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Lord Karsus
Great Reader
USA
3737 Posts |
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Falstaffsrevenge
Acolyte
USA
16 Posts |
 Posted - 29 Jun 2011 : 01:46:27
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Mr. Greenwood and THO,
Thank you for all you do here. I don't 'troll' these ways as much as I use to (RSE aside), but I do come back from time to time and I am constantly in awe of all that you give back to your readers. Thank you for sharing your wounderful world, allowing us to play, dream, and adventure in the the land of Faerun. |
Some friends are like slinkies, not much use, but they still bring a smile to your face when you push them down stairs. |
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Joran Nobleheart
Senior Scribe
USA
495 Posts |
Posted - 29 Jun 2011 : 03:23:46
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quote:
Originally posted by Hoondatha
Hey Joran, can you share? Or is it something your players can't see?
My friend, I'll have to PM you about it all tomorrow. The last half-week has been super busy, including today. |
Paladinic Ethos
Saint Joran Nobleheart |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 29 Jun 2011 : 18:49:01
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Falstaffsrevenge,
thank you very much for your kind words. I dragonned Ed into this, back in 2004, and he is happy to answer all the lore queries he can (and do quite a bit more for scribes who need campaign or writing help or advice). Ed has just finished and turned in the 2010 Spin A Yarn story, and tells me your sig has a connection to its beginning...and its ending. (As to how...well, you'll just have to read it and see, he tells me!)
love,
THO |
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TheHermit
Seeker
USA
60 Posts |
Posted - 30 Jun 2011 : 06:32:48
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THO,
A while back, I asked this question:
"My latest group will be getting their start in Battledale's Ghost Holds (circa Mirtul, 1357 DR). If you could, could you tell me a bit of some of the folk of note that might still live in the forests in the Holds' area, and any of the ruins you might find particularly interesting? Also, where did the folk who built the various Holds get the materials for their construction - is there a local source for building stone or is that shipped in from abroad?"
You answered thusly:
"The Hermit, there are rock quarries (mostly disused and heavily overgrown by the forest) west of the Ghost Holds; aside from some ornamental cladding, all of the stone used in building what are now known as the Ghost holds would have been local. Ed will elaborate."
But as far as I can find, no elaboration was ever forthcoming. Could you re-present this question to Ed when he has a moment, since I may be taking another group of players into those woods?
Thanks,
Joe |
- "Glitz & Klax's Potions & Elixirs"/"The Sandmen", Inside Ravens Bluff, The Living City; 1990; TSR, Inc.
- "The Far Guardians' Traveler's Mission", Port of Ravens Bluff; 1991, TSR, Inc.
- "Signs Painted", Polyhedron #70; April, 1992; TSR, Inc.
- Communications Director, Coliseum of Comics, Orlando, FL - http://coliseumofcomics.com/ |
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Eltheron
Senior Scribe
740 Posts |
Posted - 01 Jul 2011 : 19:28:10
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This question is for Ed and THO, although I'd love responses (PMs if they're long-ish) from anyone who has figured it out in their own campaigns:
I've been playing in the Realms ever since it was introduced in Dragon magazine, but even after decades of play, thought, and introspection there's still one deity that I can't quite fully wrap my head around: Ilmater. He's always seemed to be somewhat apart and distant to me, and rather unusual within the western pantheon. Now, I have someone who wants to play a priest of Ilmater for the first time in my experience (I've had everything but Ilmateri), and I'm having an incredibly hard time describing the faith/dogma as well as his role/place in the pantheon. Mercy and compassion I totally get, but the "suffering god" (how he steps in to take on others' sufferings), and the "god on the rack" are really hard to picture and explain in a Realmsy way. I just don't get the imagery and dogma. Maybe because we only have limited info on him, without some stories for context.
Can you help? I keep coming back to a RW Jesus-like import, but that feels wrong on many levels. In the past, I've tended to gloss over his faith, and that also seems wrong because his mercy and compassion would appeal to the general public in major ways. Did Ilmater have his origins in a different culture/pantheon than let's say, Torm or Helm, that would give me some clues to his presentation? How do I present his church's teachings? I understand that he'd have hospitals, how his priests would generally act, but since I'll be working with a new player (and Ilmater priest) I'll need to explain "Ilmater's stories" and his dogma more fully than commoners would see things.
