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createvmind
Senior Scribe
458 Posts |
 Posted - 08 Jul 2011 : 23:09:17
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| Thank you, that will suffice. |
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Jakuta Khan
Senior Scribe
408 Posts |
Posted - 09 Jul 2011 : 02:28:06
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Ed,THO,
thank you very much for this. Now very late here, but already many questions coming up by this answer alone.
Again, thank you sincerely.
Jakuta Khan |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
4589 Posts |
Posted - 09 Jul 2011 : 03:37:27
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Heh. You're welcome, and I suspect you'll have many more, because Ed has surprised me with another creation tale.
Without more ado, heeeeeere's Ed:
Hi, Jakuta Khan. Managed to snatch a few more minutes, so here’s by far the most popular of many competing Goblin creation tales [note: “Nloun” means “We,” and was what goblins called themselves in the Foretime]:
Life was good and meat plentiful, in sun-drenched and happy times, Nloun always numerous and clever enough to bring down any foe (war our pride, war our pleasure), until god fought god (not our gods, and none of our affair) and the dying gods’ bodies crashed down in flames. A great fire arose from their dying and swept across the land, driving all before its fury, devouring to ashes all who fled not or too slowly.
Fire ended the Foretime and brought the Scorching, when our gods fell silent and many Nloun died. The rest learned to run, to flee far and fast, to go deep.
Down into the greatest depths of the earth, where great blind worms gnaw and the walls are hot and slick with sweat. There the Deep Ones met us, taught us, and led us, the Nloun of the Deeps. Gobbelyn was their king, Gobbelyn their giant and champion, the largest Nloun ever. Gobbelyn tamed a gnaw-worm and forced it to tunnel deeper, until we came to burning rivers and the mists of foul death. Then Gobbelyn led us on, and up, the cooked worm dying as it gnawed.
When it died, Gobbelyn tore it apart and dug onwards, upwards, spending his life in the doing so that Nloun—we gobbelyns—could survive. He delivered us up into a new place.
This place.
And though many here are larger and more formidable than any Nloun, and these are not lands ruled by goblins, our gods spoke to us again, and still speak to us here, and here we shall abide and flourish, for burning rivers of rock have risen in the deeps, and there is no going back.
We shall breed, and outnumber, and outlast. One day, this Long Time shall become Triumph Time, when Goblins rule all.
So saith Ed. Who is hard at work on future Realms fiction right now.
love to all,
THO |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
4589 Posts |
Posted - 10 Jul 2011 : 17:28:29
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Hi, Kno. There were many skirmishes on the Shaar at this time (raids and battles between wandering warbands and nomadic tribal groups that encountered each other, as opposed to ongoing, all-out wars. The loxo fought the yuan-ti bitterly, countless times and in at least three large-scale frays, and giants battled the yuan-ti in a pitched battle at the Lorrift that’s sometimes called “the Rain of Flying Snakes” because yuan-ti spellcasters sent thousands of flying snakes down onto the heads of some of the giants, out of an empty sky - - and the survivors of this force of flying snakes who were still alive when the spell ended turned on the yuan-ti, and helped the battered giants “win the field” that day.
(Back then, the Shaar had more water, more trees, and a lot more wildlife than the Shaar of the 1350s-1370s DR. The Lorrift was one of three small, but landmark for travellers, northwest-southeast rifts in the more northerly region of the eastern Shaar.)
So saith Ed. Slow but tireless answerer of Realms scribes.
love,
THO
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Longtime Lurker
Seeker
50 Posts |
Posted - 10 Jul 2011 : 19:58:02
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Ed, I've heard a rumor you're writing a Cthulhu meets Sherlock Holmes horror novel. Is this true? Or someone getting overly wistful? 
LL |
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Baleful Avatar
Learned Scribe
Canada
158 Posts |
Posted - 10 Jul 2011 : 20:00:27
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Dear Ed and THO,
Weird Realms question, this time. Other than carts on rails or guiding grooves inside mines, are there such things as railways/railroads, however crude or different from our real world, in the Realms?
I know Ed has a fondness for model railroading...
