The subject of LM heroquests got me to thinking about the book protection warnings you see inside all the Glorantha products. Presumably, LM sages in Dragon Pass pen them at the top of (or on the outside of) scrolls, or carve them into the door of the shrine or some such. How does this work in terms of the magical dynamics of Glorantha?
- Do books and scrolls and other written media have "book daimones" which are awakened by the sage? Perhaps some sort of "offspring" born from the union of the sage and his personal "Light of Inspiration"? Would all books have this daimon or only certain books? And, if the latter, what would be the criterion to have one from the standpoint of the LM sage? ("That's an important work, boy! You'd better make amends for dropping him! Put him on that pillow over there...")
- What would be the powers of such entities? Supposedly something like "Protect Knowledge", but what about the information in the book? Is it possible that the daimon has a "Book Knowledge" ability that it uses to impart the information? And if the subject matter of the book spawns new ideas in the sage that he then turns into other books, would the first book daimon be the "Light of Inspiration" that "mothered" them? (My next LM sage character will be a book and idea geneologist. ;)
- Are there "book spirits", "book essences" (perhaps in grimoires), "book nymphs", or other types of knowledge entities?
- What kind of written media would qualify? Surely scrolls and books, but what about carved stones? Or could the native spirit or daimon inside somehow function as a guardian of the knowledge written thereon?
Most importantly,
5. How much does literacy matter in the day-to-day business of the clan-level LM? The shrine illustration shows something that looks like a storehouse; could any unknown inscribed item that a farmer finds make it's way in there, or only LM works?
Thanks,
Roland