Sorry, really burdensomely long question, I know. Thanks in advance!
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"The very best possible post-fourteenth-century Realms lets down those who love the specific, detailed social, political and magical situation, with its thousands of characters, developed over forty years, and want to learn more about it; and those who'd be open to a new one with equal depth, which there just isn't time to re-produce; and those repelled, some past the point of no return, by the bad-taste-and-plausibility gap of things done to the world when its guardianship was less careful."
--Faraer |
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Blueblade
Senior Scribe
USA
804 Posts |
Posted - 01 Jul 2011 : 20:54:14
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Well, it's no secret that Ilmater is the Realms version of Issek of the Jug, the god on the rack from Fritz Leiber's Fafhrd & Mouser tales (the world of Nehwon), that got AD&D treatment in the first edition of DEITIES & DEMIGODS (for legal reasons, the mythos of Nehwon and the Melnibonaean mythos, from Moorcock's Elric stories, got left out of later DDG editions).
BB |
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Cronje
Seeker
56 Posts |
Posted - 02 Jul 2011 : 05:11:29
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Dear Ed and Lady THO,
I've a question about Orcus. According to page 221 of Faiths and Pantheons, Orcus is a deity. However, none of the other 3rd/3.5 edition sourcebooks I've read have listed him as anything but a demon prince. Did he ever possess a sliver of divinity?
Thanks,
Cronje |
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Faraer
Great Reader
3308 Posts |
Posted - 02 Jul 2011 : 22:34:04
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| In Gary's original D&D demon lords/princes and archdevils aren't distinguished in any definite way from gods so called; they grant spells, for instance, to their human and non-human priests. That distinction is a 2E innovation, and I don't remember if Ed ever clarified what situation obtains in the un-rules-inflected Realms. My guess is who is and isn't a god is, like most matters divine and infernal, one of those widely contended things no one knows for sure. |
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Eltheron
Senior Scribe
740 Posts |
Posted - 03 Jul 2011 : 02:00:25
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quote:
Originally posted by Blueblade
Well, it's no secret that Ilmater is the Realms version of Issek of the Jug, the god on the rack from Fritz Leiber's Fafhrd & Mouser tales (the world of Nehwon), that got AD&D treatment in the first edition of DEITIES & DEMIGODS (for legal reasons, the mythos of Nehwon and the Melnibonaean mythos, from Moorcock's Elric stories, got left out of later DDG editions).
BB
Ah, very interesting, I didn't know this. Makes me wonder if Ilmater has a special story about dying and being reincarnated, like Issek. There's got to be a good Realmsy story about Ilmater, somewhere.
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"The very best possible post-fourteenth-century Realms lets down those who love the specific, detailed social, political and magical situation, with its thousands of characters, developed over forty years, and want to learn more about it; and those who'd be open to a new one with equal depth, which there just isn't time to re-produce; and those repelled, some past the point of no return, by the bad-taste-and-plausibility gap of things done to the world when its guardianship was less careful."
--Faraer |
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Cronje
Seeker
56 Posts |
Posted - 03 Jul 2011 : 07:37:26
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Sorry to ask another question so soon, but I was browsing through the 2nd edition Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting and noticed a discrepancy between it and later sourcebooks. According to The Grand History of the Realms (page 33) and Lost Empires of Faerûn (page 61) - both of which are are 3.5 edition sourcebooks - Skuld was founded in -2135 DR. However, I think the timeline might be off by 30 years.
The 2nd edition Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting (page 22 of the revised edition), claims that year 3501 of the Mulhorand is the same as 1367 DR. That's incorrect, given the conversions in The Grand History, which place 1367 DR as 2471 MC.
Were the Mulhorand references in The Grand History and Lost Empires based off of the FRCS and incorrectly dated?
