Works in progress

A couple of previews of things/sketches I've been working on recently... (since this blog has been rather quiet of late).

The first is an early-stage sketch of wereduck s(w)ord sage of Lhankor Mhy. I'd had a few ideas on this subject and--if I didn't already have enough on my plate--decided to doodle them out by way of exploration. Strapped to his back is Shrumgiglorbb, the magic sword of the fungal Black Elves. It's made of rotting wood and its pommel is a large mushroom that glows in different colours. (I was mostly sober when I came up with that bit.)


The second is a quick scan of a work in progress, entitled: "The Upland Marsh is a great place for a picnic."

Once upon a time...

As Mongoose's Ducks: Guide to the Durulz will be with us soon, I've started pondering Second Age ducks. I've never given them that much thought before now. This is largely a function of Gloranthadom's debate on the origin of the Dragon Pass ducks (do they date back to the Dawn or are they one of Delecti's creations?), a question I've never really felt the need to know the answer to. And even if I do lean against the Delectiite hypothesis when pushed, I think it's great fun and would never wish to purposefully contradict it.

I still don't know what answer Mongoose will provide, but started doodling anyway. This is my impression of a Second Age wereduck warrior (sepia-tinted, naturally!). Many of the usual motifs I like to use are all there, but I tried to make him look a little more noble(!) and edified(!). The stylised mollusc-helm, leaf-shaped shield and armoured mantle are present. This time I went for a coat of laminar armour, which I think works quite well.

I ummed and ahhed over incorporating any EWF symbology, but ultimately decided against. Don't be surprised, however, if the next time you see this image it is flipped on its vertical axis...

King Thunderthroat

It's been a while since I posted some new stuff, but I've just finished off some art for Newt's next issue of Hearts in Glorantha. This here picture is of King Thunderthroat (being the fourth of that ilk), who died bravely at Grizzly Peak. Maybe. He wears a snailhelm, marked with his royal cartouche (egg-shaped, naturally).

Hen-Hur

Finally finished off that last piccy for Newt's Hearts in Glorantha, today, which I've been keeping him waiting for for too long. I even brought my scanner to California for that purpose. (It's not as if they don't have technology in CA, obviously--rather more that I didn't feel comfortable asking the staff at the rather genteel Huntington if I could use a scanner to copy an image of an anthropomorphic duck charioteer with her doobies hanging out.)

I notice that I've forgotten a few details, but I can't prevaricate any longer... 'tis done! I'm looking forward to seeing the 'zine, and hope it's the first of many. I also hope it can add a little of the, dare I say it, cultured insouciance that I like in Gloranthan fan publications.

With the opening up of the 'official' writing process in particular, I worry that there is too great a pretension to worth and acceptability in the community. Write what you enjoy--if folks like it, great; if they don't like it, that's great too. It's a make-believe world wherein you pretend to be tapirs and ducks, after all.

Did you know (II)...

... that in the mid-1600s S.T. many durulz started wearing wigs?

At least a couple of the various individuals denoted 'Argrath' spent some time to the east of Dragon Pass, in and around Pavis and the Wastelands of Prax. When they went west to fight in the Hero Wars and reclaim Sartar, they brought some of their Praxian friends and allies with them.

A quick recollection of the most famous birds of Prax will suggest one common characteristic: they're all bald. Condors, vultures, the ostriches rode by their pygmy masters--all distinctly lacking in hair on the head and neck. Even if they do possess some hair, it's at most a very faint layer of down, or a basal neck frill.

There are varying suggestions as to why this might be the case, ranging from mundane practicality to legends of vindictive spirits. Perhaps the latter has some truth to it, for there are tales that some of the wereducks that fled to Prax (in the aftermath of the fall of Boldhome in 1602 S.T., or Starbrow's Revolt in 1613 S.T.) started going bald, too.

This correspondence appears to have been transferred to Dragon Pass in the later 1620s S.T. Many ducks serving alongside ostrich-rider mercenaries started to moult. No-one's entirely sure why, but moult they did. The effect was largely limited to the head and neck feathers, though in some wereducks spread to the shoulder feathers (scapulars), too.

Now, durulz are quite proud of their plumage--especially your average mallard--and this came as a horrible shock. As the moulting spread, many sought ways to hide this displumagement. The answer? The feathered periwig.

