> > The Orlanthi worships his gods because they are the best gods,
> > not because of what his ancestors thought.
>
> So - how did the Tarshites go form beleiving that Orlanth was the
best god
> into believing that Sedenya is the best god? This is the bit I
don't get.
On the whole they don't. Just because they no longer worship Orlanth, it doesn't mean that they have become Red Moonies. Instead, they turn to other, familiar faiths, mainly other orlanthi pantheon cults. Barntar is big in Tarsh, for example, because he is encouraged by the regime as an alternative to Orlanthcarl, because he performs an appropriate social/economic function, because he is anyway familiar.
My view is that there are three broad cultures within Tarsh. The river valleys have been exposed most severely to lots of new experiences, from the wealth of Oslir trade to settlement by imperial or provincial ex-soldiers to cosmopolitan through-trade. There you do find worshippers of lunar and other imperial cults, even though they are in a minority.
Away from the rivers, the lowlanders are at mid-point. Lunar worship as such is rare, but direct Orlanth worship equally so. The lawspeaker, for example, might be a Lhankor Mhy instead of Andrin.
Move into the highlands, and many comunities include small groups of Orlanth-worshippers, who operate with discretion but their presence is generally a pretty open secret. Here the lawspeaker will still be Andrin (albeit regarded as a distinct deity), etc.
Of course, these divisions also affect/reflect society, economic activity, relationship with the royal regime, etc. But the basic point is that the Tarshites have modified their Orlanthi heritage, but not completely flipped over to the other side.
> > Controlled population <> converts. Most converts would not expose
> > their children to traditional rites.
>
> Exactly. But if the Orlanthi experience the Lunars as an occupying
power,
> then why would they be sympathetic enough to lunar religion (given
that
> their own magic still works) to want to convert and remove their
children
> from the traditional rituals? This just returns us to the
> conversion-for-tax-relief situation.
I presume were back to Sartar now, as on the whole in Tarsh the empire is not perceived as an occupying power. Even there, though, Orlanthi magic weakens and also the empire seeks to rule through local structures where possible. We're back to the issue of multiple perspectives:
Mythic view: Orlanth and Shepelkirt are mortal enemies. There is no common ground.
Political view: The empire is here - do we make minor compromises to retain as much autonomy as possible or do we take the risk of our tribe/clan being scattered or enslaves, our wyter destroyed, our ancesrors abandoned?
Economic view: Which way to the gravy train?
Social view: We hate those damn Dara Happans/Tholmites/etc, but these Tarshites/etc are almost kin. We can come to some understanding.
Only fanatics embrace just one of these perspectives to the exclusion of all others. Ordinary people tend to juggle them, while adding the basic ones:
What do my family and friends think?
Am I going to be killed?
This is why the whole tale of Orlanthi resistance to the empire is so fascinating. Sure, you can run it as Star Wars in Kilts if you want, with noble blu-foots and evil stormhoplites. But you can equally make it something much more textured and ambiguous. There's no right answer, though; whatever works for you!
Mark
The Unspoken Word, a Gloranthan magazine, coming soon http://www.celtic-webs.com/theunspokenword
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