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Date: Wed, 23 Jun 93 17:15:12 +0200
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From: RuneQuest-Request@Glorantha.Holland.Sun.COM (RQ Digest Maintainer)
To: RuneQuest@Glorantha.Holland.Sun.COM (Daily automated RQ-Digest)
Reply-To: RuneQuest@Glorantha.Holland.Sun.COM (RuneQuest Daily)
Subject: RuneQuest Daily, Wed, 23 Jun 1993, part 1
Precedence: junk
Status: O
The RuneQuest Daily and RuneQuest Digest deal with the subjects of
Avalon Hill's RPG and Greg Stafford's world of Glorantha.
Send submissions and followup to "RuneQuest@Glorantha.Holland.Sun.COM",
they will automatically be included in a next issue. Try to change the
Subject: line from the default Re: RuneQuest Daily... on replying.
Selected articles may also appear in a regular Digest. If you
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Send enquiries and Subscription Requests to the editor:
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From: mfp0@aberystwyth.ac.uk
Subject: elf comms
Message-ID: <9306221542.AA10278@decb>
Date: 22 Jun 93 17:42:23 GMT
X-RQ-ID: 1147
Adam -
Have sent you a copy of the elf banding system :).. I think...
last time I tried I got core dumped trying to find the 'twiddle' sign on this
very strange keyboard! :)
Mark
"GERROF my legs!!!"
---------------------
From: seh0@aberystwyth.ac.uk
Subject: The long-awaited, much-heralded, Dragonewt Dream handout
Message-ID: <9306221604.AA27682@deca>
Date: 22 Jun 93 18:04:03 GMT
X-RQ-ID: 1148
Below is the Dragonewt Dream article I mentioned a long time ago. Sorry I
haven't been around on the net for a while, but first exams and then an Irish
holiday got in the way. I may well get a couple of comments on in the next
week but then I'm away. I intend to have Kargan Tor available on here asap.
I'll fill in a longer comment later on but for now the Dream.
The handout is intended as a scroll to be found by the players at some stage,
with possible developments from this in the course of adventuring. I don't
know if it will be of any use whatsoever to a single one of you, but then again
it might just appeal.....have fun, folks.
\documentstyle[ucw,times]{article}
\title{The Essence of the Dragon}
\author{Stephen M Hunt BA(Hons)}
\begin{document}
\maketitle
\newpage
\section{Introduction}
The following is a collection of the known information associated with
that occurence throughout the known world, that was since come to be
called The Dragonewt's Dream. These details have been collected and
compiled by the Lhankor Mhy sage Pallas of Stormhaven. Obviously the
details that are available are limited at the best of times, as many
of the articles so collected are either fragmentary or written by a
consciousness that is grossly unfamiliar in human terms.
\section{A State of War}
Being a detailed discussion of the travels of Vartarian Golang, Troll
Trader, and his visit to the Dragonewt City in the Rockwood Mountains.
"My travels then brought me to the city of that race known as the
Dragonewts, the Gorikki K'Tragg, as my people called them. This was
my first visit to the city, and entering the city was a strange
experience, but I was greeted warmly,and conducted into the house of
Istishi Kista'at, a priest of the Fifth House, so I was told. This
I did not understand fully, but later, explanations were made to me.
It seemed that his house was one of several, each house consisting of
one of the major power groupings in the dragonewt city. These groupings
were not exactly families, as I have seen in my own city, but were
detailed in a more intricate way. The longer I stayed in the city,
the more I was impressed by the intricacy and the subtlety of their
culture, a quality I have much longed for among my own people.
Lord Kista'at was most welcoming, and served me with a Pelorian wine
with an exquisite fragrance. Over this drink, we discussed many
matters. Unfortunately, circumstances were not appropriate for
trading. Lord Kista'at told me that the Dragonewts would not be
requiring supplies for some time, and that their attentions would be
directed elsewhere for the moment. When I inquired as to the nature
of these attentions, Lord Kista'at became terse with me, and informed
me that the audience was over. It was only later that I came to
understand that the Dragonewts were about to face the greatest hazard
that they had yet faced: The Dragonewts Dream."
section{Encounter}
The following is a fragmentary report of an unknown Elven Scout,
witness to a great encounter.
"...their number was legion, and their aspect was that of the dead. My
heart sang in fear, yet I stayed, to discover the nature of this conflict
...mighty it was, tall as the sky and with an essence of darkness, blotting
out the sun with its aspect...against this rose the spirits, wild and
savage, from the ground. They rose high into the air, forming a resonant
triangle of power, capturing the beast within its folds. The aura of that
place was strong, and built progressively...my heart's ill ease overcame
me and I was forced to flee, the outcome of the battle unknown..."
The spoken report of a Shaman is here recorded, Raman of Esrolia.