Created from moulted feathers and down, these quite elaborate constructions soon became articles de rigueur for any self-respecting durulz, balding or not. Most tended to reach down to the scapulars, but some went even further. A few 'stylish' individuals sought feathers other than their own, from wondrous birds in far-off lands. The aesthetics of such are open to interpretation.

The moulting eventually stopped, but for a few decades this strange little people became a little stranger.

Esrolian axehen (c. 1605)

M. Esrolian axehen (c. 1605). In addition to the ten thousand or so ducks living in Dragon Pass, the Pharaoh's agents once estimated that there were anywhere up to 40,000 dwelling in the southern reaches of Maniria. Though less is known of these largely tranquil folk than their, dare one say, rather more pugnacious brethren to the north, they occasionally venture into the pages of history. Lacking the particular influence of the Upland Marsh, elements of their culture and creed can seem somewhat different.

These durulz lived in peace in the Holy Country, possessing a reverence for their pharaonic protector that matched their fellows' for Sartar. Sadly the Pharaoh's death (the ducks prefer 'disappearance') has robbed them of much of their happiness and security. Now the cruel Wolf Pirates' longships set the shores ablaze, and barbaric vagabonds pillage their nests. The Holy Country durulz, who had proved a safe harbour for their nothern kin in the aftermath of Starbrow's Revolt, are raided and hunted by foes of their own.

Some have fled farther afield; others, particularly of a villainous persuasion, have even sought to join the pirates! But some have taken up arms to defend their nests and people, and spoken oaths to ancient and violent gods; oaths that had not been uttered in many a year.

This axehen is one such defender of the Manirian durulz. Living on the fringes of Esrolia, her clan had always followed the ways of the Earth closely. In peace this brought wisdom and bounty, but in war it has unleashed all the most savage, chthonic demons of myth. These durulz warrioresses are fearless, shrieking harridans, matching the Wolf Pirates' savagery with their own. They seek nothing more than to thrust their beaks into a still living man's guts, and drink his blood and bile. Though such fighters are more common now, there are tales of forebears fighting for the Pharaoh at the Battle of Building Wall (1605 S.T.).

She worships that deity the humans call Erantha Gor, the war-goddess who watches over the washing of the axes. Her patron's rune is marked upon her necklace, below that of a quieter time. She is largely unarmoured, dressed in an Esrolian kilt and ceremonial neck-rings, and carries a square shield, plated in copper and painted with the runes of Maran Gor, Babeester Gor and the Many-Mawed Mother. Her copper skull-and-beak-cap is peculiar to the durulz, providing some measure of protection to the forehead, eyes and bill.

Durulz religion: two perspectives

L. Durulz acolyte of The Stream, and hen crone (c. 1600). The mysteries of durulz religion are somewhat ... mysterious. Few outsiders have witnessed their greatest rites and ceremonies, and in the aftermath of the '13 this relative ignorance has been exacerbated, as the duckish diaspora went to ground. At the very simplest of levels, most travellers speak as though the durulz worship gods akin to the Storm and Earth pantheons, albeit with their own peculiar differences. Their preference for the Death God is much avowed, but more importantly a variety of clan and tribe godlings and nature entities, such as the Swan Mother, serve to differentiate the durulz from their neighbours.

The figure on the left is an acolyte of the local 'river god', The Stream. This ancient essence is the most powerful of the landscape entities in the Durulz Valley, and very important to the riverine ducks. That said, it is cloaked in an aura of mystery for many, for its ways and wants tend to be guarded by a strange sect of durulz priests. Though many nests occasionally teach the most basic of clumsy spells and rites to their fisherducks and boaters, these are paltry magics, usually learnt in legend from the denizens of the waterway, and not The Stream itself.

It is the acolytes, usually itinerants, who learn the greater powers and often guard them from their kin: to be able gaze into its depths, to sense the currents and, most important of all, to summon the undines that are its children. These acolytes form a curious lot; lacking truly beneficent magics, they are often viewed as trouble-makers. Indeed the undines they summon are very powerful and difficult to control; mostly they are summoned by small groups of chanting acolytes, who strain themselves to retain power of the magical waters. These adherents often make pilgrimages into the mountains, to visit the sacred pools and birthplace of their 'god'.