BA |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
4589 Posts |
Posted - 11 Jul 2011 : 16:43:24
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Hi again, all.
Longtime Lurker, here's a swift Ed reply:
Hi. No, I'm not currently writing a Cthulhu meets Holmes book, though I have written Cthulhu stories and Holmes pastiches in the past, and I am writing a steampunk novel right now set in an alternate Victorian London (and environs), with all the cobbles, gaslamps, fogs, and hansom cabs familiar from the Holmes canon. I have no plans to have the Great Detective make an appearance, but tentacled monsters, now . . .
Heh. So saith Ed.
love,
THO |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
4589 Posts |
Posted - 11 Jul 2011 : 18:38:39
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Hi again, all. Back on page 5 of this thread, createvmind asked: "Have there ever been ghost/spectral spirit hordes with so many mass deaths occuring throughout faerun's history? If so how were they dealt with or does the nature of ghost types keep them keyed to an area that they are unable to leave and still be "potent"?"
Here's a reply from Ed:
Hi, createvmind! MOST undead manifest in (or lurk in and near) the area of their deaths/rise as undead/traumatic event/so on, so yes, they are tied to an area (though in the case of a ship or ghost ship [or wagon, etc.], it might be a mobile "spot"), but there are many mobile undead (liches, vampires, revenants, etc.) and in the Realms, there are a FEW mobile forces of spectral/ghostly undead, including the Howling Hunt of Tethyr (a hunting party that was chased and slaughtered by hobgoblins, and now in ghostly form gallops wildly through moonlit locales up and down the Sword Coast, fleeing frantically - - and attacking all living beings they see - - as unseen slayers hack bits of them off); the Hurrying Harpers (rangers and bards running hard through the High Forest in an endless, doomed attempt to get young children away from murderous nobles; they all perished, but won time and distance enough for kindly satyrs to take the children on; the Harpers still manifest to this day, to snatch infants and youngsters away from beset or wounded parents trying to get them away from peril, and take them far through forests, all over the Sword Coast North); and Relegarde's Blades, a pirate crew who fell to fighting among themselves on the way back to shore from covertly burying treasure, slaughtered everyone except their magically-protected captain, Velmur Relegarde - - and now, as spectral undead, still trot and rush on foot through coastal lands from Tethyr northwards, hacking at each other and any living beings they see. There are also half a dozen or so "ghost" warbands, elven and human and dwarven, fleeing from or hurrying to join battles fought long ago, that can be seen in various places in the Heartlands (usually on moonlit nights, and usually not in large cities).
Some such manifestations have been "dealt with" by clergy or adventurers seeking to end their cause, by redressing a past wrong or finding the fallen and burying them with proper rites in consecrated graves, and the like . . . but most have not been ended or lessened in this manner, and still return to frighten or endanger the living.
So saith Ed. Hauntmaster of the Realms.
love,
THO |
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createvmind
Senior Scribe
458 Posts |
Posted - 12 Jul 2011 : 19:00:37
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| Awesome, thanks! |
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MalariaMoon
Learned Scribe
318 Posts |
Posted - 14 Jul 2011 : 02:15:44
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Hello to the Hooded One and Ed,
A couple of questions if I may.
1) Does Candlekeep have a coat of arms or any associated heraldry? Forgive me if this has been asked before!
2) Can Ed tell us a little about falconry in the Realms. Where is it practiced, and is it only the preserve of the nobility? Would Ed be able to tell us about any species of hawk, falcon or eagle endemic to the Realms?
Many thsnks |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
4589 Posts |
Posted - 14 Jul 2011 : 02:52:02
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Hi again, all.
Malaria Moon, Candlekeep does indeed have a blazon Ed has described before. All I recall of the top of my head right now is: midnight blue shield with tan scroll on it, but there are other charges/details that I can't remember, so off to Ed this goes...
Falconry, too, has been discussed before, and most real-world raptors can be found in the Realms (the problem is the real-world name overlaps: names like kestrel, merlin, gyrfalcon, sparrowhawk, etc. get applied to different birds in different countries). The nobility love to fly falcons in Waterdeep (unless it got edited out, there was a brief falconry scene in CITY OF SPLENDORS, the novel by Elaine and Ed), Tethyr, Cormyr, and elsewhere, but falconry is nowhere restricted to the nobility - - only to those with the coin and facilities (mews, a hunting ground) to train and hunt falcons. Many rural steaders (rough near-wilderness farmers) use falcons to down game birds for their own tables (falcons and humans share the kills).
