sample file -...

Sam

ple

file

ADVENTURES IN THE KNOWN WORLD

Written and Illustrated by

Mark Smylie

Based on the Fuzion™ RPG System

Sam

ple

file

FORWARD

I suppose that the book you hold in your hands might, at first glance, be considered somewhat unusual, an act of Shatner-esque hubris (a Free Enterprise reference, there, if you’d like) – a role-playing game

written (or at least adapted) and illustrated by one person. This would be true only on the surface, I think, in that many hands have contributed to the shaping and making both of the world that underlies it and the actual text and work that you are now reading. This game has its roots in a fantasy comic called Artesia that I happen to write and illustrate; but that comic, in turn, has its roots in many different sources of inspiration, perhaps the most unlikely being an essay on film by the semiotician Teresa de Lauretis in her book Alice Doesn’t, in which she glanced briefly at the legends of Medusa and the Sphinx. That essay marked my first encounter with any kind of critical discourse on mythology and magic, and eventually led me to the many writers on those subjects that occupy my bookshelves. The more obvious source of inspiration, perhaps, is the world of roleplaying; and indeed, the world from which the character of Artesia grew was originally intended as the setting of a roleplaying game, and in fact the world predates the dominating character that gives this game its name. Games such as Dungeons & Dragons, RuneQuest, Call of Cthulhu, and Stormbringer made their mark upon my imagination, as did the settings created for those games, such as the world of Glorantha created by Greg Stafford, the world of the Arduin Grimoires, and the Wilderlands of High Fantasy, setting of such classic Judges Guild adventures as City-State of the Invincible Overlord and Dark Tower. And, as perhaps can be expected, I have repeatedly read the works of writers such as J.R.R. Tolkien, Lloyd Alexander, C.S. Lewis, Robert E. Howard, and many others, amongst more recent writers in particular the works of George R.R. Martin and Jacqueline Carey. To all of them I owe a great debt of thanks and no doubt an apology as well, should this work fail to live up to the standards that they set. For their professional help (and patience) I wish to express my thanks to Brian Petkash and Liz Fulda at Sphinx Group; to Filip Sablik and Lee Butman at Diamond/Alliance; to Steve Wieck and Dean Burnham at DriveThruRPG; to Michael, Bob, and Paul (and family) at PrintSolutions in Englewood; and to Mike and Lisa Pondsmith at R. Talsorian Games, without whom this game would not be possible. For their comments, critiques, criticisms, and/or playtesting over the last few years, my thanks to Lisa Webster, Joe Martin, John Loza, Heather Loza, Andrew Jones, Robin Treadwell, Joe Scott, Luke Crane, Mike Lee, Mike Purcell, Daniel Simon Richter, Don Corcoran, Janine Rizzuto, Tim Wooten, Nash DeVita, Mikko Mustajärvi, Marcos Antonio Mariani, Chet Strachel, Kevin Houghton, Brian Forester, Andrew Stagg, Adam France, Frank Sultana, Dan Scheffel, Xavier Freycon, Marcus Schroeder, Jim Johnston, Stephen Daniel, Maria Flores, Gordon Wincott, Thomas Harlan, Darren Miguez, Rob Vollmar, Robyn Lewis, Trent diRenna, Joe Piela, Jenna Brosius, Bruce Langdon, Mark Miller, Durwin Talon, Mohd Izhan Mohd Ilhan, Phoebus Lazardus, Shai Laric, Joe Crow, Travlos Constantinos, David Slover, and those that gamed with them; I am certain that I have forgotten to include others who have participated in the Artesia gaming lists before, and to you I offer my deepest apologies. Needless to say, any failures and shortcomings in this text should be considered my fault alone. And finally, as always, my personal thanks to my brother John, Lillian, Hide, Michael & Naomi (and Noah and Eli and Maya), John & Heather (and Colombine), Aki & Tammy (and Gordo and Tyler), Patti, Alice, Ray & Lucy (and Winston), Vera, David & Wendy, David C., Marc & Lisa (and Scott and Patrick and now Gregory), Mikey & dearest Meg, Dennis & Kelly, and my father; and to Joe Scott, who got the ball rolling on this world, and Chris & Aimee (and Spencer and Chloe), whom I still hold, much to their continued seeming bemusement, as my Ideal Readers. Or in this case, Players.

