History of Dragon Pass in the Second Age

Here are some notes that I’ve compiled about the so-called Empire of the Wyrms Friends. Of interest here is to note that there is actually no period when they called themselves by that name. Nonetheless, we today generally know it by that name, which we outsiders gave to it. The actual names are given below, unknown (like most of this information) to anyone except scholars of the period.

Sources

UL	Uz Lore book of Trollpak (1982)
KoS	King of Sartar (1992)
GB	Glorantha Book of the Genertela Boxed Set (1988)
TFS	The Fortunate Succession (1995)
GM	Griffin Mountain (1981)
DLoD	Dorastor: Land of Doom (1993)

490-1120

Post-Gbaji

450. Gbaji is destroyed.

Armies return home (or not.) Arkat has left behind a complicated network of obligations and cults. He acknowledged the rule of OOO over all the territory of his pre-Dawn realm. All the descendants of the original Dawn peoples had to obey ancient rules. He imposed the Arkat Tax for humans to pay to the troll lord, and also for plunder, taxes and tribute flow into Dragon Pass from Dara Happa.

Londaral was the King of the Heortlings, but he holds ceremonial social posts that are without power. Under his high kingship were some remnants of the old Heortling tribes and many new tribes that form and fail continually.

460-480

Dara Happan lands rise up and eject their overlords. Treasure stops arriving, and returning soldiers bring armies. Social disorder is widespread. The pro- and anti-Arkat factions are a major troubling factor. King Londaral organizes a powerful band of veteran warriors to his household and established his leadership and the sacred value of the High King Ring.

c. 490. King Harasaran unites Kerofinela

King Harasaran was a Traditionalist trying to pick up the pieces after the loss of Dara Happa. He undertook a great expunging of all Arkat worship. Arkat, man or troll or devil or what, is blamed for all the failures elsewhere. At least once Harasaran fought a long guerilla war against uz, who were helping their arkati allies.

Jevamakt Purefire was a fanatic about wiping out the Arkati. “He never rested two days under one roof when he learned of a place that Arkat was worshipped, until he burnt it to the ground; and he never slept but preached forever when he was among people who thought fondly of Arkat; and whose alynx stood on its back feet whenever Arkat was near, and never failed at it.”

The Harasaran Dynasty maintains stability throughout Kerofinela and surrounding lands, at peace with the benevolent OOO watching overhead.

c.565? Rostand the Speaker (KoS pg. 92)

Rostand was a victim of Eurmal. The trickster split his tongue, his heart and his brain and therefore he was able to understand and speak the draconic tongue. Soon he learned some magic from a dragon. He told his friends, and since no one was harmed and everyone learned some magic it slowly became more popular and widespread. This is the earliest example of course, the founding story behind the Waltz and Hunting Bands.

573. “…a bad year to travel in the area.” (GB pg. 22)

A note of social unrest, though Arkat worship was all gone.

575. Waltzing and Hunting Bands formed.

These are the kernel of draconic consciousness. The term “waltz and hunt” is from the cult and is just the first of many verbal assaults upon members and how they think. Participants had to go away into the countryside for a month, and returned either skeptical or, more likely, a member of the cult, speaking rudimentary dragon words and thinking dragon thoughts.

Vistikos Left-eye (KoS 180) was one of the principles in this movement.

Orlanthland Established

578. The Tax Slaughter. (UL)

Hardros Hardslaughter led an uprising by killing the trolls who came to collect their tax. His king, Unestaros Forkbeard, was killed in battle and Hardros led the peoples. He led a raid into the depths of the stronghold of OOO and killed him, and when he resurrected again Hardros then extracted a renunciation of the tax, of old oaths and of obligations between the races. He was able to do this with the support of the priests of Orlanth.

