There are doubtless mythic reasons why Tarsh should look south as well. If I'm from Tarsh then there are all these holy places I can tap into in Sartar - Orlanth may be missing from my otherworld, but Ernalda and the Thunder Brothers are still there, and they'll give me a magical edge that I'll never have in Balazar, let alone the Elder Wilds.
On Tue, Jun 22, 2010 at 2:18 PM, jeffkyer <jakyer_at_WbD6dygHDqNsD5N2vmvXd1YZclpJC3pwHvAe0PShaZ32dexaQceAHjf7n5H1jyDOTo1RUL72abYY.yahoo.invalid> wrote:
>
>
> wrote:
> >
> > I suppose this is my issue with Balazar. It is a blank land and the
> Balazar
> > outlined in Griffon Mountain, to me, just doesn't seem to fit with an
> > aggressive (to Sartar) Tarsh. There seems to be plenty of 'free' land in
> > 'Balazar' protected by a couple of pigstickers, and hillbilly Orlanthi (
> as
> > in Brolia and such). If the Lunar Empire/Tarsh was looking for more land
> to
> > pass over as land grants (retired soldiers/Duke Rauses and the like) why
> not
> > send them to a place 'this side' of the Rockwoods. I am sure they would
> > prefer it. Jomes Wulf would have prefered something in Balazar (nearer
> to
> > Tarsh if there ever was a problem) than mid-Sartar - but as is, he will
> > realise his mistake in another couple of years.
>
> This assumes that the land is capable of supporting crops and agriculture
> in the first place. I don't know about any land-goddesses there. You know
> the ones I mean, the ones that make crops possible... The place may be a
> wilderness and inhabited by primitives because its magical ecology will not
> permit anything else.
>
> Of course you could always import one, or try to convince a local spirit
> (the region is animist oriented, not divine) that she's really the remains
> of a lost crop spirit and worship the heck out of her. I am sure the elves
> and trolls would object to any sort of heroquest along these lines - let
> alone the local spirits. And there are more productive avenues for spending
> that kind of gold, slaves, and magic. Like that project the Assiday family
> is up to. Something about a big Reaching Moon temple in Sartar.
>
> > I keep on putting myself in the mind of somebody on the banks of the
> > southern Oslir looking UP the valley to Dragon Pass. Why would anyone go
> > there? It's dangerous.
>
> Good land. Good trade. Patriotic duty to suppress Rebels. Traditional foe.
> Balazar might just be, well, alien. And it might not support the kind of
> agriculture the Pelorian cultures depend on. And if you can't run a good
> solid lod-plow through the soil, what good is it?
>
> Jeff
>
>
>
>
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