On the right is a venerable wiseduck, a crone priestess of the Earth Mother. She is a great repository of lore and learning, and crouches upon her seat of honour: a giant stone egg. Her great age is shown by the four copper medallions that hang from her neck, each one representing in runic form a great stage in her life. Among female durulz, these necklaces are easy gauges of socio-religious power and prestige. They do not always conform to Heortling notions of generations in the Earth Tribe, but momentous stages in one's life. The four runes on this crone are, in sequence, those of the goddesses the Heortlings call Voria, Maran Gor, Ernalda the Queen and Asrelia.

"Zombies, sir! Thousands of 'em!"

I've posted some slightly more ... restrained ... thoughts on Lunar duck auxiliaries here, but this clean-limbed son of the Red Goddess made an appearance in the 2004 Continuum conbook, Magnus Liber Rerum. As an officer in the Imperial Durulz Constabulary (Duke Euglyptus' Own Marsh Wardens) he keeps the peace. Irrespective of whether he's mounted on his (Masonic sorcery-wielding) giant beaver or not.

Yanafowl Tarnbill

Though my own thoughts on ducks have been pretty light-hearted at times, I've usually tried to avoid some of the more common jokes in the community. Not necessarily because I don't like them--I do, and think they have their own fun place--but because I wanted to try something a little different. This following cult write-up of Yanafowl Tarnbill, therefore, marks something of an homage to John Castellucci and "What the Beak Quacks."




Yanafowl Tarnbill
“Warbler and Warrior”

Yanafowl Tarnbill was a durulz, a Hueymakti commander of the D­ucks And legion who traveled with his comrades to the far north and there performed a great ritual; one that reforged the shards of the Red Cosmic Egg, and cast it into the Sky in the Dehatching of Ruffled Zar. He fought his own god to gain divinity, and now resides within the Egg itself. For some utterly ludicrous reason (as also noted in the case of Hueymakt) humans persist in the notion of defining every major cosmic entity as one of their own kind (a foible to which the durulz are of course immune). The predominantly human congregation of the Red Cosmic Egg claimed that Yanafowl was from Yuthuppa, and sought to hide his durulz heritage in insinuated links to the bird-loving Rinliddi.

Yanafowl is war-god supreme of the durulz, greater even than Efrodar Blackflippers, though followed only by those dedicated to the gospels of the Red Cosmic Egg. In life, he was a master of the two greatest forms of warfare in the world: marshland operations and riverine barge fighting. As a god of unparalleled martial excellence, inextinguishable valor and unquestioned honor, worship of Yanafowl is naturally rare among the durulz. Nevertheless, The God That Defeated Hueymakt has no little kudos attached, and is seen as a refreshing alternative to the grim psychoses of the Deathdrakes by many nascent war-leaders and waghalters. Yanafowl’s followers are true heroes and dogged enemies of all Hueymakti bandits, splendidly marked by their large Eggshard scimitars, bronze panoply, crimson togas and scarlet-dyed war feathers.

Entry Requirements: Candidates must defeat a Hueymakti in single combat.

Abilities: Command River Barge, Egg Eye, Initiate or Devotee of Yanafowl Tarnbill, Marshland Fighting Tactics, Marshlore, Oratory, Riverine Tactics, Two-Handed Scimitar Fighting.

Virtues: Honorable, Militaristic, Valorous, Warmonger.

Affinities and Feats:
Marshland Myrmidon (Cunning Stratagem, Feigned Retreat, Perceive Enemy in Mist, Real Retreat, Silent Approach, Whistled Command)
River Reiver (Boarding Bound, Daring Dash, Engage the Enemy More Closely, Swim Silently)
Warbling Warlord (Feathers of Iron, Reinvigorating Yodel, Slicing Scimitar, Strike Aside Death, Warble of Command)

Secret: Defeat Death (if reduced to Dying in a contest, the Yanafowli may once only roll the rating of his secret against a passive resistance, and if successful return to the contest Unhurt, with 1 AP)

Other Side: Yanafowl Tarnbill serves Ruffled Zar in the Red Cosmic Egg, and loyal warriors join his glorious legions upon their passing from the Mortal World.

