From: Joerg Baumgartner (joe@sartar.toppoint.de)
Date: Sat 27 Jan 1996 - 02:19:44 EET
Some shorth thoughts on the Boristi:
To me they seem like an adaption of Theyalan Councilic chaos-fighting
Borin lies in the border area between the Korioni and the Vustri tribal
monomyth grafted on the Malkioni or even Brithini lore flooding Ralios
with the "liberation" from Gbaji.
regions. The Korioni were members of the Dari Alliance, the Vustri
traditional enemies. Since Borin is somewhat lowland, but among the
hill, I suppose that Dorastan settlers had taken hold there, too. This
mixture of cultures had been stable during Nysalor's reign, and IMO
were typical for the cult of Orlanth introduced by Lokamayadon.
IMO the Theyalan monomyth was based upon some common (?) tales of
Creation, intrusion of not-Being and combating this (like the Footprint
myth, or the Snake Pipe Hollow myth), in the end with not-Being (Death
- - the Sword Story has Eurmal and Humakt go to the outer border of the
Universe, Subere's darkest Darkness, where Chaos lies just a step
further), too. In the course of finishing Creation and completing
Being, Storm had to use the weapon of not-Being on the Emperor, but
also had to undo this deed to ensure Being once again.
(BTW: Don't you think that this period of co-existance with the Dara
Happans was the origin of the Theyalan knowledge about and acceptance
of the Celestial Court as the supreme body of entities after Creation?)
The philosophy of Nysalor managed to unify irredeamable paradoxes into
one theory. While Arkat's crusade surely destroyed much of that
knowledge, traces remained in Dara Happa, so why not in Ralios?
I don't know when Chaos became a problem in Borin, but the best time
seems to have been the late Gbaji wars, or the Telmori curse after
this. Borin lies close enough to both Kartolin Pass and Telmoria.
IMO the philosophy of the first Boristi was to use one form of
not-Being (Tap) on another (Chaos), in order to revert not-Being into
being. This is kind of not understood illumination...
I don't know whether it is necessary to have the Boristi breed their
own chaos spawn for scapegoat purposes. I have once argued that the
Praxian do breed their culturally important chaos in the Devil's Marsh
as well, tended by the Storm Bull colony of the Block. That time I
earned strong protests (I think it was by Sandy). The Orlanthi ritual
of the Summoning of Evil, performed each Sacred Time, could be another
such incident - while it may be argue that they just attract existing
chaos, they may also call in new not-Being. Who is to decide?
Still, the Orlanthi and the Praxians understand themselves as foes bent
upon the destruction of chaos, not realizing that by fighting the Chaos
in the world, obeying the terms of the Compromise, they strengthen it.
I think that the Boristi may have realized this somewhat better, and
try to escape this cycle by turning one form of not-Being (Tapping)
onto another (Chaos) in order to create Being (MP, fatigue, whatever).
The intention and the rational behind it may be different, but the net
effect as described here reminds me strongly of the Lunar use of Chaos
to achieve or even improve Creation.
Ok, this much for high-heeled thought around midnight.
Back to the origin of the Boristi:
To me they seem to combine 1st Age Hrestoli Malkionism, Theyalan
Was Tapping an issue to the 1st Age Hrestoli? (When I played a Castle
concepts, and pre-Hrestol Malkioni magic (Tap).
Coast bishop in HtWW1, I led my church into abstemption on the Tapping
issue. Our church write-up allowed the Tapping of peasants, and I even
found the rational behind that: If we allow our soldiers, wizards, and
knights to risk their soul for the church, why should we deny our
peasants the right to "volunteer" to donate and risk part of their soul
to the Church? In RQ terms this would mean that they would only allow
Tap POW on peasants.)
If Tapping was not an article of faith then, Arkat's wizard companions
from Seshnela may have brought it with them. As a weapon the Tap spell
is pretty useless, unless you allow a Touch projection alongside it. As
a means of recovery it might have been invaluable in the fighting
against the pagans.
If the 1st Age Malkionism had the prohibition on Tapping, one has to
wonder how the Boristi on the farthest Malkioni outcrop learned of this
technique. We know that the Brithini zzaburs still tap ("freely") in
the 3rd Age. How did the Boristi contact them, in this case?
- --
Joerg Baumgartner
joe@toppoint.de
------------------------------
End of Glorantha Digest V2 #345
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