Jane's Glorantha: Sun County: Southfork/Goldbreath

Why did the Goldbreath seat of power move between SC and the Secret History?

Mentioning Southfork instead of Goldbreath was, initially, the result of MOB putting Dallas jokes in everywhere. I at least didn't even realise there was a place called Southfork on the map until it was pointed out, too late. But to give the guy his due, MOB came up with such a wonderful explanation of the two place-names that I'll forgive him. Here it is:

Note in The secret History of Sun County it sez, "The Goldbreaths are an old, established, and wealthy family who control the tiny village of Southfork, out on the edge of the Wastes. The source of their wealth is "Black Gold"." The Goldbreath family do originate from the village of the same name, located in the northeastern part of Sun County. There are a number of retirement towers near Goldbreath (see map in SC, p.123). It is to one of these towers Phaestus, elder patriarch of the Goldbreath family, retires to following Solanthos's coup.

However, the Goldbreath family *also* control an area known as "Southfork" in the south-western most corner of the county, and the "black gold" found there is the source of their wealth.

The story of how they acquired South Fork goes like this...

Jalmar Goldbreath (so named, it is said, for the unusual and marvellous gift he received from his god) came to Sun County with the first count Arinsor in 877. Taking one of Arinsor's sisters as his wife, he settled on the banks of the Sungold river, founding a settlement that now bears the family name. The Goldbreath family derive great prestige from tracing their lineage back to Arinsor's kin, particularly when they can demonstrate theirs is one of few family lines in Sun County unsullied by nomad or outlander blood.

When Lorango assumed the title of count in 1328, the Goldbreaths fled their home village as he (the "Avenger of Brilliance") scoured the county rounding up those suspected of being part of the plot that killed his predecessor, Zolan IV ("infamously shot by an arrow"). They settled in an unclaimed parcel of land in the far south of the county, which had lain fallow since it was abandoned several generations earlier. In the face of pillaging nomads and other perils, life was hard but the Goldbreaths eventually prospered here. After coming to an arrangement of their own with the local river spirits, they were able to open the old irrigation channels and eventually dug more. In the process, they also discovered the famous "black gold" which became the source of their wealth and independence.

Facing nomad perils of his own, Lorango later forgave the Goldbreaths and welcomed them back to their ancestral village. A significant branch of the family remained behind at South Fork, and to this day, the Goldbreaths have been established in two parts of Sun County. Priding themselves as paragons of Yelmalian virtue, no count has ever dared to try to strip the Goldbreaths of their lands at South Fork, and in the periods of nomad subjugation, it has sometimes even operated more as an independent entity answerable only to the family patriarch. The Goldbreaths have a sentimental attachment to their family seat at their village, and while this gives their prestige, they know that the source of their real power lies under the ground at South Fork.