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He gently took her by the shoulders and eased her to the ground near his orchid. Her face and the flower both recovered a spot of color before they began to fade again, this time more slowly.
"Let the orchid sustain you for as long as possible, and Gaea will bring you to her before it can hurt you again," Temken said. Before he could think the better of it, he spoke the name he had denied his lips for too long. "Argoth will rise again," he promised Gwe
In a gray-lit clearing, completing a rough circle of dark and abandoned huts, Gwe
Gwe
Red is the color of release, the hue of outward expression and excitement. It is hard to be indifferent about red. It may be loved or feared, but it is seldom disregarded. It is characterized as aggressive, vigorous, and given to impulse and mood. Those associated with red are sometimes accused of lacking patience or possessing a quick temper, but red also embodies a fervent passion and feeling for fellow beings. Red is signified by fire, blood, lava, and emotion. It manifests itself as bursts of outward expression and outspoken tirades. Red characterizes those who know what needs to be done and aren't afraid to do it, for those who want results and action instead of deliberation and debate, for those who like the cathartic pleasures of flame. Goblinology Francis Lebaron
Introductory note by Armand Ar-basi
[Note in margin: Squee, Squee, Squee! According to Ar-basi
It is my privilege to present to the public a very remarkable document, recently discovered in the ruins of The Flarg and edited and a
[Note in margin: A silly, self-satisfied conclusion by an overblown windbag! L.B.]
It has, of course, been my contention for a number of years that the goblins of The Flarg were polytheists, worshiping a variety of gods to whom they made regular sacrifices. Prior to the discovery at The Flarg of the document below, however, little specific information was available concerning goblin religious rituals. Thanks to my work on this document, combined with the extensive body of writing I have bequeathed to the learned community as my legacy, future historians and goblinologists will have little trouble in filling in the gaps along the trail I have already blazed.
In point of fact, I had already developed the theory of goblin religion in my well-known and, if I may say so, remarkable book The Apostles of Squee: Deconstructing Goblin Religious Discourse and Perception in the Age of the Great Cold (Argivian University Press).
[Note in margin: Well known, indeed! The book was remaindered within thirty days, and housewives all over Terisiare used it as a doorstop. The only thing remarkable about the book was the fact that Ar-basi
It is not out of place here to briefly summarize this theory:
[Note in margin: The gods preserve us! L.B.]
In ancient times, during the Age of the Great Dark and Cold that followed hard upon the disastrous era of the Brothers' War, goblins at The Flarg formed a vast and powerful community. It is clear from the extensive ruins at The Flarg that they were a politically influential race, deep in learning, strong in arms, universally respected throughout much of Dominaria. Great goblin fleets ploughed the seas, and goblin ornithopters swept through the clouds, driving the enemies of the goblin empire before them.
[Note in margin: Here we go again! Ar-basi
In this age, a cult grew up among the goblins centered on the worship of a deity known as "Squee." This fact accounts for the extensive use of this as a name among the goblins of The Flarg (and indeed in the goblin communities through the rest of Dominaria). The cult of Squee was celebrated in various rituals, which were clearly extremely sacred to the goblins, though they are, perhaps, beyond our understanding today.
Now, in the following document, I have the clues that allow me, drawing on a store of knowledge accumulated over a lifetime of study of goblin culture, to unravel the mystery of goblin Squee-based rituals. The document is evidently in the form of a letter, written by one high priest of Squee to another and communicates the essence of the ritual, while leaving some parts of it as mysterious as before. Nonetheless, I have every confidence my persistence and scholarly ability will allow me to unravel this tangle as well and lay it before my public.
[Note in margin: In other words, there's no reasonable chance of getting him to shut up in the near future. L. B.]
I will indicate briefly the circumstances attendant upon the discovery of this historic find.
While excavating the ruins of the goblin settlement at The Flarg, I came across a wide, flat area.
[Note in the margin: Actually the area was first uncovered by myself and Sarapi
At either end of this area, it was clear that in the distant past pestholes had been inserted. I concluded that such an area, accommodating a large population, could only have been used for religious ceremonies of considerable significance. With this in mind, I looked for evidence to confirm this theory. It was not slow in coming.