(Originally posted on HeroQuest-RPG, 9 July 2005.)

Confounding My Academic Nemesis

Those who have followed my travails will be aware of my continuing academic disagreements in the field of durulzology, with no lesser a personage than Mr Keith Nellist. His residence in the Antipodes, home in itself to all manner of strange explorations in the durulzological sciences, has only exacerbated this rift.

In a letter to the Editor of the Glorantha Digest, Friday 3 February 2006, Mr Nellist stated that he was "going to compare [Dr Stansfield's] Caladraland stone heads to an Erich von Daeniken-style Chariots of the Gods theory - in other words, one that I do not really believe."

Though I personally think a comparison to the wholly eminent research of Herr von Daeniken is not pejorative in any sense, this resulted in a strident response from myself, to wit:

"If you are implying, [Mr Nellist], that the fact that I alone have met, befriended and caroused with the hitherto unknown Caladran duck tribe, ignored of anatopology; that I alone have been trusted with their secrets, for they will meet with no others; and that I have no photographic or representative evidence to prove my claims whatsoever, other than a quick sketch which curiously includes the word 'concept'... somehow invalidates the empirical basis of my research, then I'm outraged."

Nevertheless, Mr Nellist had a point. My evidence was somewhat limited; my recollection hazy. Therefore I embarked upon a new expedition into the Caladran jungles, and was overjoyed to bring forth new, wholly irrefutable evidence for my claims. I ask, gentle reader, whether such penetrating insights could possibly be the product of a madman or a charlatan?

Durulz Royal Guard (c. 1582)

K. Durulz royal guard (c. 1582). The durulz revere Sartar as if he were one of their own, and the bond between the Duck Tribe and the heroic Founder's Royal House has always been close. Many durulz warriors have given oaths of service to Sartar's kin and, though lacking the fame of such later groups as the Household of Death, have served with diligence and duty.

The skalds sing that several durulz fought and died under Tarkalor's banner at the Battle of Grizzly Peak (1582). It is unknown whether this particular figure, annotated as a 'royal guard' in the records, served as guard to the Duck Tribe's king, or the King of Sartar himself. Though his panoply might indicate the latter (see below), there is a strong tradition of self-identification with the Sartar cultus among durulz kings, and none can be sure.

The drake pictured is well-armed and armoured. He wears a hauberk and coif of bronze mail, reinforced with a mantle of leather and bronze. The finely tooled mollusc-helm is of the Type Ia variety, with a gold eye- and beak-guard. The shield is of the round, heroic form, plated with bronze and decorated with the rune of Sartar. The brightly coloured feathers are symbols of pomp and pride. Bronze greaves adorn the legs. The wavy-headed river-spear is tipped with rare iron, and supplemented with a double-edged, thrusting durulz groin-sword.

(Originally posted on ImmoderateGloranthaQuest, 15 December 2007.)

Gawkip Pucewattle, Durulz Snailherd

J. Gawkip Pucewattle, durulz snailherd (c. 1612). The ducks' love of snails, slugs and molluscs in general is well known, and many of the larger species have been domesticated. The wetlands bordering The Stream and the Upland Marsh are ideal territory for snails, and there are some right big 'uns! The durulz herd them into routs, protect them, and lead them to good eating away from their own arable centres. Snail-herding can be a dangerous job, and most snailherds are alert and armed. The largest snails (and their valuable shells) command a high price, and snail raids are not uncommon--though quick getaways can be a problem.

Snailherds also drive their charges to market when required, ready for the spit, oven or pot. These droves can render even the most pacific traveller irate, for the painfully slow-moving snails clog the roads, crossings and pathways for what seems an eternity; a single rout can take as long as two days to cross a road!

Pucewattle is dressed in a similar style to many of his fellows. His leather kilt, marsh-gaiters and hood provide shelter and protection, along with his long, oiled raincape. His thick leather belt is marked with the rune of 'Old Gusty Wusty', as the Storm God is commonly called; his curved, durulz-style slashing sword (a little like a kukri) is tucked into it. Gawkip also carries a sling, and has a pouch holding his sling-pebbles.