Edit: Fixed a typo. |
Edited by - Cronje on 03 Jul 2011 07:39:47 |
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see
Learned Scribe
235 Posts |
Posted - 03 Jul 2011 : 07:55:39
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quote:
Originally posted by Blueblade
(for legal reasons, the mythos of Nehwon and the Melnibonaean mythos, from Moorcock's Elric stories, got left out of later DDG editions).
BB
Minor detail correction. The mythoi that were removed from later Deities & Demigods printings were the Cthulhu and Melnibonean mythoi. Newhon was still included in later DDG printings (and in printings under the title Legends & Lore, and was updated for 2nd edition in the 2e version of Legends & Lore, available for free download from WotC here). |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 06 Jul 2011 : 03:06:40
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Eltheron, here's my own paltry beginning of a reply to you about Ilmater, drawn from Ed's players' notes about the deities of the Realms (none of our PCs had Ilmater as a patron or "foremost deity," but of course everyone knows of, believes in, and offers at least "lip service" worship to every deity):
ILMATER is the god of compassion, the Sharer of Sufferings. Pain, grief, mental anguish, and loss are all lessened when shared, and the righteous path for all sentient beings is to aid those who suffer by offering understanding, support, and physical aid (feed and shelter those in shock, give them silent company and someone to talk to/with if they desire it, bring them to holy clergy of Ilmater if they seem inconsolable, suicidal, despairing, or dazed).
Comfort the upset, speak to and walk with the lonely, the outcast, and the unpopular, and above all understand and offer compassion.
That's the basic creed. I know there are stories about Ilmater offering himself to undergo torture, and those in pain (battle wounds, sickness, surgery, or torture) can recite or mentally frame certain prayers to "bring the god to them" to alleviate their pain by "embracing it with Ilmater," but these are memories from play preserved in my notes, as opposed to the creed, which I've quoted from Ed's handouts.
Hope this helps...
love,
THO |
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Barastir
Master of Realmslore
Brazil
1600 Posts |
Posted - 06 Jul 2011 : 13:03:22
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| Nice, the faith of Ilmater was always a religion concept I thought difficult to grasp and understand. |
"Goodness is not a natural state, but must be
fought for to be attained and maintained.
Lead by example.
Let your deeds speak your intentions.
Goodness radiated from the heart."
The Paladin's Virtues, excerpt from the "Quentin's Monograph"
(by Ed Greenwood) |
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A Publishing Lackey
Seeker
74 Posts |
Posted - 06 Jul 2011 : 16:14:36
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THO, something I've wanted to ask Ed for a long time: how much personal contact, if any, did he have with Fritz Leiber? I know they met at least once, but . . . did they ever discuss fantasy writing? Worldbuilding? Fiction, either existing or ideas?
Thanks! |
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Eltheron
Senior Scribe
740 Posts |
Posted - 06 Jul 2011 : 16:15:26
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quote:
Originally posted by The Hooded One
Eltheron, here's my own paltry beginning of a reply to you about Ilmater, drawn from Ed's players' notes about the deities of the Realms (none of our PCs had Ilmater as a patron or "foremost deity," but of course everyone knows of, believes in, and offers at least "lip service" worship to every deity):
ILMATER is the god of compassion, the Sharer of Sufferings. Pain, grief, mental anguish, and loss are all lessened when shared, and the righteous path for all sentient beings is to aid those who suffer by offering understanding, support, and physical aid (feed and shelter those in shock, give them silent company and someone to talk to/with if they desire it, bring them to holy clergy of Ilmater if they seem inconsolable, suicidal, despairing, or dazed).
Comfort the upset, speak to and walk with the lonely, the outcast, and the unpopular, and above all understand and offer compassion.
That's the basic creed. I know there are stories about Ilmater offering himself to undergo torture, and those in pain (battle wounds, sickness, surgery, or torture) can recite or mentally frame certain prayers to "bring the god to them" to alleviate their pain by "embracing it with Ilmater," but these are memories from play preserved in my notes, as opposed to the creed, which I've quoted from Ed's handouts.
