From: Peter Metcalfe (P.Metcalfe@student.canterbury.ac.nz)
Date: Tue 05 Sep 1995 - 10:59:22 EEST
Carl Fink:
==========
>This is euhemerization again, defined as the idea that the legends of
>supernatural beings are really "mythologized" acts of historical human
>beings. I have little use for it.
>This is (again) NOT EARTH! In Glorantha, why can't there really be
>gods? I feel that Simon is using the fact that supernatural beings
>don't really exist here, in the real world, to devalue their
>"existence" in the fantasy world of Glorantha.
I think you are confusing the existance of euhemerisic events with
the thesis that all Gods were once mortals. While I think that some
euhemerism occurs in Glorantha (the Red Goddess, the False Gods of
Malkioni legend being good examples), I do not believe that all gods
were originally of mortal status (Aether, Nakala etc). To say that
Euhemerism should not exist in Glorantha is a tad sweeping IMO.
William Robertson:
>As cultures, both the Brithini and Mostali detest reproduction. So,
==================
>they've distanced themselves from the fertilty aspect of the
>death/fertilty duality. Thus they are distanced from the death aspect as
>well, and do not normally die from aging.
>I don't know if this applies to the Vadeli, because I don't think I've
>ever heard of the Vadeli. I am a little out of date.
The Vadeli are a culture that like the Brithini stems from the Golden
Age Kingdom of Logic. They would be called Malkioni but they do not
worship the Invisible God (being athiests) nor do they acknowlege
Malkion as Lawgiver like the Brithini. They claim descent from Vadel.
They are vile and disgusting and every Malkioni (save the Loskalmi)
hates them.
The Vadeli are of three castes: the Blues, the Reds and the Browns.
The Caste name comes from the colour of the skin. The Browns are
the most common and are mainly merchants and sailors. They are
mainly found in the West although they also control selected Jrusteli
Isles and control a port in Pamaltela called Garanz. The Reds are
warriors and pirates and are particularly vicious. They were thought
to be destroyed in battle against the Brithini in the Ice Age but they
have reappeared in the Red Vadeli Isles since the Opening. They
apparently collaborate with the Browns.
The Blues are thought to be the Wizards and Rulers of the Vadeli People.
The Vadeli certainly do not distance themselves from the Life/Death
They were made extinct during the Ice Age after Zzabur sank their lands
with a Terrible Spell. All Malkioni (save the Vadeli) acclaims this as
one of the few good things Zzabur has done for the world. Horrible
rumours abound (cf Elder Secrets) that some Blues have returned to the
Lands of the Living. There is no link between them and the Artmali of
Fonrit and Oronin.
Duality. They grow their own kids and eat them for immortality.
My current thinking is Brithini and the Vadeli avoid aging through
several means. The chief mean is avoidance of emotional change.
This means that the humours in the body do not change dramatically
and thus bring about general physical decay. (A RW example of this
would be insulin injections for diabetics - the many sudden shifts
in the sugar level take a toll upon the kidneys). Most humans do
not know this and think nothing of getting angry, happy, sad etc.
Thus they age and die.
The Brithini avoid aging by chiefly adopting the four castes. Each
caste has a set limit of jobs it can do. Thus if you're a zzabur,
you don't have to face the emotional stress of ploughing the fields
in the morning. You do have to face the stress of wizardly tasks
but your professional training and outlook (A Zzabur's got to do what
a Zzabur's got to do) enables you to repress the emotions. If you
take on too many jobs like fighting with a sword in addition to the
wizardly tasks, the emotional stress becomes too much to repress and
you start displaying physical emotions. Death then is inevitable.
To avoid the repressed emotions building up to an unhealthy limit
(thus triggering a drastic change in the humourous balance), all the
Brithini pay a visit to the Zzaburi weekly to have their repressed
emotions tapped.
The Vadeli have a similar practice in avoiding age. They always
- --Peter Metcalfe
maintain a fixed demeanour when outside. Thus the Browns are
seemingly friendly, polite and sycophantic no matter what the
provocation. [Unfortunately once you turn your back, something bad
invaribly happens as the Vadeli are completely amoral and think
nothing of betrayal].
When the Vadeli do formulate a desire for something, they repress it
like the Brithini. However instead of tapping the repressed desire
later, the Vadeli release it. They do this by means of a magic rite
which ensorcels the area. This rite is performed in the privacy of
their own homes or ghettos. The ensorcelment allows them to consumate
their desires without disturbing the humours. Thus if a Vadeli wonders
what it would be like to pull wings of flies, he would go home and pull
the wings of flies within the safety of his home. They were pulling
wings of flies over twenty thousand years ago. Because they became jaded
with disreputable things over the long years, the Vadeli have sunk to
the depths of depravity in committing the vilest of enormities. The
Vadeli think nothing of commiting incest with their parents or siblings.
In fact having one set of grandparents is the norm among the Vadeli.
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