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Eight Arms and the Mask - An exploration of the strange empire at the far side of the Etyries Caravan, and the mother cult of the New Blood Sun Revelations the Lunar Missionaries have brought with them

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A Survey of What We Have to Work With: Chen Durel edition (Part 1)

Right now I’m only going to dig into the Guide. There’s more stuff, both back from antiquity and from other fanworks, but the Guide is now the place to start. First and foremost: the name has flopped between Chern Durel and Chen Durel for a while, but the Guide uses Chen, so that’s official. Chen Durel is treated as a province of Kralorela, and given 6 pages of its own. A third of the Notable People of Kralorela are Chen Dureli, and all of them are members of Can Shu’s clique. The gods of Chen Durel occasionally get mentioned elsewhere - the Gang of Four are part of Kralorela’s history, the Black Sun is described when talking about troll gods, and they all get play in the Hero Wars section. As a consequence of its placement, we should expect the writing to have a quietly pro-Kralori bias. The history of Kralorela is well rehearsed. Prior to any human life, there are ancient pyramids covered in hieroglyphs. There is in the Godtime the worship of a Sun God, who appe...

The Broo's Lament

A broo crawled from its Chaos-pit and called out to the distant Black Sun: When I was born, I tore my way from my mother's belly. When I was a child, I murdered my father. I have never known the comfort of home. When I fought for Akorgat, I fell from a very high place. When I fought for Tien, I lost my head. I have never known the comfort of victory. O, Black Sun! They call you the joy and comfort of all the beings between sky and hell! Gbaji has not yet come to free us, and I cannot endure to wait! What comfort is there for a creature like me? The Black Sun heard this, and struck open the ground. The waters beneath the earth poured in like blood, and black flowers bloomed like scabs. "Eat the black lotus, and you shall receive your desire. Eat the black lotus, but only eat two." I don't know why the broo ate three. Perhaps it was to prove he could? Regardless, he fell into a deep sleep, and slept so long Gbaji came and left while he was asleep! Somewhere...

The Festival of Fools

We were traveling now through the Blood Drenched Hills, and coming to the market town of Spleen. Naturally, I wanted to get moving as quickly as possible, but my entourage had already decided we would spend a day or two here, peddling and enjoying their Mid Spring Festival. It did not feel like mid spring, the wind was still bitingly cold, the roads wet and muddy from snow melt, but the early planting had concluded so it was time for a party. The town was nestled between a few hills, so the first sign of it was two plumes of smoke from the signal fires outside. As we rounded a curve in the road, the palisades of the town became visible. A token force of guards were posted outside, clearly Kralorelan, and clearly disappointed with their post. Merchants coming to the festival were being charged an entry fee, or were required to prove customary right of entrance to a small, tired looking administrator. He was sitting at one of the collapsible desks that mantrins deployed to the countrysi...