Re: [WorldofGlorantha] Re: Forests and wildlands in Heortland, Sartar, Tarsh

YGWV Andrew Solovay wrote:
> --- In WorldofGlorantha_at_yahoogroups.com
> <mailto:WorldofGlorantha%40yahoogroups.com>, Greg <Greg@...> wrote:
> >
> > Anything is possible, and sure, there might be a group of aberrant
> > fire-loving elves. They would be unique, mind you, but they might
> > exist. They don't live it, any more than you and I might love death.
> > It is a part of life and death, inevitable but not loved.
>
> There are creepy fire-using Uz (Zoraki), and creepy death-worshipping
> humans (Humakti, Sharsgashi, etc.). Creepy fire-living Aldryami
> doesn't seem any stranger.

As I said, anything is possible. And, just as with ZZ or Humakt, such elves would be in a tiny minority--i.e.- creepy and strange oddballs if they love and worship a natural "enemy."

That having been said, I want to point out that 1. these are NOT humans, and we are incorrect to simply project ourself upon them; and
2. Nonetheless, we share with them the People Rune, and so we DO have many similarities.

One big difference is that the Aldryami go there and remember it, often with fondness. They spend half their life there (when they sleep, at night for the Yellow and Green Elves, or the winter, for the Brown.)

And they do not have the fear of death like humans. They have less of an ego that humans have, and hence none of the fear of losing their selves.

I think that all the above notwithstanding, fire is frightening because it shortens the "natural life span" of the plants. In other words, they know they are going to die and are not afraid of that like humans are, but they also "expect" to go after a complete life cycle.

Also, I think that this is less powerful in the short-lived aldryami--the little plants.

> Speculation: Those Aldryami who are closely tied to plants that need
> fire to reproduce are more disposed to this tendency. (I'll refer to
> them as "redwood Aldryami" for shorthand, but I mean all Aldryami
> associated with plants that depend on fire.)

Yes, including many that are the little plants.

> And regardless of whether a particular redwood dryad *likes* fire,
> they might need to use fire in their fertility magic.

Though this raises the question of whether they like their eproductive cycles...

> This would
> seriously creep out the other aldryami. (Especially the sprites and
> pixies--since, I'd assume, "the trees need fire to reproduce" means
> something like "after a wildfire, the seeds sprout in the ground
> that's been fertilized by all the burnt undergrowth". That is,
> redwood dryads feed their babies with the corpses of pixies.)

I'm not convinced that fire would be particularly awful to these short-lived things.

> Further speculation: When a fire breaks out in a mixed forest, the
> non-fire-associated Aldryami get suspicious of the fire-linked ones.
> Perhaps pogroms have ocurred? (There may be forests that were mixed
> once, but aren't any more.)

When I read this I found myself disagreeing, and upon thought, find that I don't think elves/aldryami would be suspicious.

> Regardless, if there are trees in Glorantha that depend on fire to
> reproduce, there are going to be some interesting myths to explain
> this. The myth as told by redwood dryads may not be the same as the
> myth as told by pixies.

Maybe not. How would a redwood tree story be different form an oak or a cedar?

> Any of this sound reasonable?

I hope I am not making anyone think I think your speculation is unreasonable.

-- 
Sincerely,
Greg Stafford

Issaries, Inc.
1942 Channing Way, #204
Berkeley, CA 94704