Var-Eel, Satrap of Oronin

	Reaching Moon Megacorp's Life of Moonson Var-Eel Satrap of Oronin	Age: 67 Career: Satrap of Oronin Religion: Moonson Imperator Culture: Pelandan Disposition: Patronising, ambitious and stern patrician
Return to Home Page Gloranthan Folk Tales Gloranthan Songbook Moonie Madness Life of Moonson Carmanian Sources Malkioni Scriptures	You were born into the noble House of Eel-Ariash, ruling family of the Oronin Satrapy. Your clan was founded by the Mask Magnificus during the fifth wane as one of the three fifth families. It has ruled the satrapy of Oronin since the time of the Mask Venerablis. It has also had the honour to produce two inspirations of Moonson, the latest of which is your neice Jar-eel the Razoress (the daughter of your elder brother, Kar-eel). You have been satrap for over forty years, having succeeded your father before you. In that time you have brought great prosperity to the land, increasing grain and fish production and developing the local pottery industry such that it now has an official seven year plan quota. However, always you felt that the satrapy was not quite enough for your ambitions and talents. Therefore, you have always taken great interest in the Court of the Silver Gate, the Senate, and often sought to personally influence Moonson himself, in all of his masks. Your successes have been heartening but never as world-shattering or important as you had once hoped. When your son Sor-eel was born your ambitions shifted on to him - he would do the great things you had failed to do. Perhaps he might even one day be revealed as a mask of Moonson? You brought him up to be strong, brave, and honourable, and imbued in him the values and morals of the old Dara Happan tradition, though modified by the light of the Red Goddess and the Lunar Way. His early career was brilliant, serving with Fazzur Wideread as a trusted general, conquering Prax, and becoming Governor of Pavis. However, then came his fall from grace, partially due to pernicious rumours of corruption, but also because of his allience with the disgraced Fazzur. Since that time he has failed to find gainful employment in Lunar service, instead serving as your right-hand man in the Satrapy and joining in on a few raids into barbarian Brolia. He must be found employment so that his career can continue unabated. The goddess knows the Empire needs a man of your son's qualities. There is decadence everywhere. The old values of Dara Happa and the Lunar Way are being subverted by a Moonson who cares only for pleasure, increased open use of Chaos, and dangerous organisations such as the Danfive Xaron cult which knows nothing of the tolerance the Goddess preaches, or of the punishments that Lunar law demands for dangerous criminals. Since the assassination of the Mask Ignifer (a good friend of yours and a strong and successful Emperor), real power in the land is in the hands of the Presidium, a committee who seek to pursue their own petty agendas and their own lusts for power and wealth. As a result the Empire has suffered. You would not be surprised if the Presidium themselves were behind Ignifer's death!	Background The City States of Pelanda You were born in one of the Pelandan city-states of the Oronin Valley. This green and fertile land was once the birth-place of agriculture and civilisation, and has been cultivated and civilised since before Time began. Pelandan culture and religion are the envy of the world, which has had unfortunate results for your people in the past. Your disunited city-states have been ruled by Dara Happa, Spol, and Carmania, before the liberation of the Lunar Way. The Pelandans enjoy a cultured, gentle and wise reputation, and are admired for their advances in every branch of learning: in warfare, architecture and poetry alike. Many of the loftiest ideals now embraced by the Lunar Empire represent the rebirth in modern times of the ancient virtues of your homeland. Pelanda is divided by the Oronin River between the Lunar Heartland satrapies of Oronin and Doblian, and the Carmanian counties of Jhor and Spol. Moonson Imperator You are a devotee of the Red Emperor. Your right to rule comes from worshipping the founders of your family clan as a subcult of Moonson Imperator. The cult worships the Red Emperor as the perfect embodiment of the Lunar Citizen. It does so by enforcing his Justice, supervising the actions of all other governing institutions in the Empire, and providing structures for all citizens to aspire to and achieve the highest rank. As such, it determines the basic social structure of the Empire, overlying the Empire's disparate cultures. The Red Emperor leads his cult personally. Satrap of Oronin Yours is one of the nine full sultanates of the Lunar Empire. Each is governed by a powerful ruling family responsible for extracting the emperor's taxes, protecting the people, assuring respect for the Red Goddess, and enforcing the emperor's personal commands. Your family holds large estates across the sultanate and commands a large private army. However, you must always be on your guard since your family only holds this sultanate for as long as you have the power. You have many noble family rivals who wish to remove you in a Dart War and take your place. As a sultan of the Empire you are eligible to sit on the Court of the Silver Gate.