Artesia: Adventures in the Known Worldis written, illustrated, and published by

Mark Smylie

Management ConsultantBrian Petkash at Sphinx Group

Pre-Production Assistance byMc Nabb Studios and PrintSolutions.

Fonts and ornaments by Emigre, Adobe, Studio Daedalus, and Dave Nalle

at The Scriptorium.

Published by Archaia Studios Press

96 Linwood Plaza PMB 360Fort Lee, NJ 07024-3701

ISBN 1-932386-10-6October 2005

9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1First Edition

www.archaiasp.com

The material contained herein is © 2005 Archaia Studios Press.

Artesia is © and ™ 1999 Mark S. Smylie.The ASP logo is ™ 2003 Archaia Studios Press.Permission is given to reproduce this material

for personal use only. This work is based upon the Fuzion™ System, a ™ of The Fuzion™ Labs Group,

and the LifePath™ System, originally developed by R. Talsorian Games and used with permission.

Printed in Hong Kong.

Sam

ple

file

INTRODUCTION ....................................................................... 6Map of the Known World ..........................................................6-7

A HISTORY OF THE KNOWN WORLD................................. 10THE AGE OF CREATION .................................................... 10THE GOLDEN AGE ............................................................. 12THE AGE OF LEGEND ........................................................ 21THE BRONZE AGE .............................................................. 27THE AGE OF IRON AND FIRE ........................................... 32The Last Twenty-Five Years ................................................38-39A Map of the Known World in the Present Year ......................40-41

THE KNOWN WORLD TODAY .............................................. 42THE MIDDLE KINGDOMS ................................................ 43A Map of the Middle Kingdoms ............................................44-45DARADJA............................................................................... 50A Map of Lost Uthedmael .......................................................... 54THE ISLIKLID KINGDOMS ................................................ 56PALATIA ................................................................................. 58THE LEAGUE ........................................................................ 61THE EMPIRE ......................................................................... 64THE UNKNOWN WORLD ................................................. 66

CHARACTER SHEET ...........................................................70-71

PLAYING THE GAME ............................................................... 72CHARACTER BASICS .......................................................... 73YOUR CHARACTERISTICS ................................................ 74YOUR SKILLS ........................................................................ 74CHARACTERISTIC TESTS AND SKILL TESTS ............... 81DIFFICULTY RATINGS ........................................................ 81WHAT AFFECTS MY ROLL? ................................................ 85MODIFIERS to ACTIONS & SKILL USE ............................ 85YOUR RELATIONS .............................................................. 86The Relations Table .................................................................. 89YOUR GIFTS ......................................................................... 90YOUR BINDINGS ................................................................. 96POLLUTION ......................................................................... 97Rolling the Dice: Critical Success… ..................................... 100...and Failure (The Fumble) .................................................... 101

THE BOOK OF DOOMS: EXPERIENCE & CHARACTER IMPROVEMENT ...................................................................... 102

TRAINING POINTS ........................................................... 102THE ARCANA ..................................................................... 103THE BOOK OF DOOMS ................................................... 105

CREATING YOUR CHARACTER .......................................... 131LIFEPATH STEP ONE: YOUR CULTURE & SOCIAL CLASS ................................................................... 132LifePath Culture Table .......................................................... 132LIFEPATH STEP TWO: YOUR LINEAGE & BIRTH ....... 144The Star Signs ........................................................................ 146The Celestial Calendar ........................................................... 147LIFEPATH STEP THREE: YOUR FAMILY & CHILDHOOD .................................................................... 150LIFEPATH STEP FOUR: YOUR PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE ...................................................................... 152Occupations List .................................................................... 153LifePath Events Table ............................................................ 158