Hope this helps...
love,
THO
Very cool, thanks THO! Would I be thinking along the right lines to say that a church/temple of Ilmater might take in (for healing) a mage that had their wits unhinged by the miscasting or backfiring of a spell? Or, perhaps, a non-mage victim of wild magic who had their senses scrambled? Or commoner victims of an orc tribe that had been captured in a raid and then used/abused (but later rescued and saved by adventurers)?
I'm also wondering if Ed might have an unpublished tidbit or story of Ilmater that would flesh out a bit more the reasons why Ilmater became so devoted to kindness and compassion? Something about Ilmater's origins? In a world with a lot of violence, it would seem like the general population would flock to his worship, yet he's always been more of a "lesser" deity?
Also, I'm kinda thinking that one reason it's hard for me to picture Ilmater is that the "presented/published Realms" has never shown much of the reality of violence in the Realms (i.e. no significant depiction of ongoing torture or human vs human really evil imagery in novels) because such a thing was too dark for early TSR... so maybe Ilmater serves a bigger function in the darker and seedier underbelly of the Realms?
Still trying to wrap my head around (philosophically, anyway) this Ilmater-on-the-rack, hehe. Thanks!
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"The very best possible post-fourteenth-century Realms lets down those who love the specific, detailed social, political and magical situation, with its thousands of characters, developed over forty years, and want to learn more about it; and those who'd be open to a new one with equal depth, which there just isn't time to re-produce; and those repelled, some past the point of no return, by the bad-taste-and-plausibility gap of things done to the world when its guardianship was less careful."
--Faraer |
Edited by - Eltheron on 06 Jul 2011 16:59:22 |
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Faraer
Great Reader
3308 Posts |
Posted - 06 Jul 2011 : 19:37:32
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| Ilmater does seem a less integral part of the pantheon than some other gods; like Shar, he's something of an underground divinity not actively entangled with the social structure. Worth bearing in mind too that Issek of the Jug was a satire on religious crazes and charismatic mystery cults of the Christ/Mithras sort. He shares something of Christ's radical inversion of the usual pagan association of virtue and worldly success. In our world, most such cults stayed small, like Ilmater's; Christianity's extraordinary growth depended on a very specific social context. |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 07 Jul 2011 : 16:00:59
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Well said, Faraer.
Ed's been tearingly busy this last week, what with recent upheavals at several of the companies he deals with and some urgent behind-the-scenes writing help, but I did manage to get to him to briefly respond to your Ilmater questions (deeper lore on the god, he said, will have to wait for now; he has promised answers for other scribes waiting when he can grab some "down time from hectic life."
So here's Ed, being brief:
"Would I be thinking along the right lines to say that a church/temple of Ilmater might take in (for healing) a mage that had their wits unhinged by the miscasting or backfiring of a spell? Or, perhaps, a non-mage victim of wild magic who had their senses scrambled? Or commoner victims of an orc tribe that had been captured in a raid and then used/abused (but later rescued and saved by adventurers)?"
Ed: All of the above. Not to tend forever, but to restore (at least to a new "functioning norm").
"I'm also wondering if Ed might have an unpublished tidbit or story of Ilmater that would flesh out a bit more the reasons why Ilmater became so devoted to kindness and compassion? Something about Ilmater's origins? In a world with a lot of violence, it would seem like the general population would flock to his worship, yet he's always been more of a "lesser" deity?"
Ed: Will provide when I can. Ilmater's always been a lesser deity because he's an essentially personal, private deity rather than one with big aims, driving ambitions, and a forceful daily presence in society/politics. He's a quiet refuge.
"Also, I'm kinda thinking that one reason it's hard for me to picture Ilmater is that the "presented/published Realms" has never shown much of the reality of violence in the Realms (i.e. no significant depiction of ongoing torture or human vs human really evil imagery in novels) because such a thing was too dark for early TSR... so maybe Ilmater serves a bigger function in the darker and seedier underbelly of the Realms?"
Ed: He certainly does. You're quite right that the published Realms hasn't shown violence, torture, etc. to the extent that it (obviously, from the canon recounted history) exists in the "real" Realms. Ilmater's priests usually heal and tend for free, but charge modest fees (temple offerings) for artificial limbs/crutches/other aids, and disease medicines/rash-and-infection-and-wound ointments. Some Ilmatari priests function like traveling doctors in rural areas.
