Digitizing Tékumel, Part 21: More on Appendix '0'...

The above map shows which pages of the report cover which sections of river, including those referenced in my last post.

It is important to remember the differences between the Mssúma and the Nile while trying to decide if there are any similarities. For one, the Mssúma river does not flow through a desert. There is a hot season, to be sure, but the landscape around the river seems to be more like plains with high levels of cultivation. It would have forests - possibly extensive forests - in parts.

If I had a useful description of the Ganges or the Amazon or even the Mississippi - before the US Corps of Engineers did their thing - I would look at that as well. This happens to be the most detailed report on the passage of a large river, and the obstacles faced, that I know about.

The map below shows the areas referenced in the pages immediately above. There is an extra cataract (marked "Upper Gate?") - I'm not sure if it is the gate described in the text or whether it was somehow left out of the report. The distances listed don't seem to fit...

Digitizing Tékumel, Part 20: Analyzing Appendix '0'

There are many questions about the finer details of M.A.R. Barker's world. How high above sea level does Béy Sü, the Tsolyáni capital, sit for example? I know the city has dockyards bustling with merchant ships but is is all just "clear sailing" all the way to the sea? Its a good 1000 kilometers and probably more - I don't have the time to look it up. Its a good distance!

I know the city sits in the midst of the Beranánga plains. IIRC in "The Man of Gold" the caravan travels "up onto the plain". When one consults the provincial map it appears that Beranánga Province might comprise the entire area of the plains.

I note that the southern border of the province is marked by a long bend in the river. Are the Beranánga plains a plateau?

Presumably there has to be some height difference between Béy Sü and the Sea. Or does there? The northern plains of India through which the Ganges flows do not begin to rise in elevation until very close to the Himalayan Mountains. Is that what the topography of Tsolyánu is like?

All these are questions I have been considering. Of course it doesn't much matter how the Professor envisioned how things looked. He may have considered those details but only a very select audience might have heard the region described. I have to go by published works. And besides, as the Professor said, My Tékumel is bound to be different from His Tékumel.

When I read the description of the first three cataracts on the Nile - Appendix '0' from the Official History of the Sudan Expedition 1884-1885 - I thought this might be useful in understanding what the Mssúma river might look like. Are there cataracts? We know from later published works that the river has a delta but it isn't shown on the maps and earlier works fail to mention it.

I think it would certainly be more interesting if there were cataracts. Borrowing a rule from Gloranthan gamers one could declare there definitely are cataracts because that results in MTF - "More Tékumel Fun"! (MGF = More Gloranthan Fun).

So...in My Tekumel I am thinking there are may be three cataracts. And if you have read Appendix '0' you know a cataract can be comprised of many sets of rapids, not just one. My initial intent is to locate the first cataract a little up river from the towns of Métlan and Jáyo (see previous installments of this thread for details on these towns). The second cataract will be a Usenanu and the third at the river bend marking the border of  Beranánga Province.

Having got that out of the way, below are my notes, page by page, analyzing Appendix '0' and picking out the "useful bits". The bits with extra MTF... :-)

More to follow...

The Sudan Campaign 1884-1885

I was lucky enough to get my hands on a copy of the reprinted Official Report on the Sudan Campaign 1884-1885, ie. the Relief of Gordon. Its quite an interesting read, even though it is largely about logistics. The whole thing seems to have been a logistical nightmare!

For example, after they decided to use whalers to transport the troops up the river it was found that to obtain a large enough number they had to commission them from many different boat builders. The boats were built to the same general specifications and came with masts, oars, sails and rigging, rudders, awnings and various spare parts.

When they arrived in Egypt there was a contractor ready to transport the boats from the transport ships to the railhead. Here they encountered a snag as the contractor declared that his contract was only to move the boats themselves, and not all their accoutrements. Eventually all these bits were put in storage and the boats were moved by themselves.

