[Glorantha] Call for Papers: First Digestive Symposium

An excerpt from Kratikos' GROTARON BRACHIOGNOMY (Minutius, 2/21):

"Whereupon wee might readily leave the fyner intricacies of armehaire
denfity fo neceffarily account'd for, & whencefrom as needs muft turn to analyfe thofe other hairifh fprouts yon bigge gyantes fuffer to growe; to whit, thofe of the breafte & armepitt. One fhall not fay that alle fuch thrycearme'd beafts growe hair of the breafte or chefte, though they affuredley doe of the armepitt, though itt is often fhaved fo very clofe, for fuch wouldft be falfe. Neverthelefs, in myne peregrinations it was atteft'd to three fuch ftyles of cheftehaire, which, fo framed or clofe to the cheftemouthe, might even bee called a gyantes bearde. For upon chefte & armepit alike growe bigge ftrands of haire, as thicke as fyne rope to provide fome fuccour from the perilous colde, & of alle knowne colours, redde, golde, filver, hayzel, indigoe, blacke & graye.

"Firftly, & mofte common of the three kyndes, is fuch one names
fheepechoppes, after the haunche cuttes of the mutton fheepe. Inn yon fuch cafe, haire is growne very thicke, & not fuffered to bee cutt often. The haires of the armepitt and chefte or breafte are growne foe as to bee together, as one growthe blende'd inn. From the gyantes ventral armepitt anteriore et superiore comes haire growne very longe, & fplit foe itt flows over eache pectorale, right & lefte, to merge with the fhorter cheftehaire soe that itt forms akinn to a greate mouftafche, but upon the breafte. Likewife, fuch cheftehaire growes downe from yon pectorales in thofe fhaggybreafte'd gyantes, thicker & allowed to flowe to the flankes afide the mouthe, to entwine with the haire of the dorfal armepittes; foe a great matte of haire is formed betweene chefte & arme, to hang downe with the appearance of a choppe, hence the name.

"Such haire is nott combe'd, but loofe like a mammothes, though occafionally
the haire betwixte chefte & dorfal armepittes is braided as a barbarians, & feftoone'd with charmes. When colde a gyante fhall fold his fidearmes, foe that his handes are fheltered not only by thicke flefh, but alfoe the warme & fhaggy haire that fprouts and flowes yon. The haire itt is infefted with beardelyce, bigge nittes & crawling beaftes that neft in itts warmth, & are marked upon their backes with a designe like unto a linden leafe. So fpurning fyre the gyantes doe nott smoke thefe nittes as do sentinells, but rather thefe tickes are picked from gyantes bye their fellowes & eaten, for they very tafty, efpecially when braifed with pynecornes & lichens and ferved with the twinnebulbe'd turnipp that growes in the fhallow mountaine soil, or crufhed as a pafte to accompanie the forcerie-roafted fpiritmeates of the mammothes of the Maideftone peakes."

[Kratikos of Minutius (fl. 2/20s), a Pelandan scholar and Second of said ket, and noted academic expert on grotaron brachiognomy. His expeditions to the West following the end of the Blood Kings War brought the hitherto-fabled gigantic race to the light of Imperial scholarly scrutiny. His corpus of work on the mythic and gigantologic implications of elbow extension, arm-hair density and relative tri-arm muscular development was a model of its kind, and a pioneering study in eugenics. His works on the magical life of the legendary peak-hopping, sabre-toothed spirit mountain mammoths, and even their supposed lost graveyard on the Spirit World, were less well received.] Received on Mon 10 Apr 2006 - 09:47:36 EEST