PLAYING THE GAME: ACTIONS & MOVEMENT ............ 166

PLAYING THE GAME: COMBAT .......................................... 168MODIFIERS to COMBAT ACTIONS ................................ 172DAMAGE ............................................................................. 172Hit Location Table ................................................................. 173WEAPONS ........................................................................... 173RANGED ATTACKS ........................................................... 176ARMOR ................................................................................ 177WOUNDS ............................................................................ 182NPC MORALE ..................................................................... 186

PLAYING THE GAME: MAGIC .............................................. 188INCANTATIONS ............................................................... 192RITUALS ............................................................................. 196The Available Power of Magical & Sacred Sites ...................... 266ENCHANTMENTS ............................................................. 210RUNES & SIGILS ................................................................ 215MAKING POTIONS ........................................................... 219Addictive Substances .............................................................. 222ALCHEMY ........................................................................... 223DIVINATION ...................................................................... 230

PLAYING THE GAME: RELIGION ........................................ 234THE CULT OF YHERA ....................................................... 236THE CULT OF ISLIK .......................................................... 240THE CULT OF ADJIA ........................................................ 244

A Map of the Cosmos ............................................................... 246THE WORLD AROUND YOU ................................................ 247

THE INNER WORLDS ...................................................... 248 THE OTHERWORLD ........................................................ 251THE DREAMWORLD ........................................................ 253LIMBO ................................................................................. 255THE UNDERWORLD ........................................................ 257THE HEAVENS ................................................................... 261THE CALENDARS ............................................................. 263The Düréan Lunar Calendar .................................................. 264The Imperial Avellan Calendar ............................................... 265

A BESTIARY OF THE KNOWN WORLD ............................. 266NATURAL BEASTS ............................................................. 268SUPERNATURAL BEASTS ................................................. 272SPIRIT MATTER ................................................................ 274DREAM MATTER ............................................................... 281UNNATURAL THINGS ...................................................... 282UNIQUE THINGS ............................................................. 286Hit Location Tables ................................................................ 288

FOR THE GUIDE: ADVENTURING IN THE KNOWN WORLD ..................................................................................... 290THE WITCH’S PRICE ............................................................. 292

A Map of Western Erid Dania .................................................. 297An Illustration and Map of the Village of Belward .................302-303THE WITCH OF BELBOG ................................................ 313NON-PLAYER CHARACTERs ........................................... 320

FINAL NOTE ............................................................................ 331

APPENDIX A: LINEAGE TABLES ........................................... 332A Map of the Isliklid Kingdoms ..................................................... 281APPENDIX B: AN ENEMY CULTURE ................................... 346APPENDIX C: THE ECONOMY OF THE KNOWN WORLD ..................................................................................... 348

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Sam

ple

file

INTRODUCTION

This book, Artesia: Adventures in the Known World (hereafter referred to as Artesia AKW), is a roleplaying game. In it, you can take on the persona and guise of

characters in the Known World, struggling to affect the fate of the world around you. This notion might lead to some questions:

Who or what is Artesia?Artesia is both a who and a what. Artesia is the title of a comic book, from which this game derives its name; Artesia is also the name of that comic book’s main character. Artesia also happens to be the name of a couple of cities in California and New Mexico, but they don’t have anything to do with either the comic or the game. With any luck one day Artesia will also be a movie, and you’ll be able to go see it in theaters; its prequel, a film called The Barrow, is already in the works, so keep your fingers crossed. Artesia is a young woman who was raised as a witch and a priestess, who saw her mother burned at the stake. So she has chosen to follow a different path, that of war and violence. And she has chosen the right time to do it, for her world (like so many worlds) is on the verge of a great change, and that change is giving rise to conflict and disaster. And conflict and disaster, whether we like to admit it, are also often what drive roleplaying games.

What is a Roleplaying Game?A roleplaying game lets you pretend to be a Character in a story, much like being in a play. Each player takes the role of a different Character in the story, making the decisions and saying the things that the Character would say in the situations that happen along the way. Roleplaying is a form of shared, collaborative storytelling, with the rules along to make sure everyone’s on the same page; and like many kinds of storytelling, roleplaying tends to thrive best when Characters are confronted with conflicts and adversities to overcome. This particular roleplaying game allows you to play Characters in the setting of the comic book Artesia, though it is also true that its rules can be used for just about any setting – or that its setting can be used with other rules.