580-587. Kingdom of Orlanthland is established

The Priests made Hardros a Great Living Hero instead of a king, and most of his ring was of priests. Their land was, at first, small. Its name indicates that the priesthood was wielding considerable social/political power. The precise extent of its borders at this time is uncertain. Draconic consciousness among people was minor at this stage.

(GB) states “EWF” established as a political entity. However, this isn’t really the EWF being formed. This political entity is later the EWF, and later yet the Third Council.

587-600. Dragonseed War

The ruling priestly ring declared dragons to be foes of the people and called on their god to help destroy them all. The warlords of the Kingdom of Orlanthland began persecuting draconic sympathizers. Many fled to the hills and the “Dragon Stalking Cycles” tell of Orlanthi deeds successful in destroying them. Among the enemies there were the “Three Dragon Seeds” who are rebel bands that persisted. One of them became the Look of Its Teaching school, who were the teachers of Obduran.

Obduran’s Era

c.650. The Dragonfriend revelation (KoS 191)

Obduran performed his Orlanth Dragonfriend revelation, basically teaching others how to experience “youf,” and instituting worship of Arangorf the Inner Dragon. The established priesthood takes control of the new cult as well as part of its organized religion. Seen now it was momentous, but at the time it was one of many such great changes that the priests were making.

c.650-700. Cult of the Inner Dragon grows quickly in Orlanthland.

At first this was presented simply as another cult among many of the Orlanth pantheon. A dragon had been accepted among the Thunder Brothers and this was not stranger than including a god from the Sea or fire tribe as companion.

c.725. Obduran the Flyer is elected to the ruling ring of the Kingdom of Orlanthland.

The Ruling Ring were the established priests that had been overseeing things for centuries. The significance of the event is that now a dragon had risen to be amidst the intercessors between people and Orlanth.

c. 730 Elves and Balazarings join “EWF”. (TFS, GM)

Elves had, for a long time, been favorable towards perpetuating the Dawn Ways. The rulers among them had no care whether it was Orlanthi or EWF and urged humans within their territories to follow suit.

c. 750. Saird is Conquered

The fortress of Domanand and surrounding lands conquered by the “EWF”. The Sun Dome Temples become a major military arm of the empire. These events are remembered in the Lament of Domeland, a collective composed by several poets who survived.

c 750. Obduran the Flyer withdraws to meditate

After a century of draconic initiation, and 8 of action, the great draconic sage withdrew to meditate and left the organization in the hands of assistants.

Great Isgangdrang

c.775. Isgangdrang defeats Final Traditionalist Resistance (KoS p. 180)

Isgangdrang Dragonspeaker leads an army of people, dragonewts, wyrms and dragons against the last Orlanthi king, Orlmandan the Red who has invoked the greatest storm magic available. The dragon wins and the storms are inhaled by the monster king. The Orlanthi are slaughtered and devoured on the field of battle, and any traditional Orlanthi survivors go up round into the wilds.

“Youf” was the sound of Isgandrang’s victory calls over the lands of his rule, say some. Others say that, in the sky overhead, the rune of the sound appeared and burned itself into the eyes of everyone who saw it.

Wars with Slontos

Isgangdrang was actively engaged in combat along his southern border against raiders from Slontos.

780. Scholarly riots in Nochet, against God Learners. (GB pg. 22)

This is a recurring event, marking the struggle in Esrola and other coastal regions between the two empires.

782. Dagori Inkarth begins paying tribute to the EWF. (UL)

c.800. EWF in Sylila. The Golden Dragon Society is popular in Dara Happa. (TFS)

803. Obduran Assimilates the Absolute

(Wild Day, Stasis Week, Fire Season). Obduran the Flyer ascends to full, complete, and total dragon being. All winds in Glorantha stop entirely for one day. That period is exactly the time from Obduran’s becoming a true dragon in the world until the moment of his transcendence out of it.

818-825. Seven Hurricane Years in Slontos.

