> The first problem is how the Founders and the Protectresses begat
> the race of people. The Founders are men with beast heads. The
> Protectresses are the daughter of Eiritha and the Good Shepherd
> (although the Cult Compendium p84 qualifies this by saying he was
> the father of many and that most were killed). Their description
> is not given so we don't know how beast-like they are.
That makes the Protectresses demigods, which is what they should be.
> What I think to be the case is that the Founders surrounded by
> Hunter or Warrior societies that took as the Totem a particular
> beast (Bison, Impala etc). Most were humans although the more
> magical appeared as minotaurs. They had a taboo against their
> chosen animal but were quick to make sport of the totems of rival
> animals.
I think the Founders are sons of Storm Bull and were born as one of the many creatures of Prax. They are also demigods.
> The Protectresses were a native Eirithan cult of humans that
> followed the herds and protected them with their lives. They
> didn't do it for food or anything, they did it because they had
> vowed to protect their chosen holy animals. They are the origins
> of the Herd Sisters.
There we disagree - I think the Proctectresses have their position because of who they are - daughters of Eiritha, doomed to protect their herds by instinct, love and duty. They may be the origins of the Herd Sisters.
> Now the Golden and Storm Ages are periods of plenty and so I think
> that both the Founders and the Protectresses are a minority of
> humans living in Genert's Garden. There's little need to follow
> the herds for food if rabbits came freely to the eating etc.
> Most humans lived in what later became the oases, practicing their
> own special magic.
Sure, the intelligent herds and humans lived alongside each other, eating plentiful food.
> Now it's the Chaos Age. Genert's dead and there's a lot of humans
> wandering around starving. The Founder cults are around fighting
> against chaos and the darkness but they are unable to provide. The
> herds are scattered because the Protectresses are gone. Waha comes
> along and does something about it. He frees the Protectresses,
> thus ensuring that the herds grow in number. He assigns the humans
> to one of the herds using various contests (midgets go to the
> Impalas etc) and inducts the men into the Founder cult of that herd
> and the women to the worship of Herd-Eiritha. Then he teaches the
> men how to kill animals for food.
There are a lot of humans and intelligent herd-beasts wandering around, looking for food. Also baboons and many other types of creature.
> Once was once a minority practice on the plains has now become the
> dominant culture.
I don't think that people raised herds in Prax before Waha came along. I think that they co-existed, but not in anything like the Praxian Nomads.
> But what about the Morokanth? I think that the Morokanth were one
> of the few fully intelligent Eirithan beast species before the Great
> Darkness and Waha assigned them the irredeemably stupid humans in
> the Survival Contests. But since both Men and Morokanth have
> limited memories of the Survival Contests, they have different
> myths about what the contests were meant to achieve.
Personally, I think the Morokanth, Rhinos, Impalas, Sables, High Llamas, Bison, Zebras, Lopers and other lost herd beasts were all intelligent in Godtime Prax, these were the descendants of Eiritha, not just beasts. The Survival Covenant gave some of the creatures mastery over the others, giving the Eaten the ability to survive on the poor food of Prax and the Eaters the ability to survive on the flesh of the Eaten. So, Morokanth were changed so that they could survive on the flesh of herd-men and herd-men were changed so they could survive on the harsh food of Prax and the Wastelands.
Simon
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