From: Bryan J. Maloney (jacobus@sonata.cc.purdue.edu)
Date: Mon 14 Feb 1994 - 17:42:09 EET
Uh, people are stating that one reason they could not see "bladesharp" as
being applicable to plowing is that a cult that would teach the agricultural
application might see using the spell in combat as "defiling" the spell or
"soiling" the earth with blood. This is all well and good PROVIDED that
Theyalan/Orlanthi culture, Carmanian culture, and ALL other cultures that
use spirit magic and farm take the same approach to blood and combat as
do modern Christianity, Shinto, etc.
I see no evidence for this. In fact, I could see a great case to be made in
FAVOR of using "plowsharp" to enhance combat--"By my God's magic, I take the
strength of your blood and water the soil of my crops with it, thus do you
strengthen my people in death." Now, I could see an interesting situation
wherein the Orlanthi farmer, who learned "bladesharp" via an agricultural
route would REFUSE to cast it when fighting Chaos monsters. Why? The blood
of THESE creatures would be pollution.
(I can just see the humor: The macho Humakti notices that the Orlanthi
amateur will not cast blade-enhancing magic when combatting chaos monsters.
Not to be out-done, he also no longer uses them. The Pious Humakti, on the
other hand, asks the Orlanthi amateur why he does not use the magic, and is
told that to do so would be to expose the life-bringing gift of the God to
Chaos defilement. The Humakti and the Orlanthi then get into a theological
argument in which the Humakti steadfastly maintains that it is the purpose
of a weapon to be used and it is the duty of the warrior to use a weapon to
the best of his ability--swords can be cleaned afterwards. The Orlanthi
stubbornly states that he "wouldn't eat off a knife that had been covered
in shit, no matter how much it was washed.")
But I'm a culture-fiend, so what do I know?
0,,
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