And if, how wound he do since there should be no slavery in Kurn.
Any Ideas how the relation between Oronis and the Dragon was?
I don't think it's cannon but I believe someone had the following theory. Daskinor, in all his paranoid madness, concoted a plan to kill the Dragon on one of his levy visits. The Dragon got wind of the plan and thinking that the goofball might be insane enough to try it decided to bypass Eldaarich and by extension Kurn. Thus they became the forgotten cities of the north.
That is canon actually. Check out FFN and the Inner Demons on page 64 for more.
That is canon actually. Check out FFN and the Inner Demons on page 64 for more.
Cool, I didn't want to lead anyone down the wrong path
Thanx for that, but it isnt very much. To me it doesnt seem that reasonable, but its a start to work with. So thanx again to all.
Actually, it is very reasonable. Daskinor is insane, and apparently quite powerful (the upcoming releases for the Prison-State of Eldaarich and FFN itself both show this, if memory serves). The Dragon simply wrote off Eldaarich, and probably has assumed that Keltis and Daskinor either both killed each other, or at least kept each other in check, and it was too much of a hassle to go up and deal with loony-tunes Daskinor -- not to mention a potential danger to his life (and a danger to having Rajaat end up getting released at the very least). So... he just lets the other SKs know that Daskinor and Keltis both are dead (or doesn't say anything about what happened to them at all), but raises the levy costs for the remaining city-states to compensate for the loss. The others may have been curious, but if Borys was being tight-lipped about it... they may have decided that it was wiser to not mention a damned thing about it (for fear of getting him angry and making whoever asked into an example for the others).
Borys, I'd say was simply being practical (and a bit of self-preservation thrown in for good measure). He *could* have continued to get the levy from Daskinor and Keltis all this time, and have to deal with the Daskinor problem at some point (and may not have been certain that he'd win against the madman in a fight), or he could simply raise the levy requirements on the others and ignore the Daskinor problem, deciding that Keltis would be the first to have to "deal" with it, and they'd probably end up killing each other or at least wiping out each other's domains so much that they'd not have any lives for the levy anyway.
I am just wondering if Oronis had to pay the toll of slave to Borys like Kalak and Hamanu and the other Sorcerer Kings.
And if, how wound he do since there should be no slavery in Kurn.
Any Ideas how the relation between Oronis and the Dragon was?
Either you did not read the Expanded Boxed Set entry on Kurn, or you did so years ago. I suggest a (re)reading.
The answer is there. Keltis did the same stuff as the other SKs - sacrifice his people to advance his dragon metamorphosis, for example - and he and nearby Daskinor received the visit of the Dragon every year and had to pay a levy of a 1,000.
Keltis became Oronis and stopped paying the levy at the same time as Daskinor "went insane" and turned on the Dragon on his visit. Borys decided it was too much trouble, too dangrous, was scared (no one knows), and decided to abandon Eldaarich, and Eldaarich being so out of the way he also abandonned nearby Kurn. Since Keltis became Oronis and Daskinor went insane at the same time (an evident plot device on the part of the authors), it prevented the Dragon from figuring out what went on in Kurn and about Keltis' change.
To answer your question: Oronis did not have to pay the levy, or if so for a few years only. Keltis did most of the paying in his time.
AZAZEL
Okay lets summarize: Borys stopped visiting Eldaarich and Kurn because Daskinor was planning something. Borys somehow got the news and simply didnt go to the north cities. Of course Keltis (yet to come Oronis) was not unhappy with the situation. But on the other side the remaining SK's had to pay a little more.
The southern SK's werent happy with this but it didnt bother them.
With the Dragon abandoning his efforts in the north, combined with the destruction of Yaramuke by the hand of Hamanu, it could help to explain why the Levy is almost unrealistically high in the remaining cites.
AZAZEL
abandoning the North, the destruction of Yaramuke, Giustenal, and Kalidnay all took their toll on the levy requirements from the other city-states.
I find it a little suprising that Borys considered Kurn too far away to be worth the trouble. Was it too hard to teleport there and grab the slaves, or teleport them home? I guess he must have considered Kurn to close to Eldaarich. Or maybe a crazy Daskinor convinced Borys that Keltis was also going to jump him, and he didn't want to risk the chance. I like either of those more than "it was too much trouble to go to", considering Borys was a level 10 dragon in 2nd ed.
Well in 2nd the difference in power between a level 10 Dragon and level 3 Dragon wasn't as extreme as 3.5 and Daskinor would have been somewhat of a threat to The Dragon espicially if he ambushed him or whatever. Leel 10-15 PCs did have a chance of killing a Dragon. WhileI doubt Borys would have been afraid of Daskinor it probably wouldn't have been worth the risk.
I find it a little suprising that Borys considered Kurn too far away to be worth the trouble. Was it too hard to teleport there and grab the slaves, or teleport them home?
In the "real world" of Athas, as opposed to the fake numerical world of D&D's stats, dice throwing, and levels and stuff, people don't act like powerhouses of psionics and spellcasting. They do things simply, in a mundane fashion, most of the time. No teleporting, no flying. People walk, ride, or if really need to take an ultrafast supernatural travel method.
In the novels, the Dragon was described as flying from the levy drop off point of one city to that of another, in a pattern from North to South IIRC. No teleporting for Borys. It took him weeks to make the trips. Also, there were giant teleporting "gates" leading to Ur-Draxa, described in the novels and in The Valley of Dust and Fire, that the Dragon, and the city's armies, were said to be using to cross the Ring of Fire. Here the Dragon is shown as not flying, not teleporting on his own either, but using a giant magic item to do so.
In Rise and Fall, Hamanu has had painted long ago giant leonine eyes on his city's walls, facing the world outside. They shoot "repelling blasts" of magic at rampaging dragons. It would probably have been a defense system instated by hamanu during the 100 years of Borys' rampage, a millenia ago. Surely Ur-Draxa and many other cities have similar defenses.
Perhaps, but I doubt that the Tablelands could take another 100 years of rampaging dragon at any rate, even if the cities themselves were protected.
Perhaps, but I doubt that the Tablelands could take another 100 years of rampaging dragon at any rate, even if the cities themselves were protected.
Yeah, but we weren't discussing that
There is some evidence that the Tablelands still had grass before the Dragon rampaged, and that now it is a wasteland because of that rampage. Yeah, the Tablelands would be an infertile ruin if a second rampage were to occur.
Even if Daskinor wasn't a serious threat to Borys life he may have been a serious threat to his sanity. If the Dragon went insane again, it's likely that he would end up destoying his own city, something he most certainly wouldn't have been interested in having happen.
True enough, Daskinor's insanity seems to be infectious... as such... Borys could have had a worry that he could possibly end up afflicted, even in some part, and be unable to continue securing/reinforcing Rajaat's prison.
In Rise and Fall, Hamanu has had painted long ago giant leonine eyes on his city's walls, facing the world outside. They shoot "repelling blasts" of magic at rampaging dragons. It would probably have been a defense system instated by hamanu during the 100 years of Borys' rampage, a millenia ago. Surely Ur-Draxa and many other cities have similar defenses.
I'm not really sure that was implemented by Hamanu. I think that was a defense of Uriks SOTL, which only manifested itself after Hamanu left the city. Sure, Hamanu had the murals painted but the SOTL was the power behind the repulsion.