> What's the deal with Moonson. Immortal? Or continually
> reincarnating? Or did that just start with him losing
> that battle with Sheng Seleris?
My short, probably inaccurate account:
Before Sheng, Moonson always looked the same when he reincarnated. (It's quite common for Gloranthan scholars to use the name "Takenegi" to refer to this unique individual... and to get annoyed when less scholarly types use it to mean anything else!).
After Sheng, Moonson looks (and indeed acts) differently in every incarnation. (These are the "Masks of Moonson"). But, to complicate things, the Masks started creating Proxies, who look (and indeed act) exactly the same way the current Emperor does.
For an "official" account from Issaries, try: "Red Emperor Q&A" http://lokarnos.com/article.pl?sid=03/06/24/1323226
Here's an extract from Martin Laurie's explanation:
"First one must consider the change in the way the Emperor ruled after the wars with Sheng Seleris and the Emperors' return in the Mask of Magnificus. Before the death of Takenegi the Emperor was centered upon his Yelmic souls, as befits one who rules in the way of a Dara Happa. Yet this path was not fulfilling. It did not teach the way of the Goddess, the way of growth and change. Instead it brought stultifying conformity and Yelmic strictness. Therefore, in normal Dara Happan fashion, the emperor's Other was summoned to end his rule. Sheng Seleris was Takeng's ritual Other, but Takenegi was not a normal emperor. Sheeng Seleris inflicted the change which the Goddess and her Son needed to Turn the Empire upon its road to Zaytenera. Through the service of his Shadow, Takenegi became something new. No longer did his same body return from death, but instead his spirit occupied new Masks as the life of each ended. Thus the rigid unchanging Solar Way was modified from within to become the changable Lunar Way. After this change, another became apparent to those who studied the Emperor at court and in his actions. His Masks to varying degrees and in varying ways became more visceral, more bodily focussed."
> Or am I just hopelessly lost?
If you are hopelessly lost, it is by design and intent (I think). For a taste of the wonderful complexities you can get into, check some of the links from "Moonson: Many Masks, a Single Soul" on Lokarnos: http://lokarnos.com/article.pl?sid=03/06/03/1427256
(Mind you, I co-wrote a 50-player freeform game that was all about an imperial succession, so maybe I've been thinking too hard about all this stuff... :-)
http://www.etyries.com/moonson
Cheers, Nick
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