"The shadows of a thousand dreams stalked the world then, frozen images of
the dead and the yet to be dead, the fingers of the dragon himself. In
that time, Eyes of Glass told me many things, and the shadow of Orxili
hung still in the world."
section{The Journal of Viciex Surmaine}
The above are precursors to the main, which is the written testimony of a
Sartarite noble, who long served as an emissary to the Dragonewts, and
sought to understand them to the greatest extent possible. It is his
words which perhaps come closest to the truth about the great Dreaming,
and his words are themselves couched in the intricate language of the
Wyrm Breed, as concepts often untranslatable had to be expressed.
"These are the words of Viciex Surmaine, noble born of the seventh house
of Surmaine, located in the greater hills of Sartar, Priest of Issaries
the Lightbringer, ambassador to the race known as Dragon Newts and Friend
thereof.
"Let it be known that, for years, I have served as liason with the race
of Dragon Newts, and that my service has been granted as useful to both
my own nation and to the Dragon Newt race themselves. My service to them
has been amply rewarded in friendship, and I have been accredited positions
in the Dragon Newt culture that have been accorded to very few, especially
the post of Dragon's Tooth, which I have held for several years. I wish,
by this means, to establish my credentials before I venture into my
comments, for they deal with events of such magnitude that the truth of
them may be questioned. I solemnly pledge on Issaries name, and on the
names of his fellow Lightbringers, that the words I speak are true, and
may my soul be forfeit if I speak otherwise.
"All educated individuals are aware that, of late, a great event has
occurred throughout the land, as the Dragon Newts have withdrawn, along
with many of their breed and entered a state known as the Dragon Newt
Dream. While an awareness has certainly come of this occurrence, the
nature and detail of why such an occurrence has taken place remains a
mystery. Throughout the years of the dream, I renounced my post within
the government of the time, and sought to understand the actions of my
comrades. I do not know to this day if I understand all of what I have
seen. My old friend, Tarsela, tells me that I can never truly understand,
and it would be foolish to seek to do so. I am, after all, but a man.
"When the Dragon Newts first entered their dream state, I was far from
their city, in my home in southern Sartar, but hastily I went to the
city that I had visited so many times. It was a perilous climb along
the thin winding trail that leads up to the city, more difficult than
usual because of the harsh wind that swept the trail as I travelled.
I travelled alone, as I always do when visiting the Dragon Newts. Few
travellers have the intellect or the stomach to comprehend a Dragon
City. They are by their nature mystical, and capable of beguiling the
senses of many a man. The city that I found that day was deserted.
I wandered the streets for several days, and yet I found no sign of
any habitation. On the fourth day, I was resolved to leave for another
city that I had heard of in my many conversations with Tarsela, located
many days to the north, in the land just south of Snakepipe Hollow, the
site of the Dragon's Eye. The only thing I had found in that long time
in the city was the dried skeleton of a chaos tainted traveller upon the
trail towards the gates. It was a triple-headed creature, and obviously
touched by the hand of madness. It had seemingly died in attempting to
tear away its own skin, the act of a perverted mind. The city scared me in that visit, and I left it not reluctantly, as I often do, but with a sense of ease in my own heart that here lay something not to be pried into. An atmosphere hung over the city that day that built into a solid sense of foreboding, a sense that something was about to happen, an act of great destruction. Little did I realise at the time that my sentiments were so correct in their essence.
"My journey north took me through dangerous lands, and so I was forced to hire a group of bodyguards, for which purpose I took on an assorted group of adventurers led by a fellow Lightbringer, an Orlanthi by the name of Kareen. I hired 8 of them in all, sensing that my investigation held in it an urgency that may have belied the information at hand. Among the party were two apostate dwarves, and a wind child. All but one of the group pledged allegiance to Lightbringer gods, and the remaining one was a devout Humakti, whom I felt I could easily trust. He came not with the original group, but hired on later. His name was Kurgen Darkwalker, and he claimed initiate status in Humakt, a status not surpassed throughout my guards. Ordinarily, I would gloss over the details of such a journey, except for the things that happened along the way.
"The early part of the journey was fairly uneventful, except that the watches we set consistently reported figures moving just outside of the firelight. Whenever they attempted to investigate, however, they found nothing. Nonetheless, we felt that as we travelled, we were perhaps being stalked. Kareen suggested that it was probably bandits smelling good money. As we travelled, even our horses became more and more nervous, and we were forced to conclude that if, indeed, bandits were following us, then they would have to be dealt with. When we reached the next pass, we resolved to wait there to ambush the bandits we then thought were following us. All agreed to this except for Kurgen, who decided to scout ahead rather than participate in what he saw as a dishonourable act.
