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Trilus was the eldest of the three children of Balazar. After a quarrel, he agreed that the two citadels built by their father should be divided up by casting lots. The knucklebones were thrown and the western citadel was his. On the whole, Trilus has had a peaceful, almost eventless history. Without the constant internecine battling between the tribes, the citadel would have no real history at all. It has been a generation since the last major war, known as the Nobody-Won-War, fought with Dykene.
The most notable event of recent history was King Yalaring's "no pigs" edict in which the king forced all the pig tenders to leave the confines of the' citadel walls and then erected a stockade outside, to house them. King Yalaring came from a hunting clan and he'd taken control after ousting the dynasty that had reigned for over 200 years. He was nauseated by the domestic animals, but realized that as the staple of the community they were needed.
It was Yalaring who allowed the Lightbringers to set up their temple inside the lower bailey, slyly realizing the importance of letting these foreigners and their advanced technology into his area of control, and incidentally keeping them from King Skilfil of Dykene.
Lately the king has been approached by some elves of the Elder Wilds. They seek aid in their constant squabble with dwarven kind. Nothing has been agreed on yet, but an occasional group of elves will be found in Trilus.
A rough estimate of the population of Trilus is about 1320 total people. Of these, 440 are adult males, 440 adult females, and 440 children. This can further be broken down into 220 hearths.
The breakdown is: 160 warriors (chieftain and his retainers); 100 hunters; 13 Priests at the central temple (not including foreigners); 56 slaves, assistants, and artisans; 185 pig tenders; and 20 foreigners (an. average at any given time). About 10% (6) of the Trilus citadel warriors are women.
King Yalaring Monsterslayer
Yalaring is a rustic, though king for almost ten years, and is still given to hunter prejudices. It was from such prejudice that he issued the "No Pigs" edict banning swine from the inside of the citadel. His hunter sensibilities could not stand confinement with domesticated animals. The king has strong likes and dislikes, but rarely (except in the case of the pigs) makes them apparent. He hates the Lunar Empire. It was only by great toleration that he allowed Rhegus Whitehair into Trflus. Rather than act against the Lunars, he has shown his desires by acting in favor of the Lightbringer cults, allowing them to set up a communal temple within the citadel walls, to the consternation of the Yelmalio Priests surviving Yalaring's conquest. He strongly favors members of the Hunter cult and will go out of his way to ensure the comfort of the Master Hunter. He tolerates captured Dykenean tribesmen, but resents the raiding Elkoini, usually dealing harshly with them.
Yalaring loves his wife. Any ill remarks about her will certainly lead to a personal challenge of some sort. Often, instead of combat, a hunting challenge will be sounded. The rules: no armor, equal weapons. He who brings in the beast with the greatest treasure factor wins, and may demand an apology (whether deserved or not) from the loser. Most losing foreigners are banned from Triloi tribal regions. Should either his wife or children be harmed, Yalaring will hunt down and slay the perpetrators.
Queen Vania
The wife of Trilus' king is a worthy warrior in her own right. In battle she is often at
his side. She is an athletic, healthy woman whose attractiveness is measured more in
charisma and dynamism than in fragile beauty. King Yalaring has had no need for
concubines. She is the mother of Yalaring's three children, Yalvann, Melisseria, and the
baby Gan-Gan.
Yalvann
This is Yalaring's heir. The boy is approximately 13 years old and carries a chip on his
shoulder. He is trained in weapon use and several skills. Where Yalaring has a natural
rusticness, Yalvann has cultivated a high snobbery. The boy is class-conscious and tends
not to deal with those of stations less than his, which means just about everybody.
Melisseria and Gan-Gan
Yalaring's other two children, Melisseria is all of five ' years old and Gan-Gan
(Gandogandaring) is a babe-in-arms.
Djimm Mith
He is the son of Joh Mith and Zix Porub, the Issaries Rune Masters operating in this area.
He aims to be a Rune Lord of the cult. Currently he operates one of the two lodging houses
in Trilus, the Stuck Pig. He is a gaunt young man around 22 years old. Djimm tends to
favor Lightbringers in his dealings (not being a totally neutral person) and is currently
waging stiff competition against Rhegus Whitehair, the proprietor of the Red Bear Lodge.
The Stuck Pig is also the local base of operations for Joh Mith and his caravan. Djimm
acts as his father's agent and is the local buyer of goods when his parents are away.
Djimm will attempt to better any deal offered by Rhegus (within reason though).
