Acutus, Prefect of the Mother's Guard

	Reaching Moon Megacorp's Life of Moonson Acutus Prefect of the Mother's Guard	Age: 39 Career: Prefect of the Mother's Guard Religion: Shargash Culture: Dara Happan Disposition: Tough and fearless
Return to Home Page Gloranthan Folk Tales Gloranthan Songbook Moonie Madness Life of Moonson Carmanian Sources Malkioni Scriptures	You were born in Red Fish, eldest son of Yelphilius Tysor. Your family, the Tysor-Genisti, had long ago sold its villas and servants, but it still kept the shrines of your noble Dara Happan ancestors. They had converted enthusiastically to the Red Goddess, and supported her son's conquests. One, Felzias Tysor, was appointed Satrap of Karasal. Your family's fortune lasted until the satrap was killed in the Nights of Horror. The Emperor appointed the barbarian Rastari-ining Satraps instead. The heir to the Tysor-genisti squandered almost everything in the Infinite party of Glamour. The family's fortunes steadily declined over the century. When you were born they had reached their lowest ebb. From your childhood, you remember the soldiers of Ignifer in the street, driving out the proxies, the triumphs as the armies returned victorious from the wars of Dragon Pass. You had to be a soldier. You practised with wooden weapons and exercised in the public gymnasia. When you came of age, your mother revealed to you, sadly, that there was no money to buy you a commission. Filled with rage and frustration, you pledged yourself to Shargash the Thunderer at his temple in Alkoth. You were trained to be a Gladiator in his Amphitheatre. Your Career as a Prize-fighter was glorious. At your prime perhaps only Harrek the Barbarian could have beaten you. Your title bout with Platewalker the Lycanthrope is the stuff of legends. Your big break came when you fought the Tentacled Gladiator in Monster Coliseum. The Emperor himself witnessed you dispatch the previously undefeated champion and awarded you with a place in his bodyguard. For some this would have been the height of ambition, but you aspired to higher things. As a bodyguard, you overheard Var-Eel, Satrap of Oronin, muttering about the Imperial Staff of Justice which he desperately needed to borrow. You offered to obtain it for him in return for a commission as triarch of the Mothers Guard, then in the hereditary gift of his clan. He agreed, and you lifted it out of one of the store-rooms in the City of Dreams. You felt sure that the emperor would not miss it, as indeed he has not. As triarch, you challenged your commanding officer to a duel of honour, then stepped into his shoes as Prefect. As leader of the Garrison of Glamour you have many advantages. At first you used of your power to rough up the low lives of the city. Pleasant though this was, you realised that nothing would remove these problems for ever. Instead you made clear to the gangs, to the corrupt senators, the criminal underworld that the Mother's Guard were the true rulers in the city. Your men were to receive a cut of every dishonest transaction. In return a blind eye would be turned and a certain amount of protection offered. If not, you would respond swiftly with brutality and the full weight of the law. This has worked well, producing the superficially law-abiding city which so impresses the visitors. It gives you and your men the respect and standard of living you deserve. Unfortunately, it has brought you to the notice of the Imperial Spy master, Jubba the Hood, who holds incriminating evidence against you. Occasionally now he will ask you for information, with the veiled threat of disclosure if this is not forth-coming. You have to co-operate for the time-being to maintain your position. Recently, you have started training to make your come-back in the Arena, at the moment masked under the name of "Hunter". It was in your Hunter guise that you made the aquaintance of the beautiful Ul-Rika, the Still Voice of Molanni. You and she have had a torrid and passionate affair over these past few seasons. however, she insists on you being discrete because of her fiancee Count Julan (who she says is a cold and emotionless prig who she is obligated by her family to marry). A few weeks ago Ul-Rika left a scroll with all of the secret Moonboat landing codes at your villa. You have quietly had it copied by an old Spolian magus you know (though he took a devil of a time to do it) and you will need to return it to her soon to avoid suspicion. The codes may come in useful.	Background The Dara Happan Tripolis You are descended from the divine rulers of the antediluvian Dara Happan Tripolis. This state was founded by the Sun-God, Imperial Yelm, and has a continuous history stretching back over a hundred thousand years. The ancient ways of nobility and rulership are innate in you, and you won't let anybody forget it - especially not the parvenu commoners who now think to take a share in the government of the Empire! Naturally, these new-fangled Lunars (whose religion is scarcely four hundred years old) depend on the accumulated wisdom and institutions of old Dara Happa. By displacing your adherence to the ancestral traditions, you prove yourself worthy to participate in the politics of Empire. All civilised values ultimately stem from old ways of the Sun-God. Shargash You are a devotee of Shargash, the terrifying War-God of Dara Happa. Shargash was a son of Yelm, called down from heaven when the Sun was slain. Shargash was filled with insatiable hunger for justice. He defeated Umath, but would not cease destruction till all who opposed the divine order were slain. He reigned a thousand years until at last he destroyed the whole world by purifying fire. He died bringing order to Glorantha. Shargash was the first sun god to return from the dead, so his worshippers have no fear of death. Lest he destroy the world anew, he is bound beneath the great Amphitheatre of Alkoth. Here his hunger is fed by the gladiators. The Red Emperor has confirmed his position as War-God and defender of Dara Happa. Worship of Shargash is primitive and savage, with howling, bellowing and scarification the common prayers. The Imperial Lunar Army You have followed a career in the Lunar Army. For young men and women of good standing entry to the army is made via the Yanafal Tarnil's Office Corps. After a probationary period officers are assigned junior officer positions in Lunar regiments and to the general staff. They then rise through a hierarchy of positions until they finally gain the Captaincy of a regiment. Patronage plays an important part in an officer's progress. A few lucky Captains may be posted to the Staff College of Polaris, and from there enter the General Staff as Comrade Generals of the Army. The head of the Lunar Army is General Bellex Maximus, the premier warrior and general of the Lunar Way.
