Lands of Red and Gold, Act II

And thus it shall be that the Europeans find Aururia in a state where Aururian civilizations occupies everything that is not a horrible desert.

Indeed it could happen like that [1]. Although it's worth emphasising that "horrible desert" describes most of Aururia. Even much of the coast. You could get agriculture going in coastal Queensland, and in the Top End, but a lot of the rest will be inaccessible even then [2].

[1] But it may not, for in such a circumstance it's also possible that it's not the Europeans who find Aururia, but the Aururians who find Europeans [3].

[2] Inaccessible without the sort of major engineering (dams etc) that the Aururians would be unlikely to start [4] without twentieth-century technology.

[3] Not find Europe, that is, but Europeans. Perhaps they meet in India while looking for spices [5].

[4] Or, at least, succeed at.

[5] Strictly speaking, more spices, at least for the Aururians.
 

mojojojo

Gone Fishin'
If I have the time, and if I can think of some suitable inspiration. All Hallows' Eve is not really a holiday which resonates in Australia, so it's not quite as easy to come up with an appropriate instalment. So far nothing's sprung to mind, but there may be something.

Well, since Halloween touches on horror,fantasy, and sci-fi you could always give us an overview of how these genres have developed in the absence of such luminaries as Edgar Rice Burroughs, H.P.Lovecraft, and C.S.Lewis. I loved the list of the iconic Halloween creatures and your example of elves in this TL's fantasy RPG (for those who don't remember they were far different from the ones in LOTR and Santa's helpers:eek:)
 
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Indeed it could happen like that [1]. Although it's worth emphasising that "horrible desert" describes most of Aururia. Even much of the coast.

Agreed, I don't see OTL's Nullarbor Plain being significantly more populated in TTL's 20th Century than in ours. (Let me rephrase that, I have a hard time seeing the Nullarbor Plain significantly more populated in almost *any* TL)

The interesting area to me as OTL 20th Century technology develops is "What to do with Kati Thanda–Lake Eyre, *especially* with the local knowledge of raising waterfowl, etc.
 
First off, I know it's a little late but that was a nice last post, even the footnotes have footnotes. Hoping that is just an appetizer for a main course soon to come.

Also, anyone else reading DValdron's Lands of Ice and Mice TL it's interesting.
 
Well, since Halloween touches on horror,fantasy, and sci-fi you could always give us an overview of how these genres have developed in the absence of such luminaries as Edgar Rice Burroughs, H.P.Lovecraft, and C.S.Lewis.

I probably should get around to reading the first two of those [1]. But given the regions in the LoRaG world which become iconic for pirates [2], I should probably work out where the equivalents of Westerns would be set, since that would be the inspiration for the equivalent of Burroughs' space westerns aka planetary romances.

Or possibly how the equivalent of a horror/dark fantasy genre could develop in a way which is fitting for All Hallows' Eve [3]. Which is probably the best part of the broader spec fic realm which is suitable for a Halloween [4] special.

The interesting area to me as OTL 20th Century technology develops is "What to do with Kati Thanda–Lake Eyre, *especially* with the local knowledge of raising waterfowl, etc.

Flooding Lake Eyre (Papukurdna ITTL) has always been a popular AH megaproject, though I'm not sure what the utility of it would be. Using seawater is insanely expensive and immensely impractical (unless someone has a use for 30 cubic kilometres of salt). ATL it might not even be possible for political reasons; it's quite likely that the Spencer Gulf may have different states maintaining sovereignty on either side, so getting agreement on a Lake Eyre canal may not be possible anyway.

For other things that could be done with Lake Eyre, well, diverting the Burdekin River across the Great Dividing Ranges has been suggested in OTL. Practicalities may still pose a barrier, and the politics may also be rather a problem.

For other possibilities... well, that would be telling.

First off, I know it's a little late but that was a nice last post, even the footnotes have footnotes. Hoping that is just an appetizer for a main course soon to come.