So saith Ed. Who promises more when he can (including certain requested dwarven lore). He's wildly busy, folks, but will spare all the time he can.
love,
THO |
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Malcolm
Learned Scribe
242 Posts |
Posted - 07 Jul 2011 : 16:06:26
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Dear Ed and THO,
I just read the latest Eye on the Realms column by Ed (the Masks of Living Flesh).
Can Ed tell us any more "in the Realms lore" about these critters? I'm willing to wait very patiently, but the article feels as if Ed could only put so much into the wordcount, and what got left out were the little "this merchant in this town had a brush with blah blah blah" sidestories that make Ed's writing so useful to me.
So, when you can...please?
Thanks! |
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Eltheron
Senior Scribe
740 Posts |
Posted - 07 Jul 2011 : 17:47:15
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quote:
Originally posted by The Hooded One
Well said, Faraer.
Ed's been tearingly busy this last week, what with recent upheavals at several of the companies he deals with and some urgent behind-the-scenes writing help, but I did manage to get to him to briefly respond to your Ilmater questions (deeper lore on the god, he said, will have to wait for now; he has promised answers for other scribes waiting when he can grab some "down time from hectic life."
So here's Ed, being brief:
"Would I be thinking along the right lines to say that a church/temple of Ilmater might take in (for healing) a mage that had their wits unhinged by the miscasting or backfiring of a spell? Or, perhaps, a non-mage victim of wild magic who had their senses scrambled? Or commoner victims of an orc tribe that had been captured in a raid and then used/abused (but later rescued and saved by adventurers)?"
Ed: All of the above. Not to tend forever, but to restore (at least to a new "functioning norm").
"I'm also wondering if Ed might have an unpublished tidbit or story of Ilmater that would flesh out a bit more the reasons why Ilmater became so devoted to kindness and compassion? Something about Ilmater's origins? In a world with a lot of violence, it would seem like the general population would flock to his worship, yet he's always been more of a "lesser" deity?"
Ed: Will provide when I can. Ilmater's always been a lesser deity because he's an essentially personal, private deity rather than one with big aims, driving ambitions, and a forceful daily presence in society/politics. He's a quiet refuge.
"Also, I'm kinda thinking that one reason it's hard for me to picture Ilmater is that the "presented/published Realms" has never shown much of the reality of violence in the Realms (i.e. no significant depiction of ongoing torture or human vs human really evil imagery in novels) because such a thing was too dark for early TSR... so maybe Ilmater serves a bigger function in the darker and seedier underbelly of the Realms?"
Ed: He certainly does. You're quite right that the published Realms hasn't shown violence, torture, etc. to the extent that it (obviously, from the canon recounted history) exists in the "real" Realms. Ilmater's priests usually heal and tend for free, but charge modest fees (temple offerings) for artificial limbs/crutches/other aids, and disease medicines/rash-and-infection-and-wound ointments. Some Ilmatari priests function like traveling doctors in rural areas.
So saith Ed. Who promises more when he can (including certain requested dwarven lore). He's wildly busy, folks, but will spare all the time he can.
love,
THO
Thank you Ed and THO, these are excellent starting off points (and my friend who wants to do the Ilmater cleric will love them). I have to say, I love the idea that Ilmater is highly personal, it makes him seem more spiritual and invested in his flock somehow.
Definitely looking forward to more Ilmater stories and lore, whenever time permits.
I just had a mini-vision of an Ilmater cleric being a bit like a cross between a Peace Corps medic and a Doctors-without-Borders MD, traveling to distant villages and helping out with healing spells, offering herbal medicines/poultices, setting broken bones, and perhaps even doing triage surgeries. Very cool!
You two are the best! Thanks again for this and take care THO and Ed!
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"The very best possible post-fourteenth-century Realms lets down those who love the specific, detailed social, political and magical situation, with its thousands of characters, developed over forty years, and want to learn more about it; and those who'd be open to a new one with equal depth, which there just isn't time to re-produce; and those repelled, some past the point of no return, by the bad-taste-and-plausibility gap of things done to the world when its guardianship was less careful."
