Worlds Enough and Time: An Urutskan Travel Log-

I was thinking of all of the adventures I can remember gaming on Urutsk, as well as fiction I have written for it, and came up with these locations and time periods:

The Marnharnnan Continent: From the Fall of the Ancients, through the Vrun Colonial period, and the years of play in Latter Autumn, and into the surrealistic dark-fantasy of the Winter Era.

The Vrun Continent: Pre-history, Spring Era, Summer, Autumn, and bits of Winter (7,000 years of history). From the Crystal Pyramid through hunter-gatherers; from the standard fare of 'mediaeval fantasy' through Sci-Fantasy of the war against the Aelbaan; Late Summer and Early Autumn's mass-warfare campaigns, cults, disease and famine; The Humanoid and Frontier Campaigns; the pseudo Napoleonic gatling-gun and cannon period of Consolidation; the rise of the Vrun Continental Authority and highlights of the First Tyrrhean War with its necroborgs and gas-masked cavalry sorties; Latter Autumn's Second Tyrrhean War and the urban malaise of capitulation to the People's Automatic Union; all the way into Winter's madness and desperate subterranean scramble.

The Black Crown / Marnharnnan Yirinn Empire of Bereme Oykh: Autumn and the Departure, and Winter's Discontent.

The Chaos Isles: Scattered incidents throughout Autumn.

Tuliri / Lhoman Border region: Late Summer and throughout the Autumn Era, especially during the Second Tyrrhean War. Hours and hours of miniatures wargaming took place in this region, as well as a religious insurgency on the Tuliri side of the border. Martial Arts action, Pulp adventure involving serpent men, and the rise of an Immortal.

The Durn Continent: Early Autumn's visitation by the contemporary Playtest Party as well as a one-off with a Big Game Hunter, his trusty sidekick, and a powerful Durn Holy Warrior versus Guild Council slavers; Latter Autumn's challenge to modernise, and the Durn Maximist Covenant's polite refusal of the PAU's invitation.

All of the above is but a small percentage of the total gaming done in the milieu, and fails to touch upon the exploration and colonisation of Aqmlk, the Red Planet, and its latter eras; the entire span of the Space Age with its Hyperspace Shunt Network and Dragon Wars; Alien worlds crawling with unspeakable horrors and confounding alien technology; and the actual Sphere of Stars built around the galactic core; and other bits and bobs throughout these past 26+ years of my cultivating this wild and wending garden.

What adventures will you have here?

Mutants of Marnharnna Pt. 11-

With Raylyss and the Scaly Kids out in the mangrove Stinkwoods, frosty Osyl, the rather colourful Zalder, and the anime giantess, Kitsune (correcting the misspelling from last week, rendering her 'Wandering Hovering Spirit') went in search of a jewellery store to sell the loot they had taken from the 'Mall of the Ancients'.

Before getting there, an interaction with a 'friendly' fight prompted Zalder to blow his cover as a non-powered colourful freak, and caught a gent who had been knocked over a second-floor railing. The man was stupefied that this green-skinned, blue-haired, sugar-glider membraned person was holding him aloft, and asked to be gently put down. The assailant, his 'friend' made his way down the stair, to the consternation of the prostitutes they had been cavorting with in the room before the argument had erupted. Osyl, conjured a fabrication of 9 and change pounds of frigid water over the bruiser. The cold water worked in bringing the hulk back to his senses, and Osyl's attempts to sweet-talk him worked better than the player had planned, resulting in the big fella' suddenly being rather taken with her (to the further consternation of said working women). Zalder released his grip on the punchee and flew off as the Law made their way toward the group. A conversation between the deputies in the background suggested that they thought the rather WI Vrun-looking Kitsune and the somewhat Yirinn-looking Osyl didn't much look like cousins, but the WI nobles were prone to mate with whom they desired; and, was it really true that West Coast Vrun really practised bestiality? Kitsune managed to defuse the situation after being admonished not to associate with Muties, at least in town.