Certainly some parts of what's covered here will be featured in more detail later. Pinjarra is - as I presume is obvious - rather a major figure ITTL. In terms of his level of influence on the broader world, it would be somewhere between that of David Hume and Karl Marx. Although that shouldn't be taken as being indicative of what his actual philosophy is about [5].

As to what's coming when, well... this is where I'm mulling over how much detail to go into. The next three posts or so are planned out, as has been mentioned before (the Atjuntja, the Pakanga invasions of the Cider Isle, and Gunnagalic mythology).

After that, things get murkier. Personally, I find it both depressing and rather time-consuming to go into excruciating detail about the progress of every single new epidemic to hit Aururia. The temptation is ever-stronger to simply deal with them as a couple of historical footnotes (as in this last post) and then move on to the concluding events of Act II. As may well have been obvious from the hints and foreshadowing that has been shown so far, Act II is basically building up to two big set-pieces: the great crusades (circa 1720s) and the Aururian front in the Nine Years' War (circa 1740s-1750s). I don't know whether to try to cover the intervening years in some detail, or just skip forward for twenty or thirty years.

[1] I've tried reading a couple of HP Lovecraft short stories, and struggled to make it to the end of the first page. Not sure why [6]. I've never read Tarzan, either.

[2] e.g. the Tohu Coast [7]

[3] Halloween.

[4] All Hallows' Eve.

[5] And panollidism itself doesn't really put in an appearance until Act III.

[6] Horror in general tends to do that to me; I've never been able to finish a Steven King novel, either.

[7] Sugar Coast, i.e. the eastern coast of northern Queensland.
 
You've probably struggled with Lovecraft because, honestly, he's a terrible (albeit very original) writer. There's a reason why the stories he wrote were published in 'pulp' magazines. Try sticking to the shorter stories, they're a little easier to digest.

EDIT: Alternatively, stick to the better writers who ripped him off like Stephen King, China Mieville (in "The Scar"), and our own DValdron.
 
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mojojojo

Gone Fishin'
I probably should get around to reading the first two of those [1]. But given the regions in the LoRaG world which become iconic for pirates [2], I should probably work out where the equivalents of Westerns would be set, since that would be the inspiration for the equivalent of Burroughs' space westerns aka planetary romances.
:eek:
Perhaps I should have used H.G.Wells (War of the Worlds,Island of Dr.Moreau) as an example of Sci-Fi's overlap with Halloween
and the Brother's Grimm and L. Frank Baum (with their iconic wicked witches) might have been better examples from the fantasy genre:eek:
 
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While talking to a friend about LoRaG, he expressed curiosity as to the state of housepets and macropod domestication in Aururia, in particular wallabies, as they are sometimes tamed as housepets.

Now, macropod domestication, semidomestication, or even captive breeding haven't been mentioned as a thing, but Prince Rupert was given a kangaroo if memory serves.

So what's the state of things on that front? Was it wild captured in the open ranges and tamed? Bred in a herd contained in an inclosed area of sufficient size?

Do rich Aururians have pet wallabies?
 
EDIT: Alternatively, stick to the better writers who ripped him off like Stephen King, Herman Mieville (in "The Scar"), and our own DValdron.

Oddly enough, I struggled with Stephen King too. I may have a look at Herman Mieville.

:eek:
Perhaps I should have used H.G.Wells (War of the Worlds,Island of Dr.Moreau) as an example of Sci-Fi's overlap with Halloween
and the Brother's Grimm and L. Frank Baum (with their iconic wicked witches) might have been better examples from the fantasy genre:eek:

Or imagine a cross between Oz and the Island of Dr. Moreau...

There are of course various options, I just need to look into things in more detail. If I can find something suitable for inspiration.

Now, macropod domestication, semidomestication, or even captive breeding haven't been mentioned as a thing, but Prince Rupert was given a kangaroo if memory serves.

So what's the state of things on that front? Was it wild captured in the open ranges and tamed? Bred in a herd contained in an inclosed area of sufficient size?

Generally wild hunted in open ranges. More precisely, the wild hunters usually kill the fully-grown adult kangaroos, since they have the most meat. Sometimes they kill the juveniles too, but sometimes they capture them to bring them home to tame while they grow into adulthood, and then use in the kangaroo-boxing sport.