When the contract was finally amended to include the accessories it was found firstly that some of the equipment had "gone missing", and secondly that the equipment supplied by each manufacturer was designed to fit their boats and not any others! 

A fine pickle one might say!

There were other issues such as the loading platforms at the railhead having to be rebuilt to allow for proper and efficient loading of the trains. The problems just go on and on. Never mind the Mahdi!

My interest at this time is pertaining to the nature of the river before it was altered by dams and other engineering. There are so few unaltered rivers left in the World! I have heard that there is one left in Siberia that has no man-made additions. This account has detailed descriptions of the river and the obstacles presented by the cataracts. First there is Appendix 0 which is a report on the 1st through 3rd cataracts that was prepared as the expedition was being planned. There are also accounts of the trip up the river and back down.

My ultimate goal is to use this information as inspiration for what the Mssúma river might look like in the Tekumel campaign. And if I eventually do any Sudan gaming on the side that is just gravy! :-)

Some of the maps included with the book...

Appendix 0 - pages 141 to 157

Digitizing Tékumel, Part 19: a return to the Mssúma river valley...

After a long break, I am starting to look at my "Digitizing Tékumel" project again. Here is another look at the Mssúma river along the border of Urusái and Jakásha provinces. The sákbe road runs south from Usenánu and crosses the river at what, in My Tékumel, I am calling the twin towns of Métlan and Jáyo. Métlan is in Urusái province, while smaller Jáyo is in Jakásha province. For inspiration I am drawing somewhat on the early history of Budapest which was originally two towns on opposite sides of the river.

To the west, Jikutlár fief is visible. This fief features in one of the Solo Gamebooks - the one with the green cover, IIRC. I have located it according to the description in the book: approximately 200 tsán north of Jakálla. The other named places - Anján Wood, Cholúga, Máshtla, Diridé, and Chorkúda - all come from that adventure.

The other two named features - Lake Vejápa and the Abásun River - are my additions. I've stolen the name "Vejápa" from a work of popular science fiction that many may recognize. The word "abásun" means "white" in Tsolyáni, so the Abásun River is the White River. I haven't decided why it is called that yet.

The Abásun River is a dry bed during the hottest months of the year but as the rains come and the Mssúma River rises it flows south into Lake Vejápa. The lake itself gets quite shallow in spots during the summer. Note the small island in the middle. It is possible to wade out to it some summers if one knows the route. When the floods come the Mssúma overflows its banks and the Abásun disappears as the whole area is inundated. Lake Vejápa expands about ten times its original size and neighbouring villages exist as tiny islands or clusters of huts on stilts.

The Flats of Tsechélnu - Digitizing Tékumel, Part 17

The Flats of Tsechélnu

My maps are based upon the Swords & Glory map, scaled to meters. In AutoCAD there is a tool called a polyline and if you draw an enclosed shape you can consult the properties and get the area of that shape (in square meters, in my case). So I traced the area on the map that is the Flats of Tsechélnu and a quick check returned the following statistics:

352526588986.0591 sq m 

= 352,526.589 sq kilometers 

= 35,252,658.9 hectares 

= 136 111.277 sq miles

Some RW comparisons:

170,304 km² = Florida
696,241 km² = Texas
20,000 km² = area of Tigris and Euphrates marshes (shared by Iraq and Iran). Note that this the original estimated area, not the current area. The marshes  were drained by Saddam and are only now slowly recovering.
357,168 km² = Germany

So, about double the size of Florida, half the size of Texas and almost the same size as present day Germany. And many times that of the Tigris and Euphrates marshlands.

Yesterday I posted a question on the Facebook Tékumel page, asking how many distinct ecosystems people thought might exist within an area that large. The above illustration is my first, rough guess.

Shown are nine regions:

1) In the far west. My thinking is that the Bútrus Gazetteer probably has this covered. :-)

2) This may or may not be a separate region. I have to re-read the Gazetteer to see what it says.