These are EWF attacks against the God Learners. (GB, pg. 22)

824. EWF explorations in Dorastor end in disaster. (TFS, DLoD)

826. Scholarly riots in Nochet, against God Learners. (GB pg. 22)

Third Council

826. Third council Established (GM).

The Dragon Ring was the ruling body, a band of twelve men and women each devoted to their particular Way of the Dragon that was Orlanthi-like in social structure and understanding, but different in its source of magic. Clans of people were still of primary importance, ant this vast Ring used methods handed down from ancestors about organizing tribes, temples and peoples. But instead of Orlanth and Ernalda the people worshipped dragons with sacrifices, wild dances and organized prayers (i.e.- theistically, animisticly and sorcerously) that prepared them to enter the mystical sects.

The ruling order organized all their subjects into a huge magico-political ritual. The effort was said to be to raise all of the membership of EWF to draconic consciousness and power. The earliest effects were to be to make the humans of Obduran’s council into dragons, who would lead the next ring of loyalists to the exalted state, and so on until all were absorbed into the Draconic Absolute.

Many people entered into this energetic pyramid scheme eagerly, and the draconic manifestations blossomed throughout the core areas. The transformation scheme began to work within a couple decades, with the first metamorphosis of Burin and Jagaran in 838.

However, dissent existed even in Dragon Pass and among the leaders themselves. Usdaros the Impatient (KoS 180) was one dissenter. They were at first only a tiny minority who abstained from the larger process, and at first ignored and later scorned by their fellows.

842. Battle of Derovan

A large army, augmented by many new magical forces, invaded form Slontos. The draconic leaders mustered an army and, when they noticed how powerful their opposition was, raised draconic forces. The two armies met in Esrolia outside of the city called Derovan. They city was destroyed in the magical battle that followed, and afterwards its ruins used to raise the great monument that is there now. The God Learner invaders used many new spells of great magnitude here that surprised even the dragon lords, but Lord Great Burin returned to help, and devoured enemy magic and vomited out his armies, all returned back to life. The invaders were crushed decisively. All their borderlands were plundered mercilessly and destroyed, whole tribes made slaves to lords in Dragon Pass. Huge tribute was exacted to cease the invasion, and was collected annually afterwards from them. The God Learners did not make another great move against the dragons again. (GB, pg. 22)

850. Dara Happa Conquered

The great and might Empire of Dara Happa became draconic when its Emperor was killed by elite members of the Golden Dragon Society. (TFS, pg. 36) Although the territory was claimed by the EWF it was always primarily an occupied territory, where traitors to the nation’s cause were raised to power because they followed the damnable wyrm lords. Resistance was constant in its rural areas and farther cities.

850. More Conquests

The presence of the EWF in Lakrene (DLoD) is part of a pattern of mopping up the regions that still resisted. Like Dara Happa, these were occupied territories.

865. EWF conquers Henjarl. (TFS)

The lands of unconquerable Alkoth are taken, and a siege of the city begun. A single ring of walls without gates is made up of dragons, dragon worshippers, dragon mystics, dragon parts and dragonewts that surrounds the green walls of hell. After two years of construction, it disappeared abruptly and appeared as a design etched upon the previously plain smooth walls of the city. The governor of Alkoth then surrendered to the Golden Dragon Emperor, was recognized for his place and returned home.

c.875. EWF at its “greatest extent.” (GM)

This guess is an earlier estimate, not quite right as can be seen from the next entry.

c.880. Alakoring Attains Fame

Alakoring was famous by this time as a successful foe against the dragonewts. At this date he is locally renown, and well placed for successive events.

878. Dara Happa falls to dragons/EWF. (TFS 39)

886. Scholarly riots in Nochet, against God Learners. (GB pg. 22).

889. Accelerated Dragon Worship begun

EWF orders/begins worship of the inner circle as gods. The theocracy accelerates their magico-political ritual to make them into dragons ahead of schedule. Many sacrifices are made. Everywhere within their network of power people are obliged to say a dragon chant each morning. Failure to do so meant expulsion from the organization.