To his snailherd's crook is attached a curious lantern, of a manufacture that is peculiar to the durulz. They prize empty glass gin bottles, discarded from Lunar soldiers (or, indeed, their own use--durulz have a weakness for gin, particularly on the long, long, long mollusc-droves), and place in the bottom a little bit of a certain fungus. This fungus attracts the various species of luminous marshflies common to the Upland Marsh; once they are collected, the bottle is stopped with a porous bung, and forms a useful little lamp.

(Originally posted on ImmoderateGloranthaQuest, 14 December 2007.)

"Hail, Moonson! Those who are about to die..."

H. Durulz gladiator (c. 1624). Though many ducks were slain for the bill-bounty in the aftermath of Starbrow's Rebellion, others still were enslaved by the Lunars. For some entrepreneurs the durulz's small bodies made them ideal for the mines; but for others they were taken simply as curios and oddities to be displayed in theHeartlands. Given the Lunar Empire's penchant for novelty and Inclusiveness, it was not long before these short, feathered unfortunates were cast into the gladiatorial arenas.

The earliest bouts were massacres, as quivering drakes were overwhelmed by the magnitude of the spectacle, offput by the dry, featureless arena floors, and slaughtered for the amusement of baying crowds. Then things started to change. The durulz that survived, mostly by luck, began to adapt; and, most importantly, they won the crowds to their side.

Why? Ducks are ready-made favourites of the arena. Being small ands light compared to most of their foes, they revel in the role of the underdog. When confident they are boastful, preening, irrepressible show-offs. And they display a tenacity and sheer vindictiveness thati s all too often absent in the arena, dominated by professional gladiators who commonly 'go easy' on each other for mutual benefit. Not the durulz.

After all, all durulz gladiators worship the god the Heortlings call Humakt. Even those (the majority) who don't. Quick to spot the mesmerising effect this barbaric Death God had on the crowds, lanistas and patrons made sure that their charges hammed up every aspect of his worship, littering their performances with grim Humakti songs and oaths, strange sword-dances and chilling warbled cries. Pairings between a Humakti and a Shargashi are among the most eagerly awaited in the arena!

This particular gladiator shows several features of the 'durulz style', focusing on speed and nimbleness. He is outfitted with two distinctly durulz items: a Type Va mollusc-helm, crafted from a real shell, with a mail neck-guard; and a durulz wingblade--a large serrated version of the single-edged falcata. The wingblade is used to slash and tear at the muscles and hamstrings of opponents, to weaken them, cripple them, and allow the drake to eventually deliver a killing stroke. This style of fighting is much loved by the crowds, for the short stature of the durulz means that they are rarely able to deliver a 'quick kill' by virtue of strikes to the neck and chest, and thus fight a longer bout, giving the crowd their money's worth. A shield is also carried, but not shown here.

(Originally posted on World of Glorantha, 12 December 2007.)

"Quo vadis, lispbeak?"

G. Two Lunar durulz auxiliaries (c. 1617). Being a somewhat fractious race, with many existing quarrels, it is perhaps not surprising that some durulz turned 'quackling' (as the phrase goes). Faced with slavery or liquidation, a few sought to take Moonson's salt insteadof fleeing into the Marsh. Motivations varied, from cowardice and/or a wish for amnesty, to revenge, greed, or simply a desire for cheap Lunar gin. Few, if any, were inspired by the finer points of Sedenyic philosophy. Irrespective of their reasons, they can expect nothing but cruel tortures if captured by their rebel kin; a fact that spurs a reciprocal hatred of their own.

Initially the Lunars were unconvinced at the utility of accepting such recruits, but the sheer number of bounties claimed, and the gradual increase in intensity and effectiveness of durulz guerilla attacks, suggested a change of approach. For the first year of their employment the durulz mainly served in an individual capacity as scouts, often roped and under ready threat of death at the slightest treachery. With time, and more recruits, the Lunars began to form small squads for other operations. Though some of these 'units' were composed of divers scouts and new recruits gathered together for the purpose, others were raised by the issue of warrants to ready-made, self-formed bands of murderers, looters and vagabonds.

Durulz auxiliaries usually muster in squads of six to ten drakes, led by a sord-septon. (Originally, the Lunars used Rinliddi terminology, but abandoned it when they found that none of the ducks could pronounce vrimon properly. Truth be told, they don't manage much better with septon.) There are probably no more than a hundred or so lunar durulz auxiliaries in total. They form important roles as scouts and boatducks, and are often detached to act as logistical troops for the Lunar Harbingers, much to their (mutual) chagrin.

