the leadership of the Jaranthir cult. Other major cities maintained their existence by paying tribute to the barbarians instead of taxes to the Emperor. The provincial regions often kept their Lunar religion but that did not keep them from raiding Lunar lands. The lowlands of Peloria became a wide grazing ground for the Horse Peoples as they had been in the Dawn Ages. The situation, though, was far from hopeless. The Temples of the Reaching Moon continued to spread from Glamour, and each one built was another trap for t he barbarian chieftain Sheng Seleris. Sylila increased its strength on the river and in 4/14 (1423 ST.) sent a secret army into Alkoth which surprised the barbarians there and drove them out. The mighty gates of the city were rebuilt: barred across with iron and magic. The city
temple was purified and again consecrated to the Moon, and the city of Al koth formed another nucleus for the Lunar refugees to concentrate, linking Glamour with southern Sylila. These small successes were not ignored by the invaders. They were quick to destroy any Lunar stronghold when troops from Glamour poured forth to plunder their herds or camps. The witches and shamans among the nomads spread their beliefs among the terrified peasants of Peloria so that many foreign spirits i nhabited the land. Cities not still controlled by the Empire either supplied troops to the barbarians or they fell entirely to invader control and rule. By mid-Wane the situation had grown dangerous. Each side waited, gathering strength while the demons of the enemy camps growled songs of misery long into the dark nights. The Emperor's Duel
Trouble fell first amid the very heart of Peloria in the year 4/34 (1443 ST.) when Sheng Seleris revealed the power which he had stolen from the Emperor in their wrestling match of 3/34 (1389), 54 years earlier. He had hidden it in the heart of a ruby-throated hummingbird which lived in the Gardens of Carresh. Sheng Seleris had stolen a portion of the Emperor's worship and sovereignty. Kostaddi abandoned all Lunar ways and fell into the worship of the barbarian overlord. Yara Aranis, the bane of Seleris, crossed from Good Shore and challenged the barbarian to battle. Seleris easily tossed her to earth, severely wounding her back and liver. Hours later the Red Emperor was bedridden with an unknown disease. A year later the Red Moon visibly dimmed when Sheng Seleris was apotheosized as a Hero by the gods of Peloria. His might and power lit a new star in the sky. He sent his haughty overlords to exact tribute and worship from all of conquered Peloria, and prepared his troops for a great war against the remnants of the Empire. The Emperor, seeking a cure for his illness fled into exile. He left no traces of his path on the mortal world to be later be followed. In 4/35 (1444 ST.) Sheng Seleris began a merry hunt for t he Emperor, but agents of the Son of the Moon blocked his way at every turn. Each attempt to slow the Hero, however, cost the Empire more and more strength. In 4/37 (1446) the Sable People opposed Seleris to gain time for their beloved Emperor and their entire royal house was slain by the savage raiders. The High Priestess of the Blue Moon was attacked for defending her nephew which began a wave of troll-killing through all barbarian lands. The Emperor seized the opportunity to escape when he was killed by the rampaging Mad Sultanate in 4/40 (1499) and his sacrifice tempted the crazed horde to invade the land of Seleris in Kostaddi, but the hero used his powers and people cleverly, and turned the invading horde from his lands with minimal losses. He sent them scurrying south, up the Erinflarth River where the Mad Sultanate eventually made their way into dark Dorastor. They either settled in that land, passed their way over the Kartolin Pass into Ralios, or met their deaths at the hand of the twisted elves and strange chaos of the region. Sheng Seleris did not let the Emperor's mortal death stop his search, and he led the greatest invasion of the center of Lunar power ever attempted. With his loyal band he scaled the edges of the Crater and from there leapt onto the surface of the Red Moon
