Map of tribes of central Heridoth
---------------------------------
Heridoth is a peninsula on the world of Joune from the Skyrealms of Jorune
role playing game.

The map tribes.tif of central and south western Heridoth was drawn by Mike
Tittensor as part of a Heridoth play by mail game run in England by Mike.
This particular map was included as part of the city of Koistra's results
for the 3418 PC turn. It is only part of a more complete map, but I (Owen
Smith, the player of Koistra) do not currently have access to it. It was
scanned by myself at 300 DPI in 24 bit colour and was then reduced to 8 bit
colour. Much digital editing was applied since the map was drawn on the back
of my main results sheet, and this showed through on the scan unfortunately.
After several hours of work, you can now only see one side of the paper.

The descriptive text below was written by myself when I sent a photocopy of
the map to Joe Coleman, the editor of Sholari fanzine. Apart from minor
editing and the addition of a section on Yod Valley, it appears as sent to
Joe.

The map and the descriptive text may be reproduced anywhere but as a matter
of courtesy please email me (owen.smith@net-tel.co.uk) and say what you
intend doing with it so I can keep Mike up to date.

Owen Smith (owen.smith@net-tel.co.uk)
20th August 1995


Comments on the tribes of central Heridoth
==========================================
The map is dated 3418, and number of changes took place between that date
and the end of the Heridoth PBM in 3423. These changes are described below
but the map has not been modified.

Most of the tribes are pure human. Muadra and boccord are very rare in these
tribes and the iscin races are unheard of. With small, superstitious tribes
all non-pure humans were driven out centuries/millenia ago and moved to the
more accepting coastal cities. Many of the central tribes are quite
primitive. The tribes were all NPCs under the control of Mike Tittensor
except where indicate otherwise by a player name.

Holy Terran Empire
------------------
This was founded as 4 electorates, Clun, Gwaelod, Elfael and Emlyn when the
Emlyn tribe under Banda the Fat conquered the other three tribes. Initially
pagan, but converted to Christianity by missionaries from Ellemin around the
time of their attacks on Koistra.

Koistra and Banda's new Empire fought each other to a standstill. (Player
note: I came very close to a victory the first year but a bad die roll and
my bad placement of reserves caused Drenn King Sharnax, my only decent
general, to be captured instead.) Probably either could have won a
protracted war, but neither could afford the price of winning. Koistra would
have plunged itself into long term economic chaos, and Banda would have had
to use the garrison troops from Clun, Gwaelod and Elfael and hence risked
losing them to an uprising. Banda had the edge in that he had Drenn King
Sharnax captive, so Koistra joined the Empire but under very favourable
terms compared to the other electorates. In particular Koistra kept its own
legal system, including inheritance laws, and the Empire cannot raise taxes
in Koistra. The other electorates have none of these benefits, and are
jealous of Koistra because of it. The Emlyn also had a natural anti Koistran
bias because they think they could have won the war. These animosities are
all fading with time though as the Empire stabilises. Koistra has since
gained the right to construct new defensive fortifications, which again the
other electorates are not allowed to. Also, Koistra got to keep and run its
own army in the original settlement, and is not garrisoned by Imperial
troops. The other electorates are a) garrisoned by the Emlyn and b) can't
raise their own armies.

Around this time, the Empire converted to christianity and signed a non
agression pact and mutual defence treaty with Ellemin. A couple of years of
bad harvests caused the Ardudwy tribe to raid Ellemin and the Emlyn for
food. Banda found this intolerable (not surprising) and set about adding
them to the Empire with Ellemin's help. In return for this help, Ellemin has
rights of access across the entire of the Ardudwy lands, giving it access to
the East cost of Heridoth north of York.

It then transpired that the Rhos tribe had in fact been a subject tribe of
the Ardudwy, so under feudal "law" Banda claimed them for the Empire. They
refused, and were invaded by the combined Imperial and Koistran army (which
Koistra didn't know about until ordered to march). The resistance of a tribe
of a few thousand crumbled in the face of a professional army as large as
the entire tribe. Not an arrow was fired nor a blow landed. A completely
bloodless invasion.

There is a Kim of the HTE. The ruler of each electorate is called the
Elector and sits on the Kim. The Kim has no formal power, but it would not
be wise for the Holy Terran Dharsage to ignore it overly. The dharsage sits
on it, of course, as Elector of the Emlyn. Additionally, an elector cannot
be denied access to the dharsage, a right which was used by Sharnax only
once before Banda's death. Electorates are heriditary, all except Koistra
using the standard system of males inheriting ahead of any females.

