>Although I don't claim to know how the Galanini were
>in the First Age,
Actually, that's where we have the best _published_ information, in the Broken Council guidebook.
>after the Dark Empire Oppression, the Jrusteli
>domination and the "back to basics" movement
>at the fall of the GLs, I think they have been quite
>stable the last five hundred years or so.
That was my impression when I wrote the info on the churches of Galin and Helby for Rise of Ralios. From a few hints in Genertela Book about Helby and Galin and friendly support by people who possess Greg's unpublished "Jonat's Saga" I tried to construct a variation of the Stygian church which worshipped the forces of Light.
I wanted to put those church notes up on my webpage, but found only the German language version (also of World's Greatest Tournament). I'll keep on looking...
>I think all the henotheist churches in Safelster tried
>to return to what they were inmediately before or
>immediately after Arkat (depending on preference
>and capability).
They all claim to have done so, at least.
>Galin was one of the first, as a bunch of Ehilm
>descended sun followers are bound to have
>troubles with a "Dark Empire".
It appears that Ehilm, like Humath, was one of the transcultural deities of 1st Age Ralios. The one mention by Bertalor (in the metals article in Elder Secrets, in an article copied and commented - and corrected? - by a later God Learner) which has them descendants from Ehilm already in the 1st Age contradicts Jonat's Saga (no big deal, though, since that Saga contradicts most of what was published later, see Troll Pak's designer notes). It does give a very nice story of how the Galanini royal house came to be descendants from Ehilm, only about 250 years or so before Jonat's visit with them.
>So they "rediscovered" a few families descended
>from Ehilm, tried to return to the privileged position
>with the Father of Horses, but they remained firm
>believers in an Invisible God above all (GL influence
>runs deep).
The "rediscovery" of their Solar descent sounds quite a bit like a God Learner wanted to prove the universality of Solar descent for the horse people. The indigenous nobility of Galin may even have cooperated with this experiment as a means to maintain their culture during the God Learner occupation. The Hsunchenized/Solarized Galanini held out in the valleys beyond Lake Helby, I suppose.
>Now their caste structure has also a
>distinct patron god, from the Ehilm descended Lords,
>to the Horse Lord knights and the Green Lady
>peasants, held together by the Wise ones,
I am quite wary about the term "caste" in Malkioni context in general - viewed closely, caste more often than not turns out to be a feudal class rather than a rigid birth-place assignment. This way, noble houses get wizard kin and distant kin among the knights.
In Rise of Ralios the Countess Sabotine d'Or, married to the King of Kustria, had a Galanini champion knight in a full golden armour.
The Forester Baron of Helby was a Galanini without Solar ancestors.
Someone else (Peter?) mentioned that Enerali chivalry would be different from Seshnegi chivalry. I agree that there are several Enerali-derived traditions of chivalry which differ from the heavy shock cavalry of the Seshnegi. The cavaliers of Holut with their javelin salvos certainly are, and prove a constant thorn in the side of the Duke of Rindland. The Foresters of Helby are another variant of non-standard knighthood. Overall, the standard heavily arnoured knight will be found in most Safelstran feudal armies, though, for practical reasons.
Joerg Baumgartner (via Hotmail)
mailto:joe_at_toppoint.de
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