Thalia Springtime, Colonel of the Guides

	Reaching Moon Megacorp's Life of Moonson Thalia Springtime Colonel of the Guides	Age: 38 Career: the Blue Army Religion: Annilla Culture: Lunar Disposition: Loyal and dedicated
Return to Home Page Gloranthan Folk Tales Gloranthan Songbook Moonie Madness Life of Moonson Carmanian Sources Malkioni Scriptures	Your first memories are of pain, and the need to forget. You remember escaping from the villa of an evil man, you recollect a terrible fear and loathing for him, horrific memories of pain and humiliation. His soldiers and servants pursued you, and placed a price upon your head - for murder! Luckily, you were able to find sanctuary at the temple of Annilla, where the priestesses took you in and gave you secret sanctuary from the local authorities. They cared for you and, with your agreement, enabled you to forget everything in your previous life, including the memory of that vile man. Without those memories you were reborn anew, committed to serving Annilla in any way that you could. Soon afterwards you met your mentor, Fyodr Volkovos, a senior operative in the Blue Army. A gentle and kind-hearted man, he taught you how to conduct yourself, how to dress, to eat, to worship, and, finally, how to kill. You became one of the feared and elite Assassins of the Blue Moon! You still remember your first kill. His name was Euglyptus, he was an important Governor in the south who has disgraced himself and his Emperor by allowing the local barbarians to successfully revolt. You found him alone, fat and corpulent, eating jellied eels. You struck quickly, pinning him down and forcing more and more eels into his gaping mouth until he choked to death. It was quite disgusting, but also rather a fitting end. After Euglyptus your kills multiplied, such that your recollection of them is unclear. For seven years you plied your grisly trade until the nightmares began, and each of your victims began to visit you again in your sleep, some pleading for their lives, others cursing you. At last, Fyodr noticed your distress and you were retired as an assassin. You were then enrolled in the Regiment of Guides, an elite unit of the Blue Army which provides specialist scouts and exploring officers for the Lunar Field Armies. With the Guides you served on every front except for the Eastern Redlands, rising in rank and gaining a reputation for excellent scouting and intelligence work. Finally, only three years ago you were re-assigned back to Glamour to command the whole regiment under the General of the Blue Army, your old friend Fyodr. You and he have served well together, though at times his obsessive secrecy (though pious in nature) has been frustrating to you. Recently, though, he did involve you in one of his projects: the replacement of the previous Bellex Maximus (the Imperial Warlord) by a new one without anyone realising it. Luckily, Bellex traditionally wears a Steel mask. In fact, most people think he has been the same man, the Steel Proxy, since the time of the mask Reclusus - in actual fact more than one general has been behind the mask. The first stage of Fyodr's plan was to get rid of the incumbent, Fatalius Victor. He personally assassinated him and used a ritual to send the soul to the deepest Pits of Perdition in Lunar Hell where it might never be discovered. The second stage was for you to kidnap his replacement, the Tarshite Usurper Fazzur Wideread, and make it look like he had been assassinated. Fyodr then used the powers of Annilla to wipe Fazzur's mind of all of his memories except his military knowledge and strategic and tactical genius. In this way Fazzur became Fyodr's puppet - but now acting for the Empire's good, rather than against it. The last stage was to create a cover story to keep Fazzur's identity secret. For this a Lunar general needed to be found who everybody "in the know" would assume had taken the place of Fatalius. You were sent out to find this general. The general you chose was one Zhaduun Ud-Kar, who had been badly wounded in battle. However, when he was given into your care you recognised him. He was none other than the evil man whose actions had brought you to the Temple of Annilla all those years ago. Painful memories returned, not many, but enough to fill you with hate, loathing, and disgust. As a result you took great pains to torture him to death, and make his last hours a living hell, before his soul was also sent to the Pits of Perdition. In some way Zhaduun's death has liberated you. You feel different as if a load has been lifted from your mind. You have even remembered a few things from your past... a loving mother and father... a younger brother... You want to remember more!	Background Annilla You are a devotee of Annilla, the ancient mystic goddess of the Blue Moon. This planet was before and behind her bright Red Sister. Annilla sends out the invisible forces which control the tides, inspire her assassins and cause mysterious disappearances. She preserves the mysteries which empower the Red Moon. Outsiders say there have been other Blue Moon Goddesses: Lesilla, whose body is the Blue Moon Plateau, Orogeria the Virgin Huntress and so forth. You know that these were in fact disguises worn by Annilla to obscure her secret purposes. No one knows who really leads Annilla's cult, though most speculate that it is the priestesses who live atop the Blue Moon Plateau. The Blue Army You have followed a career in the Blue Army, the secret counterpart of the Red Army. Its role is to investigate military threats from outside the empire and corruption, incompetence and disloyalty inside the military. It consists of the Guides, exploring officers sent deep into enemy territory; the Assassins; the Provosts or Military Police and the Blue Moon School Military interrogators. Its goddess is Annilla, mistress of the tides, and for this reason it includes the surface fleet, mainly river boats on the Oslir, Poralistor and Arcos rivers, and small ships on the Sweet Sea and Thunder Delta. The Blue Army is commanded by Marshal Fyodr Volkovos.
