Tradetalk #4, p. 8
Aram the Soul of Udram was a great hero among the
people who would become the human boar riders of
Kerofinela. He was a worshipper of the pig goddess,
and during the darkness had saved his people by
capturing and fettering a fierce black demon. In
recognition of his greatness, Aram's tribe took his
name for their own, and became the Aramites.
…
Two hundred years before the dawn, the Only Old One called the survivors of the Unity Battle back to Kerofinela. They agreed to work together in peace, and formed the Unity Council. The first six members … were Ezkankekko the Only Old one, the dragonewt Heart of Weakness, the elf Fwalfa Oakheart, the dwarf Martaler the Blazing Forge, the last of the gold wheel dancers Speaking Wheel, and the human Aram-ya-Udram.
P. 10
… in Kerofinela … was the year that the great pig
Gouger attacked our old allies, the Aramites. Only by
calling on the power of the black demon he had
fettered in the darkness was Aram … able to defeat the
beast. Afterward he used its twin tusks to form the
center of the Ivory Plinth.
P. 11
One last tragic event occurred in 178 S.T. Aram … one
of the few remaining Silver Age heroes of Kethaela,
died. A great contest was held among the humans to
replace him, but he was irreplaceable. In the years to
come his people, the Aramites, would lose their way,
and begin to worship the black demon that Aram had
imprisoned so long before. It would lead them down a
wicked path of blood, cruelty, and war. This
degeneration would reach its tragic conclusion in the
Second Age.
Jerome Blondel and Simon Bray:
> Having had my interest peeked by the Tusk Rider
stuff. I hvae been> reading up on the little pig
squealers. What is the take on the> Earth Goddess that
summons Gouger into the world?
Jerome>According to the Elder Races book, she did it to punish the Dragon Pass people who no longer worshiped her and made war instead.
J>My take is that the blood soaking the Earth awakened her Darker aspect and she sent Gouger to show that she was pleased, as a challenge and a gift for the one who would be the strongest and most cruel.
> I am inclined to believe that this could be somthing
to do with Ana> Gor and Sorana Tor, my reasoning is
that the Bloody Sacrifices of> the Ivory Plinth and
the Appease Earth ritual of the Bloody Tusk
> seem very similar to the magic of Ana Gor, which in
turn were derived> from Gouger. Another option may be
Maran Gor, although Gouger would> then have looked
more like an apatosaur or somthing ;-).
J>The rites of Ana Gor as known to the Dark Earth
cults sound like a good option, but sure a
pig-oriented earth connection would be good. Besides
the Tusk Riders' cruelty goes far beyond what I know
about
the Dark Earth.
> Do the Tusk Riders see themselves as worshippers of
this Goddess?
J> The Earth Goddess is an active part of their pantheon but the worship she receives seems to be mainly collateral, as the cult of the Bloody Tusk encompasses sacrifices to her.
> Is she bound up within their religion at all, or
just an excuse > for blood shed?
J>If the Tusk Riders stop their sacrifices, their Tuskers turn against them, so she's not just an excuse. I think Tusk Riders simply accept, as their religion and way of life, that killing and raiding and war and savagery are the only acceptable way, and the weak who deny this are Bloody Cut fodder. The Tusk Riders loathe the fools who pretend to hide that humans are bloodthirsty, sadistic killers. They don't hide it and treat any weaker than themselves as they deserve.
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