Skip to content
The Well of Daliath
Menu
Menu

Sheng Seleris – a Pentan version

Posted on October 2, 2022

So let’s look a little bit at Sheng Seleris. He’s almost always presented as a villain, but that’s also because our sources are Lunar or Kralorelan.

Let’s try to think of the Pentan version of this tale!

Sheng Seleris was the greatest Horse Emperor ever. His entire reign can be viewed as giant ashvamedha horse sacrifice – one ultimately blocked and defeated by the Red Emperor. Sheng Seleris was Yelm, Govmeran, Yu-Kargzant, HeenMaroun, all made manifest. He was the Returned Sun – the Lunars like to call Sheng Seleris the Red Emperor’s Shadow, but it might be more accurate to call the Red Emperor the Shadow of Sheng Seleris!

Normally the Red Emperor overpowers his foes with raw power, ruthlessness, and pure destructive power – the Crimson Bat, the Crater Makers, the Moonburn, are all examples. But Sheng Seleris was more than a match for the Red Emperor in all of these categories. We hear the Lunar story as that is what is recorded in the Redline Histories, but the horrors the Red Emperor tried to unleash on Sheng Seleris goes unrecorded. Indeed, many enemies of the Red Moon loved Sheng Seleris precisely because he was willing to be every bit as ruthless as the Red Emperor.

The base of Sheng Seleris’ power was his tribes of horsemen who had once grazed their herds on the grasslands of Peloria – is it surprising that he rewarded his followers by returning the grasslands of Peloria to him? Sheng Seleris made use of many locals in Kralorela, Peloria, and Teshnos, particularly those belonging to Celestial cults (Yelm, Polaris, Shargash-Tolat, etc.). He accepted/promoted a school of Illumination (later suppressed by the Red Emperor). He made use of Praxians, Dara Happans, and others. He was brutal, no doubt, but more in the style of Timur – hated by his foes, loved by his supporters.

Now I present this not to whitewash Sheng Seleris but to remind folk that even his tale is not so straightforward. Sheng Seleris represented all that which had been usurped by the Red Goddess and her dynasty – the Imperial Light of Yelm, the Golden Empire. It is easy to see that if Orlanth needed to resurrect Dead Yelm to restore the cosmos, then Argrath needed to resurrect dead Sheng Seleris to restore the world.

By all rights, it should have worked. That it didn’t may have dispelled the final illusion that mortals could be freed of the Gods War by following in the path of the gods. If the world was to be saved, the relationship between mortals and gods needed to be changed.

Source, Wikimedia commons

Jeff Richard

Next
Previous
Sheng Seleris

Sections

  • Search Tips
  • Current RuneQuest Glorantha Publications
  • RuneQuest Glorantha Corrections and Q&A
  • Catalogue
  • References for Glorantha
    • Gloranthan Canon
  • Gloranthan Documents
  • RPG Systems & Versions
  • Gallery
  • Role-playing in Glorantha
  • About This Site
  • Get involved!

Latest Posts

  • Sartar’s Transformation of the Economy

    One of the most remarkable transformations that Sartar made is …
  • The View From Boldhome, circa 1627

    Argrath was acclaimed Prince on Day 88 of 1627. Several …
  • Wolf Pirates 1625-1627

    Harrek the Berserk and his Wolf Pirates cast a looming …
  • Interacting with the Hero Plane

    Most cults limit their interaction with the Hero Plane to …
  • Notes on the Hero Wars

    As we think about the RuneQuest setting for 1621-1655, there’s …
  • Dragon Pass Dragonewt population

    A rough breakdown of the dragonewt population in Dragon Pass, …
  • Notes on King Blackmoor

    From 1615-1625, the Colymar tribe was ruled by Kangharl son …
  • Genertelan Worldview

    The first set of Cults books – Mythology, Lightbringers, Earth …
  • Spirit Cult Example

    Here’s an example of a strange little spirit cult (or …

Links

  • Chaosium
  • Glorantha on BRP Central
  • RuneQuest on BRP Central
  • RuneQuest Glorantha on MeWe
  • Glorantha Wiki on Fandom
  • Prince of Sartar Webcomic
  • Glorantha G+ Archives on Tapatalk
  • Search mailing list archive

Latest from BRP Central

  • Sorcerer Stats
  • Time required to learn spirit magic
  • Disadvantages of Becoming a Shaman- Obligations to Tribe/Cult
  • Ancestor Worship and Daka Fal
  • Telmori wolf brother/fireblade clarification
  • Glorantha game Six Ages 2 nominated for three Pocket Gamer Awards, including Mobile Game of the Year
  • Any Info on Twilight/Nightlight?
  • Visions of Myth
  • The God Learners Episode 28: Gloranthan Freeforms, with David Hall & Kevin Jacklin
  • Monty Python Pestilence - Exodus Plagues

Popular Tags

2008 Bestiary Boldhome (large city) Chaosium Cult demographics Cults of Runequest (preview) Doraddi pantheon Ernalda Esrolia (homeland) Fonritian pantheon FR G+ post Greg Stafford Guide to Glorantha (preview) Hsunchen pantheon Humakt Issaries Jar-eel Kralorelan pantheon Lunar Empire Lunar Pantheon Magazine Malkioni pantheon Map Maps Michael O’Brien Mongoose Nochet (metropolis) Nomad Gods Orlanth Orlanthi pantheon Photo reference Population demographics Prax (homeland) Praxian pantheon RQ3 RQG Sandy Petersen Sartar (homeland) Spirit Cult Subcult Troll Pantheon Yelm Yelmalio Yelm Pantheon

Recently added or updated

  • CHA4028 RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha – Chapter 16 Sorcery Q&A

  • Sartar’s Transformation of the Economy

  • Wolf Pirates 1625-1627

  • CHA4038 The Pegasus Plateau & Other Stories (2020)

  • The View From Boldhome, circa 1627

  • CHA4036 RuneQuest Weapons and Equipment Q&A

  • What is the Third Age History of the Sun Dome Temple in Sartar (2008)

  • Breakout #34 (1989)(AU)

  • AH8574 Human Adventurer Sheets (Box 2 – 1985)

  • AH8575 Non-human Adventurer Sheets (Box 3 – 1985)

  • AH8573 Monster Coliseum (Box 1 – 1985)

  • Wolf Pirates

  • Le Maître des Runes (1988)(FR)

  • CHA4028 RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha – Chapter 12 Rune Cults Q&A

  • CHA4029 RuneQuest Gamemaster Screen Pack – Q&A

  • CHA4039 The Smoking Ruin and other Stories – Q&A

  • CHA4038 The Pegasus Plateau & Other Stories – Q&A

  • CHA4034 Red Book of Magic – Chapter 03 Spirit Magic Spells Q&A

  • Interacting with the Hero Plane

  • Petersen Games

©2023 The Well of Daliath | Design: Newspaperly WordPress Theme