Morthander Deville's motivations, beliefs and desires
Deville believes in himself above all things. He has a tremendous pride, based mostly on his clear superiority to those around him. He is unaware of his supra-mortal origins and would suffer a major shock to his ego were he to find out that his prowess was not due to personal achievement alone.
Next comes his belief in the Red Moon and her Way. Devilles interpretation is rather different to many Lunars and has more in common with an Orlanthi than a Heartland philosopher. He sees the Lunar Way as being an expression of individual thought and achievement through learning and enlightenment and if necessary, force. Upon hearing the Orlanthi Proverb: "Violence is always an option" in the Barbarian Contact Seminars when he was in training, he startled his classmates and teachers by arguing that this was correct and perfectly acceptable within the Lunar Way. His peers were very disparaging of this, so Deville took insult with the most vociferous, killed him and presented this as proof of his point. Counter-arguments faded away under such piercing logic.
Such an attitude served him well in the newly conquered Provinces. On arrival in an Orlanthi town or village, Deville would be derided for his stylish robes and finely made-up features and hair. An insult would soon follow, Deville would kill the man, using no magic, while acting with complete honour and often going so far as to gift the deceased man's family to prevent a Bloodfeud. This approach made Deville one of the most successful missionaries in Sartar as well as an effective deterrant to rebellion.
His attitude to other Lunar authorities is one varying between distain and respect. The latter feelings are rare. The man he respects the most within the conquered regions is Fazzur (even after his "resignation"). Tatius he respects as a commander and a magician but dislikes his rigid adherence to social structure. Though Deville passed a Test of Blood to allow associate membership of Yelm, Tatius does not recognize him as a descendant of the same glorious line as himself. He sees Deville as a self seeker, pretending at a nobility one must be born to. In the former case, he is absolutely right.
In Prax, Deville has made early enemies of Sor-eel and Radak. The Coders also dislike him and find him difficult to work with as he is the only Lunar in Pavis who can ignore their commands, having a remit much like their own. Deville considers Maculus to be a poor excuse for a magician, Julan to a man of just a bit too much honour. Anderida, he finds to be a product of her background like Tatius but if anything, a bit soft. Nose-ring and Eslas are simple to fathom and therefore safely ignored.
Deville's aid will accelerate the Red School of Masks to operational levels by 1620, but for the next two years he sojourns with the best of his men in the Wastes. His goals include a magical "map" of the area a visit to the Plateau of Statues, opening communication with Than Ulbar, checking the logistical possibilities of marching an army or trade caravans to Kralorela (he had little hope of that).
Of course surviving in such hostile terrain with many dangerous natives taxes even Deville and his men and he comes back to Pavis a very much different figure than when he set out. His once fashionably pale skin, tanned to blackness, his flesh hard and sinewy, his manner clipped and perfunctory. When Sor-eel sees him for the first time, he thinks he has a nomad in his office. It takes some time for him to believe otherwise. Deville has seen and done things that have changed him forever.
For all his personal suffering Deville lucked out in missing the Cradle disaster in 1621. He came out of the Praxian venture with his reputation intact, if anything, enhanced. His report on the Wastes was widely circultated and for centuries it was considered to be definitive of many aspects of Waste life, magic and geography.
In 1623 Deville moves to Kaethela to continue his work there. His role in the various battles and events of the Hero Wars is small and if anyone is interested I'll specify the details or if anyone has any ideas on what Deville might get up to, help would be appreciated.
Deville's Companions.
During his service time, Deville picked up two men who served with him for most of his career. Their names are Hrothmir and Trask Two-Swords. This is a description of the history an motivation of the two men who know Deville best.
Hrothmir
Born during sacred time, his parents were the Praxian High Khan of Storm Bull and the Paps High Priestess of Eiritha. They were consumating the marriage between their Gods As was common with such rituals they were highly fruitful and often produced a child of more than normal attributes, as the Gods and Goddesses involved momentarily possess their priests for parts of the ritual. In this case they produced a male child with more than a touch of the Storm Bull in him.
The High Khan left before the child was born, heading back to the Block. When the baby was a year old, his mother sent the child via a caravan, with a small escort to the Block to be raised by his father in the correct Storm Bull fashion. (fighting, fighting, drinking lots of beer and fighting).
Unfortunately the child never made it. Near the Tourney Alter a vicious band of Gargarthi, in considerable numbers set upon the caravan and destroyed it. They captured some of the children and caravan slaves to sell and raped then tortured the priestesses to death for their amusement. Then they rode off, taking their captives and plunder with them. An enraged horde of Storm Bull warriors swept the plains but found no signs of the Gargarthi, nor did repeated divinations.
The Gargarthi had rapidly sold their captives and booty to a trading group of Morokanth who were being paid by Lunar agitators to finance Praxian disruption through any means, including using Gargarthi. This was one of many projects designed to minimise Praxian involvement in the planned invasion of Sartar by the Emperor. Seeing at once the value of the child, the Morokanth had placed him on Holy Ground until a suitable equipped Lunar agent could arrive to take him into the Empire.