The drake on the left is a sord-septon, commanding a small patrol. His panoply displays many Pelorian items: though the Lunars were at first content to let the durulz equip themselves as they could, they soon discovered that some of their equipment fascinated the preening ducks, and had a noticeable effect upon morale and attention to duty when issued in cut-down sizes. This officer carries a durulz slashing sword, and a painted Lunar peltast's shield. The 'bellied' cuirass, moulded to fit a drake's torso, is typically of bronze or boiled leather. His Pelorian helm is marked with a red and a black feather, and he proudly wears a scarlet cloak.

The drake on the right is an archer, with a motley set of equipment. His armour is a leather scale vest with mail shoulders, and he wears a loose leather cap. His bow is not particularly powerful. The shattered duck egg at the figures' feet displays the brutalities in which both sides engage.

Originally posted on ImmoderateGloranthaQuest, 12 December 2007.)

Durulz Toad-Rider (c. 1628)

F. A sketch of a Durulz Valley Toad-Rider (c. 1628). Mounted atop one of the fabled Giant Swamp Toads of the Upland Marsh (albeit a smaller member of the species), this cavalrydrake represents one of the rarer and more peculiar brands of durulz warrior. Most ducks fight on 'foot' (such as it is) amid the local wetlands, and mounted forces are rare. Giant Swamp Toads provide a rapid (if juddery) method of deployment, and are valued as scouts and shock-troops. The carnivorous toads are vicious and hard to control, and must be captured and trained with care. The duck attempts--often by way of a lengthy process--to direct the beast using his mahout's whipstick, and for extra safety is secured to the saddle by his thick leather belt. His accoutrements are typical of a durulz warrior: his armour comprises a bronze-plate shoulder-mantle, mail vest and Type IIIb mollusc-helm with mail neck-guard; and he wields a long pennanted lance. Most usually carry a heavy, single-edged duckish falcata-style sword in addition. The feathered back-banner is an expression of personal glory and battlefield communication.

(Originally posted on World of Glorantha, 10 December 2007.)

Hen Nestguard (c. 1612)

E. A 'Gorite' hen nestguard (c. 1612). The rites of birth and hatching are the most important in durulz society. As drake attitudes to duty during incubation and fledging vary, but tend towards neglect (some, for example, return to homosexual relationships after the mating season), systemised forms of ritual observance, care and defence have developed among the hen population. The various 'Gorite' cults, prevalent in analogous form among the ducks as among humans (and often possessing some links to Wintertop), form the central component of this apparatus.

Nestguard warrioresses present a competence and permanence that is rivalled only by the 'professional' warriors of the noble retinues, durulz warbands and certain militant cults. Paradoxically, though their social focus is defensive, their tactics are aggressive and attack-oriented. Courageous and vengeful, nestguards might appear frenzied but are in truth considered, practising a ruthlessly measured application of violence. Their shrill wails and calls are disturbing and can incite panic.

During the rebellion of 1613, such nestguards proved themselves the staunchest and most effective defenders of the Duck Tribe, even more so than the adherents of the durulz Death God. When the Lunars moved to destroy the durulz, the nestguards (and many other hens) remained to defend the nests--the eggs, the hatchlings, the fledgelings--until death. Not a single nestguard survived past 1614; all perished.

Contrast this with the current, inflated numbers of worshippers of the Death God, who survived the reprisals by fleeing, or moving to prosecute guerilla warfare in the Marsh and wilderness, abandoning the settlements. The loss of so many hens created a drake-hen imbalance that persists in 1621, and in part accounts for the ubiquity of the 'Deathdrake' among the warrior class. Still, the ranks of the nestguards are slowly recovering, as the spirits of dead sisters and mothers inspire new adherents to take up the role.

This particular nestguard is typical of those that defended the towns of Quackford and Stone Nest. She wears little armour, with just a wide gorget/mantle of bronze plates on top of her ceremonial robes, marked with the decals of the Many-Mawed Mother. Copper cultic rings adorn the neck, forearms and shins. The hen carries no shield, but instead wields two straight, double-edged bronze swords of the durulz pattern.