Emlyn
-----
Proud, noble, arrogant, overbearing, and secretly very afraid that
underneath they are still the savages that they remember their fathers
being. Portrayed by the Sholari as rather like the Normans in 1066. (From a
grotty duchy in northern France they suddenly took the entire of Saxon
England, together with the wealth and power that went with it. This made
them unbearably arrogant and aloof for a couple of generations, and it
wasn't until about 1200 that French became the ceremonial language of court
rather than the daily language.) They are the all conquering Emlyn and they
know it. Absolutely loyal to Dharsage Banda, they rule by the grace of God
and a bloody long sword.

Now that Banda is dead and his son David is on the throne, it remains to be
seen if the Empire will be the force it was. It was built by Banda's
brilliance on the battlefield (General 3), but David is only General 1 and
must rely on his father-in-law, Sharnax, for a good general (3). This has of
course increased Koistra's influence with the Empire - the wife of the
Dharsage is the heir to the Koistran throne and the best military mind in
the Empire is the Drenn King of Koistra. David doesn't like to show it, but
militarily the Emlyn are dependent on Koistra for brilliant leadership until
Sharnax also dies of old age.

The Imperial Palace is huge, grand, and very heavily fortified. It is said
to rival the dharsage palace in Ardoth.

Elfael
------
The Elector is from the Elfael tribe itself. He found himself in the middle
of a very lucrative trade route when the canal/river route to York was
opened, and he has exploited it. Bribes, piracy, attacks on merchants who
don't pay bribes, sabotage of bridges, the lot. In Sharnax's opinion, this
man is not fit to be an Elector and both Banda and David have been told
this. Relations between Koistra and Elfael are very strained at the moment.

Heridothian Canal
-----------------
The Koistran explorer, Drenn Charles Wilson (now Kesht Lord Wilson)
discovered a huge river (the Kyis - see Companion Burdoth) when the interior
of the Empire was opened to Koistra. He organised an expedition, and after a
season's worth of hard slog and losing half his team he emerged in York, the
first man ever to cross Heridoth by land. The river has since been developed
into a navigable route for trade. When you get to Elfael, you have the
choice of going overland to either Koistra or Ellemin. The most common route
is to trade from Ardoth to York through Koistra, and then trade from York
south to Anasan or east to Dobre. Koistran merchants are losing out heavily
on the trade route due to the corrupt practices of the Yorkni merchants and
government and the Elfael elector, coupled with targetted espionage by the
York government. The next stage seems to be a trade war between Ellemin and
York merchants. Meanwhile, the Koistran Klades are not happy and the
government is obliged to do something.

Tourists or foreign tauther will be aware of little or none of this, and
will simply be aware that after the hard overland slog over the Sommint
Mountains, the river portion of the trip is very relaxing and a nice way to
travel.

Clun
----
Again the Elector is from the clun tribe itself. Caer Clun (a castle)
predates the Empire and is garrisoned by Imperial troops to make sure the
Clun don't get any ideas. The Clun tribe are rather insular and avoid
strangers. The youngest child of Sharnax, Drenn Prince Jansor, is married to
the Clun Elector's daughter Francisca. Koistra hence has good relations with
Clun. Francisca has an elder brother Francis.

Gwaelod
-------
Orignally ruled by Sage Tathal, hence the name Tathal's Palace. The map is
misleading - the white palace is on the cliffs and overlooks the sea. In
good weather trade ships between Koistra and Ardoth can use it as a
landmark. Tathal's wife, Drenn Queen Norien, was also a landed Koistran
noble in her own right. (Quite why the wife of a Sage is a Queen eludes me.)
Thus she appealed to Koistra when she and her husband were ousted by Banda.
Koistra was virtually under attack by Banda anyway, so the plea was rather
unnecessary. Anyway, Koistra lost, but as part of the deal Sharnax was able
to secure a gaurantee of Tathal's safety providing he relinquished all claim
to his lands, which he did. He now lives quietly with his wife on her estate
in Koistra, although he still calls himself Sage.

Banda originally assigned the electorate of Gwaelod as a non-hereditary
holding to Crown Prince David. This was for him to gain experience of
running something and it made sense. However, on Banda's death David
assigned Gwaelod to his own son Richard, currently 4 years old (3423). This
fooled no-one, and basically means Gwaelod is under direct Imperial control
so David can get more money. It is an abuse of the Electorate system,
everyone knows it, and most don't like it. Banda always intended Gwaelod to
be available as a hereditary holding for David to reward a faithful friend
with on Banda's death.