With Kitsune's week-long knowledge of Kryssaul City, they set out into the Good Part of town and to a heavily guarded two-floor Jewellery establishment. Ignoring a man who offered to look at their items before they stepped foot inside, the two went inside and marvelled at the collection of Auric Black Metal jewellery in a partitioned case occupied by an armed guard. The staff was knowledgeable enough to spot the quality and mark of the Ancient jewellery and then called the manager, who promptly invited the pair upstairs for a private meeting. The walk up the stairs revealed three full cold-cast plate-armoured over-under coilstock-armed guards on either side of the way, suggesting that such transactions were fairly secure. A brief event revealed a grizzled hunter in another section of the upstairs area, but he quickly disappeared from view. The business was prefaced by a friendly question session by the manager who asked as to the the provenance of the goods, how the girls came to possess it, and after their safety travelling alone on the wild ways with such a haul. Answers were provided in varying degrees of believability, and the sale of some rather remarkable pieces (including a circuitry embedded in a coin and a dagger of some sort of rainbowed-glass-like material), netting 10k count. A Letter of Recommendation and a private carriage ride to the White star Hotel marked the pair of 'cousins' as members of the Amlynn family (one of several known to have founded the ill-fated WICE fort later overrun by combined Aberrant, Dokirin, and Humanoid forces). The White Star Hotel executive suite (100 count per day, not including room service) proved much to the women's' enjoyment, affording Kitsune a relaxing hot bath, and Osyl time to 'chill-out'.

In the meantime, Zalder (having flown in over the mangrove canopy and spotted a pinnace) had been assisting Raylyss in wrangling his son (a rather cunning fisher) when he heard sounds echoing across the water, further out into a channel. Four folks in a dinghy rowed closer, and it was apparent that they were smugglers or pirate-types. Zalder, feeling michevious, experimented with the Water node, but was admonished by the Sisters and then drew upon an Air crystal to stealth up on them unawares. A failed death-stroke attack on an occupant while the three others were poking around for a submerged something alerted the others and the sloppy kill subjected him to wool-pistol fire and afforded the Durnsman (slave?) an escape from the other two. A further failed hatchet throw against the pistoleer and Zalder was hiding in the mangroves as the two survivors (a young woman/girl who was disguising that fact, and an older, relatively 'nice' guy) rowed back with their badly butchered comrade's corpse out to the ship.

The Durn watched as Zalder dredged up a pirate-chest-sized chest encrusted with muck and barnacles, and then floated it up using a large air bubble. The Durn warned him that the contents were holy, and would kill Zalder, and likely himself, if it were opened, but Zalder precoded to pick the lock. The Sisters, unable to speak with him, were clearly distraught for their proxy agent, and he relented, thinking that if they were powerless, it was likely a big deal.

Gadget-girl Kitsune sent a mechanical servant to deliver makeup, hair dye, and a robe to Zalder who then joined them in town at the gunsmiths, where the party purchased more revolvers, and Black Crown manufactured revolving carbines and ammunition, wiping out nearly 7k of their ten. The girls booked passage for the Riverland Peninsula, with special provisions made for a private trip, and entry to the big lake I cannot recall the name of at present, requiring the ship arrive there at high tide, on a full moon (up coming), so as to pass over the flooded shoal separating it from the bay. Full passage was paid and preparations to disembark that night were made.

Hotel antics. Science team brought up. Zalder returned at night with a carriage to fetch Raylyss and the kids, and to offer the Durn a ride, only to find a religious ceremony and a Durn congregation held in the mangroves. There were shadowy figures with luminous eyes and one held a knife to his throat until the okay was given. For his kindness, the priest gave Zalder a chunk of fragrant resinous wood. The return trip to the carriage showed that men were surrounding the vehicle, and a still-mounted rider oversaw the operation. Fighting ensued after Zalder head-shot the mounted feller and he went down hard. Cloaked, but against the night sky in moonlight allowed the shooters on the ground a better chance of striking, and a as if that weren't enough, a night-flying predator snatched him up in its talons before being struck in the fire, dropping him a full minute's swim back to shore. On route, Zalder was bitten by a fish, but it was dispatched in one blow.

We held it there.

