Aldryami magic

From: Lemens, Chris <CLemens_at_...>
Date: Thu, 29 Jun 2000 16:46:00 -0400


James Turner:
>Are Aldryami animists/vegeists (consensus seems to be yes)?

Yes.

James Turner:
>Do they run around with fetishes/integrated spirits?
>If yes, where do the spirits for them come from?

They integrate plant and other friendly spirits. Recall that Aldrya recycles the spirits of the woods. She may grant these to her followers before putting them back in their normal forms. Elves ask by singing the song in the parts of the physical forest that are most closely aligned with the spirit forest. Naturally, this is where elfish influence is highest, usually near a great tree, where centuries of elfish gardening have had their magical impact.

Also note that they can integrate spirits into other living plants, like elfish bows (which are still alive) and war trees. These are not fetishes. The parallel would be a shaman helping a young brave engage in spirit combat to integrate a spirit. It is too broad a generalization, but possibly helpful in thinking about it, that the elves can be thought of as the shamans of the forest people.

They put enemy spirits into things that human shamans (and rules-minded players) would probably call fetishes. Fetishes are not commonly used. They are very foreign. They have the feel of alienating a spirit from its rightful place. One great use of animistic magic is the placement of enemy spirits in torture trees. Other similar uses could be found. Imprisoning wildfire spirits, for example, would contain a forest fire. In any case, they only use fetishes with foreign spirits because they think of it as a mean thing to do.

 (Tangent: I suspect that this recycling has an important role in rootlessness. Where did the spirits of all the dead white (cactus) elves go? They are reincarnated into new elves, but can never really connect with the song in the forest in which they find themselves. Another take: The Glorantha Introduction materials, say that elves became alienated from the forest (i.e. self aware) when the world became flawed through excessive growth. The next cycle in the story sees them become more alienated. I don't recall the exact details. You can interpret this to mean that the spirits of one forest feel out of place in another forest when reincarnated. So they become rootless to find their proper forest. Some do; some don't; white elf spirits obviously cannot, so often go renegade.)

Chris Lemens

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