Pharaonic Despotism

From: Peter Metcalfe <metcalph_at_voyager.co.nz>
Date: Fri, 24 Apr 1998 21:00:17 +1200 (NZST)


Joerg Baumgartner:

DD>>>Makes you wonder about the Pharaoh, eh? Actually, the Only Old
>>>One was a pretty reasonable guy. NOBODY fled him for Dragon Pass.

Me>> Where was there to flee? The crossline was still in effect...

>Before the Dragonkill War, nobody had to flee there from the Only Old
>One either.

The Only Old One was one of the chief beneficiaries of Arkat's Command. Given that this caused the Kingdom of Dragon Pass to rise up in revolt, I think plenty of people would have fled the OOO into Dragon Pass after the Tax Slaughter.

>Or into the Praxian Marches, or into Ditaliland.

The Praxian marches are inhabited by hostile nomads and the history of Wenelia is still largely unknown. Thus we cannot rule out people fleeing brutal oppression by the OOO.

>Fact is,
>people fled into the Shadowlands rather than out of them (except when
>the lands were invaded).

Name one migration into the Shadowlands. The Kingdom of Night had almost disintegrated after the Battle of Night and Day in 379 such that the OOO's forces are not present at the battle of Vanntar, nearly eighteen years later! Thus I think the land around the Stormwalk hills was not fled to because the OOO ruled over it but rather that it was Terra Nullis.  

>>>LOTS of people fled the Pharaoh.
 

>> I'm unaware of any Esrolian or Caladralander migrations.

>I don't have any evidence about Caladralander migrations, but the
>Colymar probably came from the northern Esrolian outskirts.

The Colymar came from the Orshanti clan in Heortland. As for the Esrolian migrations, surely their larger population would mean that there would be more migrants into Dragon Pass? The number of Vendref under the Grazer yoke (assuming that they are Esrolians) seem to contradict this.

>Borngold the
>Usurper's rival and later (sacred) king of the Colymar Barngradus traced
>his lineage to a priestess who faced Belintar the Stranger in open
>conflict. (Which invalidates the 1300 date in CHDP for the Colymar
>immigration to Dragon Pass...)

I don't see how. Assuming you are talking about Garneneva, we do not know that this is an Esrolian Priestess. She could be a Vingan which is perfectly plausible for a Heortling and is far more likely to fight Belintar in 'hand-to-hand' conflict. The epithet could have been gained after the birth of her son or grandson. Given all these possibilities, I see little need to traduce the history of the Colymar's Book as an invention.

End of The Glorantha Digest V5 #557


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