itself. He ransacked the Emperor's Moon Palace during his hunt and won against the multitude of denizens and guardians of the Moon that tried to stop him. The Hero never found his prey, the Emperor, and he was eventually forced to flee back to the earth or lose all his followers to senseless war on the Moon. For eleven years the Emperor was forced to live a life of disguise in the land of Doblian, married to a weaving woman. From there he patiently awaited the fruition of his plans. Sheng Seleris searched in vain. He made deadly enemies of all dwarfish folk when he sacked their city of Jords Eye in 4/47 (1456) mistakenly believing the Emperor to be hiding there. The final showdown between the heroes came in the year 4/51 (1460). The Emperor's spells came to maturity and spread their omens far across the Pelorian Plain. The leaders of the barbarians sent their armies home and went to meet their Hero and King. The elite of the Empire crept from hiding and, disguised, gathered in the city of Kitor in the Brass Mountains. The citizens of the city were sent away and the Emperor began a game of ravenkaaz with the bastard child of the Blue Moon, patientl y awaiting the arrival of the barbarians. The Blue Moon Daughter found that she was losing in her game with the Emperor and enlisted the aid of Aronius Jaranthir to finish it for her. The Emperor could have easily completed his win over his old friend, but instead he conceded the game and granted this prince of the Citizen Foreigners special rights and privileges for his victory. During the battle the next day, magic and fire rained continually down on the city for hours. Entire blocks were melted from the power of the magic. The mountain which formed the foundation of the city bled. An ancient oak became a twisted tree that seized the souls of the warriors and trapped them in its tortured body. The ranks of the barbarian war band were petrified by Lunar magic. Called the Legion of Stone, their bodies decorated the walls of the city decades later. The soul of Sheng Seleris was tossed into a deep, deep pit where it lay, broken and suffering, forever in the clutches of the mother of Yara Aranis (the Goddess of the Reaching Moon) and other demons of hell. After the utter defeat and destruction of their Hero and their best leaders the barbarians began a withdrawal from Peloria, drifting eastward. The Empire had also lost a severe number of their leaders in the war but the Lunar troops were better trained and were eager to do battle with the despoilers of their land. In 4/52 (1461) they goaded the nomads to fight again near the city of Carantes. Lunar magic again destroyed the morale of the barbarians and they were forced to accept insulting and degrading peace terms. Predictably, the treaty did not last long, and war quickly raged again. The Emperor and the cult of Aronius Jaranthir gave chase and drove them to rout i n 4/53 (1462). Then, a year later, Imperial troops slaughtered them at Yuthuppa when the barbarians attempted a mass withdrawal of their herds and families from central Peloria. The carnage was terrible and made even the mighty Thunder River run red with Lunar vengeance. The pitiful remains of the barbarians fled eastward, finding some refuge with alli es in distant Pent. The menace from the east was finally quiet. The Southern Situation
While Sheng Seleris was pursuing the Emperor through mortal and magical planes the lands of the south were eager to reap their share of Lunar booty. The Kingdom of Tarsh
was the leading power. Its nobles and kings were brave leaders in raiding and plundering. Sylila suffered heavily in the regions not controlled by Jillaro, and southern columns penetrated Darjiin and Kostaddi. King Orios Longarms had the unfortunate fate to cross the cursed borders of the Mad Sultanate of Tork. The boundaries of this place fluctuated at times, and during the illness of t he Emperor they expanded, quickly overwhelming the normal countryside before the inhabitants could flee the population of madmen with strange powers. The Tarsh king obviously felt secure in his recent victories, and he could not know of the latest change of the border, for he blundered right across it, setting the madmen free. He should have seen the border, for it appeared as a shimmering in the air and as a thin purple line across the ground. It is possible that the Emperor, who was in the region at the time, could have disguised it. Whatever the cause, the results were quickly seen. The army of Orios was encircled and destroyed, and the crazed victors then turned and marched across the broken barrier of their imprisonment. The Mad Sultan caught the Red Emperor unawares, killed him and his followers, and continued into barbarian-held Kostaddi. They were eventually turned southward by Sheng Seleris. The results of this were beneficial for the Empire in the long run, for the disruption that the Mad Sultanate caused among the barbarians was far greater than all the victories of the Empire against Sheng Seleris. The end of the Fourth Wane left the South (under Jillaro) and the West the most powerful regions still under Lunar control. From these areas, led by Glamour, the Lunar way found a swift resurgence of belief in the Goddess and in control of the lowlands of Peloria during the next Wane.
