I was only half thinking about real world mercenary forces and trains. Part of my vision of this is derived from Glen Cook's Black Company novels, which is about a mercenary force with a (for a while forgotten) magical and religious foundation.
Magic is in most things the Gloranthans do, much like technology is in many things we do. A smith creating a sword is invoking and retelling the creation of the Death Rune. At some point in the process, he is reaching past the lowest of hells to draw forth the power of Separation, immanent in the blade. In that moment, other secrets of the lowest abyss might bubble up and attempt to break through, so there will be rites that we would identify as normal working steps which nonetheless may be protective magic of the highest order. Some of this is reflected in the song about iron in the Kalevala. Still, the mundane job of forging a sword and sharpening it goes on.
Getting on a move means encountering and dealing with new territory (or old territory revisited after some absence). Doing a muster, then pulling out for a march is shrouded in ceremony even in our real world, today. The spirit of the forces is appealed to - even in our real world, today. Leaders give their blessings, as do those left behind.
Try leaving for work abroad today... you will encounter ceremonies beyond the bureaucratic obstacle course, and you'll have lots of rites of parting. While on the move, the world around you changes - more than just getting jet-lag. When you arrive, you undergo various stages of the greeting. And that's just the start of your quest.
We don't call it magic any more, maybe we call it psychology. But a lot of the things we do would be recognized as rites by a Gloranthan.
Powered by hypermail