Do I have to read the comic to play this game?Nope. It might help give you some ideas about where the Known World is headed, but no, you don’t. A lot of the background information in this book is cultivated from the previously published material in Artesia and its Annuals.

What is the Known World?The Known World is the setting of the comic book Artesia, and of this game. Some settings to fantasy books and games have strange, unearthly names; this one does not. The inhabitants of this world usually just call it the Earth, as we do our own world, or they call it the Known World. They started calling it that a long time ago in their history, when people first tried to fix their place in the world with word and deed and map, and so they started to distinguish between a Known World, a place familiar and describable, and an Unknown one, a place beyond the horizon that existed but was as yet undiscovered. This book is about the people that live in the Known World, and about how you can pretend to be one of them.

Sam

ple

file

Sam

ple

file

12 Adventures in the Known World

A History of the Known World

G

GTHE AGES OF THE KNOWN WORLD

The Scholar-Magicians of the Golan Great Schools were the first to outline the Ages of the Known World; in their studies and lectures they divided what they knew of history into an

Age of Creation, or an Age of the Gods, when Geniché, the Earth Goddess, ruled and walked the world, and three Ages of Men that followed her departure for the Underworld. The Golan Scholar-Magicians were the first to describe the period following Geniché’s withdrawal from the world and the establishment of Ürüne Düré as “The Golden Age of Man,” and they drew distinctions between the world of the Golden Age and the period that had followed after Islik’s ascension to the Heavens. The Golan Scholar-Magicians believed that they (writing circa the year i900) were living in what they called the third or Bronze Age of Man, and they successfully predicted a great change in the Known World that would usher in the fourth Age of Man, which turned out to be the current Age of Iron and Fire.

THE AGE OF CREATION

Before the first Age of Man comes a time usually called the Age of Creation; it is never spoken of as an Age of Man, as the great moving forces of the world were not men, but gods.

Yhera, the Queen of Heaven, first made the skies, the waters of the Deep, and the Earth, and gave birth to the first of the immortal gods. How long ago this happened is a matter of debate; for what marked the difference between the Age of Creation and the first Age of Man was the absence of time. The Sun, Helios, did not rise or fall by a schedule, nor did he yet wane in the winter; but rather, he came and went from the skies as was his wont. This was Paradise, when the world lived in bounty and joy, only occasionally marred by the shadows of darker things to come, and the notion of days or years would have had little meaning. Some say the Creation Period lasted for a period of time equivalent to a thousand years; others say that Men lived in the Gardens of Geniché and Geteema for a thousand generations. Either claim is purely speculation. Based upon the writings of the Corpus Divinica Düréa and their own book of prophecies, the Oracallum, a framework for describing the Age of Creation was devised by the Oracle Queens of Khael for use in explaining the beginning of the world. They divided the events of the Age of Creation into 22 Acts, keyed to the 22 pages of Yhera’s Sacred Book: 21 pages that she wrote and numbered, and then the 22nd page that was left blank and unnumbered and only later filled in. The Age of Creation ends after Yhera has completed her work and is well satisfied, when someone from the Race of Men commits a crime against the world, a crime that causes Geniché to depart and pronounce the First Law of Death: that all born of her Earth must follow her into the Underworld. With the First Law, a part of the world became fixed, and time was born.

Act I Yhera dreams, and in her dream she struggles with the darkness, which becomes a great Dragon. She overcomes the Dragon, and from its blood and skin begins to write a Book. She creates 22 pages to her book, and holds them in her hands, and from the book grows a Sacred Tree.

Act II Yhera creates the sky over the Sacred Tree, and begins to place the stars in the Heavens of the Night. She makes a cauldron, and breathes life into her sisters Adjia, Goddess of the New Moon, and Djara, Goddess of the Dark Moon, and together they place more stars in the Heavens and create the Moon. Yhera tips over the cauldron and pours out the waters of the world, the endless Deep to match the Night. Yhera begets the Graces, spirits of wonder, and they begin to sing their praise and love for the new world. Yhera begets the Ashaliel, bright spirits who guard Adjia’s virtue. Djara begets the Kheribeal, the spirit guardians of Yhera’s Sacred Tree. And the stars beget the first Archai: celestial spirits that become Yhera’s first messengers.

