Sword & Soul

I first learned about Charles R. Saunders back in the 80s, when DAW published his first sword and sorcery novel, Imaro. Saunders is a U.S.-born African American journalist who has written a number of novels, as well as numerous essays and short stories. Today he lives in Canada.

Since the republication of Imaro several years ago by Night Shade Books, Saunders has helped give birth to a new genre, Sword & Soul, which takes what it needs from swords & sorcery, but is based in African and African American culture and themes.

Recently, I discovered that Charles Saunders had a new novel out, Abengoni (2014). I asked one of our two local SF&F stores to order a copy for me. Their buyer noticed a few related titles and ordered those as well for the store's new shelf: the anthologies Griots: A Sword and Soul Anthology (2011), edited by Milton J. Davis and Charles R. Saunders, and Griots: Sisters of the Spear (2013) by the same editorial pair.

Fans of RPGs like Nyambe and Spears of the Dawn will want to check these out.

The Great Basin: A Crossroads Wilderness For Everway & Spears Of The Dawn

The Great Basin and the Northern Lands
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mediterranean_Sea

Far to the Northwest of the realm of Emerald Savannah, and just North of the great sun-soaked mountain chain that shelters Three Lands*, are the lands of the Great Basin. The Great Basin's land is fertile, heavily forested, dotted by numerous small freshwater lakes, and crisscrossed by many rivers. In its very center is a Salty Sea. The Great Basin's lands and waters are sparsely populated by different peoples. Its lands are a vast wilderness of danger and mystery.

The Salty Sea at the center of the Great Basin is dotted with numerous islands. Some of these are inhabited by brown-skinned fisherfolk, while others are shunned as Necropolis Islands, littered with the ruins of ancient city states and tombs. These islands were settled by the darker-skinned refugees and colonists from the wicked and now-eternally-lost Sixth Kingdom to the Southeast of the Great Basin.

The forest lands to the north of the Great Basin's Salty Sea are sparsely peopled, and contain a great many wild animals. The people living on the Salty Sea's shoreline look like the island folk. The villagers fish the Salty Sea and carry on a great deal of trade with the island-folk. They live in small coastal towns and villages. The shoreline communities also trade and at times clash with the light-skinned forest folk who have wandered South from the Northlands, and who now roam the North shore in small tribal hunting groups.

The Southern shore of the Salty Sea lacks permanent settlements, although light-skinned tribal groups also hunt game here. Adventurers from the Three Lands have begin to explore the southern rim of the Great Basin and have established Spearpoint, a small town made of house boats and houses on stilts on the Salty Sea's southern shore. From here, expeditions of Spears from the Three Lands go out to the islands, and the shore communities and forest areas of the Great Basin.

Word has begun to filter back to Spearpoint of a powerful, golden-walled city-state to the north of the Salty Sea. Its inhabitants are dark-skinned, and ruled by a Queen whose dress resembles that of the old rulers of the Sixth Kingdom. There are a number of pyramid tombs outside the city. The elders of Spearpoint think the time is right to send Spears north to investigate.


*The Three Lands (which includes the Sixth Kingdom) is the default setting of Kevin Crawford's medieval African pastiche RPG, Spears of the Dawn. This post creates setting content intended for use with both Everway and Spears of the Dawn, and was written to comply with  the non-commercial usage guidelines on the Sine-Nomine blog. The realm of Emerald Savannah was created for use with Everway, and is already included in The Everwayan blog's Creative Commons license. 

A Star-Shaped Porcelain Tile...

University of Michigan Museum of Arts (Ann Arbor)

...Depicting a cheetah. Until the Everwayans came to Emerald Savannah, it crowned a King's chair. For centuries, no King of Emerald Savannah ruled without this symbol of athleticism and prowess adoring his throne. Shortly after the Emerald family of Everway began its grain trade with the realm of Emerald Savannah, this royal symbol disappeared.

The records of the Chamber Platinum show that a star-shaped tile fitting this description was recently cataloged in the Ledger of the Chamber's Acquisitions Among the Spheres During the Realm of the Great King Horizon Emerald:

"A fine star-shaped tile depicting a cheetah, gold and red - Origin unknown." 

No one remembers who brought the star-shaped tile to the Chamber Platinum, and the signature of the Ledger's note writer is illegible. The price of the purchase: 10 beads.

The royal family of Emerald Savannah has dispatched a Spherewaker-Emissary to Everway, because the Lion Seer of their realm has had a vision that the star-shaped tile will be found near, on, or within one of the great structures of the City of Everway. The Chamber  has already had inquiries from this Spherewalker, and sent her away with no new information. The Ledger has also been hidden away.

The Chamber Platinum has offered to help with the search. Now they just need to identify the right Spherewalkers to assist the Spherewalker-Emissary from Emerald Savannah. Before she discovers something embarrassing or worse.

Secret Scroll: The Ape Trade and The Mankines

Report to the Chamber Platinum

"So far the sources have proven accurate about Emerald Savannah's role in the Ape Trade. I learned a great deal during my stay."

"The Master of Acquisitions at the Library of All Worlds was right about my appearance: I blend in well here. The people are handsome. They have dark skin, high foreheads, high bridged noses, and kinky hair. They are quite tall. Just like me. Fortress monasteries dug straight down right into the mountains, just like you said. Coming in through the Monastic Gate there was a much better idea than arriving through the gate at the capital."

Ethiopia, stemhaus.com

"I introduced myself as a Seed Trader. That drew frowns. Bad soil up here. I explained that I go into other realms to see what plants are in their forests. People relaxed a bit. I made friends in a nearby market. I found a guide to take me to the forests."

"This realm certainly does have an odd relationship with the Emerald family. Emerald Savannah's ruling family has sold the Emeralds great tracts of land. A merchant in the market told me that the Emeralds are buying up land near the capital. They have large plantations and have cleared away forest near the capital." 

"And the Everway connections don't stop there. Spherewalkers are bringing in special high-yield grains; the seed barrels have Crookstaff seals."

"The Emerald plantations are using The Mankines to till the soil and tend their crops. This is the source of Ape Trade, although I did not have time to work out the details of how the trade is conducted (persons/groups involved, Spherepaths used, etc.). But there can be  no doubt that these are the same creatures being sold and used as slaves by wealthy families Everway."

Homo_habilis.JPG: Photographed by User:Lillyundfreya

Few of these poor creatures remain in the wild. Time to move on. Action is recommended.

http://www.paleoterran.com/journal/tag/hunter-gatherer

This one is for Boris Stremlin.