The occasional rich Aururian may perhaps keep a private herd of kangaroos, but fencing them in is generally a pain unless it's a really, really big fence.

Do rich Aururians have pet wallabies?

Not even so much rich Aururians as country-dwelling Aururians (whether rich or poor). As as happened in OTL societies around the world, lots of animals are tamed, including occasional marsupials. Wallabies, sugar gliders, possums, what have you. Of course, going from taming individuals to meaningful domestication is a much taller order.
 
You've probably struggled with Lovecraft because, honestly, he's a terrible (albeit very original) writer. There's a reason why the stories he wrote were published in 'pulp' magazines. Try sticking to the shorter stories, they're a little easier to digest.

EDIT: Alternatively, stick to the better writers who ripped him off like Stephen King, Herman Mieville (in "The Scar"), and our own DValdron.

The Scar is by China Mieville, think you may be getting him mixed up with Herman Melville
 

mojojojo

Gone Fishin'
Or imagine a cross between Oz and the Island of Dr. Moreau...
The Cowardly Lion would probably look like this
twisted-oz-lion.jpg

There are of course various options, I just need to look into things in more detail. If I can find something suitable for inspiration.
Since you gave us an over view of how elves are seen in this TL's popular culture , perhaps an over view of another mythological being. If elves are bad guys, perhaps trolls could be good guys. In Scandinavian stories they were not always malicious, and IIRC there are some accounts of female trolls that were rather comely.
 
Since you gave us an over view of how elves are seen in this TL's popular culture , perhaps an over view of another mythological being. If elves are bad guys, perhaps trolls could be good guys. In Scandinavian stories they were not always malicious, and IIRC there are some accounts of female trolls that were rather comely.

Possibly an account of how some of the other traditional creatures of All Hallows' Eve are seen. Trolls, dwarfs, juntees and so forth. There are some possibilities, but as I said it depends on time to write it, and inspiration. I'll see how things go.
 

mojojojo

Gone Fishin'
Possibly an account of how some of the other traditional creatures of All Hallows' Eve are seen. Trolls, dwarfs, juntees and so forth. There are some possibilities, but as I said it depends on time to write it, and inspiration. I'll see how things go.

Sounds awesome
 
The Scar is by China Mieville, think you may be getting him mixed up with Herman Melville

...a doy. Damnit, I don't know why I mix up names like that.

I've done worse, I once wrote a paper on Frederick Douglass and accidentally referred to him as "Douglas Adams" in one line.
 
I.As to what's coming when, well... this is where I'm mulling over how much detail to go into. The next three posts or so are planned out, as has been mentioned before (the Atjuntja, the Pakanga invasions of the Cider Isle, and Gunnagalic mythology).

After that, things get murkier. Personally, I find it both depressing and rather time-consuming to go into excruciating detail about the progress of every single new epidemic to hit Aururia. The temptation is ever-stronger to simply deal with them as a couple of historical footnotes (as in this last post) and then move on to the concluding events of Act II. As may well have been obvious from the hints and foreshadowing that has been shown so far, Act II is basically building up to two big set-pieces: the great crusades (circa 1720s) and the Aururian front in the Nine Years' War (circa 1740s-1750s). I don't know whether to try to cover the intervening years in some detail, or just skip forward for twenty or thirty years.

Looking forward to it, I have had alot of fun reading this TL, thank you.

And I proof that I have AH on the Brain I am now plotting corssover scenarios between TL I'm reading. (Murnongs growing in the Arctic using Thule micro climate techniques, madness I tell you.)
 
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And I proof that I have AH on the Brain I am now plotting corssover scenarios between TL I'm reading. (Murnongs growing in the Arctic using Thule micro climate techniques, madness I tell you.)

I'm not generally a crossover fan, but one nice thing about a crossover between those two timelines would be that they could plausibly both exist in the same world without the butterflies generally making the world unrecognisable, without stretching disbelief too far [1]. European contact would let loose a whole armada of butterflies, of course, but that would still be a relatively recent development.