890. Rebellion Against EWF

First members secede from the EWF (the aldryami of the Elder Wilds). Soon other regions break away as well (Brolia and Ralios). Alakoring rides these events to great success.

907. Two-year Winter. (GB, pg. 23)

In Dragon Pass the snow and ice stands for two full years. Stories say it was done by the Good Still Dragons, or that the Old Day Traditionalists struck back against the dragons, or that God Learners at last got their revenge. Maybe they worked together. The results were difficult for the Third Council to overcome, and it undoubtedly disrupted their original plan.

Dissent

At this time, dissent within the EWF becomes factionalized, never to again be a united organization.

907. Siege of Lylket Begun

Lylket, in southern Kethaela, was also called the Clanking City, made bad magic and many people sent forces to oppose and destroy it. Old Harandos commanded the motley First Watch.

910. Dara Happa Liberated (TFS 40)

Karvanyar slays the imperial Golden Dragon and leads a rebellion that drives the dragon folk from Dara Happa within seven years.

c.910. Alakoring comes to Aggar

The Great Leader came flying over the impassable Nidan Mountains, destroyed a wave of chaos that belched out of Dorastor to meet him and was received by cheering crowds of warriors who swore loyalty to him and then sacrificed to his god. Light armies fell before his storm, dragon armies fell before his battle and the tribes sent tribute and adventurers to him.

c.920. Three Armies Battle

The defenders were the EWF, and the other two were Alakoring and a Carmanian adventurer with a northern army. The night before the battle the defenders sacrificed to Drang the Diamond Storm Dragon. When battle began in the morning fortunes wavered until the screaming fire of Drang came down from the sky, falling like a burning star upon one wing of the Carmanians. Loss was horrible until Alakoring fought it hand to claw and wind to wind, and struck through its one weak place and killed it. The broken stone of the dragon still litters the “sparkling lands” of Aggar.

The victory was costly but decisive. Drang was as powerful an entity as the EWF could summon, and it had failed against the magic of Alakoring. The Carmanians had another weapon of their own, and the dragons could be beaten. Over the next 15 years, Alakoring leads the people of Saird in rebellion and sometimes even leads some peoples in Dragon Pass.

910-925. Dara Happa Expands

Dara Happa retakes all of its lands from the EWF control. A great army marches through Sylila to the Battle of Zelfield where the dragons are defeated. Other sources note that Carmanians were present and may have been both leaders and victors of this final phase. (TFS)

917. Windless Typhoon Year. (GB pg. 23)

This event devastated much of the Holy Country and Dragon Pass. No wind came, but the effect was exactly as if a hugely powerful typhoon had blown over the unprotected countryside. It was a spell effect and so most calculate that this was sent from the God Learners.

917. Steelfall Battle

Steelfall marks the end of the Clanking City, and the end of the ten-year Machine Wars. (KoS pg. 96) The last Watchlord was Herdred the Man. Critical to his success was (among others) Varantol the Mangler of the EWF.

c.920. Dark Learning Saga

Hachrat Blowhard, a worshipper of troll gods and Orlanth, razes the “EWF” university at Molorios. It is a dark tale for the Lhankor Mhy cultists, but a heroic victory for the Orlanthi.

925. Iddi Scorchbane

In the lands of Talastar, Anadiki, and Brolia the hero Iddi leads rebellions of the traditionalist hill tribe against the EWF. At last Scorch, a tremendous dragon, is provoked to attack them and falls to the magic of Iddi, who nonetheless dies in the fight.

c.927. Cosmic Shifting is forced

The EWF manipulations were, by this time, starting to take significant effect. Even the rebellions elsewhere did not seem to significantly slow their success. At this time they affected even the greater cosmos. Many local events were noted, such as the Walking Hills Week, the Redstone Event (where all black stones turned red for a week), the Ringing Days (with many strange sounds, among which the ringing of bells was prominent), the Green Air year and so on. Some events were widespread and prolonged, such as the Seven Sea Season Invasions; the Three Years of Tears; the Generation without Cabbages. One event noted world wide was that the planet called Wagon/Lokarnos began slowing down. All these were due at least in part to EWF manipulations of the world.