Koistran influence in Gwaelod is moderate, and at two levels. First of all
the ordinary people view Koistra favourably due to the old connections
through Drenn Queen Norien. Then Keshtia Princess Alissandria spent time
there as David's wife, and she spent rather more time looking at the needs
of the people than David did. She built a church and instigated schooling,
he built a new palace not far from Tathal's. This is a perfect capsule view
of the difference in approach between the Emlyn nobility and the Koistran
Royal Family. The palace in the city of Koistra is old (but well maintained)
and its fortifications out of date, but the royal coffers are not infinite
and while the Koistran Royal Palace continues to be good enough for its
purpose the money will be spent on other things. Ironically, Tathal's old
palace with its shining white walls on the hilltop is commonly regarded as
much prettier than the new one. Even more ironically, there is now no-one to
live in either with David in the Imperial capital. If David and Alissandra
visit together, they stay in the new palace. If Alissandra visits on her own
she uses Tathal's palace. It's small size and age make it feel like home,
whereas the new palace is uncomfortable to her.

Ardudwy
-------
The Ardudwy tribe are (or rather were) best stone masons in Heridoth. Caer
Fisher is monstrous. It is by far the biggest and strongest fortification in
Heridoth, and it has never been taken in battle. The Empire took the Ardudwy
by beseiging the castle in Auss, harvesting the Ardudwy durlig and carting
it away, and then leaving as the Crith snows set in. Half of the Ardudwy
tribe died of starvation during Crith and the other half left as early in
Eris as they could for refugee camps set up by York. Their leader, Crystal
Scragger, pledged undying allegiance to York. York didn't want them, and the
HTE needed peasants to work the fields. However, the Ardudwy tribe would not
return home. York therefore shipped them all out to an island somewhere
towards Dobre, the theory being that as a previously land-locked tribe if
York gave them only fishing boats, York could control the tribes' movements
on and off the island.

Meanwhile, the HTE had vacant land. To gain a nobility, land grants in the
Ardudwy electorate were given to second sons and other notables of Koistran
and Emlyn families. Koistrans got only 19% of the land, but it's better than
nothing. These families, although of Koistran descent, are now technically
Ardudwy nobility with Imperial male first inheritance laws and no Drenn
status needed. They don't like it, and many of them are still pursuing Drenn
at the Koistran Drenn guild. Drenn King Sharnax's eldest brother, Drenn
Prince Wilfred, is the most prominent Koistran with lands in the Ardudwy.
Sharnax proposed him as Elector, which would have increased Koistra's
influence considerably. Banda had other ideas and on his death bed awarded
it to Panda the Oleous (oily one), his right hand man for many years.

For peasants to work the Ardudwy land, the HTE bought a careful selection of
compatible slaves from Thantier, gave them homes and livelihoods and set
them free. Almost all of them have stayed, since they are much better off
than they were in Thantier. Some have started sending for their families and
friends, sometimes purchasing them out of slavery from savings. The new
Ardudwy peasants were outraged when the HTE was accused of enslaving the old
Ardudwy tribe by Dobre - the new Ardudwy value their freedom now that they
have it and are very grateful and loyal to the people that gave them their
freedom. Anti dobren sentiment is thus running high in the Ardudwy.

Rhos
----
The smallest Electorate, and a prime site for crystal mines. Some say that
this is why Banda invaded, rather than the tenuous claims about fealty to
the Ardudwy tribe. The Rhos tribe themselves have stayed to make the best of
the new regime. The elector is one of Banda's favourite Emlyn generals,
retired there in recognition of his work. He maintains troops, but they are
Imperial and hence count as the Rhos garrison troops. The elector is a
staunch no-nonsense man in the mould of Banda, and Sharnax respects him
greatly. The elector bargained hard on the deal for Koistra to prospect for
and operate a crystal mine, but he bargained fairly and since he has given
his word he will not muck about like the Elfael elector. To men like Banda
and the Rhos Elector, an Emlyn noble's word is binding, and it is the spirit
of the agreement not the letter of it that will be kept. These men would
rather die than suffer the dishonour of breaking their word.