Once within the Empire, the child was taken to the Orphanage at Mrins Cross and was named Hrothmir. The Lunar cult leaders saw this as a perfect chance to turn a son of Storm Bull to the Lunar Way, a triumph of illumination and thought over the barbaric soul created by such a Godly father.
Unfortunately his early years were ones of constant furies and rages, exploding into violence that left three other orphans and a teacher dead. Aside from being very violent, Hrothmir was also very, very big. At the age of twelve he was nearly seven feet tall and massive accross the shoulder with it. The Red Moon cult heirarchy proposed a radical solution, they attempted illumination by battering the boy repeatedly with Riddles in his private lessons. Eventually the tactic paid off and on his fifteenth birthday, he achieved illumination.
Once illuminated, Hrothmir found the strange drives within him to be tempered somewhat but still he lusted for violence and war. The Lunars obliged and introduced him to a Froth Khan of Urain who was in their employ. This man was illuminated also and his moderate amount of control allowed some social and business interaction. He had been hired by the Lunars to train some of their warriors into shock troops via Urain's worship. He spent a year with Hrothmir, training the boy in blood lust and weapon skill.
At sixteen, in 1614 he was assigned by the Provincial Overseer to the duty of Companion and Bodyguard to a powerful priest in the conquered lands called Morthander Deville. At first Hrothmir objected vehemently and people died as a result. Once, when flying into a tantrum in Boldhome because he'd been refused food without payment he was going to kill the vendour. Deville amazed him by idly parrying him with his puny sword while Hrothmir was utterly beserk. Deville did this for some time, wih little apparent effort, then wafted a languid hand that blasted Hrothmir unconcious for days.
Since that demonstration of power, Hrothmir has done everything Deville tells him. More than that though, he has come to love Deville as an older brother who looks after him and lefts him smash people who are getting in Morthanders way.
A typical Deville/Hrothmir conversation would go like this:
Hrothmir: "Oh, go on Morthander, let me kill him, please?"
Deville: "Now now, Hrothmir, remember what I told you, violence has its
place, calm down."
Hrothmir: "But he was looking at you funny Morthander, I think he was
lookin' fer a fight."
Deville: "Horthmir, be quiet! I will tell you when you can protect my
honour, do not make me chastise you again!"
Hrothmir: "Er, sorry Morthander." He hangs his head sheepishly but
flicks an angry scowl at the rapidly retreating man who'd dared to look at
Deville's made-up face.
His name causes a stir among some Storm Bull warriors but his obvious Lunar runes, red cloak and immensely dangerous appearance forbid further questioning. His illumination protects him against the detection of his parentage and runic ties.
Trask Two-Swords
Originally Trask was a Dundealos tribesman and as staunch a Sartarite patriot as a man could be. In 1609, he agitated among the Southern Clans for a revolt and he led his own band of rebels down from the Stormwalks to totally destroy a Lunar fort near the Sambari pass. Morthander Deville was made "magical advisor" to the commander assigned to eradicating the possibility of rebellion in the area. Deville immediately took charge and directed a brief but ruthless campaign that ambushed the ambushers on a daily basis and drove them back to the Storm Walks. Finally Trask's raiders made a stand, trapped, outnumbered and outclassed, they stood and died. All except Trask who Deville met in personal combat, disarmed and took prisioner.
Soon after that Deville took a defiant Trask in chains to the nearest Dundealos village. His forces surrounded the people and disarmed them. Deville told Trask that he would order the deaths of every single occupant of the village unless Trask swore to an Oath spell to serve Deville and the Lunar Empire to the best of his capabilities, till released by Deville's word (not death). Trask saw the fear in his peoples eyes and so swore. Should he break the Oath then a great vengence will strike him down where he stands and he knows that.
At first, serving Deville and trying to keep him alive (for if Deville dies without releasing him, Trask will be bound to serve the Empire for the rest of his life) was a daily torment to the convinced Lunar hater. But Deville treated Trask with courtesy and respect. He treated him like a good Clan Chief would treat his best Huscarl. Trask was often asked questions on Orlanthi society and attitudes that soon brought to his attention Deville's huge intellect and agile mind. He even began to understand the Lunars humour and belief in self, and he could not help but empathise with that.
Trask found Hrothmir a little disconcerting but he'd been with beserkers before and knew when to stay out of their way.
By 1616 and seven years of service to Deville, Trask had become a fully lapsed member of Orlanth in spirit as well as attendance. He grew confused, for so much of the Lunar Way seemed good, and Deville was a man to be admired, no matter how hard he tried to dislike him. Finally, he joined the Seven Mothers as a voluntary member of Danfive Xaron, under Deville's supervision. Now, he uses a Bastard Sword in his right hand and a Scimitar in his left, symbolising his merging beliefs and his basic confusion.
Trask is a grim man, wracked by personal doubt but sustained by his Oath and innate spiritual toughness. He will die for Deville, but that is no longer just becase of the Oath, but because he knows in his heart that Deville would die for him too.
End of Glorantha Digest V2 #188
WWW material at http://hops.wharton.upenn.edu/~loren/rolegame.html
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