(Originally posted on ImmoderateGloranthaQuest, 10 December 2007.)

Two Drake Rebels (c. 1615)

D. A sketch of two drake rebels (c. 1615). Given their stature and agility, durulz often fight in teams of two or three, with one warrior seeking to distract or fix an opponent, while a comrade manoeuvres to gain an advantage and deal a crippling or killing blow. This bears many similarities to the heroic Orlanthi styles of combat, with the Four Winds/Storms--though durulz are less averse to piling in all at once.

The figure on the left is a warrior of some repute in his society. Rather than wear a mollusc-helm, he possesses a bronze cap of Heortling style and manufacture, with a centaur-tail plume. A mail mantle covers his shoulders and upper torso, underlain with a thin layer of leather; the bag at his side simply holds his rations of grubs, mushrooms and herbs. The shield is of the distinctly leaf-shaped durulz pattern. This particular shield is of canvas-covered wood, though some are plated in bronze. It is tall (for a durulz) and angles away from a centre ridge. Notable is the presence of a sharp base-spike, used to either help secure a shield wall or pin an enemy's foot. The sword displays the thinking, manufacture and practice behind another school of durulz fighting. Straight and double-edged with a sharp point, it is manufactured from a single piece of bronze by accomplished redsmiths. Though it can be (and is) used in a manner similar to the single-edged falcata, striking at the legs, it is more often thrust up into man-sized creatures' groin areas--to incapacitate the target and render it vulnerable to a killing blow.

The figure on the right is a speardrake. He is of lesser position and background, and accompanies the warrior in battle. His armour follows the same pattern as his comrade's--protective headgear and a mantle across his upper body--but is made from leather. The drake carries a longish groin- or crotch-spear, with a wickedly serrated head. Weapons such as this are used to 'fix' an opponent in the groin or abdomen, to allow other warriors to hamstring the foe and then deliver a killing blow. Note the somewhat haphazard stuffing of reeds into the belt and mantle, forming a rudimentary element of disguise; a practice that would ultimately develop into the ghillie-style suits of later years.

(Originally posted on ImmoderateGloranthaQuest, 9 December 2007.)

Type VIa (ceremonial) mollusc-helm (c. 1580s)

C. A sketch of a hen of some import (c. 1580s; note the neck-rings common to many wealthy female durulz) wearing a Type VIa ceremonial helmet famously taken as booty by the Lunars in 1613; also known as the Carmen Miranda helm. (*sigh*)

(Originally posted on ImmoderateGloranthaQuest, 9 December 2007.)

Type IIa mollusc-helm (c. 1614)

B. A sketch of a drake noble (c. 1614) wearing a Type IIa mollusc-helm, wrought from an actual snail-shell. Most mollusc-helms are bronze; actual examples of this form are relatively rare, and usually retained as valued heirlooms. Image reconstructed from a pebble mural preserved in the ruins of Stone Nest.

(Originally posted on ImmoderateGloranthaQuest, 9 December 2007.)

Drake Warrior (c. 1600)

A. A sketch of a drake warrior (c. 1600) in the Heroic or Quackford Panoply. He wears what would later be called a Type IIIb mollusc-helm, made of bronze, with a bronze mail neck-guard and minimal decoration. The armoured mantle of leather and bronze across the shoulders is common among duck warriors, as a focused defence against downward blows from larger creatures. The falcata-style sword has a heavy, curved single-edged blade--commonly used in a manner that aims to cripple a man-sized foe with severe injuries to the anterior quadriceps and posterior tendons, it can sever a man's leg at the knee if of good quality and wielded with sufficient force.

The shield provides the main article of defence; it is large and typically fairly heavy, being required to deflect blows of considerable moment issued from height. Its convex wooden frame is plated with a thin sheet of bronze. The shield itself is decorated with the rune and depiction of the Many-Mawed Mother: a demon who is usually considered to be a duckish version of Gorgorma, said to possess eight-hundred and eighty-eight fanged bills. He also wears a typical durulz back-banner, marked with colourful feathers. Banners provide not only a mode of identification and personal expression, but also an atavistic link to myth and (when waxed) some further control in the water.

(Originally posted on ImmoderateGloranthaQuest, 9 December 2007.)