[1] Suspend my disbelief, that is. Everyone has a different threshold for when their disbelief is merely suspended, or when it is hanged [2].

[2] And for those who are curious, this annoying habit of answering in footnotes will continue until whenever the next main instalment of LoRaG gets posted.
 
I am a Discworld fan, I loves me some footnotes:D

It's possible that, if you look in the right places [1], you might find a little [2] of Sir Pterry's influence in Lands of Red and Gold [3].

[1] Or wrong places, depending on your view of Discworld.

[2] Okay, a lot of influence. And not just in the use of footnotes [4].

[3] And lest anyone think this post was just an excuse to add pointless footnotes, there is some motive behind it. I've now settled on how I'm going to show the history of the next couple of decades of LoRaG: in overview form. Posts #97-99 tidy up various matters which I've discussed in previous comments, then post #100 will be a big overview of Aururia up to 1700 or 1710 [5].

[4] Though far from the only influence. There are lots of Easter Eggs in LoRaG. Sometimes people even comment on them [6]..

[5] And as part of that, I'd like to commission a map or two of Aururia as it appears in 1700/1710. If anyone's interested, please let me know.

[6] Though a couple of the cameos have gone unnoticed, or at least uncommented on.
 
Lands of Red and Gold Interlude #9: The Mirror of Mists
Lands of Red and Gold Interlude #9: The Mirror of Mists

This special gives an overview of how Hallowe’en may be seen through this distorted mirror of allohistory. As with all special posts, this chapter should not be treated completely seriously.

* * *

From: Dictionary of Fable and Fiction

Troll:

In Scandinavian mythology and folktales, a troll is an otherworldly creature, a being of myth and sometimes inspirer of fear. Trolls feature in many tales, often with contradictory aspects, but they are typically depicted as dangerous, distinctly non-Christian, frequently strong, and generally residing far from any human habitation, often in mountains or caves.

The physical appearance of trolls is one of the major points of discord amongst tales. In some depictions, trolls are grotesque, stupid, slow, but gigantic creatures, often preying on humans, mostly old, and sometimes turn to stone if touched by the sun’s rays. In other depictions, trolls are physically similar to humans, though still possessed of immense strength, and still dangerous creatures due to being non-Christian.

In the modern corpus of romance [1], trolls have emerged as popular literary beings. They first appeared in the works of Scandinavian or Scandinavian-influenced authors, but were subsequently borrowed by many other writers. While there had been some previous depictions of trolls, the first significant emergence into English-language writing was when trolls featured in the works of Henry Gyldendal [2], whose classic nineteenth-century romance The People Are The Enemy included villainous trolls.

As romance literature and related media evolved, two parallel traditions of trolls emerged, based on mythological antecedents but shaped by successive generations of literary development. In one conception, most influentially shaped by Gyldendal but with many literary descendants, trolls featured as the hulking beings popular in some elements of Scandinavian folktales: large of stature, massive of muscle, venerable in age, but bereft of brains and lacking in speed. They shared the folklorish trolls’ aversion to frequent human contact, preferring to dwell in out-of-the-way areas. These trolls often preyed on passing travellers, seeing humans and other smaller beings as delicacies to be consumed. These hulking trolls usually needed to be defeated by being outwitted, or sometimes by lightning or loud noises.

The depiction of hulking trolls gradually evolved as later authors explored several re-imaginings. A common trend was to make hulking trolls more misunderstood than malicious; not smart, but not ravenous. Trolls would sometimes feature as helpful creatures: anyone who could charm a troll would find their immense strength useful.

The rival tradition, which would become predominant in the later part of the twentieth century, described trolls in terms of the other aspect of Scandinavian folklore: otherworldly creatures which in appearance were no different to humans, but which dwelt on the fringes of human society. These trolls were invariably depicted as dangerous, for one reason or another, although the causes varied considerably more than for hulking trolls: strength, mischievousness, magic or rage. Of these, the last has gradually become predominant in modern popular culture. An early representation of humanoid trolls was offered by KG Bahdjoon, whose Worlds in Collision series featured several novels in which humanoid trolls appeared, though seldom in major roles [3].

