Hero Wars
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Vongos the BellowerBy Simon Bray and Mark Galeotti
Mythos and HistoryVongos is one of the Thunder Brothers and like his kin; he is turbulent, aggressive and proud. Vongos was born when the first rumble of thunder rippled through the air. He is today personified in the first rumble of thunder over distant hills that promise the coming of Orlanth's storms. He has the loudest voice of all the Thunder Brothers, and storms through the air stomping with his boots of iron and bellowing with his mighty voice. One day when the Storm Tribe were gathered for a moot, they began to bicker and argue amongst themselves, they argued so loudly that Orlanth could not make himself heard. Vongos stood at his King's side and shouted for silence, he shouted so loudly that even Urox was shocked into speechlessness. Orlanth made Vongos his herald and asked him to convey his word to Storm Tribe, but although Vongos was loud, he was never clear and the people did not always understand the messages he conveyed and some even bought wax from Honey Mother to save them from going deaf. Eventually Issaries joined the Storm Tribe and Orlanth gave the Speaking God the role as herald. Orlanth then made Vongos the cat caller, but his voice was so loud that it scared the Alynxes away, and Odayla had to find them. When Vongos was not kept busy he would go about the steads and fields, shouting at those that were lazy, chastising those that did not follow Orlanth's laws and humiliating the weak. He was called 'Big Mouth' and was disliked by many of the Storm Tribe.When the Darkness came, enemies sneaked into Orlanth's camp while everyone was sleeping, Vongos and Elmal were guarding the walls at the time, Elmal espied the foe but could not wake the warriors, so Vongos let loose his loudest roar and the Fyrd and Thanes were called to defeat the enemy. After that Vongos became the Fyrd Caller, bringing together the Storm tribe to defend the tula. As with everything, Vongos did this with great enthusiasm. Whenever the Storm Tribe prepared for war Vongos would call the fyrd with his mighty bellowing voice. When there was no war then Vongos would call the Fyrd to train with Elmal, Hedkoranth and Humakt. The god would loudly and publicly reprimand those that did not hear the fyrd call. An otherwise adequate but undistinguished warrior, but never the brightest Thunder Brother, Vongos has three qualities, which Orlanth prizes: his loyalty, his attention to detail and his stentorian voice. He can match Elmal for his devotion to duty, although this is thanks to a lack of the imagination to consider any alternative. Undiverted by a family or interests, he can attend to practical detail with all the rigour that Lhankor Mhy put into his intellectual studies. Finally, his is a voice, which can drown out even Urox's angry bellows. As such, he is useful to Orlanth and the tribe. Given clear instructions, Vongos can organise, if never improvise, spotting minor mistakes and loudly demanding better. His bellows can rally an army, deafen a foe or even, wonder of wonders, silence the storm tribe. All this made it worth putting up with his strutting and bullying, even if it meant Vongos was never the most popular in Orlanth's stead. Of course, Eurmal delighted in teasing him for being 'All Mouth and no trews'. However much the rest of the tribe groaned when they heard him roar, though, they know that sometimes even a Great King needs a Big Mouth. After all, Orlanth's thanes have many heroic and admirable qualities, but quiet efficiency is rarely counted among them. Orlanth's tribal ring and councils of war are instead infamous for their noisy ribaldry, thundering disputes and lengthy, epic declamations ('Yes, we shall make haste, as though sakkar were snapping at our heels and windbulls our steeds; we shall leave at once, without thought of delay or hesitation, stepping forth as our lord Orlanth did on that fateful day when...'). On the whole, Orlanth favours this rough-and-ready democracy, which he compares favourably with the sterile ceremony and obsequies of Yelm's court. However, sometimes even Orlanth grows weary of it, or needs matters attended to quickly and without delay. This is probably why he retains Vongos the Bellower, sometimes called the Roaring Wind or just the Big Mouth, among his weaponthanes.
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