	Objectives Personal Get back the Salt Diamond. Establish your clans claim to the Satrapy of Karasal and oust that slimy usurper al-Rastari. Your younger brother, Yokannos Tysor, was sold into slavery on trumped up charges of defaulting on debts. You must free him. Informers hint that a senior government official was responsible. Of course, he or she will have to be punished. Increase your PR by getting a high appointment. But do not relinquish your control of the Mothers Guard. Continue your passionate affair with Ul-Rika. Convince her that your star and hers should ally, and thus rise together. Career Keep order in Glamour. March through the city noisily every hour. Throw you weight around, and let these visitors know who is the boss in this city. Most of the dignitaries here are really powerful enough to ignore you, but you don't have to let them know that. You are available for hire as a private body-guard for the course of the ceremonies. Make sure that you are paid well for the task if you can get it. You need 10 influence from the Military Budget to pay the Mother's Guard. You must pay this to the CPS Director before the beginning of Windsday. Put in your claim to Beatpot Aelwrin before the Presidium decides on the Budget. If the opportunity arises, sell the Empire to the Highest bidder. Through the Wars of the Proxies, the Mother's Guard was unshakeably loyal to the True Emperor. While others followed proxies and pretenders, the Mother's Guard chose the rightful Emperor and stuck by him. The Prefect and men would always know him as the true Moonson recognised their loyalty by generous donatives of Imperials. The claimant who paid the most was without a doubt the true emperor! Religious Fight a Gladiatorial contest for the glory of Shargash. Your current alias is the mysterious Hunter. Organise the sacrifice of innocent victims in the gladiatorial arena to further appease Shargash. Have Moonson declare next year to be a Golden Moon year.	Who You Know Personal Acquaintances Jubba the Hood, Head of the Spoken Word: you are forced to inform for this evil little man. Ul-Rika, the Still Voice of Molanni: your lovely girlfriend, and just the sort you want to be seen with on your arm. However, she insists on having a "discreet" relationship. She is in charge of weather-control in the Empire and very ambitious to move on and gain more political power - a girl after your own heart. Var-Eel, Satrap of Oronin: you stole an Imperial Staff for him in return for a commission in the Mother's Guard. Through your Culture Haroun al-Rastari: The slimy and scheming Sultan of Karasal. You are reasonably convinced that his smile hides a multitude of crimes. If only you could find the evidence... Through your Career Beat-Pot Aelwrin, Commander of the Imperial Bodyguard: Here's another one, raised to command on the petticoat strings of his girl-friend Jar-Eel the Razoress. Prior to that he was a rebellious kitchen slave. He thinks he commands you, but his position is nominal only! Moonson, the Red Emperor: You are fiercely loyal to the Red Emperor. Personally, he is a dissolute, fun-loving tyrant, but he knows how to reward his friends. Count Julan, Captain of the Household Foot: Never let this man get the better of you. His meteoric rise in the Imperial Guard is due to the fact that his father is some high ranking dignitary in the City of Dreams. There must be some scandal there, or his parentage would be public knowledge. He is the fiancee of Ul-Rika - and obviously does not deserve her.
