(Message rqd:51)
Return-Path:
Received: from Holland.Sun.COM (sunnl) by homeland.Holland.Sun.COM (4.1/SMI-4.1)
id AA05202; Fri, 25 Jun 93 17:17:37 +0200
Received: from glorantha.Holland.Sun.COM by Holland.Sun.COM (4.1/SMI-4.1e)
id AA05489; Fri, 25 Jun 93 17:17:03 +0200
Received: by glorantha.Holland.Sun.COM (4.1/SMI-4.1)
id AA00576; Fri, 25 Jun 93 17:15:31 +0200
Date: Fri, 25 Jun 93 17:15:31 +0200
Message-Id: <9306251515.AA00576@glorantha.Holland.Sun.COM>
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, Fri, 25 Jun 1993, part 2
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
want to submit articles to the Digest only, contact the editor at
RuneQuest-Digest-Editor@Glorantha.Holland.Sun.COM.
Send enquiries and Subscription Requests to the editor:
RuneQuest-Request@Glorantha.Holland.Sun.COM (Henk Langeveld)
---------------------
From: seh0@aberystwyth.ac.uk
Subject: Revised Dragonewt Dream, so that people can read it.....oops.
Message-ID: <9306251212.AA16931@uk.ac.aber.decgmc>
Date: 25 Jun 93 14:12:04 GMT
X-RQ-ID: 1171
\documentstyle[ucw]{article}
\title{The Essence of the Dragon}
\author{Stephen M Hunt BA(Hons)}
\begin{document}
\maketitle
\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. None-
theless, 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 Dragon Newts from the
inside. The serpent, a kind of Black Worm, writhed and thrashed, tearing
spirits apart in its death throes. It ended in a great booming, and a
flash of light, and as we gathered our senses again, we saw that the only
thing that had changed was that a rockfall had filled in the pass behind
us. There was no sign of any kind of serpent, nor was there evidence of
the Dragon Spirits that attacked it. As we picked ourselves up, we dis-
covered that one of our number, an Orlanthi who had been one of the two
to loose arrows, the other being Kareen, was dead. His face had an
expression of extreme fear, and I would have said that he had died of
fearshock, except that his skin was drawn very tight, almost as if he
had shrivelled up, been drained. We burned his body and left that place,
wondering on the things we had seen.
"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
awakened 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 Dragon Newt, and observed again that particular stretching of the skin
that we had noted on the body of the fallen Orlanthi in the valley of the
Black Worm. We left the body in that place. Kurgen left his Great Sword
with the creature after removing it from the wound. He said that he could
not use that weapon again after it had been used to slay a victim of madness.
The blade of Humakt would serve to accompany the demented spirit into the
afterlife and protect it there.
"As night approached, we came upon an opening into the earth. Morken dec-
lared 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
through 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 face them, and their figures had been
mutilated to a greater extent than the others.
"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 Counter-
magic 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 Drag-
onewts 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 return, and you must not be here to be
destroyed with me. This Dream is extinguished. Go...'
"I report his exact words, as best I can under the difficulties of trans-
lation 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 and fell.
I stopped for a moment, but Kurgen pushed me on after Kareen. With a single
word, his blade burst into a violent green flame, and he flung himself into
the shadows that even now began to engulf Morken. I almost faltered myself
in the headlong rush, but suddenly Henkel was beside me, pulling me along to
the exit. With the help of Henkel and Rhana, Kareen and I pulled ourselves
out of the opening. We dragged ourselves clear of the area, nervously
waiting for any sign of Kurgen and Morken. An hour passed, and we began to
give up hope of our comrades return, but at that moment, Kurgen emerged,
carrying Morken with him. We gathered round our friends, but discovered to
our dismay that Morken was dead, his skin ashen, and his hair and beard
whitened to the colour of snow. No matter what explanation we sought from
Rasten, he would give none, but simply stated that Morken should be buried
as soon as possible.
"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}
The previous mailing of this was struck down by the dreaded tweebies of Old
Aberystwyth Town. I hope this makes more sense. As I have noted previously,
I will be leaving uni soon, namely this Sunday. So that folks can still get
in touch with me, I will be printing my address at the end of each message
I send through from now, OK? Anyone want to drop me a line, be my guest.
Stephen M Hunt
6 Balfour Terrace
Linthorpe
Middlesbrough
Cleveland
England
TS5 5HY
Tel: (0642) 825572
I'll be logging in again hopefully to send in Kargan Tor, so I'll leave the
goodbye message till then.
Oh, and Henk, can you cancel my subscription to the Digest from Sunday 27th
June.....otherwise my e-mail account at the university will just keep growing
ever more hungrily. Thanks.
Stephen M Hunt
Better Red Than Dead
---------------------
From: awr0@aberystwyth.ac.uk
Subject: Hey dudes!
Message-ID: <9306251311.AA08972@deca>
Date: 25 Jun 93 15:11:46 GMT
X-RQ-ID: 1172
Anybody have that gruesome bit on Ogres? Could somebody send it again
or send it to me? It was rather cool....and I seem to have lost it!
Arggghhh...anybody also have the trembling vines? I really am desperate
for that...have somebody who wants to change the world!
Adam