This may also be of interest to those who get the new Issaries release -- I based much of this on the article from Breakout, which I believe is also in "The Missing Lands," as well as info from Sandy Petersen.
UMATHELA
Mythology
Chaos lifted up the Sky Dome and oozed into the world in the north. Jantijo, the sun, was dislodged from his place, and went crashing down into the underworld.
For a while, the Darkness wasn't so bad. Storm gods conquered Umathela. Dorgalat showed people how to clear land so they could grow crops.
But things got worse. Most of the cropland had been cleared, and wasn't growing back. Only Dorgalat could still light a fire. So Tyloque and Ropotes set out with their bearer Cotoplan to restore the sun. On the journey they joined forces with Phausia, Rabilis, and Systella. In the underworld, they met Thyla, Neiropha, and Rondella, who were also trying to restore the world. After many trials, the nine succeeded, and Jantijo returned to the sky in the first dawn.
History
The First Age saw massive battles between Green and Brown elves, the Aldryami. They also fought against the trolls and the lascerdans, a now-extinct reptilian species.
Humans first came to Umathela in the Second Age. The Middle Sea Empire brought in colonists, burned much of Vralos's forests, and drove the Aldryami deep into the woods. Jrusteli God Learners conducted foul experiments and perverted worship, but this eventually backfired. All Glorantha rose against them, and the God Learners were crushed by many great disasters, which began as early as 901 with the False Gods Revolt. Part of their demise was the closing of the oceans to travel. The last God Learners were destroyed in 1020.
Many Umathelans survived the devastation, and became subject to the Aldryami, who reviewed their behavior every year in the Woodland Judgments.
In the 1100s and 1200s, the Cult of Silence took over much of the land. They finally fell to the Clamorers when Little Morishdo liberated Emanus, origin of the cult's most militaristic missionaries.
Afadjann conquered much of the land in the 1300s, and the elves and their Umathelan allies began the eight Season Wars to throw them out. Afadjann lost ground with each war, until they were thrown out entirely in 1458. The Season Wars proved that humans were equal allies with the elves.
In 1585, the first ships in over 600 years arrived at the coast. They were crewed by Red Vadeli, who claimed to be gods, and seized control of commerce and the coast. The Vadeli were revealed to be less than divine when they were defeated at the Battle of Oenriko Rock in 1594.
People
The many clans of Umathela share a common culture, though with regional differences. The regions are Huamaz, Kallima, Kormarkan, Orik, and Sulayz, each centered on a major river system. There's extensive river traffic within each region, but much less contact between them.
The Umathelans live by slash and burn farming, pig herding, and hunting. Pigs are very important, but are butchered only for ceremonies.
Households (a man, his wife, their children, and his married maternal nephews) live in rectangular buildings. These are usually grouped into villages, which are moved to stay near the currently-planted fields. Permanent towns are found at river junctions.
Families, or lineages, are traced through the mother. Each has hereditary magic.
The clan is the most important social organization, owning all land. Clans frequently form into loose leagues to further common goals. They occasionally join into large, temporary kingdoms, usually to deal with an external threat. The clan chief is usually a hereditary position.
Some people have no clan. They form the Nowatni, wandering experts who stay with a clan and then move on.
Men are more emotional and intuitive, while women are more calm and calculating. Although each gender has their own roles, women often become warriors or leaders.
Marriage is a partnership between lineages, and is thus arranged by elders. The couple lives with the groom's uncle. Children belong to the mother's lineage. They're initiated into adulthood with various tests.
Men wear a short kilt and sleeveless vest; women wear a knee-length skirt and shirt. Each clan has its own design for body paint.
The Umathelans believe in spirits and gods which are responsible for most events.
The major deities worshipped are:
Tyloque: Storm god, warrior king, Lightbringer.
Aloral and Morlotes: The Sow and Boar deities.
Enklosa, Ernamorla, and Vrala: Grain goddesses.
Dorgalat: Destroyer and Renewer, god of horticulture.
Mayedra: Mother Soil.
Ropotes: The Knowing God, conduit to the ancestors.
Other important deities include:
Chortikan the hunter; Phausia, goddess of swords and justice; Neiropha the
healer; Systella the witch; Heler, god of rams and rain; Issaries the
trader; the Lightbringers (as a group); the river goddesses.
Most clans worship their own heroes or local deities, and have shamans, who heal, and ally with wind spirits.
Disputes are settled by mediation, or by a court of three judges. Penalties include ridicule, fines, exile, and outlawry.
Men are warriors as well as farmers. Oath-warriors are full-time fighters who serve chiefs. Umathelans are famous for their longbows, and also fight with sword and spear. They wear ornate armor of leather, wood, or bronze.
The Land
Umathela is the coolest part of Pamaltela, with a temperate climate. Huge storms can strike in winter or early spring, but summers are fairly dry.
The vast forests are home to the Aldryami. Green elves predominate in Enkloso, while Brown elves are more common in Vralos. The two types generally cooperate. The Aldryami dominate the Umathelans.
The coast is ruled by the city-states of the Malki, who plow their fields. They use sorcery, though many also worship Tyloque or other gods. Most of them hate elves.
Fonrit to the east is densely populated, and intensively farmed. If that wasn't dreary enough, nearly the entire population are slaves. About a quarter of the people are Veldang, with slate-blue skin. The rulers are all Agimori. They practice a mix of sorcery and worship.
The Vadeli are a conniving, red- or brown-skinned people who arrived recently by sea. They extract tribute from the Huamaz clans.
Trolls live in the mountains to the south. Beyond them are endless plains inhabited by dark-skinned people.
David Dunham <mailto:dunham_at_pensee.com> Glorantha/RQ page: <http://www.pensee.com/dunham/glorantha.html> Imagination is more important than knowledge. -- Albert Einstein
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