The Lunar New Year Ceremony
Throughout all Glorantha the Rebirth ceremony of the Sacred Time is of utmost importance. During the week-long ceremony most god-worshipping peoples act out their sacred myths of death and rebirth. Across the whole world everyone summons their spirits and gods, and the physical plane trembles with their presences. Even the cynicism of the God Learners never tainted these critically important rites. The Lunar ceremonies are riskier than most. Since the Lunars have equal respect for both life and death their ceremonies can result in the victor y of Death for the year, unlike (say) the Orlanth ritual wherein the storm god is (almost) always victorious over his deadly foes. Despite the philosophical equalities, most citizens of the empire favor the forces of life. Thus even skeptics are careful during the holy weeks of Sacred Time, and mere casual laymen usually participate enthusiastically in the public ceremonies within the empire. When the Emperor is in Glamour, the annual rebirth ceremony is held at the Monument to Time. Amid a great amphitheater, a steep seven-stepped pyramid juts skyward. Atop the pinnacle the Emperor and his closest advisors lead the magical act. Upon the pyramid priests lead secondary rites. From there officials, chosen ones, and the other
elect few who obtain such an honor watch. The circular coliseum holds the thronging mass of thousands which gathers each Sacred Time. During the first six days of the Lunar celebration the Red Emperor, or his local stand-in, receives gifts from a representative of the four directions in the morning. These gifts often include annual tribute, symbolic gestures, friendship presents, and honorary tokens. They also always include a ritual item used by the Emperor during the ceremonies that day. From the South, for instance, the Emperor receives a necklace of animal hearts, each killed that year and prepared in a certain way to become a magical jewel. During the ceremony of the South the Emperor must forgive someone, often a personal enemy of his, and the magic of the hearts will give him the power to do so, and also protection against that foe in the future. On the fifth and sixth days, the Emperor receives presents from Above and Below: the invisible worlds around which the others revolve. He also reveals his Annual Staff, a hardwood stick which he must hand-carve each year, placing into it his plans and aspirations and secret methods of success. At the sunset of the sixth day, the Emperor dissolves his body, leaving the Annual Staff suspended in the air until his return. Surrounding the floating Staff are the most intimate friends, relatives, and trusted staff members. They face the floating staff and maintain magical contact with their beloved leader as he traverses the magical planes. Certain among them, in ritual turn, will rise and address the crowds gathered outside the circle, explaining the routes and rites which the Emperor is experiencing. At the end of the sixth day, if all is successful, everyone loses contact with the Emperor. Usually a stupor passes over all the assembled crowd, most of whom simply collapse in the court. No one knows what happens to the Emperor for the next day. However, he has always returned, and so the rite is a perfect success. The Empire takes that as a sign of their "correctness." During the seven days Secondary rites are held upon the pyramid. Usually, each of the five Gloranthan elemental pantheons is given a day to celebrate their particular rites, and usually in the traditional Order of Creation: darkness, sea, earth, sky, air. Sometimes, the Emperor has arranged special ceremonies, wherein the most powerful of each cult participate as foes in each others' ceremonies. Such affairs are spectacular and devastating, and some say they smack of God-learning. Sometimes special ceremonies, whose purpose is not understood and whose participants are unknown, are performed. Every New Year ceremony has special rites on the seventh day, which aid the return of the Emperor and gain good will and luck for the year. During this time a small slip can cause great errors, and if the sum of errors is too large among all participants then the year can, despite all else, be bad. When the Emperor is not in Glamour, a stand-in takes his place. Across the empire local versions of this rite take place. All have the same purpose: to renew the world and make it safe from destruction for another year.