3) These are the coastal areas. Barrier islands, reefs, beaches and mangrove swamps. Look to the Everglades, or Kerala, or the Mouths of the Ganges for inspiration.

4) This region is described in one of the Solo gamebooks published for Tékumel.

5) Each of these three rectangles is 20,000 km², illustrating that there is a significant area that could be inhabited by Tékumel's version of the Marsh Arabs. The real marshlands have a sea of grass standing over head height in some places. If you did get up high enough to look over all you would see was a "Sea of Grass" extending off to the horizon in all directions. You might see the top of a sail on a boat moving down some distant channel. This is the Hméchànyukh, or "grass sea". :-)

6) This is the region where the flats transition to firmer ground.

7) The present day Mssúma river delta which I have been mapping. This is a relatively tame area of the Flats. The further west one goes the wilder it would become. I would say the sákbe marks the end of the "safe" area and the start of the dangerous sections.

8) This is a region that isn't grasses. Perhaps similar to #2 above. This is where the Mssúma river used to flow in ages past. This river course is now called the Nyélmeyal river (the River of Dreams). The ancient ruins of Ngála no doubt contribute to the character of this region.

9) The final region is Point Kuné. This includes the ruins of Hrúgga's Fortress. so I assume at least parts of the region have high ground or rock outcrops. But I also think it might have been part of the Mssúma river's ancient deltas.

Anyway, that is what I have so far. As always, comments are welcome...

The Canals of Nisuél, Digitizing Tékumel, Part 16

The Mssúma Delta

The green-covered solo game book, "Adventures on Tékumel, Part 2, Volume 3: Beneath the Lands of Tsolyánu" provides the only published description of Nisuél and the surrounding region. The village of Nisuél is the headquarters of the Clan of the Golden Sunburst, a high status clan with a long and illustrious history. It is stated to be about 100 tsán north of Jakálla and in the Mssúma river delta. The delta is described as "lush and green" and "crisscrossed by canals and secondary roads". It is said to be the "produce-garden" that feeds the cities to the south. 

Here I've started drawing in some canals. The book suggests that there are multiple fiefs in the area so that probably means more villages and more canals. To be honest I hadn't pictured it as this developed, but I could be thinking of the part of the delta further south and west. I think I'm going to limit the densely cultivated area to the area to the east of the Nyélmeyal river.

To give a sense of scale I've drawn two circles, both centered on Nisuél. The smaller has a 10 km radius and the larger a 50 km  radius. 

The Southern Coast

Next up is to sort out where my rivers (see list of names on the map and in my last post) are going to go. The intent is fill in the area between Penóm and Point Kuné with them. Maybe there could be one to the east of the Nyélmeyal river as well. We'll see...

Fun With Names... Digitizing Tékumel, Part 15

I've been trying to come up with names for all the small rivers I've been adding to the map. I could of perhaps used the naming chart from the "Tsolyáni Without Tears" article that appeared in one of the early Dragon Magazines (to be found as a download on the Tekumel.com website.) Instead I went to the Tsolyáni Language books which are available as a PDF download at RPGNow.com.

I have to say that these books are fast becoming two of my favourite Tékumel books. Not because I think I have any hope of actually correctly pronouncing any of the words or that I want to learn the language. But because they are useful and contain quite a lot of insights - IMO - into Professor Barker's creation.

Anyhow, here are some of the names for rivers I have come up with. They all have more-or-less the meaning in the quotations. I say more-or-less because I am not a linguist and most of the language terms used in the books are new to me even when you are talking about English! So, if I've botched it: "oh well!" I think they look cool...

