Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 iltharanos Sep 19, 2004 3:25:31	LINSHA TRILOGY SPOILERS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So, how does everyone think the newly emerging Tarmak empire in the Plains of Dust will factor into Ansalon's current political climate? Given the presence of great dragons to the north and south and a minotaur invasion/colonization force in the east, their only "open" route of expansion appears to be west, in the direction of Tarsis and Kharolis, realms currently under Dark Knight control. Given the instability of the Dark Knighthood and the current lack of a Dark Knight overall leader it doesn't seem too far-fetched to see a Tarmak Empire that stretches from the Sirrion Sea to the Courrain Ocean. A damn exciting time. :D Or will the Tarmak empire fall as quickly as it arose?
#2 zombiegleemax Sep 19, 2004 8:45:17	Great, more trouble for the elves in the plains of dust....
#3 iltharanos Sep 19, 2004 11:26:59	Great, more trouble for the elves in the plains of dust.... Yes, 9,000 Tarmak warriors ...
#4 quentingeorge Sep 19, 2004 16:28:03	Boy did Gilthas choose the wrong place for a new elven homeland. Perhaps now there is this overriding threat, Gilthas' elves and Wanderer's plainsmen may actually work together, at least briefly? If they don't I think the Tarmak are going to play them like a cheap banjo.
#5 zombiegleemax Sep 20, 2004 4:39:00	Linsha trilogy may give as (when rest of the books are available) more info what will happen. Personally I would like that Tarmaks actually get good foothold of Ansalon, and establish their own little country there in the coast where Missing City is. That just makes future little more interesting. I don't think there will be another huge invasion, but their own country where their women and children come too live sounds more realistic. Fights in Plains of Dust were both elves and Plainsman battle this new Tarmak nation. Tarmak sends emissaries to conqured Silvanesti and make themselfs as allies of Minotaurs...
#6 iltharanos Sep 20, 2004 16:59:09	I like the whole idea of a Tarmak enclave/empire on Ansalon. The Tarmak have been and have known of Ansalon for nearly 40 years but have existed on Ansalon primarily as the near-slave soldiers of the Dark Knights. Now they're coming into their own. The Plains of Dust have always seemed a rather empty place, one that was not so well defined and when mentioned, typically only brought out images of dust and sand blowing in the wind. With the Linsha trilogy, we're given real places and identities to go with the name, we've got the Missing City and the various centaur/plainsmen tribes, and now the invading Tarmak. One of the more interesting things that has yet to be covered in the Linsha novels is what relationship, if any, the Tarmak enclave in Ansalon will have with the adjacent Minotaur colony in Silvanesti. Will they ally? Will they war with one another? Will they just ignore each other?
#7 zombiegleemax Sep 20, 2004 18:59:18	Has it ever been revealed when the brutes came from? I really dont like them, they were annoying in DoSF. The picture in the Age of Mortals book is just bleah!
#8 iltharanos Sep 20, 2004 19:09:07	Has it ever been revealed when the brutes came from? I really dont like them, they were annoying in DoSF. The picture in the Age of Mortals book is just bleah! Yes. They hail from an island-continent to the east of Ansalon called Tarmak, hence their name. There were three indigenous "brute" cultures native to this island-continent, of which the Tarmak culture was one. The Tarmaks dominated the Damjatt culture many years ago and only recently conquered the Keena culture a few years prior to the Chaos War. The Damjatt are renowned for the breeding and training of extremely large warhorses sized for the 7 foot tall brutes. The Keena are the most philosophical and religious-minded of the brutes and often serve as priests, scribes, and scholars. The brutes are led by an emperor, the current one being named Khanwhelak. The brutes believe in Takhisis (named Kadulawa'ah) and a prophesied holy leader called the Amarrel. Lord Ariakan managed to convince the brutes he was this holy leader, thus solidifying brute support for him during the invasion of Ansalon by the Knights of Takhisis.