Hetman Ignatieff: Warlord of the Char-Un

	Reaching Moon Megacorp's Life of Moonson Hetman Ignatieff Warlord of the Char-Un	Age: 57 Career: Char-Un Khan Religion: Yelm and Char-Un Culture: Char-Un Disposition: Blood-thirsty and brutal
Return to Home Page Gloranthan Folk Tales Gloranthan Songbook Moonie Madness Life of Moonson Carmanian Sources Malkioni Scriptures	You are considered a brutal and blood-thirsty maniac by most sane Lunars. They are correct. You glory in destruction and death. You like nothing better than to burn, rape and kill. You were born to a powerful clan. As a child, you delighted in bullying the weaker children. Your favourite game was to catch and mutilate small animals. You put aside these games when you first went to war. To the West of the Steppes lies a vast forest called Rathorela, from which emerged Half-human Bear People. The Char-Un responded ruthlessly. You killed and tortured, learning the true meaning of the Way of Char-Un: The rule of the Strong. You were dismayed when your Hetman chose you to serve as a cossack in the Red Army. You were inattentive when the priestesses tried to convert you. But little by little you came to realise that the Lunars wanted the same as you, the subjection of the weak.. The Lunar Empire and the Char-Un are friends, respecting each others strength.. You swore the oath of loyalty, declaring the enemies of the Red Moon to be your own personal foes. At first this was just a matter of keeping your honour, but when you were badly wounded at the battle of Caroman Pass, you were saved by the priestesses of the Seven Mothers. You begged them to leave you on the field, but they explained that the Red Goddess needed your services. They restored you to health, saying you had been spared to smite down the enemies of the Emperor. You did not take much persuading. If you were to be the hench-man of the Goddess, then so be it. Devoted now to the Lunar Way, you fought in Dragon Pass. Your leader in your first battles was Orgrol the Terrible. You admired him as the perfect Cossack, brave, resourceful and ruthless. After subduing Starbrow's rebellion, you returned home to find Orgrol campaigning to unite the Char-Un under his personal rule. You offered him your services, intimidating those who opposed him until he was proclaimed King. You were summoned back to the Army shortly after, where you rose through the ranks to become Senior Decurion, and a Hetman. Five years ago, you were honourably discharged. Returning to Erigia, you were disgusted at the state of King Orgrol. The famous warrior had become gross and degenerate. He is now so obese that only a four-horse palanquin can transport his shuddering bulk. He offered you the post of Warlord. You were revolted, but after some thought, you realised that this would be good for your own personal power and for the Char-Un. Your people need a worthy leader. Now you must find an opportunity of giving them one. Meanwhile, you have been gathering the Char-Un into larger and larger hordes, attacking Spol, Rathorela and Eol. Most recently, you attacked the Thrice Blessed and took some of their magic stones quota. If you become king of the Char-Un, you will use that as an excuse to place their Gan Hills under Char-Un control. They are clearly unable to produce their quota by themselves since you found miners from Karasal also in the hills (you killed them of course). Orgrol has told you not to inform him of the origin of the plunder you send to him. His only proviso is that the rich lands of Karasal be spared your attentions. This will certainly change when you become king. You have no fear and you reserve your special contempt for cowards and rebels. You respect strong leaders or those who use guile and treachery, especially women like the Great Red Goddess.	Background The Char-Un The Char-Un are Pent Nomads. You ride and herd only horses, considering other animals to be abominations. Families live in domed felt tents, called Yurts. Your land of Erigia is a wide steppe grassland, once a conifer forest which your ancestors destroyed with the massive Skyburn spell. The Char-Un were converted by the Red Goddess herself, but in spite of their loyal service, they were cheated out of their homeland by the Emperor and given Erigia in return. Subsequently, the Char-Un have been known to fight against the Empire, since you respect only the strong. Yelm and Char-Un You are a devotee of the cult of Yelm the Sun, which prescribes the ideals of manhood. It is for men to lead, and for women to bear sons. Men must care for their horses and for their women. You trace your kinship back to Char-Un, the tribal founder, whose worship unites the nation. Char-Un taught the harsh survival code of his people: To be strong is to survive. To be weak is to die and to provide for the strong. Pity, Mercy, Compassion, these are words only for city dwellers. In your language there is but one word to translate them "Weakness". If a foal is weak, it is killed then stripped of all usable material lest it weaken the whole herd. Thus it is in all aspects of life. Such is the way of Char-Un the Butcher! Rule of King Orgrol The Char-Un follow traditional tribal organisation. You were a boy, tended by your mother until age 14, when you become a rider. Riders are initiated as Warriors around 23, when they may engage in close melee and accept challenges to single combat. They can become Hetmen about the age of 43, Khans at 50 and Elders at 55. You are advised by a council of the elders. Wisdom, experience, magical power and above all military prowess are all respected. No dissent is permitted from Orgrol's policy. The Char-Un must be united!