	Objectives Personal Help your son Sor-eel serve the Empire again and bring honour and glory to the noble House of Eel-ariash. Bring your niece Jar-eel back into the Eel-ariash fold. Discover and denounce those who were behind the assassination of the Mask Ignifer, the last strong and successful Emperor. Career Rule your sultanate wisely and prosperously. Work to reduce the power of the Presidium. Preferably though increasing the influence of the Court of the Silver Gate, but if necessary by giving more power to the senate. Meet your quota levels. You may have to ensure that your quotas are reduced at the Court of the Silver Gate. Religious Dara Happan values and its laws are being subverted by the extreme elements of the Lunar Way, such as the White Moonies, Danfive Xaroni, and those tolerant of Chaos. It is the time to return to basic values and attitudes! Have Moonson declare next year to be a Red or Full Moon Year. There must be no hint of any problems to worry the populace. Give generously to public works and causes that venerate your name and the Eel-ariash clan.	Who You Know Family Jar-eel, Hero-Saint of the Empire: Your neice. At first you disapproved of her actions (especially visiting Arrolia at such an early age) but soon you realised she was someone special, a superhero. But you are worried that she forgets her clan and her family - she should be using her influence to help you and your son. You have confronted her about this on a number of occasions, but two years ago it came to a head with a massive argument and neither of you has spoken to the other since. You still hold your views, but you do regret your angry words. Sor-eel, your son: In his hands lie the ambitions of the Eel-ariash clan and all your hopes and fears. You would do anything for your son. However, you know that he can do much better for himself, and that he should try harder to seek influential appointments so that he can fulfill his great potential. Nag him about it! Personal Acquaintances Acutus, Prefect of the Mother's Guard: an ex-gladiator for whom you acquired a commission in the Mother's Guard in return for a favour. This favour was to borrow the Imperial Staff of Command from the Imperial Treasury for your son before he left for Dragon Pass and Prax over twenty years ago. The staff is rumoured to give victory in battle and to inspire others to have great confidence in the bearer. Since then Acutus has risen to command the regiment. Geilbonus the Sycophant: The Speaker of the Senate and an old friend. You do not quite share his faith in the senate as a seat of political power, though you humour him on this. However, you do agree with him about his views on the undermining of Dara Happan laws and customs, especially by the Danfive Xaroni penitents. Moonson Argenteus, the Red Emperor: The leader of your religion. It is a pity that this mask is such a lover of pleasure and that he delegates almost all governance to the Presidium. He cannot be described as the strong Emperor the Empire requires if it is to survive another wane. Through your Career Queen Penelori, Satrap of Oraya: this sultanate is ruled by another of the three fifth families, the Molani-sor clan. Penelori is one of the older, more experienced, and mature Satraps and you therefore tend to work to together well at the Court of the Silver Gate. Prince Pardidas, Satrap of Sylila: an example of the young militant nobles who rule most of the other Satraps. At the last session of the Court of the Silver Gate he and Raffha Khan hijacked the event to deny Gul-Taran a chance to speak about the recent death of his wife.
	Other Knowledge The Seven Year Plan is the mechanism by which the major food and raw material requirements of the Empire are centrally planned and provided for. At the beginning of each seven year period every sultanate and province agrees to quotas of important foodstuffs and other raw materials and goods which they must achieve over a seven year period. A seven year plan has just ended and each of the sultanates and provinces will be audited this a sacred time on their results. Success is usually the route to promotion and Imperial favour, while failure is a sure road to political humiliation. 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 East Isles Bubble is the name given to a failed commercial and trading venture which was to be launched from the frontier port of Corflu. The East Isles company was set up to manage the venture and collected investments from Lunar citizens, promising them large returns. Unfortunately, the venture collapsed and Lunar trading vessels never left Corflu for the East Isles. None of the investors money has ever been recovered or the perpetrator's behind the scam arrested. The Red Dancer of Power was a major supporter of the venture, though her losses were minor. The Mask Ignifer was a strong Emperor who wisely decided to rule the Empire himself, instead of retiring into seclusion like Reclusus or into hedonism like Argenteus. He was extremely popular as a result. He personally led groups of people through Glamour to whip the false proxies (those who had ruled in Reclusus' place) and hunt them down. His reforms of the tax system were extemely successful, but unpopular with the petty bureaucrats and merchant classes who were most affected (since they had previously been cheating the state of its revenues). He successfully invaded Sartar and captured Boldhome, leading the army himself. However, he was wounded during the assault and was forced to retired to his estates in Doblian to recover. It was in Doblian that he was assassinated by Harrek the Berserk (a famous gladiator). You suspect it was all a plot by those who wished to return to the time of a weak Emperor when they could rule the Empire themselves and feather their own nests (i.e. some or all of the current Presidium). Crime and Punishment. Most punishments under the Dara Happan lawcodes still current in the Empire are meant as deterrents: branding, blinding, mutilation and execution (in various ways) are decreed for what might seem comparatively minor offences. However, over the last few millennia zero tolerance of crime has proven to be very effective. Imprisonment per se seldom features in the Dara Happan laws, except for crimes such as debt. The cult of Danfive Xaron is not formally a part of the judicial or penal apparatus of the Lunar state. However, they currently have the right to interfere in any case and take the prisoner (even if punished with a death sentence) away to be "rehabilitated". In reality, this means that they are locked away for a few years before being let loose upon the unsuspecting populace - fully able to offend again! Is that justice?	Secrets Var-eel and Jar-eel have not spoken to each other for two years. Var-eel has great ambitions for his son. Var-eel suspects that the Presidium were behind the assassination of the mask Ignifer. Var-eel borrowed a piece of Imperial Regalia for the use of his son.
	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 Var-Eel 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.