[RPG] Random Appearance and Distinguishing Features by Ethnicity-

Copyright (c) 2009, 2010 Kyrinn S. Eis

Appearance & Description-

##.Skin-......Hair-....Eyes-.........Distinguishing
.....................................Features-
18.True Black.White....Red...........Long Chin, Pointy
.......................................Ears & Nose
17.Blue-Black.Silver...Pink..........Wide-eyed &
.......................................High Cheeked
16.Aubergine..Dk Grey..Steel Blue....Chiselled Features
15.Dk Grey....Raven....Deep Blue.....Smooth Complexion
14.Blue-Grey..Lt Grey..Ice Blue......Sharp Features
13.Lt Grey....Peppered.Dk Green......Lean yet Soft
12.Grey-Brown.Sable....Md Green......12 Fingers & Toes
11.Chocolate..Auburn...Lime Green....Narrow Face
10.Cocoa......Chestnut.Hazel.........Long Neck
09.Dk Mustard.Dk Red...1Green/1Brown.Long Arms or Legs
08.Mustard....Black....1Green/1Blue..Heavily Freckled
07.Dk Tan.....Red......1Blue/1Brown..Ropey Musculature
06.Tan........Orange...Hazel.........Webbed Hands & Feet
05.Ivory......Rust.....Amber.........Independently
.......................................Focusable Eyes
04.Lilly......Dk Blond.Orange........Claws
03.Pink-Tan...Honey....Lt Brown......Fangs
02.Red-Tan....Sunshine.Brown.........Move 2x on 4-limbs
01.Maroon.....Golden...Dk Brown......Gills
0-.True Red...White....Black.........Subdermal Chitin

* Dokirin: 2d6-02 any of Skin, Hair, Eyes for any of Skin, Hair, and Eyes, 2d6+04 Distinct (1x)

* Durn: 2d6+6 Skin, 1d6+6 Hair, 1d4+7 Eyes, 1d6+12 Distinct (3x)

* Khark: 2d6-02 Skin, 1d6+6 Hair, 2d6 Eyes, 1d10-01 Distinct (2x)

* Khem: 2d4 Skin, 1d6+04 Hair, 1d12+1 Eyes, 1d12+06 Distinct (1x)

* Vrun: 1d6+1 Skin, 1d20-02 Hair & Eyes

* Western Isles Vrun: 1d4+02 Skin, 1d20-02 Hair & Eyes, 1d12+06 Distinct (3x)

* Yaesh: 1d10-01 Skin, 2d6+06 Hair, 2d8-02 Eyes, 1d20-02 Distinct (1x)

* Yirinn: 1d4+2d6-01 Skin, 1d12+01 Hair, 1d10+7 Eyes, 1d6+12 Distinct (1x)

:: Subject to change

[Playtest Campaign] January 29th-

After a dinner of Indian/Pakistani food, the SO and I arrived at the store to meet a 'new' player who joined the game, although he had played in my wacky Pathfinderish-Beta mashup game in 2008/2009.

Said player chose to play a Durn-Western Isles Vrun Gentleman Adventurer. This character's father was a native-born Durnsman who had excelled in Mathematics and was scouted by a WI university to attend; after completing his advanced studies, Pops became a Physics professor (full honours, citizenship, and married a very Aelbaanesque (i.e., pale, tall, and eccentric) noblewoman, daughter to Admiral Kinsdem. From that union, Devlyn MqKullyn was born.
--Devlyn had been born on Doran, where he was schooled and grew up before travelling to the Western Isles to complete his higher education, to broaden his horizons, and to round-out his moral character. While his mixed ancestry was a bit controversial in the WI, it was/is tamer than in the New World (although Doran has a fair population of various mixed-bloods of all sorts).

Devlyn had been away (back in the WI) during the time of the pirate attack, and returned to find the place worse for wear. While still on the ship, he had engaged in some gambling with two sharpes who had intended on swindling him, but his successes deterred them, and they excused themselves separately and departed. He was then spoken to by an old man who had appeared to have been asleep during the game, and was suggested by this fellow to speak with the Governors when he made land. Devlyn thanked him for that odd tidbit, and upon disembarking, made his way to the walled community where his let flat is located, and met Qwyl, the gardener/grounds keeper for the three elegant apartment buildings within the confines. Through Devyn's somewhat less than tactful suggestion that Qwyl's assessment that his, 'black god warned you of danger, right?', was in fact correct, Qwyl was understandably hurt that he had not been warned, considering that the man had lost an eye during the fighting. Qwyl then suggested that to make up for that Devyn could treat him to lunch at the new drinking establishment (an overturned pirate hulk dragged onto shore). Devyn agreed and went upstairs to unpack.
--He was met by a woman who claimed to be his cousin, Ylnel, from the WI. She had been on Doran for a week or so, and was encountering terrible difficulty locating and securing her 15 pieces of baggage. She hoped that her cousin could help her sort that and had been allowed by the landlady to sleep in the hallway at Devlyn's door during that time. With the opportunity to wash up Ylnel and Devyn entered the flat, where she then set herself up in the guest room while he unpacked. A furred snake (he didn't think it was poisonous) extricated itself from his larger carry-on. Qwyl picked up the snake and draped it across his shoulders like a living stole. Ylnel, Qwyl, and he had a brief intro and set out to eat lunch.

