Introduction to Fonrit

by Greg Stafford and Sandy Petersen

originally published in a longer form in Heroes Volume 1, #6

This document is Copyright © 1997 Chaosium, Inc. It may be freely linked to, and one copy may be printed for personal use, but any other reproduction by photographic, electronic, or other methods of retrieval, is prohibited.

Table of Contents

"I am a slave of mighty (name), from the city of (city name). Who is your master, stranger?"

The Land of Fonrit

Description

Fonrit is a land of pleasant semitropical clime whose growth is luscious, but not dense enough to be elf jungle. The major subdivisions of Fonrit are the regions of Afadjann, Kareeshtu, Banamba, and Mondoro.

Inhabitants

Fonrit is primarily inhabited by folk of mixed blue and black origin, called the Torabs. The upper class is incredibly wealthy and powerful, the poor ruthlessly taxed and beggared into heartless slavery.

Culture

Fonritian. Of the Fonritian cultures, the Afadjanni are of particular interest, as they are less dominated by slavery, and their culture contains some interesting differences from Kareeshtu. Among the non-slaves of Afadjann, society is divided into two kinds of people, based on whether the family's mother is of tsanyano("Renewed") or bolgaddi("Oldster") ancestry. The Renewed are liberal in their attitudes, allowing slaves to marry, (rarely) buy their freedom, and enjoy limited religious choice. Oldsters are fierce and relentless. "To live is to suffer" is their motto, and they judge themselves by the same implacable standard they apply to their slaves. Some cities are dominated by one or the other class, but most are factionalized.

Language

Fonritian, Kareeshtan, Afadjanni, Mondoron; Banamban is spoken most of Laskal. Thinokan is the preferred language in the land of Thinokos.

Government

Slavocracy.

Military

Each city in Fonrit has at least one contingent of professional soldiers, owned by their commanding officers who are in turn owned by various ruling contingents. As is usual in Pamaltela, good horses must be imported and cavalry is rare. The ruling faction of each city state has a professional bodyguard, usually composed of hand-picked, free, highly-paid foreign merceneries, skilled in their particular magics. Most magic on the field is in the hands of powerful sorcerers aided by assistants. Other magic units are made up of small bodies of temple priests, especially those of Orlanth, Malkion, and the Two Brothers.

Religion

Among the Afadjanni the most important god, by virtue of his political import, is Darleester of the Noose. This god gives a spell of compulsion to the high priest, the jann, who can teach the spell to others who are already under his compulsion. The duration of the spell is for the lifetime of the caster. Earth spirits, fishing spirits, ancestor worship, and city spirits abound. Powerful religions are variously state-supported by particular cities. In Sarro, Orlanth is the deity; in Ebbeshal, the Invisible God; in Yngortu, "The Two Brothers" (Humakt and Zorak Zoran). The priesthoods are inevitably corrupt and form one of the factions in their cities.

People of Note

Astamanyx: Jann of Afadjann. Once simply the ruler of the small city of Teshvashoros, he was supported in rebellion by Kareeshtan money and, at the critical juncture, ships.

Ovgormangis: The self-styled Prince, this rebel is in exile in Barueli, a city in the wilderness of Mondoro known for its wicked customs. He raids, plots, spies, and foments rebellion hoping to regain his father's position as jann, which was usurped by Astamanyx.

Energastor: Called Sister Philosopher, this old woman is the leading spokeswoman for the Renewed. She hobbles about the land followed by cohorts of listeners thriving on her messages of peace, fertility, and liberation for all descendants of the Renewed.

History of Fonrit

The inhabitants at the start of time were simple "blues," survivors of the near-forgotten Artmali empire. They owned magnificant boats, worshipped crippled gods, and ate snails, worms, and fish but flesh from no animal or bird. By the year 500 immigrants moving north from the region of Laskal had infiltrated the region. Their leader, Garangordos, called the Cruel, renewed old traditions about the blues, effected ancient rites against them, and enslaved or killed them all. Garangordos was killed by his brother, whose seventeen brothers and sisters dismembered the fratricide and divided the land among themselves. Ever since, all of Fonrit has been divided into many hostile factions.

During the Age of Empires Kareeshtu's strategic naval position made it a center of activity. Soon, the Middle Sea Empire dominated Kareeshtu's politics and economy, and ultimately affected Kareeshtan culture. The God Learner doctrine that nobody is free altered the very meaning of slavery, and moderated the local slave traditions into a less malignant attitude. Now, some slaves of Fonrit are freer than the serfs of barbarian lands.

The Closing scoured the Fonrit coasts. In 942 ships were pushed ashore, dragged under, broken by waves, attacked by monsters, and burst by magic. In Kareeshtu in 943 the Pillars of Water rose, blocking all possible traffic between the islands and the mainland, and the the River Waves, washing miles inland from the sea carrying an army of watery enemies, began to flow. In 944 the Pillars of Water began leaping from their places and splashing down in places about the land and islands, and the fleet of the dead sailed across the land wreaking havoc and spreading terror. Other depredations continued, such as the Week of Squid in 1112, but most of the worst violence was over by 955. During the Closing, the only significant event was a great influx of people fleeing the invasion of the Yranian Leapers, especially from 1320 to 1325. The local Ludoch mermen provided vital communication between islands and the mainland to defeat the Yranians.

In 1587, the Vadeli fleet, with Afadjanni allies, attacked and conquered Kareeshtu. Their domination was brief, for in 1594 the Vadeli were destroyed in the great naval Battle of Oenriko Rock. In 1613, the Kareeshtan fleet assisted the current Jann of Afadjann into power. He has since betrayed the trust placed in him, and now fights against Kareeshtu.


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