The Devil's Soup Bowl

Gloranthan Folk Tales

Gloranthan Songbook

Moonie Madness

Carmanian Sources

Malkioni Scriptures

The world was upside-down and inside-out. The sky was full of darkness, the waters spilled over the earth, and the only fire that burned was in the underworld. The eternal Laws that had stood atop Fire Mountain, at the centre of everything, had been shattered and scattered, flung to the far corners of the cosmos. And the Outer Void, that should dwell beyond the edges of the world, was at the heart of Prax.

The Old Gods were dead, and the Young Gods not yet born. Tada lay beneath his High Tumulus, and Waha in the womb of Mother Eiritha, deep below the Paps. The mighty Storm Buck was off fighting Chaos where it should dwell, beyond the edges of the world -- for even the mighty Rage Bellower did not yet know that Chaos had come to the centre of everything.

The heart of the world was a bubbling pit of ooze; fetid and slimy, evil and malodorous, the Devil's Soup Bowl. It sat within the crater of dead Fire Mountain, and sent forth its foulness to conquer and contaminate all of the clean world of Prax.

Darkness-on-High saw the evil, and called out for help. Water-over-Earth heeded the danger, and rushed to drown it. Earth-above-Fire raised ramparts to contain it. And Fire-under-All sent its heat back to the dead Fire Mountain, to battle the Chaos. Fire heated Water in the Darkness of the Earth, and the Geyser came. The Four Elements blasted out the Chaos that seethed in the Devil's Soup Bowl. There was a towering pillar of steam, and a great scream, louder than a thousand stuck Impalas.

Even where he battled at the edge of the world, the mighty Rage Bellower could hear it -- and we all know how hard it is to make him hear anything when his Rage is upon him! He rushed inwards to do battle with the Chaos that had come to the clean heart of Prax, and had been thrown out by the Elements.

Storm Buck battled with the Devil, and crushed him beneath the Block. This much, everyone knows. But only here, in Moonbroth, do we know that this is where the world was changed. This place, at the heart of Prax, is where the Universe can right itself, even if nature is turned upside-down and inside-out by Evil.

And, ten years ago, we saw this proven once again: when the armies of the Great Red Queen came to our clean world of Prax, armed with the Four Young Elements, and blasted out the filthy Cattle Bastards (spit) who herded Cows (sneer) and rode on the unclean Horse (retch). The Great Red Army cast these unnatural scum out from Moonbroth and onto the Plaines of Prax, where we Sons of the Sable can hunt them down and kill them at our leisure! All Praise the Mighty Storm Buck; All Hail the Reaching Moon!

Storm Buck is, of course, the name by which Storm Bull is known among the Sable Tribe (just as the Morokanth worship the mighty Storm Bloke). War-cries of the Buck's worshippers include "You can't pass the Buck!" and "The Buck stops here!", references to their cult's role in standing firm against Chaos where others might flee.

For more on Moonbroth Oasis, see the article by myself and Malcolm Serabian in issue 15 of Tales of the Reaching Moon.