--Faraer |
Edited by - Eltheron on 07 Jul 2011 17:48:19 |
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Knight of the Gate
Senior Scribe
USA
624 Posts |
Posted - 07 Jul 2011 : 17:53:37
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Dearest Ed and THO: I was wondering about a reference to the 'legendary' elfin fortress of El'Lahana Raikiel referenced in Powers and Pantheons under the Lurue entry; chiefly about the former inhabitants thereof. Was it the seat of a noble house, or was it an outpost of Earlann as a nation? Also, was this site sacred to Lurue prior to the events related in P+P? What, precisely, makes this 'ancient and ruined elfin fortress' among so many others of its kind 'legendary'?
As an aside, THO, did the KoMD ever have any dealings with the Knights of the Unicorn? Or were they more a 'famous band of high-born dolts flitting about trying to get famous while causing trouble' sort of group?
Thanks in advance to both of you. |
How can life be so bountiful, providing such sublime rewards for mediocrity? -Umberto Ecco |
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createvmind
Senior Scribe
490 Posts |
Posted - 08 Jul 2011 : 15:30:44
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Hello All,
What happens to victim who has been dominated magically for very long period of time and is finally free of caster, does victim still function as if dominated from the prolonged mental conditioning? What is absolute wrong thing to do to try to return victim to normal via mundane and or magical means, do such victims usually develop various mental psychosis if attempts are made to jar/shock them back to normal? |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 08 Jul 2011 : 16:15:00
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Hi again, all.
Back on page 28 of this thread, scribe Jakuta Khan asked about creation myths of the goblinkin races (specificially, Goblins, Hobgoblins, and Bugbears) in the Realms, and Ed promised to get to this topic when he could.
Well, he’s managed to snatch a little time to begin a reply, and here it is:
Hi, Jakuta Khan. Sorry for the wait.
The short answer is: different tribes and different priesthoods among all three of these races in the Realms embrace different and competing “in the beginning” tales, but there are “most popular” tales for each race.
Here’s the bare-bones version of the story about The Beginning Time of the Bugbears (most recountings of it will be dressed up with many details of names, fights, dread portents, elders’ advice, etc.):
In the endless Dawn Forest, of much peril and good hunting, a star fell into the cooking fire of the wisest, boldest of the Haree [note: “Haree” means “WeThePeople,” and is the bugbears’ name for themselves], and all who gazed into that fire beheld a fair and vast land of rolling hills, plains, mountains, forests, lakes beyond counting, and sea. A land that teemed with life, yet had no Haree. A land for us to roam at will, to lord over, to grow greater in.
So the wise Haree followed that star when it rose from their fire. It led them into the deepest, darkest fastnesses of the forest, many Haree being lost in the jaws of lurking spiders the size of the trees themselves, and worse hunters. Long was the way, bloody the trail, and it ended in a cave, so dark that all the Haree could do was follow the twinkling light ahead. It led them to a glowing ring or doorway of light in the darkness, and vanished when it passed through that ring. Those Haree brave enough to follow fell through blue mists, to land on their feet gently in this place. These Realms. Our rightful kingdom, when one day we rise to our proper might. Which shall be when we slay the last dragon.
So saith Ed. Who will get to the goblins and hobgoblins as soon as he can, he promises. Brighter living through ever-more Realmslore, I say!
love,
THO |
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createvmind
Senior Scribe
490 Posts |
Posted - 08 Jul 2011 : 16:23:25
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| Ed can you give a little more tidbits on the dragon part, did dragons exist in the Haree "Dawn Forest" is this part of a variation Haree prophecy, the slaying of the last dragon? Have Hobgoblin tribes in the realms attempted throughout history to hunt down and slay dragons, did this meet with disaster, limited success, anything you can share, nice myth story. |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 08 Jul 2011 : 18:50:34
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No, createvmind, it means the Haree (Bugbears) can't rule the Realms (the new world they entered via the gate, LEAVING the Dawn Forest to do so) until they slay every last dragon (in the Realms).