Ed will say more when he can, of course...
love,
THO |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
4589 Posts |
Posted - 14 Jul 2011 : 02:54:27
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Oh, wait! Remembered one thing more about the Candlekeep coat-of-arms: the shield is "tall" (flat top, straight sides that are longer than usual, with a pointed bottom), and has a border of varying-sized books.
I think there's a quill pen crossed with the scroll, too, but don't hold me to that...
love,
THO |
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Eilserus
Senior Scribe
USA
515 Posts |
Posted - 14 Jul 2011 : 05:03:24
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Hello THO and Ed,
Couple of questions regarding drow please. :)
1. I was wondering if Ed could explain how drow noble houses are formed.
2. When drow noble houses go to war, do the priestesses or matron mother actually engage in combat or lead their troops? Or is the standard to gather around an idol of Lolth and engage in a form of mental combat with the enemy house clerics, like what happened in Bob Salvatore's novel Homeland? What kind of spells would this require or how is it done?
Looking forward to the next Elminster novel. :) And thank you both very much, these lore Q&A threads are awesome!
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Blueblade
Senior Scribe
USA
729 Posts |
Posted - 14 Jul 2011 : 18:55:42
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Heh. I'm not Ed or tHO, but I can confidently predict that the short answer to both your questions is: it depends.
(Meaning, it varies from drow city to drow city, and over time.)
BB |
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Thieran
Learned Scribe
Germany
242 Posts |
Posted - 14 Jul 2011 : 21:36:53
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quote:
Originally posted by The Hooded One
[...] The nobility love to fly falcons in Waterdeep (unless it got edited out, there was a brief falconry scene in CITY OF SPLENDORS, the novel by Elaine and Ed)
[...]
If I may: having recently read the novel, I can confirm that it was not edited out. |
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Falstaffsrevenge
Acolyte
USA
10 Posts |
Posted - 15 Jul 2011 : 13:55:33
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THO thank you for your response. I am humbled that Mr. Greenwood is using my sig. as an inspiration. Agian I am humbled by you two and all that you do. (I feel a Wayne and Garth momement, "We're not worth, we're not worthy).
Any idea where or when I can see this 'Sping a Yarn' tale? |
Some friends are like slinkies, not much use, but they still bring a smile to your face when you push them down stairs. |
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Eltheron
Learned Scribe
302 Posts |
Posted - 16 Jul 2011 : 03:07:56
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THO and Ed: here's a fun/silly question - does the Realms have anything similar to ice cream, sorbets, or flavored ices? If so, what kinds and where are they popular?
:)
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"The very best possible post-fourteenth-century Realms lets down those who love the specific, detailed social, political and magical situation, with its thousands of characters, developed over forty years, and want to learn more about it; and those who'd be open to a new one with equal depth, which there just isn't time to re-produce; and those repelled, some past the point of no return, by the bad-taste-and-plausibility gap of things done to the world when its guardianship was less careful."
--Faraer |
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Malcolm
Learned Scribe
233 Posts |
Posted - 16 Jul 2011 : 16:26:37
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I dimly recall Ed saying something about flavored ices before. Where, though...can't remember.
Falstaffsrevenge, the Spin A Yarn story usually gets posted on the WotC website in the summer, before GenCon, in the free public areas of the site, not in DDI.
So it should be showing up pretty soon...
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Baleful Avatar
Learned Scribe
Canada
158 Posts |
Posted - 16 Jul 2011 : 16:36:34
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Dear Ed/THO, I'm currently a player in a campaign where a magic item was found that triggered a portal or gate or mass teleport effect and dumped our party on Mintarn. Where the DM has an interesting plot unfolding, but as far as daily details of life on that island goes, is making things up as he goes along (he freely admits this).
