Re: Lunar Chaos Figthing Cult

From: Glass <glass_at_panix.com>
Date: Thu, 18 Jul 2013 18:33:56 -0000

If I recall correctly, Malia was always normally considered non-chaotic except when worshipped "by broos and other horrors," so I'd reverse the question:

Is this an unusual aspect of Malia, or can some deities normally considered non-chaotic be worshipped in a chaotic way?

Thinking of the old Malkioni practice of demonization in a historical context here. Unless this is simple anti-henotheist propaganda, gods that have a perfectly natural role in Glorantha can be approached in a perverse manner and their "normal" cults corrupted. Malia can be used beyond her natural function (whatever we say that is) to extort sacrifice or simply as a way to revel in virulence, etc.

Do we see this happen with any other gods? Maybe exotic weirdos like Ompalam, Gloomshark and Ikadz, about whom we know next to nothing. "Foreign chaos" in general is a weird thing and may be redundant in some people's Glorantha.

But who in Central Genertela is not objectively chaotic but can be worshipped in a chaotic way? Anyone?

Now to the extent to which the old Dara Happans had a concept of "chaos," they likely found it easy to consider storm "chaotic." To them these gods were outlaws and law breakers, rebels, perverse, dirty, murderous, smelly, contagious, all the things we normally associate with cults of terror. Orlanth has no natural place in a non-fallen world. Orlanth is a natural god who is close kin to chaos. Maybe worshipped in the "wrong" (right?) way, he would be considered chaotic.

The Bat is chaotic to Orlanthi and whatever the Yelmites have as their equivalent of chaos. It may or may not be chaotic to the Blue Moon trolls depending on how things are going for Bina Bang, but that's above my grade.

Malia is interesting of course because when the riddlers came they brought the new plague and its cure. Somebody called that "chaos" once.

Some other genius around here once observed that the most dedicated chaos fighters in Glorantha are the people who are most easily confused with chaos by more "civilized" folks. The Umathings already broke the world once and the devil is of their family. The darkness tribe eats people and has all kinds of other nasty habits. When Arkat came through both of these groups were the ones who signed up to destroy that thing he called "chaos."

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