On the way there Qwyl noticed movement in the bushes and set about determining its nature: folk rising up from a covered tunnel entrance. The furred snake dissuaded them from exiting, and Qwyl began to blow on his signal whistle until both House Ahzinbakh dog handlers and the local militia both converged on the spot. The dog handlers attempted to dismiss the event, but the partisan woman leading the militia would hear none of it and called for additional backup. Devlyn took that opportunity to ditch Qwyl, and tried doing the same with Ylnel, but she clung to his arm and they set off to the Governors' Estate.
>>
---Introductions were mde; Ylnel was explained to be a University-level investigator in Fae Sciences, and her 15 pieces of kit being lab gear and the like; the Govs and secondary characters were involved; the Sphere was shown to Devlyn once his WI (Aelbaan) ancestry was disclosed; the ship reacted oddly to his presence and the feedback was unsettling to Ashta (!), but they went for a flight as Mela Mela and Ylnel trotted off with a guard and Ahnni to Mela's alchemical lab (guarded by her Fae friends who had warned her of the very large 'Bunk-Bunk' creatures who came out at night and stood around the other PCs and ate either their exhaled breath, or their dreams; the Fae were not certain of which), but along the way, they were almost ambushed by pirates flushed out from the jungly vegetation. Ahnni had Jaunted with one of the pirates, but was struck-ill by a charm the man was wearing (it was a stylised 'A' in some sort of silvery alloy and the Black Metal); House A dog-handlers then set their dogs on the girls but they held their own until the Sphere came to the rescue and squashed the dogs in a TK field; one handler fled into the swamp which is known to hold pirates; Ahnni was cured of an extra-planar poisoning effect generated by something emitting radiations from deep within the island; the dog handler was pursued by a TK probe and was harassed by the PCs until we wrapped it up around 11 PM.

The 'new' player was interested in downloading the .pdfs, and reading this blog (as is Tyb's player), so we may be hearing from them in the comments in the coming days/weeks.

[RPG] Competing with Space Opera... ;) -

I've been looking for sections of the revamped CharGen to post here, but all the 'sexy' parts are formatted in such a way as to be mangled by blogger's column width.
--I'll see about posting a .pdf

So far everything on the character sheet is accounted for, apart from actual combat/weapons rules, and the Aberrations.
--Those still reside in their own sections (completed or unfinished).

Here are a few excerpts:
------------------------------------------

BACKGROUND DETERMINATION-

These tables are used to provide depth of character which integrates directly with the game system so that the Character Control Record is essentially all the information a Player needs.

Should another method of more rapidly preparing a character be to your liking, merely roll up the Ability Scores as above, and roll for starting Count for purchases in the Amour, Arms & Gear section, and the PC is ready to go. If this method is chosen, all charactrs must be generated in this manner. Likewise, bits and pieces that appeal to the Referee and gaming group may be retained or excepted.

If play is desired immediately, existing characters for most versions of The World's Most Popular Roleplaying Game, from editions O to X, as well as many other 3d6-scaled RPGs of the earlier age of gaming are highly compatible with UWoM, 'right out of the box'. I would be delighted to hear that some hybridisation has taken place in your local games, as that spirit of inventiveness and creativity is the one in which the entire milieu and RPG have been fashioned.


Sex-
(Choose or Roll 1d10)

6+ - Female
2-5 - Male
1 - Special

=---= Special-
(Choose or Roll 1d10)

04+ - Male, as above
03 - Female: Bxhr 'Amazon' +2 Ability Points, 1-Point Regeneration
02 - Male: Avemn 'Highblood' +3 Ability Points
01 - Other - see

=---= Other-
(Choose or Roll 1d10)

03+ - Odd = Male, Even = Female, as standard, above
02 - Neuter
01 - Hermaphrodite


Age-
(Choose or roll 2d6)

11+: 16 Years
10 : 18
09 : 20
08 : 22
07 : 23 Years
06 : 21
05 : 19
04 : 17
03-: 15 Years

+01 Year per Primary Field, and +01 Year per two full Secondary Fields.