	Objectives Personal 1 You despise Orgrol the Fat. Destroy him and become King of the Char-Un. Unfortunately you cannot yet do this directly as your men will probably not follow you. He must be discredited and you must receive at least the tacit approval of the Lunar Authorities. Demonstrate Char-Un mastery of horsemanship. The athletic Char-Un cossack dances are considered the fullest expression, apart from violence, of a Char-Un man's masculinity and prowess. Try to find a suitable opportunity to demonstrate this. Career Serve the Lunar Empire and the Lunar Way as faithfully as possible. Enemies of the Great Red Goddess must be crushed. Destroy traitors to the empire as ruthlessly as possible. It is only by being strong, blood-thirsty and ruthless that you remain Warlord of the Char-Un. Always you must be stronger than your rivals. You must never show weakness. To keep your position you will do anything, even sacrifice some of your weaker men. Seize as much land and property for your people as you can, by guile and by strength. You need 10 influence from the Military Budget to pay for the Char-Un regiment in the Lunar Army. You must pay this to the CPS Director before at the beginning of Windsday. Put in your claim to Bellex Maximus before the Presidium decides on the Budget. Religious It is not for you to argue matters of doctrine. You leave this to the holy priestesses of the Empire, following their orders without question. Become a member of the Moonsword cult. Join the Yanafal Tarnils cult, God of Death.	Who You Know Personal Acquaintances Orgrol the Fat: Your degenerate Lord and Master. Although you despise him more than anything, you take care not to show this. Through your Career Alehandro, Count of Spol: This mincing Carmanian was one of your fellow commanders in the Provincial Army. His men were slow and heavily armoured - like cowards afraid to be hurt. He is too cowardly to defend his Carmanian homeland from the Char-Un hordes. He is weak, and you will have his women! Haroun al-Rastari, Sultan of Karasal: his land is ripe for the plucking, but Orgrol forbids you raid there. There are many gin distilleries in his lands. Lergius Cassius: Your ex-military commander. The best soldier in the Empire, betrayed by the weakness of his master. He has been smashing the Fazzurite rebels of the south. Roan-Ur: A man after your own heart. His methods of spreading terror and destruction have been very successful in Aggar. Murad Iznik: General of the Red Army. He is a weak man, who denies General Cassius the back-up he needs. Bellex Maximus: The Imperial Warlord. Said to be a ruthless fighter against rebellion. You would like to get to know him better, to pick up tips for your own role among the Char-Un. Great Sister: One of the most powerful priestesses of the Lunar Way and Sister of the Emperor. Jar-Eel: A great priestess and warrior. Her dismemberment of the Pharaoh showed her almost worthy to be a Char-Un. Normally you would disapprove of women warriors, but she showed her worthiness by defeating the King of the Pentan Nomads in single combat.
	Other Knowledge Bellex Maximus is the name given to the Imperial Warlord, commander of all of the Empire's military forces. This rank was once preserved for the Red Emperor himself. The first Bellex Maximus was General Parg Ilisi in 2/30. However, his brutal and demented actions against Twice Blessed cause him to be removed from the post when the Emperor learned of his actions. The position did not exist again until the time of the mask Reclusus, when it was held by the Steel Proxy, whose face was hidden by a steel mask. With the ascension of the mask Ignifer the Steel Proxy retired for a time, only returning after Ignifer was wounded during the siege of Boldhome. The Steel Proxy has continued to hold the position of Bellex Maximus up to the present day. 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. 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 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 Hetman Ignatieff despises Orgrol the Fat. The Char-Un are raiding the County of Spol in Carmania. The Char-Un are raiding Eol and have stolen magic stones from the Thrice Blessed. You and your men are driven to further atrocities by gin drinking. Gin is illegally supplied to the Char-Un by the Sultan of Karasal. The secret to holding Glamour is to seize the Imperial Treasury and to cut a swath through Red Square and the forum. Special Items You own a unique carnivorous stallion. Thrice Blessed Magical Stones: you captured these on a raid into the Gan Hills near the Eolians' sacred Twin Mountains.
	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 Ignatieff 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.