Act III Yhera raises the Earth up from the Deep. She breathes life into her sisters Geniché and Geteema, the Goddesses of the Earth, and they give shape to the world, and raise mountains and high peaks, and make the oceans and seas. At the center of the world they make the World Mountain, and on that mountain Yhera plants her Sacred Tree. Yhera begets the Ariel and the Urfanim, guardian spirits that watch over her Throne and Mount. Yhera begets Urige, the First Queen. Geniché begets the Mountain Spirits, the Muses, and they begin to sing. Geniché begets the first Nymphs, the spirits of earth and stone that breathe life into the world; the Nymphs become the first Companions of Adjia, as she bounds through the world unfettered. Geniché begets the Seraphi, celestial spirits of great beauty, and they begin to sing.

Act IV The songs of the Muses and the Seraphi fill Yhera to the brim, and she begets Helios, the Solar Disc, in pain and agony. Helios scorches the earth as it bounds, until Yhera commands it into the Heavens to become the Solar Lion. Yhera begets Agdah, the Cosmos King, and he becomes her first consort to soothe and comfort her. Yhera begets Heth, God of the Sea, who becomes her consort in the Deep.

Y THE WORLD MOUNTAINFrom the pinnacle of the great mountain of the world, Yhera would look across the expanse of her creation. Some say the mountain was the Dess Ürüne of the Dain Éduins, others that it was Mount Baras of the Baragh Metras. Others say that she took the World Mountain with her into the Heavens, and that she made her Labyrinth Palace in Heaven from it.

V THE SACRED TREE OF YHERAThe World Tree had two great branches intertwined, one made of gold and the other of silver. The fruit of the golden branch granted immortality, while the fruit of the silver branch granted wisdom and knowledge. Most legends say the Tree is now somewhere in the Otherworld or the Underworld.

Sam

ple

file

Adventures in the Known World 13


Act V Yhera begets Daedekamani, God of Magic and Knowledge. Daedekamani becomes the first priest, using word and gesture to imitate his mother’s power. He borrows her cauldron, and learns from her the Art of Words.

Act VI Yhera lies with the Solar Lion and begets Ami and Dieva, the Stars of the Morning and Evening. Geniché creates her Garden, and beautiful trees and flowers spring from its black soil. Geniché begets the first creatures of the Earth: spirits and faeries that sing songs to the trees and tend them. Ami and Dieva beget the Aereffim, guardian spirits that watch over the faeries.

Act VII Geteema in jealousy creates her own Garden in her Mountains, and fills it with beautiful trees and flowers. Geteema begets the second creatures of the Earth: dragons, titans and giants, great misbegotten creatures ill formed and not yet ready for the world. Yhera begets Irré, the Black Goat, who roams outside the Gardens. Ami and Dieva begin walking separate paths. Ami lies with Agdah, and begets the Dhuréleal, spirits that now guide mortals in their wanderings between the worlds. Dieva lies with Daedekamani, and begets the Ghazharab, spirits that guide those that pursue the arts of magic.

Act VIII Yhera begets Ariahavé, her brightest daughter, who would become Goddess of Civilization. Yhera begets Bragea, God of the Tamed Fire. Ariahavé begins to shape and spin the world around her. Bragea makes the first forge, and makes the first salamanders and lets them live in the fire. Bragea forges a great chariot, and gives it to his brother Agdah.

Act IX Geniché begets Seedré, her most devoted son. Dieva lies with Irré, and begets Hathhalla, who would become Goddess of Vengeance. Hathhalla fashions Nemesis. Dieva lies with Seedré, and begets the Golodriel, sharp-clawed angels of justice.

Act X Djara begets the Fates. She makes for them a cauldron and a spinning wheel, and the Fates begin spinning a binding for the pages of Yhera’s Book.