The Syndics Ban
In 1500 (5/37) occurred one of the most incredible events of Gloranthan history, called the Syndics Ban. The event was a magical catastrophe which stopped all communication between political units within the land of Fronela. Kingdoms, tribes, nations, and city-states were irrevocably cut off from all outside contact. Borders between lands were usually visible as a foggy bank which quickly grew too dense for any perceptions to penetrate, then reacted to the intrusion with some magical effect. The effects varied from pl ace to place and time to time, but travel was always impossible. Some of the more common effects were to walk out of the fog with no perception of having turned around; violent rejection, sometimes by powerful giant hands, bonecrushing fists, or gusts of icy wind; attacks by monsters, often of types unseen before or since; no end to the fog in the outward direction although expeditions marched for lightless days, yet found themselves home when they travelled backward for an hour; a solid, but invisible and unclimbable, wall; or permanent disappearance through mysterious means. Even spirits could not carry messages between lands. The origins of the Ban are not yet clear, but certain facts are known. First, the local god or spirit of communication, called God of the Silver Feet, was killed by a conspiracy of sorcerers, wizards, and priests led by Prince Snodal of Loskalm. The heirs of Snodal claim to have spoken to the prince's ghost, sent by the Invisible God (say some) but summoned through darkest necromancy (say others). The prince claimed that the effort was necessary to preserve Fronela from a tremendous curse sent by Zzabur, the malicious sorcerer of Brithos whose motivations have always been secret. Scholars at the University of Sog, seeking to duplicate the summoning of the prince, got instead some of his companions in the heroic venture, who corroborated the prince's tale. Those summoning scholars also speculate that the disappearance of Brithos was not an intentional act by Zzabur to move his land to another plane (as claimed by the Brithini of Arolanit), but a disaster caused by the backlash of the failed spell against Fronela. The effect upon Fronela was complete, and each land lived for a century or more i n complete isolation from its neighbors. Reactionary religious zeal was understandably conservative. Many local cults claimed the end of the world had come: another Great Darkness had destroyed all the evil of the outside world, and would destroy the survivors too if they did not resort to the most stringent religious observations. The cause for the Syndices Ban's lifting is also a mystery. The scholars of the University of Sog speculate that the same force which broke the Closing of the seas began the deterioration of the Ban, possibly as a side effect. Many others claim to be the source, with the most persistent claim being by the High Archpriest of Loskalm (whose long sorcerous ritual is on record), the loudest claim being from the Kingdom of War (who claim to have burst all bonds and broken magical walls), and the most piercing voice coming from the lunar city-states (whose moon boats, they claim, have been operating in secret for years). The ban lifted in a general west to east movement, but never moved in a regular or predictable fashion. Some lands were left as isolated islands surrounded by freed regions. In the Gloranthan present (c. 1620) the Syndics Ban has still not been
completely lifted from the eastern parts of Fronela. An impenetrable wall runs down the center of the Esel River, Sweet Sea, and Greystone Mountains and separates the western Lunar Empire from Fronela. Only the magical lunar airship fleet, skirting al ong the Rockwoods, has established contact in the region.
A History of the Lunar Empire: The Fifth Wane The End Of The Nomads
The major activities of the Fifth Wane are covered in detail in "Histories of the Dancer," the biography of Hon-eel the Artess, who is called "The Third Inspiration of Moonson." The Fifth Wane is often called Hon-eel's Wane because so much of its history is identical with her activities. Essentially, she restored the empire's old borders with t he subtlety of her Arts, and also worked to expand them. Her influence made a permanent impact upon the history, society, and art of the empire. The Lunar Empire suffered heavily during the reign of Sheng Seleris. The nomad usurper had parceled the empire out to his subchiefs, who grazed their stock in the rich barley fields and annually culled the villages for slaves to sell. Meantime the southern provinces suffered even more, for the Kingdom of Tarsh regularly raided the region and departed with plunder, from both the hapless villagers and the nomad overlords. When the Red Emperor defeated Sheng Seleris in 4/51 (1460), the nomad's