	Other Knowledge The Court of the Silver Gate is a council of Satraps of the Empire. It meets infrequently, and can have great influence in determining the course of the Empire's destiny. The members of the Court of the Silver Gate are: Gul-Taran, Satrap of First Blessed Haroun al-Rastari, Satrap of Karasal Moonson, Satrap of Silver Shadow Makkrit-Oor, Satrap of Darjiin Raffha Khan, Satrap of Kostaddi Var-Eel, Satrap of Oronin Prince Pardidas, Satrap of Sylila Queen Penelori, Satrap of Oraya The Satrap of Doblian will have a place on the council, when one is appointed. The Icebreakers are enchanted vessels which carry the Kalikos Icebreaker missions across the White Sea to face the ice demons of Valind's Glacier and keep the Lunar Heartlands fertile and free of bad weather. Beatpot's Moonrock Café is a chain of fashionable eating houses based upon the culinary genius of Beatpot Aelwrin, the notorious rebel slave turned loyal soldier of the Empire. These establishments are noted for their garish decor (usually celebrating Jar-eel the Razoress) and ostentatious exteriors (complete with a glowing and revolving Red Moon). They have spread from the original restaurant in Dragon Pass (now closed) into the Empire. The flagship restaurant is in Glamour, and often boasts the presence of Beatpot Aelwrin himself in its kitchens. Unfortunately, the restaurants have recently come under attack from some elements of the religious establishment who regard the restaurant's concept and execution as blasphemous and disrespectful to Rufelza. In addition, close supporters of Great Sister have also questioned the culinary and nourishment value of many of the dishes served. The Empty Conquest of the Thrice Blessed. The Twice Blessed, as they used to be known, were once ruled by the Kingdom of Karasal. They pledged friendship to the Red Goddess when she liberated them. Many studied in the Empire's Magical Schools, sharing their knowledge of the standing stones which dot Peloria. In the Second Wane, the shameful Salt-Diamond Incident led to the expulsion of the Twice Blessed from south of the Poralistor river. 26 years later, further trouble led to the Empire sending in General Parg Ilisi who raped the land and its inhabitants for ten years. When the Emperor found out, he conceded the Treaty of Eol, by which reparations were made and the folk granted full Imperial protection. In return the Twice Blessed embraced the Lunar Way and changed their name to Thrice Blessed. The Salt-Diamond. Felzias Tysor was famous for his stratagems to expand the Empire. Once he stole the famous Salt-Diamond from the barbarians of Eol. This fabulous gem has the property of transforming salt into diamonds. It had been promised to the Red Emperor, and when it could not be found, the lands of Southern Eol were seized by the Satrapy of Karasal. Thereafter the Satraps wore it in their turbans. The legend went that as long as the gem remained on the satrap's brow, the Tysor-genisti would always rule in Karasal. It was lost over a hundred years ago when the satrap was killed at the Nights of Horror in Oraya. Over the last two years there has been much interest in the gem, suggesting it has once again resurfaced. The Moonboats are magical aerial craft, propelled by the moonlight. Within the Empire, they are used for rapid transport of troops and supplies. Their use beyond the Glowline is more limited, as the cyclical phases of the Moon and the untamed forces of Storm can leave them grounded or even damaged. The Crimson Bat is a monstrous Chaotic demon, the Empire's ultimate deterrent. Once unleashed, it devours all who oppose it, a terrifying weapon of atrocity which has greatly aided the peace-making efforts of the Red Army. The Chief Feeder of the Crimson Bat controls this demon, taking orders from the Director of the Field School of the Lunar College of Magic.	Secrets The Salt Diamond was stolen from the Thrice Blessed by Acutus' family, the Tysor-genisti. The Salt Diamond Incident was deliberately provoked to rob the Thrice Blessed of South Eol. Acutus is the heir to the former Satraps of Karasal. Your uncle, Triblios, died recently when he fell from city tower, while drunk. The Mother's Guard sold the Empire to the highest bidder during the Wars of the Proxies. To take the City of Glamour in a coup, it is necessary to hold the Citadel of Halfway, the Senate House, the Temple of Truth, the Imperial Treasury and the Gate of Four Beasts. Special Items Hunter's gladiatorial mask. A copy of the banned book The Seleric Verses (a rather exciting and racy read). It would make an interesting gift for Ul-Rika. (Note: the officers in your regiment tell of a Confessions of Jar-eel book which is even more erotic in content!) A copy of the secret Moonboat landing codes.
	Reaching Moon Megacorp's Life of Moonson was written by Nick Brooke, Chris Gidlow,David Hall and Kevin Jacklin, with Rick Meints and MOB. The lead author for Acutus was Chris Gidlow Glorantha, HeroQuest, Hero Wars, and Issaries are trademarks of Issaries, Inc. The contents of this page are copyright by Chris Gidlow, 2001; any material derived from Greg Stafford's world of Glorantha is also copyright by Greg Stafford. Glorantha is the creation of Greg Stafford, and is used with his permission.