>> They arrived back on the physical plane amidst a raging supernatural
>> battle. Taking only a few moments to assess the situation Ethilrist
>> threw in his lot with one side, and helped win victory for the Lunar
>> Empire. This was later called the Nights of Horror, fought in 1506.
>Does anyone know when he went to Hell? Was it sometime around 1050?
>Before the sinking of Slontos?
Around 1050 ST, I assume. After crossing the Mislari, he had fought for and against the God Learners in Ralios. I'm told that his stay in hell lasted three centuries which made sense with his appearance in KoDP circa 1330 ST.
>I was wondering because in KoDP you can bump into the BHT as an
>encounter in the 1330s. I was wondering how this was supposed to work
>out.
Um...
Er...
Oops...
<lightbulb appears>
A History of My Blackhorse Troop: The Missing Years.
Scholars have noted a curious omission in Sir Ethilrist's massive History. He dates his return from Hell at the Night of Horrors whereas copious sources, including early Lunar documents, Grazer ancestral chants, Quivini clan sagas, Pharaonic treaties and much much more, consistently prove the Black Horse were in Dragon Pass almost two centuries before. Furthermore these references depict the inhabitants of the Black Horse County as being more happier than now.
Now with the recent discovery of the journals of Sir Nose-Broke, we are able to clear up the confusion. This slim volume with its simple prose is able to shed light on the missing years of Sir Ethilrist and even the man himself with far greater clarity than any of his massive volumes.
Ethilrist's sojourn into hell lasted three centuries and from there, he would have entered Solace as a Saint, save that Saint Atrox bemoaned the disappearance of his flock. To assuage his grief, Sir Ethilrist grandiously promised to re-establish a bastion of the Atroxi so that Atrox's truths would not perish forever.
Ethilrist returned and, as is amply described elsewhere, assisted the early Lunar Empire and resettled the last of the Atroxi in Dragon Pass. After two centuries, Ethilrist felt his work was done and proceeded to pass on into Solace.
This time however, the straight ways were crooked and Ethilrist and his companions were lost in hell. In a futile search for the Pits of Despair, from whence the Black Dog came, Ethilrist chanced upon the shade of his old friend Keener Than. The shade promised to show Ethilrist the way to Atrox saying that he had been waiting many centuries for this "momen... honor".
Nose-Broke was suspicious at this as he remembered that Keener Than's last parting was less than cordial. But since Thrinaldi was now a twitching heap of tentacles owning to an improperly cooked walktapus, he was only one and could not gainsay Ethilrist's airy dismissals of his concerns.
Despite the numerous horrors which pressed at them on their new journey, Keener was always cheerful and even broke out into loud laughter at inappropiate moments. When they reached the portal, Keener leapt through the Portal and without a moment's hesitation, Ethilrist followed along with his troop. Finding himself in the midst of a raging battle, Sir Ethilrist thought he was in the I Fought We Won battle that Saint Atrox had fought to bring in the New World and threw himself into the conflict. Only after the clouds had begun to clear and all others save the Black Horse Troop had fled from the field, did Ethilrist realize that he was now a damned soul due to Keener Than's treachery.
In volume VII and VIII of his memoirs, Ethilrist paints the next twenty years as a series of campaigns in service of the Red Emperor. Nose-broke however describes him as a broken and listless man, looting and pillaging blindly across the Empire. Nose-broke thinks that Sir Ethilrist was revisiting his past glories but confirmation is hard to come by and Nose-broke was never any good at geography.
After numerous attempts to stop his pillaging had failed, the Red Emperor realized the nature of his foe. He then mustered his imperial powers to force Ethilrist back to the ruins of the Black Horse County. The Grazers had denounced their oaths long ago and sacked the County, enslaving the Atroxi.
Ethilrist was fired with a renewed zeal as he now seized upon the cause of his failure: his vow to Atrox had been wanting. He freed the Atroxi and re-established the Black Horse County. Only this time, the Atroxi teachings are adhered to with a zeal hitherto unimaginable as Ethilrist believes that lax standards of the old days were the cause of his failure and the County's downfall.
Nose-broke felt differently. The last pages of his journal are full of attempts to convince to Sir Ethilrist to make peace with Keener Than. When his entreaties were bluntly rejected, Nose-broke became tired of this world and died peacefully. Now only Keener Than remains of all the people who knew Sir Ethilrist in his youth.
End of The Glorantha Digest V7 #453
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