loyal household departed, thereby liberating the Heartland. But left behind were many lesser outland lords, some of whom had been rebellious even to Sheng. During the early wane the Provinces (Vanch, Imther, Holay, Saird) were returned to the lunar fold through the active missionary work of the cult of the Seven Mothers. Conflicts inevitably occured, but the populace generally welcomed the return to lunar ways. Within a generation most peasants, except those stuck in the hills, rejoined the lunar religion in one of its forms. Doblian, west of the provinces, was liberated from nomadic overlordship without the Seven Mothers. A young woman, named Hon-eel and a dancer by trade, presented herself to various lords who fell to fighting to see who would own her. Half of them were killed. In 4/48, in the name of love, she betrayed two noblemen; then wed a third, who murdered twelve notable kinsmen of his own and was felled by furies called by his mother's dying curse. When personally accosted by three of the savage leaders, the woman killed them. Finally, sensing their true foe, the last of the nomad warriors hunted the young woman across the countryside. Her friends ambushed the invaders, and killed everyone. During this period, in 4/52, she encountered the Snake-whiskered Dragon of Losdolos Angsur which had sporadically ravaged Doblian and nearby lands since t he Dawn of Time. Hon-eel met it alone, and though no one knows what passed between them, the dragon vanished and was not seen again until Hon-eel's death many years later. Finally, in 5/2, the Lunar Army provoked the last of the nomad usurpers into the Battle
of Iron Fences, near Gambari (in First Blessed). The nomads, already dispirited, were broken and forced to flee. Hon-eel The Dancer
The Cyclical Inauguration festivities of the Lunar Empire require a week to complete, and during the first five days, favored leaders from regions about the empire enter the holy places and join in the rituals. The dawn of the Fifth Wane saw the nobles of the Westlands, mostly members of the Jaranthir Household, come on the first day. On the second day, the peoples of Sylila, led by the Daughter Herself (Hwarin Dalthippa, returned to earth for this special occasion), appeared to honor the Emperor. On the third came the Reaching Moon goddess and her priesthood from the Katchari, and on the fourth day came the proud remnants of the Sable nobility. The fifth provided a surprise, for an unknown woman intruded into the princely rituals and threatened to change all luck for the cycle by her secret entry. She offered all the lands of Doblian as her present, avoided all attempts to dispose of her, and remained for the rest of the ritual. The rest of the rites occured without mishap, and the omens all boded well afterwards. After the ceremonies, the young woman greeted the Red Emperor as Father. She was Hon-eel, later named the Artess, who was the daughter of the Emperor and a common woman of Doblian who sheltered him from Sheng. Though only eighteen-years-old by calendar, Hon-eel had been in full womanhood and power for ten years. Through her magic and skill, she conquered the invaders and freed her land. Dutiful daughter, she gave them to her father in proper fashion. Hon-eel's magical prowess was immense. Coupled with her innocent charisma and generosity, she pleasantly promoted her way of life upon the world. At that time, Vinval-noy envisioned the Dance of Three Reconstructions. Hon-eel learned it, and led many magical rebuildings. She was present at the reconstruction of Raibanth and was especially popular in First Blessed, which had been ruined by so many years of occupation and brutal repression. Hon-eel was a priestess of the earth cult at age 12. She first went to the Moon at age 19. At age 24, she went off on a Heroquest and engaged an elf-god lover, who left her with a golden-haired son and a bagful of special seed. The son died a tragic, young death, but the seed proved useful in the hills of the Southlands, and Hon-eel was instrumental in spreading the cultivation of maize through those regions. Hon-eel was intent upon manifesting herself as an incarnation of the earth-goddess. She was successful, and is worshiped today as the Lunar Earth and Mother of Corn. Her activities throughout the empire, especially at its frontiers, worked for this end. One great act she performed at this time was against the wicked Telmori, or wolf people, who were creating a reign of terror through the countryside of S ylila. Aided by three spirits, Hon-eel turned the creatures into full wolves, incapable of turning ever again into human form. Thus, she lifted their baneful curse. Hon-eel was a plainly peaceful heroine, intent upon spreading the secrets of her life about the empire. It was probably the Emperor who decided to use her politically.
