Re: Where in Glorantha

From: BEThexton <bethexton_at_...>
Date: Fri, 16 May 2003 17:24:25 -0000

>
> I'm still trying to puzzle out what kind of people would sit down
> there. I'm fairly certain that they are the survivors of a once
great
> culture ground to dust below the Ice. There are bound to be some
very
> few heirlooms from this time.
>
> They may well think of themselves as the only humans left in a
world
> of demons, with Uzhim and Hollri as neighbours. As far as they are
> concerned, the sky above them has frozen.

If you do put this in Valind's glacier, not so far from solar lands, one twist could be that they were a solar culture of some kind (not Dara Happan per se), but first the sun failed them, then fire turned against them. If they know that Yelm was killed and went to hell, they may think that he _joined_ the forces of hell, and that is why fire is now their enemy. So they now damn the demon Yelm....which could make life very interesting if they were ever to meet the lunars.

Of course, you would stil have to explain why light came back. Then again, if the ice is thick enough maybe it didn't, and their light is from another source, say lava shine reflected off the ice, or some small number of fallen stars or something?

Another possible location could be north of the kingdoms of ignorance. Surely some of that barrier mountain range is volcanic, and I assume that eventually as you head north you get big glaciers. Hey, if you want world changing events, maybe they still hold some of the secrets that would un-curse the kingdoms of ignorance?

>
> Great idea about the "things trapped in the ice". Reminds me of
Heort
> and Ivarne as much as of Pandora's box.

I was also thinking of vague overtones of things like the movie "The Gods Must Be Crazy" (where a completely primitive and isolated african bush man catches a bottle of coke, I think it was), or the stories about the pacific island "cargo cults." As in, some of the things that come through they have no idea what they are, so they make up their own stories. Hmmm, for that matter it reminds me a bit of some "Paranoia" scenarios.

Another couple of random ideas:

• they would experience rain, of a sort. Hot air rises, melts ice up near the tops of the dome. Some will run down the sides, but some will drip down. Depending on the temperatures at various levels, this might sometimes be snow or freezing rain. Worse of course is when large pieces of ice fall off, crushing whatever is below them. Living in solid caves might look like a good idea.
• Water in glaciers sometimes drills narrow holes from the top right through the ice. Besides being another seasonal source of rain, these would provide a faster delivery system for surface things to make their way under the ice (the holes are _probably_ too small for anyone to go up them, but of such things are adventures made...)

This is fun :)

--Bryan