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Last Updated On 1 August 1999

# Ronance

## Description [1]

Ronance is a son of Ernalda who used to be the great ruler of the Wastelands. He taught men the secrets of plants and the mystical pathways of the cult. He was the Golden Age ruler of the Wastelands and is the source of the Plant and Mobility Runes available to the Paps. He is still useful in finding the way across the seemingly trackless wastes, for his secret paths have their manifestations upon the desert.

Ronance is the god of fertility who was once the mainstay of the people of the Golden Age.His mere presence is inspirational to normal humans, and though his immortal chariot never touches the earth, the ground beneath him is always rich in growing edible things. An ancient magical road system, now lost, was made by the runnels of his wheels.

The cult of Ronance is worshipped as a sub-cult of Eiritha and grants her the spell of Pathway. The deity may be contacted by shamans who are initiates of Eiritha and once again grant the Pathway spell. However, he is more important a deity than that and can be worshipped in his own right. Worship of Ronance is rare as he is difficult to find and does not sit well with the Waha Way, belonging to the archaic Earth Deities of Prax.

## Runic Affiliation

Ronance is associated with the Runes of Plant, Mobility and Life

## Membership of the Cult

Ronance is worshipped at the Paps by both men and women and also at some of the Oases, once again by both men and women. Since only Eiritha initiate shamans may contact him, he is worshipped only by female shamans, but has a Spirit Cult with both men and women as members.

In order to worship Ronance, the potential worshipper must find a place where Ronance is worshipped. Normally, this is a Spirit Cult worshipped at an Oasis. Once the place is found, the supplicant must persuade the shaman or Charioteer to allow him to worship Ronance. Children of worshippers are automatically accepted, others must pass a test of Holiness. Sometimes, a gift must be made to the presiding shaman or Charioteer. Once the supplicant has passed the test they must sacrifice 1 POW and are initiates of the cult. Lay members may learn cult skills without joining the cult as initiates.

### Cult Skills

Scout Plains, Navigate (Prax), Plant Lore.

### Cult Spirit Spells

Mobility, Preserve herbs

## Charioteers

These are Priests of Ronance. They may not be Shamans or Sorcerer. They must have mastered all cult skills (90%) and must have 10 points of Divine magic from the cult. They must pass the Test of Holiness. A Charioteer must be accepted by an existing Charioteer, so those belonging to Spirit Cults must travel to the Paps or to one of the Oases where Ronance is worshipped in a standard cult in order to be elevated to the status.

A Charioteer may be hired out to guide people between Oases. This is a cult duty and cannot be refused, unless requested by followers of Chaos. Charioteers may request payment for this service and if payment is not given they may refuse the service. If the charioteer is attacked by those he is guiding, he may call upon the Cult Spirit of Retribution to curse those in the offending party.

### Divine Magic

Common Divine: Divination, Excommunicate, Find Enemy, Sanctify, Soul Sight, Spell Teaching, Worship Ronance.

Special Divine: Pathway, Follow Trackway, Bless Plants

Pathway[2] (1 point, temporal, stackable, self, stackable, reusable)

Allows the user to determine the direction to the nearest oasis. If two points are stacked, then the closest and second-closest oases are known, with each additional point increasing the number of oases known. The spell tells only direction and distance magnitude, not the actual distance.

Follow Trackway (2 points, Temporal, Stackable, Reusable)

When cast at an oasis, this makes Ronance's Trackway to another Oasis visible to the recipient. The Trackway is visible as long as the recipient stays on the Trackway or within his POW in metres of the Trackway. This allows the recipient to travel to the named Oasis. Where there is no Trackway to the named Oasis, the spell gives a Trackway to another Oasis from where there is a Trackway to the named Oasis. If more than one spell is stacked, the Trackway to the first Oasis and the next Oasis are both visible, saving the caster recasting the spell. If a Trackway has been partially destroyed, the spell shows where it used to run, allowing travel along the Trackway as normal.

Bless Plants (1 point, instant, stackable, reusable)

When cast on a plant, this increases the POTency of a portion of the plant by 1D6. Extra points stacked increase the POT of other portions of the plant. So, if cast on an Arroin's Joy plant, the first point may increase the root's POT, the second the flowers and so on.

## Miscellaneous Notes

### Ronance's Trackways

When Ronance travelled the plains of Prax in his chariot, his wheels ran above the ground, never actually making contact, but leaving marks in the ground. These tracks became known roads, travelled by many people and covered in an abundance of growing plants. With the destruction of the land and the resulting loss of fertility, these tracks did not stand out and were lost, but Ronance's cult knew the secrets of where the tracks were and could follow the Trackways. Charioteers know which Oases have Pathways and which do not, so they can navigate between Oases without problems. In fact, most Charioteers have a road map of all the main Oases and the Trackways between them with notes on bad areas crossed. This gives them a distinct edge when travelling through Prax and the Wastes.

Since these Trackways are abundant with plants, they provide enough food for herd beasts when travelling. Obviously, if the herd settles then food will run out as normal. As a rule of thumb, each Trackway will support a reasonable party for the duration of the journey.

These Trackways are not necessarily the shortest route between Oases, in fact Ronance's Trackways often meander through Prax and journeys can take a few days longer than a direct route. However, as long as the recipient of the Follow Trackway spell remains on the Trackway the party will not become lost and will have food throughout their journey. Sometimes, the Trackways pass through dangerous areas or land where enemies live. Charioteers often know these problems on a Scout (Prax) roll.

### Spirit of Retribution

Anyone who betrays the cult is marked by Ronance. Whenever they enter an Oasis, any initiate of a descendant of Genert will know that they have betrayed the Earth and will be hostile to them. All of the Gods of the Oases are descendant of Genert, as are many of the Deities of the Paps. This means that the Oasis Folk will not help them, not grant them food, water or shelter, and make them outcasts. The Oasis Folk will also inform the nomads at the Oasis that the cursed ones have transgressed against the Earth, something that Waha and Eiritha cultists do not take lightly. Recipients of such a curse need to HeroQuest to ask for forgiveness or must join Gagarth or one of the other outlaw tribes of Prax.

## Notes

[1] This description is taken from Tales of the Reaching Moon Issue 14.

[2] The spell of Pathway is taken from Tales of the Reaching Moon Issue 14.

[End]