Now that we know where the Yelmalio cultists are, let’s look at some ballpark numbers for the Seven Mothers in Sartar.
Seven Mothers cult numbers
- Boldhome 900
- Alda-Chur 500
- Other Cities 900
- Dinacoli 500
- Dundealos 500
- Princeros 500
- Vantaros 500
- Other Tribes 1200 (total)
These numbers are very approximate, and might actually be +/- 100 or so.
But with that caveat, we can see that the other cities have about 225 Seven Mothers cultists each, which is enough for a minor temple. The average tribe has only about 60 cultists each, which is not even enough for a shrine.
It seems likely that after the Dragonrise, a network of “hidden” Seven Mothers temples will develop. Some of these numbers will decline, especially in the rural tribes. But the larger groups will likely be pretty stable or even grow a little bit.
What about the Wulfsland & Stonegate folks? Wulfsland is gone. They fled. That was a military colony and it fled soon after the Dragonrise. Once he understood the scale of the disaster, Jomes Wulf could see that he’d need to retreat to more defensible areas. So he pulled up his colonists and withdrew to Alda-Chur about the time Fazzur showed up. Jomes is no idiot. If he remained, the Telmori would come for vengeance. And now there is no army to reinforce him and likely no friendly tribes.
Again, you can see that this creates some interesting stories. And in those Far Place tribes, the Seven Mothers cultists are a significant block. They aren’t a majority of any tribe, but they are numerous enough that they can’t just be suppressed or ignored.
What’s it like for Lunar travellers entering the region? Will they be actively harassed? Will they need to travel by stealth? Traders on the Royal Roads will of course be protected by the Issaries cult. The Prince upholds the laws of Sartar and guarantees their neutrality. At least a good Prince is expected to do this. It is possible that Kallyr Starbrow does not do this very well, and all bets are off during the Interregnum.
It is VERY IMPORTANT to Princes that anyone can travel on the royal roads unmolested. That means more caravans which means more revenue. And attacking ANYONE on the royal road is an attack against the Prince.
While the invasion of 1602 is very memorable. And the Orlanthi are very passionate about avenging it, just as the Greeks were very passionate about avenging the Persian Wars. But killing Lunars indiscriminately is not considered vengeance.
Weren’t the Dundealos broken up by the empire? The Dundealos fled to the Pol-Joni March. They are back in force. But there are settlers there from Aggar that survived the Dragonrise.
The Enstalos settlers who took the Dundealos’ land, have they been absorbed by them – are they thrall or equals? They have had to submit to the Dundealos/Pol-Joni. They are “half-free”.