Ethnicity-
(Choose or Roll 2d12)

24-22 - Durn: +16 - Frame mod.: -02 - Scholars & Scientists
21-20 - Khem: +03 - Frame mod.: -01 - Carousers & Card-readers
19-17 - Western Isles Vrun: +08 - Frame mod.: +02 - Empire-Bringers
16-15 - Yirinn: +0 - Frame mod.: +0 - Warrior-Bards
14-12 - Vrun: +10 - Frame mod.: +01 - Dominators & Innovators
11-09 - Dokirin: +06 - Frame mod.: -01 - Farmers, Nomads, & Nations
08-05 - Yaesh: 3d6+06 - Frame mod.: +0 - Chaotic Cogs in an Empire Machine
02-04 - Khark: 1d4+19 - Frame mod.: -03 - Nihilists & Shaman

[RPG] "Who Let Slip the Dogs of War?" -or- "The Hunters, Hunted"-

I was granted the opportunity to run a game with two of the players in the C&C game I participate in, and a gaming friend of theirs.
--They decided to use the Point-Design system (7k points -- making them 3rd Level), and so we had the full bells-and-whistles experience. Derek decided to play a mutant Durn divine spellcaster, and spent a long time tweaking that aspect, although the other two had been finished for a good 20-25 minutes.
---That said, the spellcaster had enormous flexibility and utility with a fire-based theme.

The scenario took place on The Fortifications of Wlor, just off the northern cost of the Durn continent, and involved the human Western Isles treasure-/big-game hunter and his mutant Yaesh fellow hunter searching for large flightless birds. They had travelled from Vrun Berror aboard a tramp freighter and had encountered ethnic and political antipathy from the miscreant crew. Their dinghy ride to shore was in the company of a Dokirin woman who had sequestered herself in her stateroom to avoid worse treatment.
--The fishing pier to the southeast of the main port was operated by the Guild Council fishermen, and quickly the group fell afoul of local roughs at a drinking and seafood shack at 1AM. A somewhat comical smakdown was lain upon the goons, and the band of four decided to investigate the portion of the island in the direction the non-Durn gangers had come. A second fight changed the tune as two Critical Hits dropped party members (although they were healed by Derek's character and the Dokirin NPC), and the surviving enemy fled as best possible while pursued.
---Further reconnaissance marked out the gang's complex near the island dictator's fortress (which should have been a clue), which the party avoided, and they instead found lodging in a very run-down place overlooking the quaint squalor of the main city. Their morning to afternoon rest found the party refreshed and ready for more troublefinding.

Purchasing three bottles of the best local hootch and eight commemorative shot glasses, the party took off once again, to a location advertised on a handbill stuffed under all the doors of the lodging. The indicated route took visitors past the gang's complex, and the party were justifiably wary. Returning to the foot of the hill at which the previous fight had taken place, looking for bound gangers, the group instead witnessed the gang members being rescued by a large group of well-armed government forces, whom the party avoided as they pressed on to examine the site marked on the map.
--Unbeknownst to them, the party was being observed from a higher altitude upon the sloping terrain. They then chanced upon a clearing filled with 60+ troops, in the process of torture and rape against foreigners who vaguely resembled the N/PCs. Trying to stealthily creep out of the clearing before being noticed, the party members were ambushed by their pursuers, one armed with a reciprocating heavy coilstock, the other with a 'hand-choppa' light coilstock. The fight was one marked by wounds on both sides; a successful death-from-above strike by the Western Isles hunter that flung the reciprocator-gunner down the slope and broke his neck; a desperate battle for the reciprocator as the Yaesh hunter was wounded with two bolts in his leg, hobbling downhill and the Durn battle-priest following after him in the hopes of escaping the fighting and healing his wounded companion. Those two made it to concealment, and the wounds were healed.
---The Dokirin woman had demonstrated that she possessed a cloak of Improved Invisibility in the first fight back at the shack, and had disappeared before this battle. The Great White Hunter desperately battled for control of the reciprocator and was discovered by troops from the encampment whereupon a second running battle and escape and evasion was played out against a large portion of the troops, while the other two PCs were E&Eing it further northeast, constantly being discovered by their pursuers.

Heading back toward the populated side of the island, WI hunter always managed to escape death, although wounded and hounded by 30+ paramilitary troops. He spotted smoke from the gang's complex, and as he continued to hug the curvature of the hillside, began to see emaciated Vrun fleeing from that direction. Most (women and children alike) were mowed down by the paramilitary that chanced upon them, but a few escaped when an explosion took out all but two of the tightly clustered search party (the survivors had arms blown off and quickly died).
--Meanwhile, at the other end of the island, the two PCs were constantly beset upon by their hunters, but managed to enter the thick palm forest and hide; the government forces unwilling to enter the terrain.
---The WI hunter was reunited with the Dokirin woman, Dasuel (who had initially claimed to 'document wildlife for the Federated Cities Council' of Marnharnnna) who was responsible for liberating the captives at the complex. Together with the fortunate survivors, they fled upon a fishing sail boat out to a larger vessel awaiting them. It turned out to be a Vrun Continental Authority naval ship and when the rest of the party's plight was explained, a rescue mission was initiated after dark. Villagers helped the two stranded PCs in exchange for blessings, and the VCA commandos rendered medical aid before departing with them.