"We waited there until nightfall, when one of the dwarves, a dour fellow by the name of Morken, signalled movement at the end of the pass. What we saw then made us realise that it was not bandits that were following us. A troupe of Dragon Newts, numbering dozens, approached down the pass. They were still some way off, but Kareen called out that there was something wrong, that they were spirits, not real Dragon Newts. Indeed they were, as we soon saw more clearly. The spirits stopped suddenly in their advance, and before we knew what was happening, a great black serpent tore loose of the ground at the base of the pass. One or two of our party loosed arrows at the creature, but most of us were merely dumbfounded. Instantly, though, the Dragon Spirits rose up and swarmed around the serpent, locking it in a savage combat. The fighting was fierce. In one snap of its jaws, I saw the serpent swallow a dozen Newts, but as the combat wore on, the stomach of the serpent ripped open, torn apart by a few Drago
"Travelling further north through biting and unseasonal winds, we found shelter in the city of Jonstown, where we met once more with Kurgen. He was surprised to see us, and when we inquired as to why, he told us that two seasons had passed since he left us that day, and we were now well into Storm season of that year, 1589. He had returned and searched the valley several times, but had found no trace of us, and certainly no sign of either the Dragon Spirits or that accursed worm. We passed two nights within the walls of Jonstown, but when we set off, one of the dwarves, Morken's brother Romos, refused to travel any further, saying that dark paths lay ahead. He wished us well, but would not step beyond the walls of Jonstown.
"Heading out of Jonstown, we struck on the northern path towards The Creek, but the weather turned against us once more. Several times on that path we were attacked by bandits, but thanks to the bravery of Kurgen and Kareen, we reached the Creek having only suffered the loss of one more of the party, the solitary elf of our band, who was struck down by a Fire Arrow. The remaining six of us arrived at the Creek to find it in flood. It had ceased to be a calm, steadily flowing river, and had become a raging torrent, chewing greedily at the land on either side with its undines and water serpents. Of us all, only Rhana, the Wind Child, could cross the river in that state, so we rested for that night on the southern shore of the river.
"During that night the sky cleared, and during the second watch, I was akakened by Kurgen, who pointed upwards. High in the night sky, a huge battle seemed to be taking place. The constellations seemed to wheel and spit at each other with an intense savagery. The Great Dragon, that section of the night sky known to mortal man as {\it Draconis Stella}, was running in the sky, chasing its own tail and consuming himself insanely. It seems that Kurgen and I were the only ones to witness this vision, however, as Morken had also been awake, looking for food at this time, and he reported nothing when we asked him.
"When morning arrived, the river had settled enough for us to cross.
"Breaking from the path on the far side of the river, we headed into the land of the Dragon's Eye. On the second day of our journey, the scout, Henkel, called us forward urgently. She had found the body of a Dragon Newt, still alive. We hurried to the spot. The figure was that of a Tailed Newt, but he lay naked on the path, his eyes wild and frenzied. We tried to approach him, but he rose up and charged us. Rhana felled him with a shot from her bow, shooting him in the leg so as not to kill him. He kept crawling towards us, aggravating his wound by dragging the still embedded arrow in the mud. I tried to interpret his frenzied cries. He seemed to be shouting about a creature called Orontikis, a creature bringing madness, death and despair. More than this I could not make out, and the Newt dragged himself once more to his feet and charged the last few paces towards us. Kurgen drew his Great Sword and drove it through the heart of the Newt before he was able to attack. We examined the body of the
"As night approached, we came upon an opening into the earth. Morken declared that this was not the work of any Dwarf, but my eyes had already adjusted to the craftmanship of the Dragon Newts. We had arrived at the home of the Dragons. I declared this to the company, and informed them of my intent to descend without further delay. Under the terms I had employed them, their only requirement was to accompany me thus far. However, Kurgen, Kareen, and Morken insisted that they should accompany me down, while Henkel and Rhana would wait on the surface to keep watch for any who might return. While I was unwary about taking people untutored in the ways of Dragon Newts with me, I had seen enough in the last few weeks to make me realise that the customs of the Newts were not what they were, and that even I was unskilled in these new manners now. The four of us descended.
"Surprisingly, there were very few of the usual magics surrounding the city, and there was none of the usual disorientation. We discovered why as we reached the first of the structures that the Newts call home. Entering throught the opening that served as a door to the building, Kareen discovered a tall figure, similar in form to the common Newt, but with a skin jet black, and eyes filled with a watery mucus. It was a corrupt being, seemingly eaten up from within, for worm holes punctuated his torso, yet it was clear these holes only emerged and never entered his frame. This pattern was repeated throughout the next few of the buildings that we entered. Time and again, we saw these blackened Newts. As we travelled further down the street, we finally encountered some of these creatures upon the road, and then, beyond them, a band of Dragon Newts normal in appearance. These seemed to have been felled in the act of fleeing from the black creatures, only a group of four Talon Riders seemed to have dared to
"At the end of this long line of refugees, Morken called back to us, for he had ventured ahead, intruiged by the dimensions of this city. He was, after all, perhaps the first Dwarf to ever witness such a place, without suffering the mind confusion that so often accompanies a visit. When we caught up to him, we found him supporting a bent and ancient Dragon Newt, wounded badly, but when we offered him healing, he refused all our efforts. Kareen tried to heal him regardless, but discovered that the Priest had raised a Countermagic that defeated his efforts. At length, he spoke, demanding why we came into the city. I answered that we sought to discover what had happened to the Dragon Newts, venturing further to ask was this the work of Orontikis, that name the diseased Newt had spoken. At this, the Priest laughed.
