Canonfire!

Tue Aug 13, 2024 8:10 am Lady Rhalta of All Elvenkind

I'm curious if anyone knows where this word "Rhalta" comes from among the honorifics of Queen Yolande. Is it derived from a real world title? is it a Gygaxian anagram?

Tue Aug 13, 2024 6:14 pm

To the best of my knowledge and limits of my web searching, the titles:
Rhelt/Rhalta
Fasstal
Plar
Are completely made up and unique to Greyhawk.
No search I have ever done for them has returned any hits other than to Greyhawk sites and articles.

Per the guidebooks, rhelt is the equivalent of a king, fasstal to a prince or duke, and plar to a count.

Every other listed title has a real world source, though some are more obscure or derived than others.

Tue Aug 13, 2024 7:56 pm

Your post reminds me that I just read this passage from the LGG, "The successful prosecution of the Hateful Wars brought Yolande even greater honor: she was invested by the Grand Court with the Mantle of the Blue Moon, giving her the title "Lady Rhalta of All Elvenkind." Id. at 40.

What the "Mantle of the Blue Moon" is, however, is unspecified, so it's up to us to devise whether it is an olven artifact or something else, and what it's relationship is to the Handmaiden, Celene.

Wed Aug 14, 2024 9:03 am

The "Mantle of the Blue Moon" could be a ceremonial piece of clothing. Think of Elijah's mantle that he gave Elisha.