Official VCA thanks, 500 count (each), and 1300 XP (each) was the reward.
--There is talk of playing again, soon.

[Milieu] Visual Input-

While Durn is not at all the focus of Urutsk, it is an important aspect of the setting.

Some links to follow for visual inspiration as regards the forts of the Duhen Shes Wied'am:

--The different sorts of forts and stables and other buildings are all more or less like:

* African Moslem sea-side fortresses LINK,

* Petra's beautiful canyon buildings LINK,

* the Ethopian hidden cites (just gorgeous stuff, IMO) LINK,

* Spaghetti-Western movie towns LINK
[the photos click-through at the immediate right],

* South Western Pueblos LINK

[Milieu][Fiction] The Story of Maesha-

The Story of Maesha-
© 2006 Kyrinn S. Eis All Rights Reserved

DURING The reign of the Ten Powers of Bereme Oykh, trade with the Turilli tribes to the equatorial south grew to great proportion, and all the wonders of the region were brought back to the North-most mountains of glory.
To win the hearts of the trader princes of the Turilli, gifts of daughters were given. These were women of great refinement and beauty, full of all the graces and charms. Many of these were Khemesh, or half-blood Yirinn, both great exotics.
Maesha of the Nulnehya, the silver-haired forest-folk and cousins to the Khemesh, was given to the prince of the Ihyri tribe. Prince Ealleh was old and jaded. His celebrations’ refuse could serve as kings’ banquets, and his hunger for women was said to be unrivalled. He was cruel to all the girls he owned.
Maesha was beside herself in sorrow at her lot, and after angry shouting to the heavens, she knelt and prayed:

“Wind-breather and stone-founder; father of creation, hear me now, I pray. This one is small, too small to bother with, I know. But, please, consider now her lot, and if moved, grant me Svvervva –(that is to say, ‘escape from all harm’)– and return me to my home. By blood, a child of the First Parents, your children.”

The next morning, as Maesha lay still in deep slumber, a merchant’s caravan met the guards of the prince’s camp. They were Durnsmen, come to buy wares from the princedom. Ealleh received the chief merchant as his guest for a banquet.
When Maoluk, chief of the caravan and a wealthy merchant in the holy Durnish lands, looked upon Maesha as she was paraded with her sisters before the guests, he prayed to Shr.d that she become his bride.
“Now that you see what I have; my herds and wealth; what is it that you seek?” Ealleh said with great confidence.
Taking time to answer, Maoluk replied, “The least of your girls.”
The prince was taken aback by the request. He wondered after its meaning, and he called upon his counsellors to divine the meaning and his best course.

Maesha realised that the matter involved her, and she prayed silently as the counsellors debated among themselves.
Finally, Ealleh demanded an answer of them, and the chief of his wisest men told him that there was only gain in the request, and furthermore, to gift the woman to the merchant, leaving his purse intact to buy goods as well.
“Chose your girl and save your money, my friend. I am not so greedy as to turn a profit on one of them. Look how many more I have.” Ealleh boasted, curious to see which Maoluk chose.

Maoluk took his time and met with each and praised their graces while condemning their faults, the whole while his gaze found Maesha’s over and over again.
After some time, the merchant came finally to Maesha and asked after her in the prince’s account.
“Ill-tempered and melancholy. Possesses an evil eye and mutters curses. I reckon her the least of the lot, and would gladly be rid of her, the witch.”
“Is this true?” Maoluk asked of Maesha.

“If the prince says it so, it is not my place to disagree, sir.” Maesha replied as she looked squarely into the man’s eyes.

Maoluk laughed.
“Then let me please take her away from you, as I find her delightful. My purse is heavy for goods, of which I ask a little of everything you own.”

Ealleh again sought the wisdom of his diviners, and they told him to consent, though it seemed to him a great insult.

In the morning, Maesha was thrust to Maoluk’s feet, along with all her dowry, and coins beside.
“Here, here is her worth, my merchant friend. Take this icy one from me and laden your train with my excess. Tell your brethren I have more where that came from.” Ealleh spat.