Act XI Geniché begets Ammon Agdah, the Protector, who looks after the creatures of her Garden. Geniché lies with Irré, and begets the Sharab Deceal, sharp-clawed spirits of fury. Geteema lies with Ammon Agdah and begets vulture-headed Vani, who becomes King of the Mountains. Geteema lies with Irré, and begets the Bharab Dzerek, brazen spirits of fire and wrath. Ami lies with Agdah, and begets Illiki the Bull, who would one day become a Sun God.

a GENICHÉ’S GARDENThe Gardens of Geniché, and that of her sister Geteema, were a paradise, a wondrous world where Dreams and Men and animals lived in harmony and plenty, without want or pain.

Act XII Djara has a dream about the future, and doubles the world, and makes it Other. In the Shadows of the Otherworld, Djara begins to give birth to a Dark Brood: Death, Dream, and Sleep come first, and they begin to sing. Djara lies with Seedré, and begets Lifare, the White Lady who walks before Death.

Act XIII Death meets Geniché and Geteema in the Garden, and whispers to them a secret. Geniché begets the first animals, and fish of every stripe and size, and soon her Garden is busy and full. Geniché begets the first mortal women. Geteema begets the first mortal men. The first Daughters of Geniché and the first Sons of Geteema have children, and the Race of Men begins, and spreads far and wide in the Gardens of the Earth.

Act XIV Yhera tries to heal Geniché and Geteema of the touch of Death. Geniché begets Cyrus, God of Frenzies, who develops a fondness for drink. Geteema begets Ligrid, who would become Queen of Temptation. Agdah lies with many mortals, and they beget satyrs and centaurs. Agave lies with Ammon Agdah and begets the first mermaids.

Act XV Djara begets the Sphinx, who asks questions. Geniché begets Thula, who becomes a Queen amongst the Snakes. Geteema lies with Daedekamani and begets Amaymon, Prince of Intrigue, who would become his father’s rival. Agave lies with Irré and begets the first sirens. Ligrid begets the Nephilim, spirits that spread uncertainty and doubt. Ligrid lies with Irré, according to some, and begets Ishraha the Beautiful, destined to become the Rebel Angel.

Act XVI Djara’s Dark Brood grows darker, and she begets Din and Discord, spirits of doom, nightmares, furies, and lamias. Djara begets three sisters, made and mad before their time: Médüre, Halé, and Mogran, who in turn beget spirits of fury and madness, who in turn beget lions, wolves, and hyenas. Geteema begets the great monster Leviathan. Geteema begets the great monster Rahab. Ligrid lies with Irré, and begets the Gamezhiel, a horde of spirits, succubi and incubi, that tempt the flesh of Men.

Act XVII Ariahavé, as the champion of Civilization, asks Yhera to allow some of the Race of Men to eat of the fruits of her Sacred Tree, and Yhera allows them to do so when they have proved themselves worthy.

Act XVIII Yhera, Adjia, and Djara make the Moon into the Door through which the Otherworld can be reached. Adjia adopts the fairest of the mortal children of her Companions, the Améans, and calls them the children of the New Moon. Urige begets the Numéans, and calls them the children of the Full Moon. The three Mad Sisters beget the Galéans, and call them the children of the Dark Moon.

Act XIX Hathhalla tames the Solar Lion, and harnesses it to Agdah’s chariot. Agdah takes up the mantle of the Sun and becomes Agdah Cosmopeiia.

Sam

ple

file

14 Adventures in the Known World


G

Act XX Yhera looks about the world, and is content. The whole of the world comes to her Mountain one by one, and greets her with joy, and their names and deeds and wants and dreams are scribed into her Book. Geniché begets her youngest son, who would become the Black Hunter.

Act XXI The Fates finish the binding of Yhera’s Book, and Yhera closes it, and with a great cry begets a great Dragon, the World Dragon, in fact. Djara lies with the Four Winds and begets four daughters, the Witch Queens of the Compass: Annaft, Hemwayne, Memyra, and Urgrayne. Djara sets her daughters as the Guardians of Yhera’s Book.