Iscoed
------
A tribe of three thousand independent Trarch. There were six thousand of
them, until they attacked Ellemin for food one year. Ellemin defended itself
admirably, and the tribe was halved in number. Ellemin has told the Iscoed
tribe in no uncertain terms that if they attack again Ellemin will defend
itself. If on the other hand they would like to trade for food rather than
raiding their neighbours, they are welcome to come and trade in Ellemin. So
far this rather mature approach by Ellemin has actually worked, suprisingly.
The trarch aren't afraid of Ellemin, but they know that due to the
agreements with the HTE if they attacked Ellemin again the HTE could
legitimately invade them and make them part of the Empire. With the choice
of Shanthas and corondon in the Alligre forest, Ellemin or the Empire itself
to attack, the Trarch have suddenly become much more peaceful. If they tried
anything and chose to fight, they'd be wiped off the face of the map.

Elcrellia Empire
----------------
An islamic style theocracy, the Elcrellia Empire united a range of small
islamic mountain tribes. Elcrellia was then attacked by the combined forces
of Yod and Korrid. Korrid was victorious, but strangely the Sage of Yod died
on the battle field shortly after his marriage to Lady Ryllin of Korrid.

Then, after years of antagonism, the Pan Tahsian army attacked from Meard
and took Korrid. The rulers of Korrid and 20,000 loyal subjects fled and set
up power in Yod. There they rode out a minor revolt, and then secured the
Elcrellians in return for promising them religious freedom. This is only the
bulk of Elcrellia however, and the mountain tribes have become independent.
In particular most of the Elcrellia "pseudo-pod" reaching north-east on the
map towards York is now independent.

For the last two years, the loyal Korridians have tried to retake Korrid
from Pan Tahsia and failed. Meanwhile Korrid itself is a battle ground and
the people suffer. Additionally, Yod and Elcrellia are cut off from the
outside world except down the Heridothian Canal or via the difficult route
on the southern plains.

The loyal Korridians were played by Jim Chapman. Pan Tahsia was played by
Dominic Green.

Yod Valley
----------
Yod was very isolated for millenia, being surrounded on all sides by
mountains, difficult terrain and hostile hill tribes. After years of trying,
Korrid punched through the hill tribes and established friendly relations
with Yod, not to mention a monopoly on all trade. Then York, Koistra and
the Holy Terran Empire developed the river Kyis as a trade route. Initially
this didn't help, until the turmoil in Elcrellia resulted in the loss of the
north western tribes. This allowed traders through from the river Kyis to
Yod Valley, bypassing the war zone in Korrid.

Yod was traditionally ruled by a Sage until taken over by Korrid. Yod had a
rigid caste system that caused problems when trying to develop. The Sage
tried to introduced an Artisan caste to mitigate the problem but this
failed. Alhough the loyal Korridians are now in charge, the original people
of Yod still stick to their castes and mourn their sage.

Arfon
-----
A small tribe, about which only two things are known: 1) they are nomadic,
2) they were recently enslaved by the brutal Cemaes tribe. The Dobrens tried
to free the Arfon tribe, but failed because they couldn't find either tribe.
Bronth do not travel quickly, and human nomad tribes with good scouts can
run rings round them.

Cemaes
------
A nomadic pagan tribe with active pagan missionaries and brutal enslavement
of the Arfon tribe. Lead by a beautiful but harsh woman called Scalpel (some
people have no imagination). The Cemaes tribe strongly influenced Holy
Terran Empire politics by sending pagan missionaries into the southern
electorates.

The Cemaes tribe was played by Nick Hornigold.

Leyn
----
Originally allies of the Holy Terran Empire and partly converted to
Christianity, they have recently been targetted heavily with pagan
missionaries by the Cemeas tribe. There are some superb light infantry units
among the Leyn tribe. More civilised than many of the other southern plains
tribes, but this is moving backwards under the influence of the pagan
missionaries.

Mairamin
--------
Heridoth's ruined city. There is a colony of scath salamanders here. Strange
lights are seen at night by merchants both on the road and out at sea. Huge
deep wells were found once by Sholis and Koistra, but they seem to have
closed up since and the land around where they should be is all subtley out
of place. Shanthas have been seen in Mairamin. More recently, a Koistran
explorer, Drenn Adam Philpotts, found a small temple with wall paintings
depicting lights coming up from out of the ground. Eventually, he discovered
a fitted stone which could be lifted up, revealing stone steps down and a
sea breeze.

