> You can tell him to get stuffed if he makes unreasonable demands
> like 'Give me your wife to keep my bed warm for the night'. I do
> not even believe that Orlanth would be upset if an initiate even
> killed a Wind Voice on the other side of a clan feud.
I very much agree. But this does not mean that they do not have authority. If my boss asks for something unreasonable I would refuse him. That does not detract from his authority at work. I think that it would be very Orlanthi for someone to blood feud with a priest. I also think that it is part of Orlanthi tradition to struggle against the universe, and so I find it not implausable that Orlanth should make life tough for this individual.
> The Priests are more skilled in calling upon Orlanth for
> aid but they do this as a service for their fellow Orlanthi and not
> because they are special in Orlanth's eyes.
I get the feeling that in Glorantha, worship is a two way thing with benefits for the deity and worshipper. It stands to reason that if a person get a lot from the god, the god must be getting a lot from him. Therefore he must be special to the god. Lets face it, the priest has a good chance of being noticed by the god, which your general worshipper does not.
> If one priest hates your guts and you need a divination from Orlanth,
> then the solution is simple. Find another priest who is more friendly.
In theory yes. But a recurring problem with a self policing body (like doctors, or academics) is that if you complain about 1 member of the body, the rest tend to be suspicious of you.
> So most clan chiefs would try and be wind lords rather than priests.
Yes. I am using priest just as a generic term as someone special to the god, above an initiate.
> 'lay member' to 'initiate'
I agree! I agree! I think there is a consensus that most in a clan are worshippers of the general pantheon rather than one specific god. It is just that I like the name lay member, and I want to use it. If it irritates, imagine I use the word lay as an acronym for 'Initiate of General Pantheon' and have a severe spelling problem. After all,
'What's in a name? that which we call a rose By any other name would smell as sweet.'
Weaker blood in cities:
In London, with a large immigrant population from rural India, it is well
observed that the traditional authority structure of the extended family are
breaking down. In a city you rely, and have obligations, on people who are not
kin.
I may just be expressing myself badly. It all depends what you mean by blood ties. I would say that in a city, you probably love your family more (so in this way you could say blood ties are closer) because your extended family does not have the same authority over as in rural society, hence less friction. But I mean ties as in a network of duty obligation, authority, etc.. In a city, many of the obligations and authority are no longer within the family network, but beyond it.
The point I was originally making is that the rural code of behaviour, where everyone you meet is a part of your extended family, and so is based on blood ties, breaks down, in the city, because you are dealing with people who are not of your blood. Swearing brotherhoods (like the fellowship of the Vikings, or the guilds of the middle ages), is a simple way to use the system blood ties, and just applying it to beyond your kin. If I expressed this badly, sorry.
I think most of the objections I meet are because I have expressed my ideas very badly. I shall try to think a bit harder about how I put across what I am trying to say.
Stephen Lucek.
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