From: Sandy Petersen (sandyp@idcube.idsoftware.com)
Date: Tue 14 Jun 1994 - 07:48:07 EEST
Harald Smith writes a Jannisor story.
Thanks, Harald. It has now joined the small but elite ranks of Gloranthan stories I keep perpetually on file.
Dave mentions
>>The Humakt subcult worshipped in Ralios is Makla Mann, who remained
>>faithful to Arkat even after Arkat betrayed the cult.
Jonas asks:
>Yeah? Where's it say this?
It's in the full Humakt writeup, as finalized by Your Humble Servant. Makla Mann is mine own invention, but I thought he sounded logical. I can't even remember what the spell is he offers the cult, but it might be Stop Resurrection (cast on a corpse for obvious results). Yan Starcere is a Humakti subcult better known in Peloria and Kethaela, who teaches Parry. And Hiia Swordsman, of course, is the pet Humakti subcult of the Grazelanders. He is even more strict and harsh than other Humakti sects, and grants the spell of Strongblade.
Joe Lannom, referring to Arachne Solara, says:
>She receives no worship on Glorantha's mundane plane, but what about
>worship on the hero plane?
There _are_ folks who've successfully worshiped Arachne Solara in Glorantha. All the ones I know of are hero-status entities, bolstering your theory. Dragon Pass boasts two: Ironhoof the Beastlord and Cragspider the Firewitch.
Ironhoof maintains a society in which all the twisted half-men of Beast Valley "worship" Arachne Solara. IMO, their magic points and POW pass to Ironhoof himself, and from thence on to Arachne Solara.
Cragspider's powers are undoubted. On the other hand, look at the poor thing! She used to be an ordinary uzuz. Now she's so hideously deformed as to be bordering on chaotic. I don't even think her humanoid portion looks trollish any more. I can only surmise that her horrible condition (which, admittedly, she doesn't seem to mind) is the result of having drawn a little too close to Arachne Solara during a quest. Probably also got her fire powers then.
>Of course, trying to worship her might just get her attention
>quicker. *shrug* Maybe she doesn't want worship.. just a snack.
Note that the fact that some folks have successfully gotten powers from her doesn't mean that her main goal isn't lunch. Ironhoof and Cragspider may just have gotten close enough for some magic to rub off, but not close enough to be trapped (or they wriggled away at the last minute). Goddess only knows how many would-be heroes didn't make it.
>What kind of spider might she be?
She's gotta be an orb weaver of some type.
A PLACE OF ADVENTURE
THE TUNNELED HILLS
The Tunneled Hills are a range of rocky badlands deep within
Genert's Wastes. Some people say it was once a city, back during the
Golden Age, and claim that the hillocks, stony spires, and natural
arches of this region are all just eroded remnants of the buildings
and wonders of this past glory.
A less plausible, if more striking theory, is that the Tunneled Hills used to be the towers of the huge citadel atop the Plateau of Statues. When the city was wrecked, the towers fell northward, their rubble making the hills.
Monsters have dens all through the Tunneled Hills, but there are a number of large valleys, in which permanent settlements of one type or another have sprung up. The most important of these valleys are listed below:
GOGBAGIX: this valley is sited in the north "tip" of the Hills. It is completely surrounded by hills. It boasts a pool of brackish water, and there are a number of ruined buildings scattered around the valley, built of a green jade-like stone. Opportunities for investigating this semi-precious stone are few, because the valley is infested with scorpion men. These are desert scorpion men, whose biology is somewhat different from the norm in more humid areas. All the females of the tribe tend towards Queendom. They are slowgrowing, but gradually become large and obese. When a female reaches sufficient bulk, the scorpion men bring a prisoner to their new queen, who mates (for the first and last time in her life) with the prisoner, devours him in a Ritual of Rebirth, spawns a dozen or more eggs, each of which hatches into a tiny scorpion version of the prisoners' species, and then dies.
MOSTAL'S GRAVEYARD: a valley just a few miles east of Only Safe (see below). Underground, 'tis inhabited primarily by mutant dwarfs, supposedly left here from the Godtime. Aboveground are only rocky fortresses, lava flows, and secretive chaos gremlins.
ONLY SAFE: this is a valley sited on the western edge of the Tunneled Hills, and opening to the west. It is rather nearer the Plateau of Statues than otherwise. Only Safe is the main non-chaotic stronghold within the Hills, and is inhabited primarily by Storm Bulls, who have put up a sort of tent city here. They have a stockade facing west, for defense against nomads (young warriors sometimes raid here, hoping to steal beasts while their riders are off facing chaos), but as a matter of pride have no fixed defenses on the north, east, or south sides of the valley, where only chaos monsters ever enter.
The Storm Bulls who live here have no real organization or rule, but are subject to no clan or tribe, much like the Storm Bulls who live atop the Block in Prax. Unlike the Block S.B.s, there are no permanent residents here, either. Typically, initiates spend a Week here. Advanced initiates spend a Season, and only Storm Khans spend an entire Year in the Hills. Once their time is up, the Storm Bulls return to their normal live, but can thereafter boast of having spent "a week" or whatever in the Hills.
Normally, a group of Storm Bulls goes raiding almost every day into the Hills, seeking chaos to punish. Non-Storm Bulls that come by are sometimes enslaved, sometimes attacked, sometimes welcomed. It really depends on the mood of the Storm Khan who happens to be nearest to the action when the outsiders come by.
THAN-ULBAR: the largest valley in the Tunneled Hills, this large area opens to the east. The desert to the east, between the Tunneled Hills and Iron Forts, is named "Demon's Country" on account of the beings from Than -Ulbar. The center of the valley is a huge extinct volcano, and a rude filthsome city crawls up its sides. Than-Ulbar is Glorantha's largest (known) Thanatar complex. Than is much more important here than Atyar, but the knowledge thief god is here, too. Thousands of entities live here, raiding the Wastes and the Hills for heads. Hunting parties travel as far afield as Kralorela in search of trophies.
This, perhaps the only Great Temple to Thanatar in Genertela, is strictly and thoroughly organized. The minions are strictly organized according to their geases.
The "King" of Than-Ulbar is a giant, boasting a hand-picked bodyguard of twelve jack o'bears, captured from Kralorela, indoctrinated into the cult, and specially trained for service. The common rumor about the "King" is that he has, within the volcano, the actual skull of Tien itself! This is not true. The "King" does have, however, the severed head/skull of the volcano spirit, from which he gains (A) immense power and (B) assurance that the volcano won't ever return to life. If the head could somehow be freed from the "King", and the spirit released, perhaps the volcano could erupt and cleanse the area of the centuries-old curse of Than. Unfortunately, no one (yet) knows the secret of the head except some of the high-ranking Thanatar cult members.
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