>For instance. In my game one character is a son of a major trader family
>in Nochet. These people are de-facto nobility (though technically
>Thane's not Earls), and very wealthy and influental.
>
>The son has been schooled to become a Garzeen merchant-priest, and has a
>real talent for languages. Is it normal for him to learn to read and
>write, or is that a monopoly of the Lankhor Mhy cult in Esrolia too?
As Peter said, he would know Tally.
It IS a monopoly of the LM cult.
>Of course the lad can join a subcult of LM, and get it legitimately like
>that, but I just started to wonder that Nochet meight be a bit more
>cosmopolitan than 'ol Sartar.
Yes it is, absolutely.
Certainly some true hard-core tractional families exist. They do not
venture into anything except good old-time devotion to their chosen deity.
Such would learn the Tally and nothing else. A LM would learn his
Read&Write and then stop. He would certainly never teach it to anyone
outside the cult, and probably be angry with anyone who knows it without
being in the cult.
However, all the coastal cities are zones of smashed together beliefs and religions.
What would your good merchant do if offered a chance to Read&Write something called (for instance) "The Story Script." It's a phonetic form of writing that is used to circulate stories and common myths through Kethaela and Dragon Pass. It uses local languages of course. Many think Belintar introduced it (but it is older), and this is what his book is written in. [In fact, it is derived from a very old form of mundane DH script].
Story Script is not the LM language in any way, nor derived from it. I think if your character had access to R&W it would be this language. A garzeen would have to decide if he is going to obey his local hard-core traditionalist LM temple official and never learn to read ANY other language, or else suffer LM's temper. No [apparent] magical damage applies to a merchant for knowing this script. The Issaries cult has no magical opinion: all forms of communication are actually encouraged, including writing (one of the causes for friction between worshippers of the two deities.)
More interesting to me is to wonder, "What does that do to a Lhankor Mhy
guy do?"
He knows of several scripts and written languages. He has undoubtedly seen
copies of the Abiding Book, written in that forbidden Rokaring language
(and script). There is a huge wing of "forbidden writings" kept on file in
the library. His god tells him to avoid those, nearly everyone around him
has access (though I do not believe most people are literate in Glorantha.)
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