Humanoid trolls usually lived in isolated regions, but featured some interactions with humans. In most depictions during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, humanoid trolls posed a danger to humans through magic or mischief. Capable of normal speech, and as smart as people, they too needed to be outwitted. A common early literary device, inspired in turn by folktales, was to present a troll as dwelling on a bridge, with travellers needing to bribe or persuade the troll to let them pass. Subsequent settings for trolls became more widespread, such as in caves, narrow gorges, and other wilderness regions, but also sometimes in urban areas, often underground.

As romance literature evolved over the twentieth century, the depictions of humanoid trolls became more prescribed. The varied dangers posed by trolls became narrower, focusing on rage and strength. Trolls had previously been depicted as both strong and easily enraged, but the trend (starting with Stephen L Roberts in Doppelganger) was to show trolls as dichotomous creatures: human-appearing, generally pleasant beings until something triggers their anger, turning them into raging, devastatingly strong creatures. Martin Stanley’s Abomination was the first to describe trolls as turning green when they become enraged, a depiction which has become near-ubiquitous in the modern canon.

In most recent depictions of trolls, their rage is triggered by appetite. Earlier depictions showed trolls as becoming angry when denied food. This trope was reversed in the classic romance film Spiff and Tracer, which showed trolls becoming dangerous when they eat: the iconic scene in Spiff and Tracer showed a troll which ate a single noodle and then went in a hunger-driven, devastating rage throughout the town. Allusions to this scene in popular culture refer to it as the ‘noodle incident’.

The attributes of humanoid trolls have thus become extremely strict in recent romance: human-appearing beings who turn green and go into a devastating rage if they consume a single morsel of food (or occasionally, if thunder rumbles). Hence the sign which has appeared beside many a bridge in recent novels, films, and games: DO NOT FEED THE TROLL.

* * *

Taken from The Player Guidebook (Second Edition), a compendium used in the game Wizards & Warriors

After obtaining the attributes and inclination of their character, a player can then elect the race of the character. In a standard game setting, a player can choose from the following races: Human, Satyr, Arimaspi, Vorn, Bucca, Shulin, Juntee and Half-Juntee [4]. Each race has distinctive characteristics, with positives and negatives for each. Note that depending on the conditions and environment that the Lore Master has set for the campaign, some of these races may not be available...

Satyrs

Satyrs are naturalistic humanoids who in outward appearance are half-human and half-animal, but in truth they are a different, fae-born race. The upper half of satyrs appears largely human, though with some animal features (horns, antlers or ears), while the lower half is in the form of an animal, including a tail. Satyrs are divided into several kinds; of these, horse-kin and goat-kin can be chosen as player characters.

The race of satyrs usually dwells in forested, hilly or mountainous areas. Mystical and pleasure-driven by nature, satyrs have an affinity for music and dance. They are particularly fond of flutes or pipes, and if forced into battle prefer to have their pipers accompany them. Satyrs are also particularly fond of wine, and will usually be benevolent to anyone who offers that to them [5]. For full information about satyrs, see The Monstrous Sourcebook.

A satyr character may choose from the following professions: warrior, archer, naturale, shaman or wizard. A satyr character may also choose to double-class in the following combinations: warrior-archer, warrior-naturale, archer-naturale, naturale-shaman (horse-kin only) and naturale-wizard.

Satyr characters have 80% imperviousness to enchantment and divination spells. Satyr characters also have innate ability to sneak, if not carrying any items that would make excessive noise (such as full-metal armour). When moving through woodlands, hills or mountainous areas, satyr characters can use their natural affinity to spot any potential ambushes (4 in 6 chance).

If fighting while musical instruments are being played, satyr characters add +1 to their combat rolls when using any swords, daggers, spears (both held and thrown) and javelins. Satyrs are traditional enemies of elves, and add +1 to any combat rolls when fighting elves (this is cumulative with any bonus for fighting while music is being played).

