Re: Terror in war

From: Jeff Richard <richaje_at_NyNvi6iUj3w2OleSQgAKlsAZtPsJw5fd0OthamR1ZCNsB02vr2ZxK4r8TaAXObKPULLc>
Date: Wed, 29 Aug 2007 21:44:46 -0000


Alison -

I am responding to this here and will not be participating in the thread on the WoG.   

> Concerning killings the length and breadth of
> Sartar and possibly Heortland (not sure about her
> activities outside of Whitewall), I'm taking the list
> that you gave as only a partial list of the deaths
> that she would have caused if she campaigned in the
> way that you posit. A Kallyr who's killing anyone
> remotely associated with Lunars will have a very long
> list of deaths to her name.

Why? Those were the attacks against civilians I came up with. Two Lunar settlements and burning a 7 Mothers Temple (with folk inside). I am not including likely attacks against Lunar tax farmers, supply lines, caravans, etc. However, this is hardly everyone remotely associated with the Lunars.

BTW, ignore the Lunar=Chaos line. I think this is viewed as a blood feud between the rebels and the "Lunar Tribe". If your clan or tribe was massacred by the Lunars, it is only proper that you avenge yourself against the Lunar Tribe. And I don't see Fazzur or Tatius offering weregeld.

In Kallyr's case, her paternal bloodline has been all but wiped out by the Lunar Tribe and her tribe has been enslaved. Any Lunars are lawful targets - including any folk that have joined the Lunar Tribe.

> This is the degree of
> hatred against the Lunars that I believe you ascribe
> to her and her most likeminded followers. If not
> hatred, exactly, then at the very least a wish to make
> everyone believe that if you co-operate with the
> Lunars to any degree whatsoever, then you are a
> potential target. If that is not the case, then I am
> wrong about your vision of Kallyr.

Although I am sure Kallyr hates the "Lunar Tribe" in Sartar, I don't think she attacks out of blind hatred. Lunar settlements are attacked because (1) they can be, and (2) they are a permanent Lunar presence in Sartar that are more dangerous in the long run than the army. BTW, when Roman provinces rebelled against the Republic or the Early Empire, first thing the locals did was massacre the Roman colonies.

> Ian suggested a scenario idea around this, by the
> way. In fact, if our lot gets back to Sartar during
> this period, I'm damn sure we'll run some variant of
> this ourselves. Say you have a well-respected and
> very honourable local, who has in the past hosted
> Lunars, under the obligations of hospitality. Perhaps
> Sylilan Orlanthi who know the greetings, if you want
> plausible guests. During the war, this man is accused
> of having consorted with Chaos, and he, his family,
> and all that was his are killed and mutilated by
> rebels, down to the last lamb in the stead. His kin,
> friends and neighbours are outraged that this good man
> and his kin have been killed in such a shameful
> manner. Many of them are of the opinion that they
> would hope to have acted just as he did, in the same
> circumstances. The problem for the rebel leadership
> is that they really need this man's kin and tribe as
> allies. Now what do they do? Rest of the
> circumstances are up to the GM. Were the rebels
> ignorant of the circumstances, were they settling an
> old feud, were they from a rival clan or tribe, were
> they acting at Kallyr's behest, and so on.

That's an excellent scenario idea and gives an idea of the complexity inherent in this sort of a conflict.

> Kallyr will have been in the thick of these
> people, and should be behaving like Vinga during the
> Greater Darkness. Vinga protected her people, and
> fought the Chaos. So, Kallyr fights the Lunars. All
> good. My point is that there is still a model of
> honour and endurance to follow that is relevant to the
> Fimbulwinter. Even during the Greater Darkness, which
> is when Vinga truly comes into her greatest power and
> influence, she is still a protectress.

Fimbulwinter is the lowest ebb of the Orlanthi. The gods have left them and many people are flocking to the Seven Mothers. And Vinga is more than a protectress. She is also an avenger (don't even need anything from the Book of Heortling Mythology for that identification - just check out Vinga the Avenger). And after killing Orlanth, I am sure her ancestors (especially from the house of Sartar) are screaming for vengeance.

> Although the Lunars are vilified as the
> modern-day Chaos, they are still ordinary people, with
> as much good and bad as anyone else. They've been in
> Sartar long enough that a lot of Sartari actually know
> this, especially those in prominent, influential
> positions. They may not be kin, and you wouldn't want
> your children to marry them, but neither are they broo
> or slime-dripping monsters.

I agree. I don't actually hold to the idea that the Lunars are the bad guys. However, for most folk involved in the Rebellion, this is a blood feud. If the Grey Rock clan had done to Kallyr's kinfolk what the "Lunar Tribe" had done, no one would question Kallyr's lawful right to butcher the Grey Rock clan (what is the weregeld for killing a High King, a Great God, and a Great Goddess?). The "fact" that the Lunar Tribe worships chaotic demons (heck, why do I use apostrophes there? The Lunar Tribe does worship chaotic demons - witness the Bat) just makes this a lot easier to justify.

Jeff            

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