Rhegus Whitehair
Rhegus is the proprietor of the Red Bear Lodge and an initiate of the Lunar merchant cult,
Etyries. He is a large man and has a distinctive shock of pure white hair. He is young,
and strangely enough, his hair was not white when he first arrived in Trilus. A rumor
circulates that he has had dealings with demons. Rhegus is not popular with the locals.
They are wary of his connection with the Lunar Empire and fear that the rumors about him
personally may be true. All Lunar citizens who travel through Trilus are advised to stay
at his Inn.
This annual position is held by the Rune level hunter winning the Great Hunt. The Master Hunter leads the Found-Child the Hunter cult for the next year. The Great Hunt is usually held during Earth season of each year at the great clan gatherings. The best hunters of each clan meet at a special place and seek out their quarries. The Rune level hunter who brings in the beast with the greatest treasure factor wins the hunt and becomes the cult head for that year. This position is also open to foreigners who qualify. The three best Balzaring Hunters this year are:
Willarnia Oakbow
Willarnia is one of the few Balazaring tribeswomen aspiring to the predominantly male
Hunter hierarchy. She is not polular with the women in her clan, who usually refuse to
talk to her. Now in her late 20s, Willarnia was married, but her husband and children were
captured in a raid by Elkoini warriors. She was left for dead. After that incident she
took the path of the Hunter. She constantly seeks the whereabouts of her family (it has
been many years since their disappearence; Willarnia has not been particularly faithful to
her missing husband). As Master Hunter this year, she spends all her non-hunting time
secluded in her Trilus lodge or at the Stuck Pig Lodging House. She likes the
Lightbringers and is neutral towards the Lunars. She has a pack of 7 hunting dogs and 1
fighting dog.
Ogolorph Windshaper
Ogolorph is in his mid-20s and quite popular with the other hunters. Although he is the
younger brother of King Yalaring, he tends to spend most of his time away from Trilus. He
hates the smell of pigs. He is unmarried. He has often boasted that he would like to hunt
the plains-stalking thunder-lizards. He owns a pack of 10 hunting dogs and 2
fighting dogs.
Stenn the Strong
Stenn mysteriously only appears each Earth Season to take part in the Great Hunt. Should
he win, he will remain at the Trilus Lodge, rarely seen by any. Should he lose, Stenn
disappears for another year. By rumor he leads a mysterious clan living in the Elder
Wilds. Some say he is half ogre. He has a pack of 5 hunting dogs and 4 pure blach
fighting dogs.
These are the representatives of the foreign cult groups collectively known as the Lightbringers. Included are Orlanth, Issaries, Chalana Arroy, and Lankhor Mhy. These people normally live in Trilus (for various reasons) with the permission of King Yalaring. The Lightbringers' leaders are friends and their intercult relationships are informal. As gregarious as he is, Joh Mith is often at odds with the others over best policy for the area. Usually not all the Lightbringers will be present at once.
Torath Manover
Wind Lord of Orlanth Adventurous, approaching middle age, Torath is approximately 30 years
old and a former Sartarite. He entered the cult and reached the position of Rune Lord only
after a long, arduous struggle, during which he failed to make himself popular with the
ruling priests. For this reason he left Sartar and has since been adventuring wherever
fate and rumor lead him, taking along his band of followers. He is intelligent and is
good-looking in a rough way. He dresses immaculately, but not flashily. Honest and
straightforward, he occasionally is haughty towards strangers.
He likes and respects King Yalaring of Trilus and gets along famously with the tribal hunters, having participated in several hunts stripped down to just a loincloth. The hunters in return have made him an adopted Balazaring and hold him great respect. The Yelmalio worshippers in the citadel begrudge his popularity with the people and often lecture those who deal favorably with him or his follower.
He is in the Balazaring region for several reasons: to seek after adventure (always a good reason); to quest after the legendary Windsword; to protect the Chalana Arroy Priestess who has made her home here; and to be near his compatriot Pay Sumey, who in turn has made it her mission to protect her aunt, Dushi Sone. He feels that he has finally found a home in the Balazaring region.
Torath Manover is convinced that the Lunar Empire is an oppressive and evil empire "to the west" which if bent upon conquering the whole world and which will stop at nothing to achieve its end. He will spout this opinion anytime where it seems appropriate and is actively engaged in convincing others to join his crusade.
Other Lightbringers will agree with Torath's opinion and stoutly defend their friend, but they are not quite so hard-bitten about it. The relation between Torath and Pay is rather complex; they are both engaged in friendly competition to find the Windsword. They are attracted to each other, but are embarrassed to deal with it, and so the relationship goes unfulfilled.