The tale doesn't apply to hobgoblins, and so far as I and Ed know, there were no dragons in the Dawn Forest.
The Haree believe they are destined to rule the new land they found (the Realms), but see the dragons as the impediment to that.
(Heh. Wait'll they notice beholders, mind flayers, and the drow, just to mention three...)
love,
THO |
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createvmind
Senior Scribe
490 Posts |
Posted - 08 Jul 2011 : 23:09:17
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| Thank you, that will suffice. |
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Jakuta Khan
Senior Scribe
496 Posts |
Posted - 09 Jul 2011 : 02:28:06
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Ed,THO,
thank you very much for this. Now very late here, but already many questions coming up by this answer alone.
Again, thank you sincerely.
Jakuta Khan |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 09 Jul 2011 : 03:37:27
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Heh. You're welcome, and I suspect you'll have many more, because Ed has surprised me with another creation tale.
Without more ado, heeeeeere's Ed:
Hi, Jakuta Khan. Managed to snatch a few more minutes, so here’s by far the most popular of many competing Goblin creation tales [note: “Nloun” means “We,” and was what goblins called themselves in the Foretime]:
Life was good and meat plentiful, in sun-drenched and happy times, Nloun always numerous and clever enough to bring down any foe (war our pride, war our pleasure), until god fought god (not our gods, and none of our affair) and the dying gods’ bodies crashed down in flames. A great fire arose from their dying and swept across the land, driving all before its fury, devouring to ashes all who fled not or too slowly.
Fire ended the Foretime and brought the Scorching, when our gods fell silent and many Nloun died. The rest learned to run, to flee far and fast, to go deep.
Down into the greatest depths of the earth, where great blind worms gnaw and the walls are hot and slick with sweat. There the Deep Ones met us, taught us, and led us, the Nloun of the Deeps. Gobbelyn was their king, Gobbelyn their giant and champion, the largest Nloun ever. Gobbelyn tamed a gnaw-worm and forced it to tunnel deeper, until we came to burning rivers and the mists of foul death. Then Gobbelyn led us on, and up, the cooked worm dying as it gnawed.
When it died, Gobbelyn tore it apart and dug onwards, upwards, spending his life in the doing so that Nloun—we gobbelyns—could survive. He delivered us up into a new place.
This place.
And though many here are larger and more formidable than any Nloun, and these are not lands ruled by goblins, our gods spoke to us again, and still speak to us here, and here we shall abide and flourish, for burning rivers of rock have risen in the deeps, and there is no going back.
We shall breed, and outnumber, and outlast. One day, this Long Time shall become Triumph Time, when Goblins rule all.
So saith Ed. Who is hard at work on future Realms fiction right now.
love to all,
THO |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 10 Jul 2011 : 17:28:29
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Hi, Kno. There were many skirmishes on the Shaar at this time (raids and battles between wandering warbands and nomadic tribal groups that encountered each other, as opposed to ongoing, all-out wars. The loxo fought the yuan-ti bitterly, countless times and in at least three large-scale frays, and giants battled the yuan-ti in a pitched battle at the Lorrift that’s sometimes called “the Rain of Flying Snakes” because yuan-ti spellcasters sent thousands of flying snakes down onto the heads of some of the giants, out of an empty sky - - and the survivors of this force of flying snakes who were still alive when the spell ended turned on the yuan-ti, and helped the battered giants “win the field” that day.
(Back then, the Shaar had more water, more trees, and a lot more wildlife than the Shaar of the 1350s-1370s DR. The Lorrift was one of three small, but landmark for travellers, northwest-southeast rifts in the more northerly region of the eastern Shaar.)
So saith Ed. Slow but tireless answerer of Realms scribes.
love,
THO
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Longtime Lurker
Seeker
51 Posts |
Posted - 10 Jul 2011 : 19:58:02
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Ed, I've heard a rumor you're writing a Cthulhu meets Sherlock Holmes horror novel. Is this true? Or someone getting overly wistful? 
LL |
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Questions for Ed Greenwood (2011)
Topic Locked
