From: Barron Chugg (bchugg@leland.stanford.edu)
Date: Thu 23 Jun 1994 - 11:47:38 EEST
At 9:26 AM 6/23/94 +0200, Graeme Lindsell wrote:
> I think modern Loskalm is a product of the Ban, and of King Siglat's
>work. His inhuman intelligence - and the Syndics Ban - allowed this system
>to function. Now both Siglat and the Ban are gone, the system is starting
>to fail, and will either collapse or attempt military conquest to convert
>the rest of Fronela.
>
This is the best comment on Loskalm to date, IMHO. It also offers some great future story ideas for Fronela.
I agree that Loskalm is a bit too good to be true as written, but that doesn't mean that the GCotHW write up is all lies. I like Graeme's idea about the egalitarian Loskalmi society being a product of its isolation. When there were no outside influences demanding change or offering divergent ideas Loskalmi society probably worked great. But now the Ban has lifted and those outside forces are flooding back in. For the first time in many generations Lords are having to deal with those Ernaldan Farmers. Also, other visions of Malkionism are seeping in. And then, there is the KoW sharpening its swords.
So here was this nice, peaceful, pastoral society suddenly challenged from all sides. I imagine many now lament the loss of the Ban ("Boy, things sure were simpler in my day, son..."). It seems to me that there are two possible futures for Loskalm. Future one is the pessimistic one. In this future the outside influences are too much for the structured society to bear. The Loskalmi become absorbed by internal disputes (religious, political, _trade_) and the cracks that many in the daily have suggested become more pronounced. Then either the KoW tears Loskalm to shreds, or it becomes the fanatical, religious dictatorship that some say it already is. They may even become the big baddies of the next age.
The other possibility is much more up beat. This future is one in which the Loskalmi (or at least one charismatic leader) recognize that their society is a product of its isolation and that it cannot survive unchanged into the new age. In this view the society undergoes some internal restructuring, adding, perhaps, several more castes that are parallel, but seperate from the four (five?) standard ones (imagine an Wanderer caste, a Wise(wo)man caste, or a Merchant caste). These would accomadate those that do not fit well into the one size fits all four. Now, to make this interesting, I would have the fragmentation of the other future set in first. Things look bad, society is crumbling, the wolves are at the gates! But from this chaos a new era is born. Perhaps a new, revitalized Hrestoli philosophy motivates the people and welds them together to turn back the KoW. Or, maybe the KoW crushes Loskalm and the new ideology is one of revolution ("Arise, down-tapped masses!!"). Either way, the rebirth through disorder is in keeping with the general theme of the Hero Wars period.
Personaly I favor the second option. I think it is more in keeping with the high-minded ideas that seem to be the basis of Loskalm's culture. Granted, one person's high-mindedness is another's single-mindedness, but I like the power of the stories that could be generated by the second option. But then, I am a sucker for happy endings.
Barron Chugg
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