He is several years her senior and is. beginning to develop a bit of paunch around the waist (normally occuring during the winter and disappearing about midway through an adventure) that makes him slightly self-conscious. Torath is particularly interested in rumors concerning the Windsword. He wants to convert new followers to his god and enjoys expanding his personal entourage with other Orlanthi.
Dushi Sone
Dushi is an elderly Priestess of Chalana Arroy who has seen much in her youth and now only
wishes to find a place where she can live in peace and help those in need. She feels that
she has found such a place in Trilus of Balazar. She was originally an ill-treated Lunar
slave who escaped to the Grazelands and later committed her entire life to healing others
through Chalana Arroy. Pay Surney is her neice through marriage and the two share a family
devotion. After her husband, an Arroin Priest, was killed in their house by a slavering,
chaotic horror that left nothing to Resurrect, she left her home near Rich Post forever,
seeking solace elsewhere in the world. In Alone, where Torath was battling-marauding
giants, Dushi and her niece were reunited, and determined then to travel together. Thus
she has come to love Trilus. She now has several disciples among the local women and hopes
to see one become a Priestess before she herself goes on to join the goddess.
As mentioned, Dushi Sone is an old woman, about 52 or 53. She is in good health, but is not really fit for adventuring. The last years of traveling with Torath and Pay aged her greatly. She is extremely patient and loves small children (don't kick annoying brats while she's around). She is a busybody and also considers herself to be a matchmaker. She is always trying to "set up" the followers of Torath and Pay with each other and with other Lightbringers who may be passing through.
While she likes almost everybody, she distrusts the Lunars, dislikes Rhegus White-Hair and thinks that Issaries Priest Joh Mith is a little too formal in his dealings with her. Of all the Lightbringers, she alone has met the mysterious shaman Blue Face. She has a vague memory of being saved in her flight from slavery by a strange, blue-grey-colored swordtoothed cat. Local legend has it that this was Blue Face. Since coming to Trilus, she has encountered him once. He required her aid to heal several hunters who had been badly mangled by a stampede. They were brought in by four huge docile bisons led by a wiry old man with a face tatooed bright blue.
Bluebird
The mysterious Bluebird is a Rune Lord-Priest of the Lankhor Mhy cult and hails from
far-off Esrolia. Bluebird is 25 years old. He is sharp-featured and dark-haired. The ends
of his hair and beard show that they were once dyed grey. He tends to favor blue clothing.
He also favors a limp in his left leg (some claimthat this is contrived and have seen him
favoring the other leg occasionally). He is silent when around strangers and rarely talks
unreservedly even in the presence of the other Lightbringers leaders. His only close
friend and companion, Valka Runewolf, disappeared recently. Bluebird has been unable to
leam his whereabouts.
The reason for Bluebird's presence in Balazar is a secret. While he has sought information about Griffin Mountain, none but himself and Valka know that they are fugitives. Bluebird is wanted by the Esrolians, by the cult of Lankhor Mhy, and by the Lunar Empire. His crime was to prevent the theft of important documents from the Lankhor Mhy temple at New Crystal City. During the encounter, he caused the thief to tumble off the roof of the temple, while Valka Runewolf slew his accomplice. outright. The documents, clutched in the hand of the thief, floated off into the night, never to be seen again. Bluebird and Valka were immediately accused of murder, theft, and destruction of knowledge by a priest who was in on the plot. The dead thief was a Lunar official named Halcyon Var Enkorth (who was later resurrected) and his accomplice was an unnamed ogre (a fact that was never revealed).
The fiasco aborted an important trade deal with the Lunars, cast the Lankhor Mhy temple into disgrace, and found both the scroll and Bluebird missing. Through deductive work, he discovered that the missing scroll concerned the location of a particularly vile chaos holy ground in the Balazar/Elder Wilds region. Secretly he came north and was not surprised to find that Halcyon Var Enkorth, recently back from the dead, had preceded him, accompanied by another familiar name, Marusa, Priestess of Jalakeel the Witch. Aside from his questings into the locale of Griffin Mountain and other various phenomenons, Bluebird wants to determine whether or not the Lunar agents did get the scroll and what (if anything) they are going to do with it. He fears the worse for his missing friend, Valka.
Valka Runewolf
A scion of a poor noble house of New Crystal City, Esrolia. He accompanied his master,
Bluebird, north when he was forced to flee. He met trader Gondo Holst in Trilus and was
swayed by his claim of knowledge about Griffin Mountain. He joined the cravan immediately,
trusting Gondo Holst to send a message to Bluebird. This trust was misplaced, and Valka
was Harmonized and put into slave bracelets the first night out of Trilus.
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