My upper crust Darra Happans look like these people from the the Akkad image. This golden skin is for me universal to all good and devout Darra Happans. Golden (not blonde) hair and light blue eyes are hallmarks of those even more favored by Yelm. This is often those within the hierarchy of Darra Happan society that have the luxury of emulating and pursuing the values of Yelm. Among the very elite the grace and geases of Yelm of Yelm may lay upon a family and many generations may share these attributes. But if an individual does not live up to this legacy they fade. Most of the common folk in Darra Happa have varying shades of golden skin, generally black and dark brown hair with eyes that run from brown to golden. Occasionally one of these people through feats and devotion one of these folk may slowly begin to take on flecks of gold in their hair and eyes. This process may continue until they look as sun blessed as their betters with golden hair and light sky blue eyes. Occasionally, this devotion will instead manifest itself in a child that has a varying degree of these attributes. The Lodrili commoners can occasionally look similar to the Darra Happans without golden skin or any of the hair and eye traits but they also are of more mixed racial stock. While I imagine that the Darra Happan nobility has some Pentian blood the Lodrili have even more and also they are influenced by the traits of the Orlanthi hillmen and in some cases Carmanian influence within Peloria.
The only people who have a prevalence of what we consider to be blonde hair and light skin with blue eyes in my Glorantha are in the West.
Because my Darra Happans have golden skin and not white skin they do not sunburn. Sunburn is rare for my Orlanthi too because in Glorantha few spend enough time indoors to have not built up a tolerance to these haughty and over-pure rays. Still, in certain magical instances generally involving being in conflict with forces loyal to Solar deities, all non-solar folk can experience sunburn. In my book this requires either the efforts of some third party loyal to solar deities or having damaged or threatened folk or property loyal to solar deities thus meriting the special displeasure of those deities.
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> --- In WorldofGlorantha_at_yahoogroups.com, "valkoharja" <rintasaa@> wrote:
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> > Here's a quick example of visual inspiration I use for the Dara Happans
> >
> > http://www.akkad.ca/artempiresnineveh.jpg
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> That is similar to my vision of lower class Dara Happans. The upper classes could well have fairer skin and hair. I visualize the Dara Happans being very snobbish about this, with a tendency to treat lighter skinned and blonder peoples as inherently more noble and worthy of regard. Heavily tanned or less blond Dara Happans then get the short end of the stick with a general assumption that they are of the lower orders or - calamity - have descent from one of the lesser peoples (Darjini, Pelandan etc).
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> The Heortlings IMG have a similar mix but it varies across and within clans without the heirarchical social implications it has for Dara Happans. As Sartar was populated with migrants from the south there might be a greater tendency towards the olive-skinned than in previous ages (or indeed Tarsh).
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> Nic
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