Maoluk held his tongue as he lifted the girl to her feet.
The caravan departed, heavy with all the goods of the princedom.

After days of travel, the train entered a gate set into a vast wall that stretched from East to West.
The gate led into a military camp of white linen-enshrouded warriors, sealed off from contamination with the outside world.
“Where do I find myself, sir?” Maesha asked.
“This is the outermost border of the kingdom of Shr.d, the Only Wise.” Maoluk replied.
“My people give him no name. We dare not.” Maesha replied.
They rode on, “He has given us the gift of His name. It is our prayer, and our recourse. It behoves us to call upon Him, as He will suffer no other in His stead.”
Maesha silently wondered after that.

In her new quarters in the Holy City, she was attended by native daughters of Durn, beautiful and delightful in their own right. Maesha was bathed and oiled. Massaged and perfumed, then dressed in the attire of a noblewoman, white linen gilt with spun gold and decorated with amber, garnet, tourmaline, and jet. Maesha’s hair was braided as the other women, and a veil draped over the crown of her head but not covering more.
Now dressed, she was presented to Maoluk.

“Truly Shr.d has blessed me this day. I have found a Northern diamond of great beauty and rarity.” The merchant praised.
Maesha curtsied and replied, “I too have had my prayers answered. I want to know more of your people’s ways, and your faith in particular. I shall share my people’s traditions and then I will ask of you to fulfil the rest of my plea to the Creator.”
“What is that?” Maoluk asked, surprised.
“It is to return me to my home. The heat withers me, and I long for the shelter of the mountain kingdom that I love more than I can express.” She said.
Maoluk agreed, but secretly prayed she would, in time, find his home and his people to be her home and family.

Maesha quickly mastered the rigid lines and perfect arcs of Durnish script, beyond adopting the tongue with all fluency. Their discussions lasted for hours upon hours, day after day. In time, she mastered the music of the Kaleh and would sing psalms to the delight of the court and the people.
Maolulk learnt of the marvels of the North; heard the tales of the Sojourn through the black ice valleys that encircle the North-most peaks that crown the world. He shivered at the tale of P’Jol, the siren of the polestar that hexed travellers who dared to move beneath her gaze without the protection of the Raven charm. He laughed at the account of First Thaw with its ice slides and fatty-roast feast.
They grew fond of each other, but remained chaste.

After one year, Maoluk asked Maesha to marry him.
Maesha declined, longing still for her native Bereme Oykh.
Maoluk resigned for the time, and continued his loving discourse.

After five, then ten years, Maesha relented, and became Maoluk’s bride.

In the eleventh year, Maoluk was killed while on caravan.
L’lshar, his brother, arrived to take control of the family’s holding, and keep the land within the bloodline. He did not find Maesha to his liking, and was pressured beside by his seven wives and three concubines.
Maesha, set free from the realm, made all haste to journey home, and with her granted wealth, took along with her one tenth of all that Maoluk owned, including men and women servants and of his herds and stores.

Through much perilous and tormentious travel, Maesha’s party suffered greatly from predation and loss, until she was left with but one armsman and her own handmaiden, both Durnish.
At a village known to the locals as ‘White Bear Tree’, she learnt that she had entered the lands of the Vrun, North of the equator. There the travellers gained armsmen and scouts to guide her to the Storm Sea, and from there, passage to the Western Isles.

Having set out from the Western Isles nearly a month earlier; lean and hardened; Maesha arrived at last in the frigid lands of her birth and heritage.
Falling to her knees, she wept in thanks to the God who had answered her many prayers and brought her safely home again. She built a packed snow and stone altar to the Creator there, and named it ‘Glory to the Soul-scout’. It stands there to this day.

Still preserved in youth and ability, Maesha lived many years serving her people in court and counsel, as well as honouring the people with better cities and conditions.
During this time, she gained many enemies in the guilds and in counsel, her kinfolk among them. Attempts upon her life were made, but foiled each time through happy circumstance, or providence, as she always reckoned it.