However, Hon-eel certainly did not protest being so used, and she manipulated all such activities to her own ends. It was probably the Emperor who decided to send her against the horse nomads. The Resettlement Of Oraya
Hon-eel led a large colonizing movement into the unplowed lands of Oraya, expanding the empire upriver along the Arcos and creating a buffer state between First Blessed and the eastern nomads. Her success was a combination of political events and her personal struggle for immortality which culminated in a devastating defeat for the nomads. After the Battle of Iron Fences, in 5/2, the nomads had agreed to withdraw past the Arcos River into the region called the Redlands. This left the region called Ora ya open to colonization for the first time in Lunar history. The Emperor sold licenses for land, trade rights, and other accoutrements of civilization to enterprising companies whose agents enlisted, purchased, and captured the future populace from among t he unsettled people of the empire and its frontiers. A significant part of the populace came from the far west, where recent conquests by the White Bear Empire created a considerable refugee population fleeing the Fronelan lunar city-states. To counteract the threat of the horse nomads, who still loomed in nearby eastern lands, the Emperor supported the migration with priests, money, troops, and Hon-eel. Hon-eel led the first pilgrim and settler bands up the Arcos river to settle the future sultanate of Oraya in 5/17. Though the nomads still nursed wounds and grudges, Honeel kept the peace for many years by making them concentrate upon magical contests. Hon-eel visited the horse-peoples several times, intruding into their temple complex at Palbar. She was challenged to magical battles by local shamans, Pure Horse priests, some hero spirits of the tribes, and by the Mother of Horses. Of these, only the last proved a worthy opponent, and she was Hon-eel's main challenge in fulfilling her quest for immortality. The magical challenge between Hon-eel and the Most Reverend Mother of Horses of the northern Redlands tribes was to see who could wed the Sun, or his highest representative, within the next three years. This was a great and difficult act requiring years of preparation and execution. Hon-eel quickly gained fame and popularity in the empire when she began courting the immortal sun god for her husband. First, Hon-eel had to prove herself worthy to the step-mother of the Sun, a goddess jealous of her hold on the god and reluctant to let his powers and blood descend to mortal races. Hon-eel performed three miraculous acts to impress the goddess. One such act was to deliver the Mask of Cottel, the secret weapon of Dag the Muncher, Ogre King of the city of Iraval. Honeel succeeded in beguiling the king long enough to steal the sacred mask, and her friends were bold and powerful enough to withstand and kill the king, though most of them died in the success. The jealous goddess took the mask, and it is lost to humanity. Another act was for Hon-eel to prove her fertility to the goddess. She danced for it, and casually blessed every woman in the city of Torang to bear twins, which happened in
the year 5/22. The final act was to prove herself worthy of wedding the Sun, and she did this by defeating Ernalda, an earth goddess whom the Sun once wooed, in a beauty contest. She did this in the year 5/22. Hon-eel spent much time in the Tripolis, undertaking intense rituals and learning the ethereal secrets of the Cult of Three Lights which was active there. In the third year of the contest, Hon-eel set off during Sacred Time, departing Raibanth when it lay in cold and darkness. From there she roamed the shadowy realms of Godtime, losing herself in the Great Darkness until she found the fabled Eastern Gates of the world. This was a great path, but one which she was prepared to take after her study and use of magical powers. In hell she joined a crowd of faceless strangers chanting to the departed Sun. And, at the dawn of time Hon-eel the Artess joined the entourage of gods who were freed from Death. She participated in their Grand Dance of Time. Through those mystical moments she did not forget her task, and in the majestic steps of creation she touched beams of light streaming from the right hand of Yelm -the Secret Light of the Sun. And in that touch bloomed magic, quickened by Hon-eel's own spirit, and she returned safe and content again to the realm of the world in 523. In the meantime, the Most Reverend Mother of the horse nomads called upon the Cult of the Golden Bow to answer her summons and to repay her for all the gifts she had bestowed over the forty years of her reign. The Golden Bow cult worshipped a son of the Sun, recognized as a golden wheel or disk by these tribes. That cult's priests and lords began great rituals and quests to arrange for their own High Priest to manifest the greatest form of their god, the Son of the Sun, and to impregnate the Most Reverend Mother to prove her power. When Hon-eel returned to Palbar, she met with the Most Reverend Mother. The nomad witch was stout with child, and she was accompanied by her own and the Golden Bow cult chanting songs of power and making her birth easy and light. She bore a son, afterwards called Noonlight, who the Blessing Ladies declared would have a bright future as a hero of the Sun. Hon-eel's labor was more difficult, and she was accompanied only by her usual six companions who did not bother with a show of power to make a bright omen before birth. Instead, the area was as dark as the place where Hon-eel had awaited the Sun, and five of Hon-eel's friends silently sent invisible energy to aid i n the birth. The nomads were all frightened, as they should have been, and the pain and passion of Hon-eel's birth affected all who watched, though not all in the same way. After sufficient time the birth was complete, and Hon-eel revealed a pair of shining children. One was a boy, blond and pale-eyed, radiant as the yellow sunlight of the day sky. The girl was white-skinned and fragile, with white hair and a radiance like that of starlight in the night sky. The pair have remained important in Orayan worship, and are called Twilight and Nightlight, and are worshipped with Noonlight in one temple. Defeated, the horse people left Oraya. Bitterness remained, and sporadic raiding began shortly afterwards.
