>Now, the Rokari seem very big on "You are born in your caste and you
>stay in your caste". I'm down with that, and think it makes a nice
>evolution from a Seshnelan tradition that was big on heredity to begin
>with and then there was a nice strong reaction to God Learner
>permissiveness.
>
>For me, the question among the Rokari is whether or not they adjust for
>personal ability, or if you are just stuck.
>i.e. - You're a commoner. You have aptitude for magic. Can you learn
>magic, but still be legally a commoner for caste purposes, or are you
>caste-breaking if you learn magic?
>Both make for good stories.
>I'm inclined to think the official Rokari position is the latter.
It depends on what the church doctrine is and why that doctrine was adopted.
My view of Rokari doctrine is that a commoner can certainly perform magic but they should not because they will imperil their soul and probably harm the community if they do so. Just as they should not take up arms but rely on the warrior caste to protect them. That's what being born to a caste means - the invisible god has chosen your role in life because he knows what tasks you are suited for. By challenging the choice made by Makan you are being stupid and sinful so clearly cannot be trusted with anything. If you actually defy him by acting out of caste you are blaspheming. Maybe in ignorance, but it is still a crime deserving punishment.
On top of this there is a lot of caste based training. It doesn't matter how much aptitude you have for magic you can't perform sorcery without learning to read and write. The only caste which is routinely taught those skills is the Wizards caste. Members of the noble caste may learn them but not all do and not usually to a high level.
So your commoner with magical ability is pretty much forced into using common magic and risks persecution by the authorities if they aren't careful.
Conversely the wizard who does not have any aptitude will get intensive training so that they can do enough of the job to be useful even if they end up in some make work position. I'm reminded of a friend of my mother's who after graduating from either Oxford or Cambridge got a job in the Bank of England through his father. Unfortunatly he wasn't bright enough to pass the banking exams so he couldn't get promotion. He did however spend over forty years in a well salaried position and retired on a good pension. Big churches usually have enough odd positions that they can find something for incompetent priests to do.
>Now I know that the Priestly and Sorceror caste are basically considered
>the same thing in most of the descriptions of the West I've seen, which
>I think is something of a tragedy as I like the idea that someone with
>the talent to be a sorceror but of the wrong caste can join a
>saintly/priestly order and not be considered to be caste breaking.
I'm sure there are parts of the West where there is enough caste flexibility for that to happen. Another angle is itinerant clergy - monks, nuns and priests who wander the countryside rather than being part of a monastry, convent or parish. I doubt many of those come from the wizard caste.
-- Donald Oddy http://www.grove.demon.co.uk/
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