Privately, he's told me he's struggling with two things: HOW do they fish (drift nets, dragged nets, lobster pots, spears, what?) and common names for people (average joes, not the high and mighty). Please, can you help?
Thanks!
BA |
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Longtime Lurker
Seeker
50 Posts |
Posted - 16 Jul 2011 : 16:41:26
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Dear Ed, any chance of your sitting down to discuss writing with a newbie at GenCon? A just starting out writer friend of mine is trying to decide whether or not to attend. If your answer is "No," she'll just wander through the Con Center one evening to get a taste of things, but if it's "Yes" she'll buy a badge for the whole thing and be happy to catch a few moments of your time when it fits your schedule. I've already warned her how busy you usually are.
LL |
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A Publishing Lackey
Seeker
62 Posts |
Posted - 16 Jul 2011 : 16:58:23
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I'd not dare to speak for Ed, other than to point out he's sat down to chat with novice writers scores of times at past Gen Cons, but there's an entire, and quite good, programming track at Gen Con called the Writers Symposium. A Google search will readily pull up the list and descriptions of this year's panels. Jean Rabe used to head it, but Marc Tassin is now the head honcho.
As a longtime publishing guy myself, take it from me: the right ten to twenty minutes with Ed is worth more than an expensive writing workshop or any truckload of "creative writing" college courses. The man has written or co-written closing on two hundred books now, everything from model railroading guides to bodice rippers, not just fantasy and gaming. He knows his stuff. (And a lot of the people who think they know what an Ed Greenwood book is because they've read an Elminster novel would be very, very surprised if they read some of the stuff I didn't count into that two hundred books, that he's ghost-written. The man can write anything, and do it well.) The last time I saw him was at a publishers' dinner where a marketing suit derided current publishing trends by saying he was expecting to soon see "steampunk zombie porno westerns." A few minutes later Ed stunned him by outlining a multi-book story arc that would probably have sold very well, and was, yes, a steampunk zombie porno western.  |
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Blueblade
Senior Scribe
USA
729 Posts |
Posted - 16 Jul 2011 : 17:05:06
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Speaking of Ed and GenCon and the Writer's Symposium, the latest issue of the SFWA BULLETIN (that's the public magazine of the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America, so it can be found in some bookstores and libraries, and I'm talking about the Summer 2011 issue, Vol 43 Issue 3) has a long article on Gen Con by Jody Lynn Nye and Bill Fawcett, and a piece by Gregory Wilson on Networking that covers Gen Con. Ed gets mentioned in both (in the Wilson article, Ed is also under Ad Astra, the oldest Canadian sf con, that Ed attends most years and where I think he met Gabrielle Harbowy and won her over to his When The Hero Comes Home idea).
If I remember rightly, Ed's a lifetime active member of SFWA. Which I think entitles him to dance naked around bonfires of anti-sf academic books by the light of the full moon, or some such.
BB |
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Sage of Stars
Seeker
USA
58 Posts |
Posted - 16 Jul 2011 : 17:09:06
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No, no, it's his multiple Gamer's Choice awards that enable him to do that.
The SFWA membership entitles him to feud endlessly online in the SFWA forums, if he ever wants to. And his Nebula nominations let him wear a paper crown as he does so.
Ahem.
Serious question, Ed and THO: did the Steve Miller period lady detective anthology porject ever get off the ground? Or is it still on longterm comatose hiatus? Ed wrote a story for it, I seem to recall . . . |
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ziresta
Acolyte
2 Posts |
Posted - 16 Jul 2011 : 22:30:51
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| In "A Dance In Storm's Garden," Elminster says, "I mate with dragons -- suitably shapechanged, of course -- and live to rue that whim." I find myself horribly curious about this. Not the mating itself, mind, the rueing of it. What happened? |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
24748 Posts |
Posted - 17 Jul 2011 : 00:42:13
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quote:
Originally posted by ziresta
In "A Dance In Storm's Garden," Elminster says, "I mate with dragons -- suitably shapechanged, of course -- and live to rue that whim." I find myself horribly curious about this. Not the mating itself, mind, the rueing of it. What happened?
And did it involve penicillin?  |
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Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
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I am the Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen! |
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Questions for Ed Greenwood (2011)
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