"'You think you understand. You think all this is simply the result of some attack? No, it is far more than that. This is not the first time nor shall it be the last. I knew you did not understand by the healing you offered. No, I must die as my fellows have died, in order that all will become equal. You humans cannot understand. You presume death is something to be avoided. No, when I die, I shall go to another conflict, upon another plane. The only one of you that can come close to understanding is him,' here, he pointed at Kurgen,'yet he wields the Death Rune lightly, and still does not understand truly. What you must understand is that all this is for a reason. We Dragonewts do not offer ourselves up for such an upheavel lightly. Many who have passed in this Dreaming shall not undergo the proper cycle of their rebirth, but in the end all will come to the full fruitfulness of Dragonhood, in order to replace the Full Dragons that have died in this matter. You must go now. The darkened ones r
"I report his exact words, as best I can under the difficulties of translation and memory, but with his last words, there came a great heaving and a shudder throughout the whole of the city, and the natural light of the caverns began to fade. Whispers and shadows started emerge from all sides, and Kareen shouted that we should hasten for the exit. Morken cried aloud, yelling that the Earth was in pain. Kurgen unsheathed his remaining sword, a broadsword inscribed with a Rune even I had not seen before. There was, however, no time to express surprise. Kareen led the way, his unstinting memory perhaps the only reason we had a chance of escape. Morken and I followed close, and Kurgen followed behind, guarding the rear. As we approached the exit, the shadows that had stalked us so close, flung themselves into the full light, some expending themselves in order that others may use the newly gained {\it Unlight} in order to reach us. At a barked command from Kareen, we started to run, but Morken faltered a
"The burial of Morken was attended with full honours, and Kurgen laid his second blade down with him, pledging never to wield any blade again, despite the demands of Humakt. We turned from that place then, and made our way back to Boldhome, where I now reside. I have endeavoured to represent the events that occurred as best as possible, yet I know that my understanding is limited. At first I thought that all this was the work of Orontikis, the entity that the first Newt mentioned, yet I now know this to be false. The image of {\it Draconis Stella} devouring itself in the sky led me to believe that perhaps Ourouboros had turned against himself, and his children re-enacted this same conflict, but I feel this is not the absolute truth of the situation. The Dragonewt Dream is more complex than this, but one thing does bring itself to my mind, the words of that nameless Priest, that this is not the first time, nor shall it be the last. If this is the case, then I fear for the future of the Dragon Newts."
An associated text to the one above is a fragmentary representation of an episode of ritual boasting in the Humakti temple of Boldhome, the boast itself carried out by Kurgen the Swordless, a newly ascended Rune Lord of Humakt.
"...I have walked in darkness, where I laid down my sword in the aid of my Elder brothers. I have faced madness and undeath, and walked out alone, carrying the empty body of my comrade Morken. Of the details of the combat, I can say little, except that for seemingly days and nights I fought against shadows and wraiths, yet my blade was not guided by my hand alone, nor by Lord Humakt's, although in the depths of insanity i cried out to him for aid. No, there was another hand at work here, and I owe my survival to that influence, whatever it may be."
\end{document}
Whoa.....that's the length of it....as I say, Kargan Tor to come, plus responses
to a million and one comments that I've missed because of exams....see you later
folks
Oh, I also add to the above....
(c) Stephen M Hunt 1993
Just personal, you know. By all means, talk to me about reproducing it if any
of you are interested in such a thing.
Stephen M Hunt
Better Red Than Dead BA (Hons)
---------------------
From: jwelsh@sirius.UVic.CA (James Welsh)
Subject: Hero Questing
Message-ID: <9306221852.AA13927@sirius.UVic.CA>
Date: 22 Jun 93 18:52:33 GMT
X-RQ-ID: 1149
Hero Questing......How do YOU handle it?
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo 0 0 ooooooooooooooooooooooooo------------------------------------------------- \___/ ------------------------
For a good time call Cuddles the Elf
JWELSH@SIRIUS.UVIC.CA
---------------------
From: runei@ifi.uio.no (Rune Andre Isene)
Subject: sub
Message-ID: <199306230101.AAyrsa24985@yrsa.ifi.uio.no>
Date: 23 Jun 93 05:01:14 GMT
X-RQ-ID: 1150
sub