Stylized map of Bey Sü on box cover of TSR edition of Empire of the Petal Throne Continue reading → Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Reply Phil Barker’s Letters to Lin Carter However, my most vivid memory of noble action is not of swordplay nor of statecraft, but rather a simple dinner of coarse dna and wild game prepared by an army cook. I have lived through an age of courage and of cowardice, of glory and of tragedy, of victory and of death. Yet, as I reflect on my lost youth, it is not battles I remember, but the small acts of self-sacrifice and generosity of those I fought beside. In the name of Karakán the Just Warrior, the Resolute Protector, the Stern Commander of Lord Hnálla’s Mighty Legions, the Hero of Dórmoron Field Īs is written in the epics, “old age slows the mind but loosens the tongue.” Like many a retired general I enjoy sharing my experiences with younger comrades, who listen politely while quietly snapping their fingers, anxious to fight their own battles.
In deference to the impatient Terran reader, the translation below abbreviates these passages, marking them with ellipses. For example, Elalitáni’s initial invocation in praise of Karakán runs over 400 words. The contemporary style of elegiac writing (which is a revival of a First Epoch Engsvanyáli style) uses florid and lengthy honorifics to introduce notable characters and invoke the Gods. Now Elalitáni has semi-retired, affecting a love for farming but spending most of his time writing the autobiographical elegy that aristocratic followers of Karakán bequeath to their heirs. Despite his fervent faith in Karakán, Elalitáni later joined the entourage of the flame-worshiping Prince Mirusíya during the Civil War, for which he was well rewarded after Mirusíya ascended the Petal Throne. In the early war with Yan Kor, Elalitáni, a Dritlán of the First Legion of Ever-Present Glory, served as an assistant to General Kéttukal on the northwest front. However, noble travelers can call on Elalitáni at his estate outside Jakálla and hear him recount many of the same stories. The manuscript of this long memoir is available at the Temple of Karakán in Bey Sü. [ Translator’s Preface: The following excerpt is from “A Simple Soldier’s Complicated Journey through Peace, War, Treachery, Revolution, Retribution, and, Again, Peace” by Elalitáni hiVisúrte” of the Golden Bough Clan.
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