[Glorantha]Kralorela during the Hero Wars

[Peter Metcalfe]

Victor Lane:

>I'm planning a one shot game in Kralorela and I'm looking for any
>major events that happen there during the Hero Wars. I can make

First a low down on the recent political developments in the
run up to the hero wars.

"ALL KNOWING AND ALL POWERFUL.  NOT AT ALL THERE"

As Dragon Emperor of Kralorela, Godunya is one of the most
powerful beings in Glorantha.  He is responsible for casting
the evil emperors ShangHsa may-his-name-be-cursed and
Sheng Seleris from their thrones.  But he's kind of old now
and everybody knows that it's time for him to Move On.

Only he can't.

The problem is that during the war against Sheng Seleris,
Godunya was forced to commit utuma, ritual suicide.  He
went to the beyond and came back as a huge dragon
which kicked Sheng Seleris off his personal star and sent
him crashing to the ground in the far west.  But because
of what he did, if he commits utuma again then he returns
whether he wants to or not.

Godunya has slowly been losing it over the past two
centuries and it's come to the stage where he can only
smile blankly if asked about important questions of state.
This and other incidents have transformed the Imperial
Palace into Glorantha's best furnished nursing home.

Fortunately his physicians are confident that the period
of his night time wanderings are coming to an end.
Godunya has becoming more golden over the past few
decades, which is surely a sign of impending spiritual
transformation.  When that will happen, nobody knows
but they would like it to happen Real Soon Now.

The main problem with Godunya's dotage is not that
he is incapable of making decisions but that he does
not perform the dance of Infinite Dragons as well as he
could.  Because of this, there is discord among the
previously united Sages of Kralorela that has not
happened before.

there are many very important policy decisions for
Kralorela that have been left waiting for something like
fifty years...

"WHEN GOOD MANDARINS GO BAD"

Far away in the north of Kralorela is the dreaded land of
Bliss in Ignorance.  The people here are truly wretched,
having little understanding of civilized customs.  Among
the Sages, Bliss in Ignorance is especially dreaded
because if a Sage screws up, his next bureacratic
posting is Bliss in Ignorance presiding over glorantha's
equivalent of inbred trailer trash.

When the Great Western Fleet sailed into the Inland Sea,
the Kralori were divided about what to do. The Exarch of
Wanzow, Can Shu, was the leader of those that welcomed
the foreign fleet.  However after he declared his position,
the Palace decided to sink the entire fleet. Can Shu had
to resign his exarchy and exile himself to Ignorance.

When a Sage goes to Ignorance, he is expected to teach
the Ignorants draconic wisdom to the best of his ability or
die trying.  Most exiled sages simply give up and instead
use their knowledge to set themselves up as minor
aristocracy - they have a comfortable life but at the same
time, it's nothing like what they could have had.  A few
Sages totally lose it and seek revenge on Kralorela - Can
Shu chose the last path.

Can Shu's choice is exceptionally disastrous because he
is the first Exarch to go bad.  Normally the majority of exiles
can neutralize the bad sages, but against Can Shu they are
simply outclassed.  Can Shu has used his power to forge
Bliss in Ignorance into a potent military state with the avowed
aim of overthrowing Kralorela.

Normally the Kralori have nothing to worry about.  When
Shang-Hsa may-his-name-be-cursed was Emperor, the
righteous Mandarins were in control of Ignorance and they
couldn't overthrow Kralorela.  So the Kralori Army should
be able to contain Can Shu.  Right?

Right?

"PEACE IN OUR TIME"

Kralorela has recovered from a world-destroying occupation
by Sheng Seleris.  This has raised the riddle of "why, if we
were true to the Dragons, are we having our heads kicked in
time and again?".  After consulting many oracles, the answer
was found with Yao Fune meditating in the desert.

Although the sources describe Yao Fune as being concerned
by this question, I have the idea that Yao Fune was a Great
Sage, older than the dragon emperors, who had spent most
of his time meditating peacefully in the desert, both caring and
not caring about the whole world.  The three years of meditation
that he is supposed to have spent on the question is actually
the period that someone popped the question to him and when
he finally answered.

Yao Fune's answer was that Kralorela's woes arose because
it struggled with the outside world.  If it simply decided to give
up all war, then all the destruction wrought by Sekever,
ShangHsa and Sheng Seleris would simply disappear.

The Kralori are giving Yao's ideas a test by declaring a funeral
for the outside world and undertaking no military action
whatsoever.  That includes Ignorance even though it's massing
armies on the borders.  Which raises the obvious question:

Have the Kralori Sages lost their minds?

"THE GENERALISSIMO AND HIS ENEMIES"

After Godunya, the leading Sage in the Empire is the Archexarch
of War, Seven Dragon and Wisdom (hereafter the Generalissimo).
His credentials are excellent - he was Imolo Wen's disciple when
the latter subjugated the Turtle People of Boshan and forced them
to return to the wisdom of the Dragons.  When Imolo Wen retired
as War Dragon General to become Abbot of the Faithful Dragon
School, the Generalissimo was the only obvious replacement.

It is what the Generalissimo did next that arouses such loathing.
When the Great Western Fleet appeared, Kralorela was divided
and Godunya was indisposed.  The Generalissimo took matters
into his own hands.  He stormed the Imperial Palace and obtained
Godunya's approval to sink the Western Fleet.  The Archexarch
of War was forced to commit utuma in disgrace and the
Generalissimo appointed in his stead as the only obvious choice.

The Generalissimo then reorganizes Kralorela in preparation for
the oncoming calamity that the Sages agree is coming.  However
because of what he has done, he has created enemies among
the Sages.

In order to take the Generalissimo down a peg or two, the
Sages have seized on the prophecies of Yao Fune.  If Yao
Fune's prophecies work then the Generalissimo is out of a job.

If, on the other hand, Yao Fune's prophecies don't work (as
they believe is likely to be the case), they can incite the
Generalissimo into attacking Ignorance and then order him
to commit Utuma for having violated Imperial Policy.

So while the Generalissimo has been reorganizing Kralorela,
his enemies have been spinning a careful administrative
trap for him.  Already they have persuaded Godunya to hold
a funeral for the outside world and order a freeze on any
operations against Ignorance.

LIKELY EVENTS OF THE HERO WARS

Can Shu invades as expected.

The Generalissimo sulks in his tent as was not expected.

Can Shu conquers the northern exarchies but encounters
local resistance, which probably invalidates the promise
of Yao Fune's prophecies.

Emboldened by Kralori passivity, the Hsunchen, the
Amazons and the Teshnans (ie. Melib) invade.

Godunya finally passes on.  The Sages have no idea
where to find the next Emperor.

The Generalissimo declares himself Emperor.  Civil
War breaks out.

--Peter Metcalfe