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.
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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.
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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.
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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].
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[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.
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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.