Goat-kin satyr characters add +1 to any checks when casting naturalism spells. They also add +1 to any stamina checks.

Horse-kin satyr characters add +2 to any stamina checks, and add +1 to any allure checks involving mammalian, avian or fae-born creatures.

Satyr characters add 1 to their Agility attribute but subtract 1 from their Power attribute.

* * *

Taken from Intellipedia.

Juntee

This article refers to a type of mythological being. For the football team, see Luyandi Juntees. For other uses, see Juntee (disambiguation).

Originating in Mutjing mythology, a juntee is an otherworldly being that dwells in or near water, and is variously associated with floods, fishing, fortune, foresight, and fecundity. Juntees are often described as looking mostly human but with a bluish or greenish tint to their skin. Although tales vary [clarification required].

Etymology and Related Constructs

The Mutjing noun juntee was directly borrowed into Dutch, and then into a variety of other European languages (including English). It has cognates in many other Gunnagalic languages, such as Gunnagal tjunda (also a kind of water spirit), Patjimunra junkee (a small, mischievous forest spirit [6]), Kurnawal dyinti (ghost) and Raduru dundee (a solitary, wandering hunter). The Wadang word yinga (flood, rising water, chaos) is also related, but no longer refers to an otherworldly being. These words are believed to be descended from the reconstructed Proto-Gunnagalic root *tjinta-, meaning “spirit”.

Mythology

Juntees featured significantly in traditional Mutjing mythology. They were described as the original inhabitants of the Seven Sisters [this term has been disputed; see discussion on the talk page], before humans emerged to occupy the land. Some versions of mythology described them as fleeing when the forefathers of the Mutjing arrived, and choosing to hide in the sea. Competing versions say that the juntees lost interest in the land, preferring the water, and so invited humans to immigrate to the land instead [citation needed].

They are described as lithe, swift-moving, apparently human creatures which are able to breathe water as easily as air, though they did not have any features such as gills. Juntees feature in both traditional tales and more recent folklore, and are regarded as beings that can be both beneficial and malevolent. They have powers to bring good or ill-fortune to those they encounter. Floods were sometimes described as being triggered by juntees. They were mostly, but not always, described as nocturnal beings who rarely came ashore during daylight hours. They also sometimes gave gifts and advice, but were particularly regarded as needing to be propitiated for women who were unable to bear children. Plus they sometimes ruined crops. And were fond of gemstones. Except opals [citation needed].

Folktales of juntees were particularly common, often associated with particular locations where the juntee or juntees who dwelt there were individually named.

Juntees were said to be extremely dangerous if angered to warfare, and to possess a horrifying battlecry which inspired fear in all who might come against them. They were said to wield harpoons which they would use to pin their targets, then strike them with short-swords or daggers. But green ones used tridents [flagged for potential vandalism].

They were said to use birds to watch the surface world for them. Black swans on fresh water, and white-bellied sea eagles on or near salt water.

Similar beings to juntees appear in other Gunnagalic mythologies, but they do not have the some connexion of being ancestral inhabitants.

Adaptations

Juntees began to become incorporated in Dutch-language literature by Mutjing poets such as Gunai in the late 1600s and early eighteenth century. Gunai borrowed from the then-extant Dutch literary genre of writing pseudo-histories, often in poetic form, and most notably created Zeven Zusters Schijnen (Seven Sisters Shining), a Dutch-language epic history poem about the Mutjing history. As the original inhabitants of the Seven Sisters, juntees featured in this epic. Gunai’s writings, and other similar treatments by the Luyandi poetic school, were available in the Netherlands proper, although apparently not widely-read for many decades. They became more well-known with the spread of Aestheticism [7] in the Netherlands, where juntees began to be included as exotic creatures that were part of some fantastic tales, about a distant and largely mythical treatment of Aururia. Although sometimes they featured in tales set in the Netherlands proper.