Despite the activity in Oraya, Hon-eel found time to travel triumphantly through the Empire. Her tour included duties as well, including an entry into t he enemy kingdom of Tarsh. In 5/27 Hon-eel attempted to integrate the Lunar doctrine into the native Tarsh Earth Cult. She did this by performing the Whole Dance of Spring for the chthonic goddess during the most secret of the earth rituals. The attempt was only partially successful, and though Hon-eel left an infant son on Tarsh's throne, the kingdom was torn by civil war as soon as she left. Her son, Prince Phornostes, was well-guarded by Lunar viceroys and eventually ascended to his throne at age 16. The Nights of Horror
In 5/40 the Oraya and Redlands nomad situation grew catastrophic. The settl ements there were intended to act as a client state to protect the ancient province of First Blessed. But in the first pitched battle the Lunar outposts were overrun, the cities besieged, and screaming shamans again called demons upon the hapless farms of First Blessed. Preliminary encounters with the regular Lunar army were indecisive and both sides hurriedly sent for reinforcements. The Lunar Provincial Army marching through Jarst was destroyed in 5/42 by the nomads. In 5/43 the Imperial Arm y of the West, convinced at last that Fronela was permanently under its curse of the S yndic's Ban and was no longer a threat, arrived in First Victory and joined the Heartland Corps in the march up the Arcos valley to relieve the surviving Orayan cities. The nomads slowly gave way before the march, gathering strength. "Nights of Horror" is the name of the two-day battle which followed. More than 150, 000 warriors and magicians took part. The wily nomads had hired the services of a magician family from distant Orathorn to aid them, and the sorcerers had remained concealed until now. Their surprise entry into the magic battle destroyed most of the Lunar magicians. When the army began to crumble, Hon-eel alone halted the collapse of the right flank by destroying seven spirits in combat, oblivious to the mob of filthy nomads who struck at her from all sides. When the Lunar regular cavalry was enveloped on the left flank the Emperor grew desperate and summoned his powers of Chaos to aid him. The Orathorn magi summoned their own Secret Powers and this combat with the Lunar Chaos suddenly loosed alien worlds upon the battlefield. All mortals turned and fled, fighting wherever they had to against the inhuman foes which dropped from the burning scarlet and yellow skies. Hon-eel herself died there, fighting desperately and successfully to save the Emperor's favorite children from furry, many-legged things, which scuttled about and waved shrunken heads that bobbed about on scrawny antennae. The Snake-whiskered Dragon of Losdolos Angsur appeared and, though he set the Emperor's children down in Yuthuppa, Hon-eel was never seen again. The impact of this military conflagration was understandably immense. Survivors were numbered by the handful in both nomad legends and Lunar records, making it a disaster as great as that of the Dragonkill War of 1120 S.T. The nomads slaughtered their herds where they stood and took only their best stock and the surviving wives and children into the lands of Pent. It is said that each warrior in Pent had a hundred wives that year.