After fleeing into the ruins of the first colonies, heavy with child, Maesha camped out under the sky, atop a fortress tower.
P’Jol tormented her dreams for a week, until one morning, a raven landed and dropped a tail feather before flapping off again.
Maesha bound the feather into her silver-washed chestnut hair, and the torments which P’Jol’s visited upon her were ended.
But, P’Jol did not stop there. She came down to Maesha and challenged her to three tasks, with a magick ring, a flying switch, and a magick cloak, as treasure.
Maesha politely declined.
This infuriated P’Jol, who then schemed to win a challenge with Maesha, and win her as booty.
“If treasures hold no interest or desire for you, then what is it you would have of me?” P’Jol half cackled.
“My lady, I have not asked one thing of you from my youth through tonight.” Maesha replied.
“Surely you desire something beyond your grasp?” The horrible crone leered forward.
Maesha thought a moment, and answered, “One thing, but…”
“What?!” P’Jol demanded
“You can’t possibly grant it, so it isn’t worth the effort…” Maesha lured.
“Anything within my means I will grant you, if you but tell me!” The monstrous woman pledged in view of her immortal kindred amid the heavens.
“I seek power over my enemy. I desire to rule over them, and gain their power. This you cannot do.” Maesha prodded further.
“I swear it! Give but the name of your foe, and by my spirit, you will have them in your grasp!” The thing spit ice as she coughed out frost and stardust.
Maesha shouted out in triumph, “P’Jol, Mistress of the North Star!”
The demon howled in torment as the power turned back upon her, and she enslaved herself to Maesha. P’Jol disappeared and the ring, the switch, and the cloak were left behind.

Maesha left the pole star untended, and soon, the world grew warm and spring thaw came a month too soon. Then summer was absent of snow except at the highest peaks, a first in the records. Autumn grew frost and hunting suffered loss. Winter was unusually harsh.
On the night of the worst storm in the world, the greenhouses collapsed under the wind and snow, ruining the bulb-harvest. Many workers were killed beside, both men and women.
Maesha’s cousin, D’Halan counselled her to fly to the North Star and take the throne of P’Jol.

Maesha considered this, then agreed, leaving her son, Kurian, in his care, then mounted the flying switch, and wrapped tightly against the cold in the magicked cloak while she held out her ringed hand into the wind.
The journey made the world shrink away as when one falls down a well; great and terrible the speed.

The throne of the pole star lay vacant and at sitting upon it, she could see the world’s wobble.
With her ringed hand, she reached down and straightened-out the world, making the seasons regular and fourfold-even.
Soon, the dreams of the world, and her people came up to her in the aether, and she began to direct the thoughts of humanity and beast alike. But, to her dismay, Maesha could only use nightmares and never pleasant dreams. Maesha decided to teach lessons to the sleeping, and only mildly press them with the understanding of failure.
Humanity grew wise in a generation, and many secrets of the Ancients were uncovered and deciphered. The stars themselves soon would lie within their grasp.

After generations were born and perished below, Maesha grew tired, and sought a helper to watch the world.
When none worthy was found throughout the whole world, Maesha took off her cloak, and tied it around the spindle of the world, keeping it upright, though it still wobbled slightly as it went about.
Cold beyond measure, Maesha flew upon the switch with all speed in the hopes of not freezing solid. But, even at that pace, the woman became ice through and through in the hard vacuum of space.
Her body shattered upon impact with the ground, but the ring remained intact, and saved her spirit.
Trapped in the ring with P’Jol, Maesha battled the witch for centuries, until a maiden found the ring and placed it on her finger. Maesha reconstituted herself from the girl’s body, and found that she was still cold, and breathed out frost and stardust.
“Oh, how I must have offended You in my conceit!” She cried out to heaven.
She received no reply.

Bereme Oykh was now a different place, with competitors for empire, and new wars afoot.
Maesha, the Cold Woman, dwelt among her folk, living in the shadows and the nightmares of humanity and beast alike. She found she needed to feed upon the living, lest the heat of weird life leave her again, and she freeze-solid. The wise among the folk gave her sacrifice from their pens, but when no tribute came, Maesha hunted.

Children then, as now, knew she was real, for they saw her in the darkness, watching them, ready to live in their dreams and punish the naughty with nightmares. Adults, however, had forgotten much wisdom in the learning of much knowledge, and their nightmares were easily forgotten amid the bustle of life.
It was then that Maesha began to send the same nightmares to the whole nation. Warnings and portents of disaster and terror in the hopes of rousing them to act before the day should come to pass. These warnings then began to take shape in popular images and artwork, design and philosophy. In this role, she protects Bereme Oykh to this day, by bringing to mind the things we do not yet know, but ought to fear.

A popular, but costly drink is named, Maesha’s Tear. It is cryogenically-cooled and forced out of the metal container by compressed air. The alcohol evaporates rapidly, so the imbiber must drink quickly. Many say they actually breathe the vapour, reminiscent of the Cold Woman's frosty breath of stardust.

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