RE: Teleos question > Balazar/Elder Wilds > Umathela

From: Sean Foster <ebaninth_at_Cn0rOYaUVD2jqyj9QFC7mB9nbpevZjv8YOlxJR995odtLTF-fplzH2GfZ9xvk3vAJEv>
Date: Sun, 20 Jun 2010 17:25:02 +0800

Slipping on/off topic,  

1. I always thought Griffon Island’s (GI) Halcon Von Enkorf (sp?) was a good example of a powerfull Vadeli or God Learner Sorceror or even a Zzabur for that matter. GI I always saw as a 2nd age scenario, only with a tremendous amount of sea traffic would a port such as ‘Soldier Town’ be possible.
2. Is the land so poor (for crops) in Balazar/Eldar Wilds that the Lunars/Tarshite’s could not be bothered conquering it – it looks easy enough except for maybe a local Giant. Surely it would be easier than bothering with those southern freakish cousins. Imagine a green group of soldiers heading over the high passes into Sartar to help suppress the rebels. 1st they cross underneath the petrified skull of a humongous dragon, their file leader points to Kero Fin (If they haven’t already noticed it weeks ago) and then people whisper about the earthshaker temple and how the empire chooses not to mess with them. Wandering into Balazar or potentially irritating the elves/trolls would not be anywhere as difficult as Sartar; but, then again a Manirian seeing the Jade? Ring that is Alkoth would be disturbed.
3. Umathela. As I understand it was a Juestelan colony that built large cities up and down its coast after clearing away the forests a reasonable distance inland. After this started they imported a significant number of Slonton/Manerian/Kathelan Orlanthi. Why did they do this?

Umathela Orlanthi  

My first guess was as a GL experiment to transplant a culture and see if they could self generate myth or some such academic theory. Subsequent history (Missing Lands) tells of the closing and Merman/Waitagi? tidal waves destroying all the GL coastal cities and the elves (never start a land war in asia OR against the elves) followed up with a re-forestation program our RW greenies would be ecstatic about. This pretty much wiped out (85%?) this (albeit seceded) GL colony, but what happed to the Orlanthi? It would seem that they survived on tribute paid to the elfs and the mermen. Is there any Malkioni in the Orlanthi – a la Trader Princes? The next real mention I believe is that Harrek creates a kingdom in Umathela – he must like Orlanthi? So what happened in the interim?  

Has the culture spontaneously created its own myths or do they just use of the existing ones any tribe in Sartar/Maneria/Kathela would use – just not the location linked ones like the LBQ? Can Umathela be treated pretty much as a Orlanthi Blank Land (with understanding to YGWV) or is there some other stuff that has been generated about it?      

> See Griffon Island for more details – that map outline…hmmm…I’ve seen
> it somewhere before..

Although its probably worth pointing out that the approximate shape of the island (https://www.msu.edu/user/moulinfr/GrifPol.jpg) is the literally only thing Griffin Island has in common with Teleos. If anything, since it was based on Griffin Mountain, GI is a source for Balazar - though not a particularly good one, since it isn't Gloranthan. Off the top of my head, the best information on Teleos is in "Missing Lands", and that's only two-and-a-half pages.

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