Olboloh Joleeloh

Olboloh Joleeloh /ɑl'bɑlə dʒɑ'liːlə/ (1799-1836 FR) was a famous singer of lore and later a seer to Meerō Dolysoh, Gole of Toor. Together with another singer Gorōntoh Kōtele, she arrived to Gaskal in 1833 FR and through her influence was able to pass on prophecies to the Gole, leading him to imprison his close advisor Brone Forod and install Olboloh and Gorōntoh as advisors instead.

Olboloh's subsequent influence on the history of Tarnaria was one of the stories that prompted Porteek to give his historical manuscript the name "The Movers of Previous Generations". He wrote: "I am endlessly fascinated by how thousands of men grind, leaving no marks on history, and just a single individual can turn time."

As singer of lore

Olboloh was a singer of lore and quickly became famous throughout northern Tarnaria. She was known as a very accurate performer of the Great Lore in the tradition of Osdol. Olboloh was said to have had an air of authority about her, and people tended to look up to her and ask her for advice. Her fame brought her significant religious power and also wealth. She traveled with a whole group of servants and had a private militia.

Revenge against the Jumpelee clan

Main article: Jumpelee-Joleeloh rivalry

Olboloh was instrumental in Meerō's campaign against the Hadeer people. Her family were the rivals of the Jumpelee clan. The Jumpelees united the Hadeer some twenty years earlier and became the ruling family.

In 1833 Olboloh teamed up with another famous singer Gorōntoh Kōtele and arrived to Gaskal. This became a big event for the city.

Hearing that the gole is preparing for a new conquest to the west, Olboloh decided to use her influence to enact revenge on the Jumpelees. She created a prophecy that the next Laeooy Coast gole is at Koalderood and killing him would prevent a civilization that would challenge Toor's hold on the Seat of Mankind, Gaajmas. She then sent a messenger to the gole. Meerō agreed to see her and was impressed by her knowledge of the Great Lore, as well as by the depth of her prophecy. Meerō's advisor, Brone Forod, was unimpressed. But Olboloh managed to convince the gole that Forod is incompetent and argued for his execution. Meerō did not execute Forod, but did imprison him and installed Olboloh and Gorōntoh as his advisors and seers. He then led his army to Koalderood.

What Olboloh did not know was that over the course of the last twenty years the Jumpelees have expanded their lands quite significantly, merging other groups into theirs and building what could have potentially become a powerful Hadeer empire. In other words, Olboloh's prophecy turned out to be fairly accurate. Meerō's campaign against the Hadeer in 1834-1835 FR put an end to their supremacy in the region and at the same time ensured that the gole now trusted Olboloh completely.

This also ended the rivalry, as the Jumpelee clan lost its power. Most of its family members were killed in the campaign and no subsequent records of the fate of the surviving members exist.

Death

While Gorōntoh also occupied a position of power, she felt that all the glory went to Olboloh. She was also unhappy that Olboloh methodically excluded her from conversations with Meerō. Afraid that Olboloh wants to eventually get rid of her, Gorōntoh poisoned Olboloh's wine. Olboloh and her son drank it and both died.

Legacy

Porteek writes a great deal about Olboloh. He contends that her opportunistic decision to try to persuade Meerō to campaign against the Hadeer had most probably changed history, as the Hadeer were very likely to grow into a dominant power in the region in just several years, and become a force that would make Toor's dominance of the Laeooy Coast unlikely.