	Objectives Personal Regain more memories from your past. Can a healer help? Or illumination? Increase your personal prestige and power by gaining higher offices. Promotion within the army would be welcome. Avoid paying the swingeing taxes demanded by Ivex. Exorcise the demons of the past by serving life more than death. Bring back some balance to your life! Give generously to charities. Help orphans and the innocent! Career Serve Fyodr Volkovos and the Blue Army. Seek out military intelligence on enemies of the state. Help to run Blue Moon investigations. Watch Bellex Maximus. Keep his real identity secret and help him avoid being discovered - or remembering his own past. Watch all Lunar Army officers for insubordination, corruption and sedition. Religious Ensure Moonson declares next year to be a Blue Moon Year. Get Great Sister's Blessing. Learn as many secrets as possible and pass them on to Fyodr.	Who You Know Personal Acquaintances Bellex Maximus, the Imperial Warlord: you must help him adjust to his new role and not allow his amnesia to cause him problems. No one must discover his true identity. Fyodr Volkhovos, General of the Blue Army: your mentor and friend since you began training as an assassin. Though his obsession with secrecy and paranoia sometimes grate, you would die for him. Gul-Taran, Sultan of First Blessed: this charming Sultan saw you in Red Square a few days ago and began flirting with you in public! You were shocked, but also very flattered - sparks seemed to fly between the two of you. A Sultan no less! Unfortunately for you, you now remember a freelance hit you did for the Satrap of Kostaddi, Raffha Khan, on Gul-Taran's brother. You set it up so that it appeared he had got drunk on gin and fallen out of a high window - in fact you pushed him. General Zhaduun Ud-Kar, ex-commander in the Redlands: one thing still haunts you about his death, his last words to you were half-defiant, "Fool! You didn't escape from me, they put that there...". What did it mean? Through your Career Ivex Devouring Dog, Tax Collector: He has started prying into the earnings of the Assassins from their private commissions and claims back taxes. These commission cannot be revealed to the IRS for security reasons. Sitzmag Redmoon, Captain of the Antelope Lancers: the officer who handed over General Zhaduun into your care. He knows nothing of the plot.
	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 above is the "official" story. Unofficially, many insiders in government know that the original Steel Proxy was Ignifer himself, before he became Emperor. When he became Emperor he took personal command of the Empire's military and no longer needed a proxy. Thus the Steel Proxy "retired". However, after Ignifer was wounded at Boldhome a strong military leader was required while he recovered. Therefore, Fatalius Victor took over the role of the Steel Proxy and pretended to be the same man as before. The White Moon is a teaching which has grown up from nowhere in recent years. It holds that it was never the intention of the Red Goddess to create an enduring Empire. The Empire was a means to an end, to confront those states which violently opposed the Lunar Way to allow the liberation of their peoples. Since the days of the First Wane, the Empire has become a self-serving structure, its expansion never matching the speed at which the Lunar Way first spread. The White Moon Cult holds that the Red Moon is not yet perfect. The Empire must wither away. Then, and only then, will the Lunar Way be able to spread throughout Glorantha and the Moon shine White in the Air. From a fringe, harmless teaching, the cult has spread. Its devotees refuse to pay taxes or serve in the militia. They have now taken to attacks on Imperial Monopolies, tax collectors and so forth. Fyodr would like to discover some White Moon sympathisers, either to blackmail them into helping him or to denounce them and gain Imperial favour. The Imperial Revenue Service collects, counts and oversees the taxes due to the Red Emperor. Most taxes are collected directly from the Sultans, Provincial Governors, and Monopolists. The service is supplemented by a force of spies and informers who report on abuses of tax. The feared Tax Assessors are inspectors who check on the information used for tax assessments and who investigate abuses of the system. In certain circumstances they can recommend the use of the feared Tax Demons against dangerous tax dodgers. The Sultans and Governors normally farm out the collection of taxes to Tax Farmers (who usually take a cut of the taxes they collect). Some forms of taxation are farmed out directly by the IRS. 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 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. The Emperor's Spoken Word functions as an internal security organisation, essentially operating within the political and military spheres of the Lunar Empire. The basic aim of the Spoken Word is to enhance the security of the Emperor. However, within the current organisation, the definition of what must be done to protect the Emperor allows a wide scope which includes internal and external espionage and investigation. The Spoken Word is forbidden to investigate the State Church. Also, there is great rivalry, and some degree of overlap, with the Blue Army (military intelligence) and the Danfive Xaron cult (the religious and social watchdog of the Empire.	Secrets You personally tortured General Zhaduun Ud-kar to death. Bellex Maximus is actually Fazzur Wideread. You were a fugitive from justice before you joined the Blue Army. Your first assassination target was Euglyptus the Fat. You did a successful freelance assassination on Gul-Taran's brother.
	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 Thalia Springtime wasDavid 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.