Gohóimu River "Festival"
Ubó River "Fever"
Ssünrü River "Fear"
Ssánga River "Mad/insane"
Prazhúrin River "Eternal"
Kárin River "Red"
Mikárun River "Black"
Jangáivu River  "Emerald"
Zháurun River "Green"
Tathén River  "Grey"
Baradá River  "Wild"
Abásun River  "White"
Kólumeljarài River   "Exalted Emperor"
Kólumelbabàrkohàya River  "Ever-glorious Empire"
Ogrún River   "False"
Dhu’ónin River  "Golden"
Ssudú River  "Ghost"
Tabár River  "Forbidden"
Sharé River  "Gods Protect Us"

I reckon Nisuél, headquarters of the Clan of the Golden Sunburst is sitting on the banks of the Dhu’ónin river. The Gohóimu river will be nearby. The Ubó, the Tabár and the Sharé, and others with similar foreboding names will be used throughout the Flats, flowing south to the sea. The Ogrún is intended to be used for one of the off-shoots of the Mssúma river. (There is an off-shoot of the Mississippi, called the False river, which is part of the old watercourse which is now cut off and goes nowhere.)

I also tried coming up with some creature names. I use a lot of Proxy Figures. I don't mean just proxy models being used to represent Tékumeli creatures, but also other beasties I have imported into My Tékumel. Basically, if it is cool and exotic, I have little objection to including it if I have the need.

Take these Barzoomian Great White Apes, for example:

Great White Apes, by Bronze Age Miniatures

Of course, "ape" is not in the vocabulary so that caused a bit of difficulty. What I came up with was:

Qu’qúmabàsudàli   "Great White Monster"  (I think!)  :-)

The Nyélmeyal - the River of Dreams - Digitizing Tékumel, Part 14

The Nyélmeyal River

Today's post follows closely on from yesterday and my supposition that the Mssúma River has not always flowed into the Gulf of Perudáya. Assuming that this was indeed the case and that the First Imperium city of Ngála was located on the banks of the river - both highly speculative (but fun) assumptions - what would the river have looked like? Or, more importantly, what does it look like during our current epoch?

The above drawing shows part of my initial attempts. I have even come up with a name - the Nyélmeyal - which I'm fairly certain hasn't been used before. The word "Nyélmeyal" translates as "dreams", making it the "River of Dreams". As it now flows languidly by the ruins of ancient Ngála through the jungles and swamps of what I take to be one of the wilder parts of the Tsechélnu Flats I think the name is fitting. 

Nowadays the ruins are mainly used for demon-related rituals of the temple of Hriháyal. I think the best route for the priestesses would be to take a ferry over to Ngálar Déka from Jakálla and then follow the sákbe road north until it crosses the Nyélmeyal river. At that point I assume there would be a temple and a landing with boats to convey the groups down river to Ngála. Far better than trekking overland through the swamps!

I had a bit of difficulty doing screenshots because the orientation of the area doesn't fit the landscape monitor I use. At least, not at the zoom level I wanted.

So here are two PDF files...

Ngála

Nisuél

Please let me know if you have any issues with these files. 

Nisuél is stated to be the headquarters or seat of the Clan of the Golden Sunburst, which rose to prominence during the Empire of Éngsvan hla Gánga, that of the Priest-Kings, long before the current empire existed. The area around the village is stated in the green solo book to be "crisscrossed with canals and secondary roads" all of which have yet to be drawn in. My speculation is that in ages past the Mssúma river flowed past Nisuél and joined with what is now called the Nyélmeyal river to reach the sea to the west of Point Kuné. What caused it to change course - assuming you accept this supposition - is unknown, but it might possibly be assumed to have occurred as a result of the cataclysm that sank part of the island of Gánga, drowning the capital of the Priest-Kings empire. 

Ngála - Digitizing Tékumel, Part 13

The ruined city of Ngála originally dates from the First Imperium, which flourished some fifteen millennium  prior to the current time. It is located in what is now the Tsechélnu Flats. Did the flats exist back then? That is three thousand years before Éngsvan hla Gánga and almost thirteen millennium before the cataclysm that ended that Empire. Personally I think that the flats are a byproduct of that seismic event. I'm not sure if this is stated anywhere though.

