<snip>
> > Yelmalio is actually an old cult. In Prax, it's been there since
> > the Second Age.
>
> And has had plenty of time and changes of faction in charge to debase
> the "proper" rituals, a consequence of which could well be a level of
> randomness creeping into the results of the gifting and geases. Though
> the cult will of course insit that it is Yelmalio's Will.
>
> Adam
When I run a Yelmalian minicampaign (Set in Prax, the solitude of testing), it was the initiating priest that gave the geas to the young man being initiated.
If they chose to request a gift, the priest "goes into transe" and prophecies a geas. The nature of the gift may of course not be apparent immediately.
The catch is that it's not always so random. A ruthless priest can delude himself, or just geas the lad in the name of God. Such a geas is not "real", but how is the worshipper going to know that.
I had one such occurrense in the game. One of the characters was born with a knowledge of firespeech from a previous life (he had been a minor Elmalian hero in the second age). To the priest it seemed that everything was too easy to this poor herders son (firespeech is HARD), so he geased the handsome young man with total celibacy.
As the character was about 20 in the game, this caused some very interesting gaming. The character had had an unusual mentor, and was brought up to use his own mind, and even guestion religion (but not God).
Eventually he got a boon from the count, and asked to see the high priest. He asked the priest if his Geas was really God's will, and the priest replied "You are in favor, the Lord has not geased you"
So there he was... all that wrestling with his celibacy had been because of a bitter old man's malice. Luckily the initiating acolyte had passed on, so the young man (Minos) couldn't set out to take vengeance.
But on the whole, I bet it did his soul wonders. Very solar, such self control.
-Adept
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