These influences became more widespread by what would become a defining work of classical romance, and which popularised juntees throughout the wider world. This was the Heroes of the Frisii by Maurits van Focquenbroch, the first edition of which was published in 1781: set in a richly-described if largely imaginary heroic era of the Frisii dwelling in the lands that would in time become the Netherlands. Focquenbroch created an invented world that freely mixed pseudo-history with fantastical tales; he described the Frisii as dwellers in the low-lying islands, tidal marshes, and peat bogs north of the Rhine, at the boundary of Roman occupation. These lands, near the waves, and gradually sinking beneath them as the climate changed and storm surges swept in, were where the heroes of the Frisii dwelt, and they fought heroically if ultimately unsuccessfully against the tyranny of Rome. In such a low-lying land, much of it sea, Focquenbroch included juntees as creatures of a fantastical past that interacted with the Frisii, sometimes as allies, sometimes living alongside and even interbreeding, but sometimes hostile and fighting against both the Frisii and Rome [8].

The fate of the Frisii and the juntees was ultimately to go down to defeat, as described by Focquenbroch later in Heroes of the Frisii (English translation):

“Courage marked the Frisii, determination and steadfastness against enemies, unrelenting against foes both Roman and Nautical. Where Rome advanced, in blood they paid, and while cold iron would in time conquer the Sea-Land, it never defeated the courage of the Frisii. Defiant to the last, they fell undaunted on the field of battle or drowned while holding fast in their homes against the surging waves. Death may have claimed them, but their courage never abandoned them, a legacy that filled the soil for those who would come in later times. Steadfastness, too, they gave to the Juntees who were both foe and friend, a heritage in the blood that mingled between Land-Men and Sea-Men, and which lived on in the Juntees who retreated to live e’er beneath the waves.”

Focquenbroch’s work was widely translated into many European languages and into English, and became influential in the evolution of romance as a form of modern literature. Juntees were among the concepts spread as part of this growth, and have become widespread in the modern romance corpus of literature, media and games.

Focquenbroch also introduced the concept of juntees riding dolphins, which became widely-known and almost iconic in later conceptions of the creatures, but which has no part of the original Mutjing mythology [citation needed].

* * *

[1] In the allohistorical twentieth and twenty-first century, “romance” refers to a broad literary corpus of works which feature fantastical (e.g. legends, magic, fairy tales) and/or invented settings and technologies (e.g. invented worlds, invented technology, invented history). The literary genre of “romance” developed based on a Gothic-style revival, not unakin to that which happened historically in the mid-eighteenth century, based in turn on the earlier medieval romances. The meaning of the word ‘romance” continued to follow its medieval sense of fantastical adventures, rather than shifting toward romantic love.

In the allohistorical modern era, romance thus incorporates what are historically a broad range of genres: fantasy, science fiction, horror, paranormal romance, science fantasy, alternative history, and so forth. Its closest historical equivalent would be the term “speculative fiction”. The historical romance genre is allohistorically known as erotica [9].

[2] Henry [Henrik] Gyldendal was a (mostly) nineteenth-century Anglo-Danish writer. In his youth he was a pioneering romance author who wrote novels and short stories that drew largely on Norse (and sometimes broader Germanic) mythology, set in both modern times and an invented semi-mythological past. In later life, after fleeing Copenhagen and coming to London as a refugee, he started to write English-language works which used romance as allegory or satire of both political developments,and technological and social changes. The People Are The Enemy was an early English-language example of the transition between his two styles of writing.

[3] KG Bahdjoon was a nineteenth-century Durigalese author who wrote a wide variety of “pulpy” romance, adventure tales, pirate stories and the like [10]. Worlds in Collision was a long cycle of short stories and serialised novels set in a fantastical 1860s-1880s which had its central premise that the “old worlds” – that is, the separate mythologies of Old World, New World and Third World – were coming back to life and waging war on both each other and the modern world. Trolls featured as one element of Norse mythology which re-emerged in the 1860s.

[4] Satyrs are ultimately derived from the classical Greek mythological creatures, but the W & W conception of them is most heavily influenced by how they were presented in Francis Arnold’s Novatlantis trilogy: Father, Son, and Holy Goat [11]. In that setting, Arnold largely conflated the Greek satyrs (part-horse creatures) with the Roman fauns (part-goat creatures), as well as adding some reinterpretations of his own.