Returning next year, Philpotts descended with a team of explorers. They were
never heard from again, until a year later when their bodies were eventually
found on the surface by Sholian explorers. They had been on the surface for
some time, yet were not decayed. The bodies seemed to have been drained of
all blood. While the Sholians were blundering around on the surface, Kesht
Wilson went underground to hunt for Philpotts. He found huge caverns, with
shanthic and human bodies laid to rest side by side in crystal coffins.
Shanthic artifacts lay all around, and they started gathering them. Then,
they were attacked by nine foot tall monstrosities known as Shamers in old
wives' tales. They fled for their lives and escaped with considerable loot.
Kesht Lord Wilson now carries a shanthic sword, and the Koistran iscin
college has recently deciphered shanthic texts including the isho portion.
With the help of the texts they are now researching some of the artifacts
brought back by Wilson. The most useful is a Sarceen which teaches spoken
Shanthic at Experienced. This is closely guarded, although it's utility is
limited since it can't realistically teach the isho component to non-caji.

Koistra
-------
A fully walled city, like most of the Heridothian coastal cities. As well as
the city, there are enough rural and border fortifications for all of the
rural population to shelter in. Also heavily fortified are the spice and
limilate producing islands of Dosoi and Curili. Koistra has claimed these
since 3412, when it took them from the native croid in Drenn King Sharnax's
famous Backwards Battle.

The convent on the Emlyn border is Koistran, and is dedicated to Drenn St.
Hilary. There is also a school wing for both Koistran and Emlyn children.
The monastery within Clun lands is also oddly Koistran. This monastery,
despite being founded only recently, grows terran wheat and sells terran
vine wines. Many people would love to know where the stocks to start these
operations up came from, but no-one seems be telling. The only rumour is, as
usual, Mairamin.

Note that the Holy Terran Empire relies on Koistra for many things. The
Archbishop of southern Heridoth and the Sobayid is based in the Koistran
cathedral. This also includes the Bishoprics of Ardoth and Gauss Valley,
although these two bishoprics are virtually under siege by the non
christians in the area. Koistra has the only Enclep, Iscin college, Port,
Naval dockyard, Theatre, Coloseum etc. in the Empire. The Imperial capital
is flashy, but if you want real culture, advanced education or a decent
hospital, get yourself to Koistra. The archbishopric is particularly
significant - the Holy Terran Dharsage of Heridoth (Banda and then David) is
crowned first in Anasan by the Patriarch and then in the cathedral in
Koistra by the archbishop, a Koistran nobleman. The heart and soul of the
Empire is in the Emlyn lands, but the brains, industry and international
status are in Koistra. Koistra has both an Ardothian Embassy and a Dobren
embassy, the Imperial capital has neither. Koistra also has its own
embassies in Ardoth and the Dobren capital. It is the only city in Heridoth
with embassies in Ardoth or Dobre or indeed anywhere else. The Sholari's
predicted long term trend was for various functions to gradually drift over
to Koistra until the capital itself did in the end.

Koistra has some earth-tec, although not much. Keshtia Princess Alissandra
has a laser pistol given to her by Sharnax when she reached Keshtia. Where
Sharnax got it from is not widely known, but he was not seen with it until
some time after his father died. Koistra's other earth-tec is more
intriguing, rumoured to have come from either Mairamin or as a gift from
Ardoth (of all places). It is some earth-tec music reproduction equipment
and a sizable collection of classical music. This is guarded more heavily
than the crown jewels. The koistrans are slowly transcribing the music and
then arranging it for the rather limited range of Joruni instruments. They
are also trying to build some of the instruments that Jorune is missing,
mostly reed and brass. They have already had a spectacular success with
their organs, and have transcribed many fine pieces. (Note that there is
plenty of evidence for the Romans having quite sophisticated pipe organs,
and we have detailed plans for the ninth century organ in Winchester
Cathedral. Organs can thus be built with quite primitive technology.)

Sholis
------
Deserves a mention if only for the number of roads it has on the map. The
circus government decided Sholis must have a road network and so built one.
The fact that all roads lead to Sholis and nowhere else has made it a bit of
a joke. However, it has made collecting the durlig harvest easier. On the
roads, there are bochigon service areas and Happy Beagre restaurants at
frequent intervals. The fact that neither Sholis, Koistra nor Ellemin has
any bochigon doesn't seem to matter.

There are many wild flowers in Sholis. The old circus government decided
that the durlig fields must look pretty, and so had the roads and all the
fields planted with borders of pretty flowers. The flowers are not
maintained now, but so many were planted that they have gone wild in many
areas. This produces a riot of colour in Eris when they are in bloom.