Firstly, it seems to me that Hemkarba 'where demons ruled' must be Dragon Pass circa 575 (ruled by trolls, heavy taxes ,widespread dissent over Arkat's Command etc make it the place with the most suffering). So Mao Tzen is reborn there and teaches Draconic thought - perhaps he is Vistikos ? Is there any Dragon Pass person called Great Rebel Jem or anything similar?
Next, he is reborn as a Seshnegi nobleman ('son of an exarch'), Gillam De'stau, in Seshnela (Hesezmedi) where th people are 'slaves of Chelen the Doubter' (ie Malkioni?). Now, Gillam established the School of Immanent Mastery and was one of the adventurers of the Middle Sea Alliance who worked for Orvansfal, King of Seshnela. In the King's opinion he was a 'slightly crazed man' which fits with him really being a reincarnated eastern mystic. Gillam is killed 'by a rival' before his plan was finished. I'm not sure who thi rival may have been. He is soon reborn as his own son - ShangHsa. Now I could speculate that 'ShangHsa' could be a Kralorlan version of 'Svalak' and that Svalak was really the illegitimate son of the slightly crazed adventurer hanging aroung Orvansfal's court rather than the true heir to the Kingdom of Seshnela. He did, after all, have a Kralorelan Palce built in Valtorwal (to make him feel at home?) and established Eest to rule Melib, Teshnos and other Eastern ports.
Crunch year appears to be 768, where Orvansfal ('on his deathbed') finds out that he had a large share in the conquest of Kralorela, and when Saintly Yanoor commits utuma ritual suicide. Sandy Peterson speculated that ShangHsa became saintly Yanoor which might really be ShangHsa realising the error of his ways. This ties in with Mao/Shang/Yanoor then 'accepting the duty of the entanglements which his actions brought about, and resulting in his full integration into the world'.
SO this Mao Tzen is really the founder of the EWF, the creator of the Empire of Sea and Land out of the Middle Sea Alliance, and a Dragon Emporer of Kralorela -nice one Mao.
Next up is Godunya who also, IMO, alo interferes in Central Genertela to a
large degree.
dates first: he flees Kralorela around 768 and is enslaved by the Lords of
Ignorance for a long period. Then he escapes and eventually makes his way to
Hemkarba (Dragon Pass again). Once there his teaching almost get him killed
but he gains followers and students. At this point I'd like to speculate that
he arrived in Dragon Pass about 820. This makes him on schedule to study with
Lord Pavis (809-830), give Delecti a few tips on being a Magus (819) and to
found the Here and Now faction. In 826 the Here and Nows (whose doctrine
leads the leaders to want to be worshipped as gods -like Godunya is later)
take over from the Forward Faction (who get devoured by a True Dragon).
Godunya has gone off to meditate in a 'distant and lonely place' (which I take to be Prax?) He remains there until the Exarchs find him 'sitting amid the ruins of dead Giants'. These ruins, I asume, are either on the Plateau of Statues, or more appealing the City of Pavis. One could almost imagine that Lord Pavis himself was simply a disguise for Godunya who meditated in the Pavis Temple (which was impregnable until after he left in 1051).
What I now wonder about is the Jaldon connection - Jaldon who spent several years in Eastern Genertela and returned to sack Pavis. Was Jaldon really motivated by False Dragon Ring politics - trying to get to the Emperor in hiding? Did previous incarnations mean he had a good knowledge of Dragon Pass to help in his raiding? Will we ever know? Perhaps ShangHsa is reborn as Jaldon?
Sorry about the length of this question. I expect to be proved wrong on at least most of it.
Keith N
End of The Glorantha Digest V6 #506
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