Arimpasi are a race of one-eyed humanoids from Greek mythology. Vorns are a reptilian (vaguely lizard-like / snake-like) race. Shulin are a cat-like humanoid race. Bucca are miners/underground dwellers ultimately named after a creature from Cornish folklore. (Juntees are covered later in this instalment.)

[5] But whether drunk or sober, anyone who says “hoof it” to a satyr is liable to be given an opportunity to check the contents of their intestines.

[6] More precisely, a creature with an insatiable addiction for sweet peppers.

[7] Not closely related to the historical art movement of the same name. Aestheticism was an intellectual, literary, musical and artistic movement that had focused on subjectivity, naturalism, free expression of emotions, and which had broader social and political consequences. Its closest historical equivalent was Romanticism, although parallels should not be too closely drawn.

[8] Historically, the Frisii were one of several Germanic peoples who dwelt in parts of the modern Netherlands up until around 300 AD. A combination of sea flooding and Roman pressure saw them displaced, with some survivors believed to have been forcibly resettled in Flanders and Kent. The latter Frisians were named for the region where the Frisii dwelt, but are not believed to be descended from them. No surviving historical records mention juntees.

[9] Which leads to an odd example of “false friends” for allohistorical linguistics. Allohistorically, “erotic romance” refers to a genre which is mostly closely related to paranormal romance, although it also broadly includes some other examples of love stories set in fantastical, science fiction, or alternative history settings. (What erotic romance means in a historical context is left as an exercise for the reader.)

[10] Bahdjoon is the closest allohistorical equivalent to Edgar Rice Burroughs, although the analogy should not be stretched too far.

[11] And famously parodied in Fiddler & Turner’s Satyr Satires.

* * *

Thoughts?

P.S. In the changed circumstances of the world of Lands of Red and Gold, the equivalent of modern fantasy fiction has developed without any analogue to JRR Tolkien. Even historically, of course, Tolkien was not the only fantasy author of his era; there was also Mary Shelley, Lord Dunsany, Fritz Leiber, Ray Bradbury, HP Lovecraft, Robert E Howard, CS Lewis and Ursula K Le Guin, to name but a few. But no-one else popularised the genre in quite the way that Tolkien did, and so his distinctive influence was marked across much of fantasy literature during the second half of the twentieth century. (And even, to a lesser degree, today.)

Here, without an analogue to Tolkien, ‘romance’ literature developed quite differently. Rather than one overwhelmingly influential author in fantasy, a wider variety of authors, settings and themes were present and explored through the somewhat broader romance category.

This has led to a wide variety of changes. For instance, romance does not have the same dominant, quasi-medieval setting as its preferred background for invented worlds. In so far as there is a predominant background, it is more influenced by classical Greco-Roman mythology rather than medieval society or Tolkien-style Germanic mythology. So in romance there are more legions, theatres, republics and democratic city-states, fewer knights and castles, less conceptualisation of monarchy as an ideal state of government, more satyrs, dryads, nymphs and centaurs, and fewer elves, dwarfs, goblins and trolls.

Even then, romance literature here draws from a much larger base of mythologies around the world. Germanic mythology is present, but only as one element among many. Celtic, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Indian, and Aururian mythologies or settings are all relatively more common in romance literature.

Also, from the early days of allohistorical romance literature, there was a widespread style of depicting romances as set in the modern world, with fantastic elements being introduced. Sometimes this meant horror or dark fantasy styles, but often it just meant the equivalent of urban fantasy or general fantastical themes included in a mostly-modern world. In turn, there was less of the Tolkien-esque anti-industrialisation, idealised rural idyllic lifestyle. For a large part of allohistorical romance literature, guns, advancing technology, the printing press, industrialisation and so forth were common alongside more fantastic themes. For example, something similar to the historical planetary romances written by Edgar Rice Burroughs (set in Mars or Venus) would in allohistorical terms be considered a quintessential part of romance literature, but with a common depiction being that some of the alien races would come back to Earth.
 
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