Act XXII The Race of Men, favorites of the gods and goddesses of the world, commits a grievous crime.

THE GOLDEN AGE

The First Age of Man began with the imposition of the Law of Death. Most scholars of history say that even with the coming of the Golden Age the telling of years and dates is a

haphazard thing at best; for while Time had been born, she was still a young goddess. The Düréans were the first to see a value in marking the passage of time, and began with their Calendar to mark the passage of 13 Lunar Cycles, and called that a year, and made history possible. The Scholar-Magicians of the Court of Hashuwaht, called the First King of Men, also saw in the cosmos another pattern, that of the shifting of the stars, and so they too created a calendar, a Celestial Calendar that followed the night sky. The Düréan and Celestial Calendars were similar, but the Düréan seemed to have the advantage of more predictability, for the goddesses of the Moon seemed to share their rule of her with equal partnership, while the stars in the sky were still being born and made, and they did not always follow the Celestial Path. The Constellations of the Heavens were not fixed until the end of the Golden Age, and indeed that was one of the changes in the world that announced the start of the second Age of Man (more info on the Düréan Lunar Calendar can be found on page 264, and the Celestial Calendar on page 147).

THE DüRÉANSIn the difficult years following Geniché’s abandonment of the Earth, amongst the peoples of the world wandering lost in confusion were three tribes of the Moon’s descendants. They were the Améans, descended of Adjia Luna’s Companions; the Numéans, descended of Urige, daughter of Yhera Luna; and the Galéans, descended of the

c THE CRIMEDifferent cultures have different myths of the Crime that ends the Age of the Gods, but most believe it was Theft, Rape, or Murder: something that was taken, rather than received as a Gift. Geniché, Yhera, and Hathhalla curse the criminal with Horns as a mark of his crime, and ever since the Horned Man has been a popular scapegoat in myth and legend.

Gorgonae, the triple daughters of Djara Luna. As he did to all the peoples of the world, Ammon Agdah showed each of them how to survive in the harsh new wilderness that had overtaken Geniché’s gardens. Later in his wanderings, Ammon Agdah found Ariahavé alone building three great thrones of wood and metal on an island hilltop. He asked her what she was doing, and she told him that Yhera had asked her to build three seats of power, so Ammon Agdah told her about the three tribes of the Moon he had encountered. Ariahavé then set out into the wilderness and one by one brought the three tribes across the sea to the island. First she brought the Numéans, then the Améans, and finally the Galéans, who refused to follow her until she showed them that she too carried the key to the Gorgonae’s chains. Ariahavé then taught them the arts of the world, and showed them many of her mother’s secrets: beauty and magic, love and war, building and unbuilding. They built a great city on the isle, and planted great gardens in its palaces. The three tribes of the Moon named the isle Ürüne Düré (roughly translated as either Mountain of Thrones or Heart of Thrones), and in time they were called the Düréans. For a thousand years, Ürüne Düré was the greatest and most beautiful city on the face of the Earth. The Queens of Düréa were fabled for their wisdom, beauty, and knowledge, and men and women came from every corner of the world to learn from them. The Düréans sent explorers and colonists to found cities and build great palaces of marble and clay. Bragea the Smith came to live in Ürüne Düré, and set up his great forge there, producing wonders for the Düréans. Illiki the Bull saw the city from the Heavens, and came to live there for a time. He ruled from Ürüne Düré as the Bull of Heaven, and the Düréans built temples to him wherever their ships went.

