Reaching Moon Megacorp's Life of Moonson

Alehandro

Count of Spol, Captain of the Queen's Regiment

Gloranthan Folk Tales

Gloranthan Songbook

Moonie Madness

• Life of Moonson

Carmanian Sources

Malkioni Scriptures

You are the scion of a noble Carmanian family, a descendent of Aronius Jaranthir, who converted that land to the Lunar Way. You inherited your father's position of Count of Spol when he fell from the battlements thirty years ago, your mother ruling as regent until you came of age. Since then you have been happy to leave the reins of power in the capable hands of your mother Yolanela, who is called the Taloned Countess by many.

She is a scheming and manipulative woman, who has often sought to embroil you and your friends in her intrigues. Although you are well aware of this, you could never stop her using you because of your unnatural attraction to her.

It fills you with horror at the thought of it, but since adolescence you had lustful and disgusting thoughts about her which you could not stop or control. In the end you decided your only option was to get as far away from her as possible. Therefore you enlisted as an officer in the Lunar Army.

For some time you served in the Redlands on the staff of General Zhaduun Ud-kar. However, you found him to be a brutal man, with little military or diplomatic sense, and you managed to get a transfer to Pavis in distant Prax as a liaison officer with the Antelope Lancers.

In Pavis you made a terrible mistake and got yourself involved in an illegal Hazia smuggling conspiracy. You needed money desperately and it seemed an easy way to make money by using Antelope Lancer patrols to get hazia up the Pavis Road and into Sartar. However, the whole scam was uncovered by GimGim the Grim, the local intelligence chief. He helped hush the whole thing up so that you involvement didn't become known and your family suffered no embarrassment. You were very grateful to him - then.

Then a few years later the Coders and Count Julan arrived to investigate Sor-eel, the governor. At first you were as much against them as all the other officers (including your regimental commander, Sitzmag Redmoon). But it was then that GimGim came to you again and blackmailed you with the evidence he still had about the hazia smuggling. He forced to you help the Coders, and report back everything you learned about their investigation and Sor-eel back to him. In return he promised you your own command - the famous Carmanian regiment, the Queen's Regiment!

You became an ally of the Coders and a friend of Count Julan's, even though this deception filled you with disgust and shame - and caused you to lose most of your existing friends in the Antelope Lancers.

Then, suddenly, the scope of the investigation changed and the Coders were no longer interested in Sor-eel's corruption, but instead started pursuing a minor anomaly in the census between the number of White Moonies sent for resettlement in Prax and the actual number who made it there (had they somehow been bribed to leave Sor-eel alone?).

You reported this change in focus to GimGim, and very soon afterwards the Coders were disbanded, and you were assigned to command the Queen's Regiment. son after that the Cradle incident led to the removal of Sor-eel from office.

Since then you have been serving in Dragon Pass, trying to hold back the rebellious barbarians and re-establish Lunar domination of the region.

In a recent letter from home, you learned that Char-Un warbands have been raiding into Spol. You asked your commanding general, Lergius Cassius, if he could spare your regiment for a few seasons, but he claims he cannot afford to lose your forces from the southern front.

You have come to Glamour to petition the high command to allow you to return to Spol with the Queen's Regiment and save your ancestral lands from the depredations of the Char-Un cossacks. You also want to expose the misdeeds of Orgrol the Fat, ruler of the Char-Un, before the court.

Background

The Great Houses of Carmania

You are descended from one of the ancient noble houses of Carmania, rulers of the Empire that was overthrown at the rise of the Red Moon. The Carmanians have proud and austere traditions, holding themselves aloof from those of lesser birth and following the rituals of noble life from their ancestral strongholds in the West Reaches.

Every Carmanian is born into a Great House, a secretive and insular bloodline preserving antiquated traditions of rule. Though they may appear paranoid to outsiders, you know that the rivalries between the houses can be intense and deadly, erupting at times into ruthless campaigns of assassination and terrorism aimed at the utter destruction of opposing families.

The Imperial Governor of the West Reaches is Palamtales, who strives to mediate between the Great Houses from his court at Kitor.

The Comrades of Yanafal Tarnils

You are a devotee of Yanafal Tarnils, Lunar God of War. Yanafal Tarnils was one of the Seven Mothers, and his cult defines how the perfect Lunar soldier should behave. Most of his worshippers are career officers in the Red Army; the Scimitars of Yanafal are heroes of the Empire.

The followers of Yanafal Tarnils are honourable men, known to one another as Comrades of Yanafal; you address each other as 'Comrade General,' 'Comrade Satrap,' etc. You pride yourself on your skill with the scimitar, the sacred weapon of the cult, and are happy to resolve disputes over matters of honour by duelling.

The High Priest of the Cult of Yanafal Tarnils is Bellex Maximus, the Imperial Warlord.

The Imperial Lunar Army

You have followed a career in the Red Army. Young men and women of good standing enter the army through the Yanafal Tarnils Officer Corps. After a probationary period, junior officers are assigned positions in Lunar regiments and as aides to the general staff. They then rise through a hierarchy of positions until they gain the Captaincy of a regiment. Patronage and inherited wealth both play 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 Red Army.

The Supreme commander of Lunar forces is Bellex Maximus, the Imperial Warlord.

Objectives

Personal

1. Resist your mother. You now feel that you have conquered your unnatural feelings for her. You are sure that you can safely seek to return to Carmania and face her.
   
   
2. Always go one better than your brother Brostangian. Impress him with your military success. Let everyone know that military ardour is more important that religious mysticism.
   
   
3. Seek justice for Carmania from the attacks of the Char-un. Diplomatically at first.
   
   
4. Have your regiment re-assigned to Carmania where it can combat the depredations of the Char-un. you have vowed to go over your commander's head on this - to the very top if necessary!
   