The reason I bring this up is because it occurred to me today that the Mssúma River might not have always flowed into the Gulf of Perudáya. I know that the Indus river changed its path as the result of an earthquake. Why not the Mssúma River?

It seems reasonable to me that if Ngála is one of Queen Nayári's, "gleaming cities of the South" it is highly likely it would be built on a major watercourse. My speculation is that instead of curving east and then flowing into the gulf, the river instead flowed south west to Ngála and then south to enter the ocean to the west of Point Kuné in hex 2713.

I'm going to do some sketching tomorrow. I have the start of it blocked in, I think, as I rather fancy that Nisuél - seat of the Golden Sunburst Clan IIRC - also has a similar ancient heritage. This is from a period that pre-dates the sákbe roads if I'm not mistaken. 

I need to look at the Indus river for inspiration as to what happens to the old riverbed, only in that example the region is much drier and so might not be entirely appropriate...

Thinking about Lake Vejápa. Digitizing Tékumel, Part 12

Meteora, Greece

I've been thinking a bit about the fiefs in the vicinity of  Lake Vejápa, in particular that island I've plonked down in the middle of the lake. I've intentionally made it so that is always an island whereas the others only become islands for 3 or 4 months of the year.

The above picture of the monasteries at Meteora, in Greece, illustrates something of what I am aiming for, only the rock outcrop is an island. On top would be perched a monastery/temple to Lady Avánthe. My assumption is that this temple would administer a fief centered on the lake.

Digitizing Tékumel, Part 11 - a first look at Lake Vejápa

Lake Vejápa

Here is that large lake that I showed off yesterday. I've given it a name, stolen from I don't know where. OK, I know where...do you? ;-)

The idea is that the lake is around all year but varies considerably in size. When the rains start the channels flowing from the Mssúma river fill and it starts to grow in size. Then the floods come - some years higher than others - and the lake overflows its banks until some or all of the shaded area is inundated. In many areas the water will not be that deep: waist deep and often less than that, but in the central portion the waters could be many meters deep. The white areas are those areas that generally do not get flooded though when those once-in-a-hundred-year rains come, even those areas may see some flooding.

This area will have small villages or clusters of clan houses dotted all across the floodplain. They will typically be up on mounds above the normal flood level, or will be on the shores where it rarely floods. When the water recedes they plant their crops and reap the benefit of the rich soil the rivers sediment provides.

What is on that island in the center of the lake? A monastery? A shrine? Or perhaps that is where the local fief-holder has his seat? Which makes me wonder again about fiefs? How big should they be?

Expanding the Mssúma River Floodplain - Digitizing Tékumel, Part 10

                                             

                         

I've tried to line these up so you can see how the river is shaping up in one go. Not sure how it will display in different browsers...

Here I've started expanding the Mssúma river floodplain. It was bothering me that it was so uniform and narrow. I don't think it would be in a real world. So I pushed it back in a few spots, and added areas where the elevation is high enough that they end up as islands when the river is in full flood. Not that they are necessarily "hills" as such, just enough of a rise to avoid the flooding. Of course, this would vary from year to year. I remember reading a bit about the Sikh wars and I seem to recall all the towns and villages being up on mounds or hilltops.

In the bottom picture I've added another lake. This lake is there all year round but during the floods it expands to over 5 or 6 times its size! I've actually gone a bit further than this, sketching in islands and ox-bow lakes as well as secondary channels. I've also started penciling in some lesser tributaries. Hopefully I'll be able to show you these in a day or two.

Part of my reason for adding the lake is to give a reason for the sákbe road to curve to the west like it does. Why wouldn't it go as straight as possible across the river bend? And there are not enough lakes shown on the large maps anyway. What are there - three, maybe four, in the whole map set?

I've also started to think about how fiefs might be distributed in this new terrain, and who owns what. Well, we know the Emperor "owns" everything, but who are the fief-holders. These will include the temples as well as the clans and nobles. I'll have to look up where each province is administered from as well.