This is getting seriously digesty, so I've moved it to the proper place.
> > - They have the strange idea that rainy weather is ideal for grain
> > crops.
As someone who's suggested rainy weather in _Western_ Esrolia, from Greg's info as it appears in ST, I really must respond to this complaint, as I am often accused of making suggestions that I don't agree with myself, let alone propone (unless I've done so inadvertently, which is always a possibility).
> > This is interesting when you consider the `bread baskets' of
> > the ancient world were places like Egypt and Sicily, and of the
> > modern world places like the Ukraine or the north American prairies.
> > What all of these places have in common is very high levels of
> > sunlight, mixed with just enough moisture. I'm just going through
> > the site myself, so I may yet find other things that I don't totally
> > agree with, so my endorsement is of the overall site, not all the
> > specific content!
>
> Please be sure to tell this even louder, as I'm a strong supporter of a
> sunny Esrolia. I personally see it as quite Mediterranean : nice weather
> almost all year long, olive trees (and olive oil, of course), 30-35°C,
> little white cubic houses, aqueducts, guardian serpents in houses and a
> beautiful sea just outside, etc.
Me too ! :-)
IMG western Esrolia has a temperate climate, eastern Esrolia a mediterranean one. Note that the term "eastern Esrolia" actually encompasses what one would think of as _central_ Esrolia, and just looking at the maps should encompass about 80-90% of the Esrolian population. Western Esrolia is actually pretty sparsely populated, compared to the East.
I think of inland Maniria, Wenelia basically, as being like Germany or Wales, western Esrolia like central France or, better, northern Italy (note that the Po valley produces much grain, whilst also being a very soggy place for much of the year, and is geographically not dissimilar to the Gorphing valley, lying between a northern alpine range and a lower southern one - although in Italy the currently active volcanoes are much further away), and eastern Esrolia as decidedly mediterranean, say Calabria.
But I'm not happy with blanket suggestions that "Esrolia" has a fully "mediterranean" climate as such (although most Esrolians surely do live under such climes), because this would fail IMO to actively describe the variations in climate that are suggested in the canon and by the geography of the country.
We actually have an article about the Esrolian climate for our zine, so the discussion is very welcome, and comes at a pretty ideal time, and I'm grateful for the input : highly useful !!
:-)
> let us have a sunny Kethaela.
:-)
> Now that I think about it, I think that indeed the culture described is
> somewhat Mediterranean (and not only that, of course), but indeed the
> weather article offers, if not a 'rainy weather' as you put it, at least
> some strong helerian influence, particularly along the Gorphing river.
IMO the helerian influence along the gorphing river should encompass cultural more than weather patterns, although I would guess that more helerings than elmali would live in the Gorphing valley, meaning the presence
of wetter weather magic than elsewhere, although this would definitely be a
*local* phenomenon. It's unfortunate if the on-line article makes any
stronger
suggestion, as the Elmal vs Heler weather war in Esrolia (re: TR & ST)
ought to suggest a dry mediterranean climate for eastern Esrolia.
The fact that many people have problems with the "clouds" article in TR
and anything relating to it is a source of problems, and IMO creates more
confusion than anything else. A season by season account of weather
patterns in Sartar would, with 20/20 hindsight, have been more easily
understandable and readily useful ; as is, the weather patterns often
have to be deduced, and reverse-engineered ; not a good thing.
(note that I had no hand in the on-line article, but it's possible that some of my comments at the time it was under discussion were interpreted too strongly).
Obviously, greater clarity is needed for the zine.
Er, I'd like to mention that to see the Mediterranean, all I have to do lift my eyes, and look out of the window. We use the local olive oil, drink the regional wine, and eat the local figs ... ;-)
Last winter may have been exceptional, but it pissed down with rain for four solid months. Temperatures in the hilly regions of Provence, and more to the point in the high plateaus, go down to -5 to -10 centigrade every winter. It's all too easy to have a simplistic view of what a mediterranean climate is actually like. Floodings are a regular occurrence, and the local rivers are generally unnavigable because of this fact. I'm ready to believe that eastern Esrolia has more gentle rivers, indeed that would appear to be mythically appropriate ; and perhaps that a Maran Gor subcult exists that specializes in maintaining the river banks in proper shape ? (most rivers only become navigable after their banks have been transformed into canal-like walls, wherever needed ; huge rivers like the Rhine, ZF, or Oslira are obvious exceptions, although in RW even such as these need short stretches of canals and lock systems ... fortunately, we know that the Esrolians do actually have the know-how to create these structures)
But I'll happily accept MOB's input regarding Esrolian river traffic !
cheers,
Julian Lord
-- __________________________________ "Hmmm, I've heard of other powers. Can you tell me about ... ... Real Life ?" --__--__-- End of Glorantha Digest
Powered by hypermail