   
5. Try and help Count Julan in any way that you can, without allowing him to find out your involvement and betrayal.
   
   
6. Avoid or put a stop to any scandals which might bring your family into disrepute, whether they involve yourself, Yolanela or Brostangian. Blood is thicker than water and the family name must be kept above reproach.

Career

1. Gain promotion within the Lunar Army (while keeping control of your regiment).
   
   
2. Ensure that your regiment wins the Regimental Games.
   
   
3. You need 10 influence from the Military Budget to pay the Queen's Regiment. You must pay this to the CPS Director before at the beginning of Windsday. Put in your claim to your commander Lergius Cassius before the Presidium decides on the Budget.

Religious

1. Your mother always taught you to give generously to Teelo Norri orphanages. Make a donation of at least 5 influence to one.
   
   
2. Get Jar-eel or Beatpot Aelwrin to make you a member of the Moonsword Cult.
   
   
3. Have Moonson declare next year to be a Red (or Full) Moon Year. The populace must not be alarmed by premature panics about the future of the Empire.

Who You Know

Your Family

Yolanela: your mother is known to many as the Taloned Countess. Although you are the Count of Spol, while you are away with your regiment at the front, your mother has overseen your inheritance on your behalf. She can appear grasping and domineering to those who do not know her. Persistent rumours have it that she murdered your father, though you cannot bring yourself to believe this. She has been forbidden to come to Glamour and will therefore not be attending these Sacred Time celebrations.

Brostangian Archmoor: your older brother Brostangian is the Hierophant of Carmania, chief among the Magi who lead the Dualist church of your homeland. Everyone is very proud of him, and you seek to outshine him in your own chosen field of military glory.

Personal Acquaintances

Artaphaestos: you have always got along well with this Carmanian courtier, although he comes from the ancient noble house of Jhor, which your mother sees as dire enemies of Spol. It is now seven years since you last met. At that time, Artaphaestos boasted of a new mission to the West. You know that Bellex Maximus recently forbade any further western expansionism.

Count Julan: you met this agent of the Spoken Word (the Emperor's secret service) while serving in Dragon Pass and helped him and the Coders in their investigations. You feel very guilty for informing on him to GimGim because you genuinely did become friends. Therefore you seek ways to help him and make it up to him.

Through your Career

Hetman Ignatieff, Warlord of the Char-un: this thoroughly disgusting and needlessly brutal man used to command the Char-un cossack regiment which is serving in Dragon Pass under Lergius. Recently he left the army to become Warlord of the Char-un nation. It is his raiders who are laying waste to your homeland.

Lergius Cassius: the General of the Provincial Army. Your superior officer who denied you permission to return your regiment to Carmania. He is a competent soldier who came up from the ranks.

Sitzmag Redmoon, Captain of the Antelope Lancers: Once you and he were friends in Pavis, but your help to the Coders put paid to that, which is regrettable.

Through your Religion

Murad Iznik, General of the Red Army: you knew him when he was Red Commodore and commanded the Lunar fleet at the port of Corflu (a flea and mosquito pit - and the worst posting possible). The gossip in the officers club was that Sor-Eel posted him there to get him out of his hair. However, Murad seems to have done very well for himself since then. Murad is Lergius Cassius's superior.

Sor-Eel the Short, former Count of Prax: You were also forced to betray this man by his own intelligence chief, GimGim. Who was GimGim working for? However, you are certain that Sor-Eel was corrupt, though not much.

Through your Culture

Palamtales: the Governor of the Western Reaches. A bureaucrat who seeks to control the various noble families of Carmania. He seems a little mad to you - with all that talking to himself. You owe him the County of Spol's tax revenues.

Other Knowledge

The Queen's Regiment is a crack regiment of Carmanian heavy cavalry, cataphracts armed with lance, sword and bow. The regiment is so named because the first Carmanian unit ever to serve a Pelorian Empire was sent by Belit, Queen of Spol, to aid her husband the Dara Happan Emperor.

The Malachite Phalanx is a Heartland Corps regiment of a thousand Lunar hoplites. These troops were assigned for deployment into Arrolia in support of your mission, but their commander has refused to reinforce you, probably reflecting the old grudges of the Red Army's high command.

Facing the Music: Your family prides itself on having remained in Carmania to face the horse nomad invasions of two centuries ago, when others, turning their backs on their Lunar heritage, fled to the West with the Arrolian Migrations.

The Moonsword Cult is a special sub-cult of Yanafal Tarnils for military heroes of the Empire. Candidates must be recommended by Jar-eel. Those who are accepted are given their steel Moonsword by Moonson himself.

Secrets

• Brostangian was always your father's favourite son.
  
  
• There has always been a great rivalry between you and your brother, which can not really be described as a friendly rivalry.
  
  
• Alehandro once harboured unnatural and lustful thoughts towards his mother, Yolanela, the Taloned Countess of Spol.
  
  
• You can control Glamour by controlling the Gate of the Four Beasts, since this controls access to the Goodshore road.
  
  
• Alehandro was once involved in an illegal Hazia smuggling scam in Prax.
  
  
• Alehandro's father died when he fell from the battlements 30 years ago.

Special Items

• The Seleric Verses: a banned book, though a very interesting one.
  
  
• Parg. Your favourite war horse. This stallion is strong, fast, hardy, and built like a large cart horse. He is your pride and joy.

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 Alehandro was David Hall.

Glorantha, HeroQuest, Hero Wars, and Issaries are trademarks of Issaries, Inc. The contents of this page are copyright by David Hall, 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.