AN OLD DüRÉAN TALE

In the Golden Age, when the Düréans recreated Geniché’s Garden on their isle, rumors of their wealth spawned jealousy and greed amongst many outlanders. The strongest of the barbarians came together, and conspired to build a fleet, and sail to Ürüne Düré, and rob the Düréans of their wealth. The oracles of Düréa dreamed dark visions and learned of this raid, and they turned to their predator goddess, to the great consumer of sacrifice, to Dread Yhera, for deliverance, asking her to show them how to defend themselves from the raiders. Yhera called the other devouring beasts – first Adjia and Irré, the sun-masked archers, the huntress and the hunter, the javelin-wielding killer of women and the bow-bearing killer of men; then Hathhalla, the Devourer, the goddess of grief and vengeance; and her hunter and animal keeper, her consort Ammon Agdah. And she set them and their Companions to defending the Düréans. The raiders

B THE GIFTS OF BRAGEAThe god-smith Bragea built many wondrous items in his earthly forges and gifted them to the Queens and Kings and heroes of the Golden Age. Enchanted spears and helmets, guardian statues that talked and moved, brass animals, and magic thrones were amongst his gifts. He also invented magic runes that only he could use, but which can still be found as marks of his creations. Bragean artifacts today are priceless, regardless of their usefulness.

Sam

ple

file

Adventures in the Known World 15


came and many died, stalked by Adjia, and Irré, and Agdah, but still they pillaged the Isle of many of its treasures and left triumphant with slaves and booty. Yhera looked down with sadness at the destruction they had wrought, and was filled with the grief of her children. Hathhalla came to her then, and whispered in her ear, and awoke the secret in her heart. Yhera summoned Ariahavé, her brightest daughter, and bade her make unbreakable chains, and sent her to capture three of the fiercest half-mad daughters of Djara, who were the mothers of the Galéans and called the Gorgonae. So Ariahavé searched the dark places of Düréa, and found the Gorgonae hidden in their daughters’ shame, and bound them, and brought them to Yhera: Mogran, the Riot Goddess and Queen of Discord; Halé, the Goddess of Rage and Fury; and Médüre, the Cunning One. And Yhera consumed them, chains and all, and then she gave a great cry and she disgorged them from her belly, and Yhera gave bloody birth to War. Soon the raiders returned, unsatisfied with their first plunder. Yhera unchained the Gorgonae and they went amongst the Düréans, and taught them the secrets to transform themselves and become warriors, the ways to harness din and discord, rage and cunning. They danced, and drummed, and drank potions, and marked themselves and donned masks, and the Düréans armed themselves to war. And they greeted the raiders with the howls of lions and the speed of serpents, and drove them back across the sea. The Düréans pursued them into the outlands, and slew their families, and freed the slaves they had taken. And when they had returned to Düréa, the Gorgonae showed them how to purify themselves and take off their masks and stop being warriors, and become themselves again. So the Gorgonae were the first goddesses of War and Battle, the goddesses of warrior transformation, who invoked war and ended it, and first made it an art. Yhera held their chains, and became Yhera Anath, the Queen of War and Victory, Dread and Unconquered. Adjia and Irré came and learned from them, and Adjia became the initiator, the first to take a child and show them the ways of war, and Irré became Lykeios, the old wolf, the destroyer prayed to by gray-haired veterans. Agdah and his hunting band came too, and they learned to become a warrior band, the Consort-Defender and his companions. But Ariahavé, the goddess of civilization, had been midwife at the birth of War, and she learned better than them all. She went to her forge, and made skins and scales of metal for the Düréans to wear, and made the first sword, and shared her secrets with Bragea. She taught them the arts of forage and supply, so that warriors could go where they wanted when they wanted. She taught the Düréans how to take the dances that they loved so much, and turn them to war and give battle a rhythm: how to make many move as one, and make one part of many, how to make warriors into soldiers. And for all these things Yhera made Ariahavé her general, and gave her the chains of the Gorgonae for safekeeping.

e THE GREAT PALACE PERIODThe Düréans built their cities in a style that came to be called the Great Palace Style, full of columns, arches, arcades, balustrades and plazas, and that style of building was exported from Ürüne Düré and spread throughout the region of the Mera Argenta. Evidence of that style can still be found most heavily on the Déskédran Coast, the lands of Galia and Thessidia in the Empire, the city-state of Palatia Archaia, and in the Queendom of Amora. In some places they have been built over or buried beneath sand and earth and forgotten; most Düréan-style palaces in Hemispia, for example, were destroyed long ago.

An ancient ship off the coast of Ürüne Düré.

Sam

ple

file

sample file -...

Documents