935. The Closing strikes Kethaela.

This was seen as a relief by most of the Third Council peoples. The seas had belonged to the God Learners, who landed armies wherever they wised, seized or built port cities where they wanted to, and who raided everywhere else. The Closing stopped that, but more significantly removed most outside support for Slontos, as had so often occurred before.

940. City of Pavis falls to the nomads.

The Third Council hardly takes notice.

c.940. Death of Alakoring

Sometime before 945 Alakoring was slain by the elf named Tobosta Greenbow. The elf performed a great ritual then fired an arrow that corrected a slight that had been put upon the elves.

947. The Gates of Hell

The EWF was able to muster forces for a successful attack, probably due to relief from the south. The counterattack strikes deep into Dara Happa and right to the gates of Alkoth. Many heroic fights occur there, but the city (once again) resists all assault.

c.960. Great King Verenmars

Verenemars becomes King of Saird in this year. He was an imperial son and chose this area because it was where conflict was mostly likely to occur. His customs were raised from ancient lore and he established a long dynasty. Saird was pacified within his time and hurt the EWF by its loss.

976. Trolls Wars

At this time many trolls are assisting rebels against the EWF.

Without Dragons

1042. Dragon Betrayal

Forces that were unknown to any human beings abruptly turned all naturally dragonic things and entities against the leadership of the EWF and their closest followers. In one night the dragonewts slew thousands of the key members of the Third Council. Afterwards no dragonewt aided humans and they all set strict restrictions against any humans entering designated lands.

Anarchy erupted in the power vacuum that resulted. A dozen and more people, backed by their cities and tribes and peoples; rose to control local affairs. Saird took advantage of it and annexed conquered territories.

1042. Trolls invade Dragon Pass. (UL)

Certainly the cooperation between the uz with the dragonewts was intentional. Uz from thousands of miles away came to help in this operation. The assassins of the Blue Moon Plateau are well known, but the winged uz from there were no less successful or surprising for the residents. Ice trolls, Halikiv and Ralios specialists also did their parts.

1042. “Pagadash the Conquerer destroys EWF”. (TFS)

Pagadash (of Carmania) is taking credit for the disaster that overcame his distant foes, unless his claims of making the magi perform their magic to do this are true.

1042. Lokarnos/Wagon ceases changing speed.

After this the planet takes approximately 198 days to cross the sky and the Underworld (instead of its original 20 days).

1051

Lokarnos/Wagon leaps across the sky one night without crossing the intervening space.

Afterwards, it begins moving normally again (at its current speed).

1100. True Golden Horde

The northern nations had long sought a chance to reclaim the booty of their ancestors that was hiding in the mountain kingdoms, collected by dragons but protected now only by savages and barbarians. Armies assembled under charismatic leaders, great priests and sorcerers blessed plunder hungry armies. Spirits and demigods came into life to help out. The True Golden Horde was the largest army and it arrived in Dragon Pass this year. Success was slow but the army moved in to continue for the next decade, continually reinforced by new waves for volunteers, prisoners and plunderers.

1120. Dragonkill

A million dragons come into Dragon Pass and exterminate all human life after Gordoro the Golden disturbs the eggs in the Dragon’s Eye. They exterminate all humans in Dragon Pass. Various small groups saved by heroes such as Bostanisos the Fang, Isidilian the Wise, etc.

1120 to c. 1320. Inhuman Occupation of Dragon Pass.

No humans inhabit the area, but non-humans thrive. Elves begin reforestation in the north. Trolls control the Pass at first, then begin to fight among themselves.

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