Ghyll:Qane
Qane is the proprietor of the Cirq l' Tytns, a hodgepodge of feral clowns, Altoxian Bulb eaters, and a quintet of orphaned urchins. He stands tall and lean, an imposing and sometimes frightening figure, dressed in the traditional green and violet of the vaude performance tradition (with a dash of the tertiary colors).
The circuit of the Cirq, and hence the whereabouts of Qane, encompasses the meandering route of the Qestarius River. In fact, few outside of this river-region even know of Qane or his Cirq. The region, known for its dismal drainage and eerie amphibians, is also home to no towns... none, nula, nishta, nada. The residents who have chosen to nest therein live in villages, hamlets, and hideouts; examples include Hvar (population 31), Krag (pop. 29), Mulch (pop. 24), and Uothe (pop. 17). The river-region does lead to the Marty, yet the coast is its own place, and most folk from Iganefta-on-the-Sea have never heard of Qane. Though the main flow of the Qestarius leads to their river and sea ports, Qane prefers to have his troupe take the inland flow which leads eventually into the Wentzel Fen. Many ask why any entertainer would choose such a poor spectrum of civility to peddle their goods; once one gets to know Qane, however, all such questions vanish.
The Cirq appeared in 1 EC during the wet summer nights common to the river-region. Even as farmer Magot was putting up the toll gate over Hare'son Ford near to the village of Uothe he saw (so he said later) a "piercing light in the glooming mist." As if condensing from out of the rain-laden air, there appeared a pachyderm train of four large covered carriages. Without so much as a howdoyoudo, the train master dropped an appropriate number of quezloos into the toll bucket and the whole train plodded along southwards.
Qane is owner and operator, and also a man difficult to read and one who keeps his secrets to himself. Full of smiles, he speaks eloquently of the Cirq and of the needs of the simple Ghyllite. His choice of words - sometimes odd - shows the man to be interested in the needful things of the people. More than this, though, is impossible to discern.
The Cirq
The main attraction of the Cirq are the Tytns - the quintet from which the whole Cirq gets its name. This quintet is made up of Bat-Boy, Miss Wonder, Lightning, the Submerger, and the Crossbow. These five performers are each interesting and together fascinating, and the stories of their respective orphaning quite heart-tearing. How Qane came to gather them is not known, but they definitely make quite a team.
A secondary attraction are the feral clowns. Kept away from small children and indeed, not part of the main show, these strange and obscene characters are confined to mostly within a traveling-house of their own making, a house where "any brave enough to enter are given a tour of their inner self" (from the brochure). It has been said by some that it is larger within than without, but too one must not forget the potberrie juice that all drink before entering the place (ostensibly to calm the nerves, says the clown wrangler). What is inside few care to describe, and Qane is quite pleased to sustain this mystery. The few who were willing to answer direct questions regarding their foray into the Clown House spoke of macabre images on the walls and of murmured whispering. I have notated just a few of the "messages" seen and heard by various participants:
never trust a word to Bruce, that one-armed rogue...
the Black Flame shall ignite the world...
the Rules must be obeyed
Pthul is just beyond...
the frogs rise when the Chud arrives...
My dear, Arcane, it’s quite Elemental...
I am your father
The Chud dance a waltz about you, take down all whom you love, you in misery remain
Lumics are weird, I like weird things
History
Though Qane refuses to speak about his or the Cirq’s history, after interviewing some of the elder loremasters of the river-region villages, an interesting story emerges: it appears that the Cirq must have been formed long ago for it comes to the villages every seventy-two to seventy-five years, performs for about a year or so, and then disappears. There have been at least three prior appearances with the last being in the early –70s EC when the Cirq consisted of wild ventriloquists, acrobatic pygmies, and a grenfed man. There was quite some controversy regarding that troupe, especially as the grenfs of the grenfed man covered not only his shell, but his whole body! and more, each play seemed to evoke a different tune and tale, which is quite impossible as any materialist can tell you. Whether the loremasters are just this side of oldtimers disease, whether they like to spice up the otherwise ordinary life of their tiny homesteads, or whether there is some truth to what may or may not have occurred some seventy years ago we shall never know for sure. With that said, all the loremasters are quite in agreement that the leader during the Cirq's last visit was a man named Qane. When confronted with this, the fortyish-looking Qane leading the current troupe simply smiled in his top hat and pincertails and said: "Now, now, do I look that old?"
Citations: Howdoyoudo, Qestarius River, Tertiary colors.
--Nikos of Ant 00:19, 15 Sep 2005 (EDT)
