What is it that make certain people go for certain imaginary worlds like this? Can you tell a Glorantha fanatic (also known as a Greggite) from a devotee of Tolkien's Middle-earth, a fan of Tekumel, a Cthulhu Mythos scholar, an expert on World of Two Moons and a Trekkie from each other in some special way ?
Tom Zunder asked how many actually played in Glorantha. How many play RUNEQUEST in Glorantha, and not PenDragon Pass/RuneDragon/MoonDragon, Lightbringer, Argrath!, GURPS Glorantha, Glorantha Hero, Mostali - the Renovation, Droemdrakar och Maanar or Homebrewed Rules (tm)?
And last but not least: are we self-aware entities, or do we exist only as pattern in the list moderator's imagination.........
So as to not make this post totally useless, I will include another Kralorelan folktale: a clear and total ripoff of an earthly one - I'm following the Finnish Version.
THE EAGLE WITCH AND THE BIRDCATCHER'S WIFE Once upon a time there lived in the province of Wi Xiang a poor couple, a birdcatcher and his wife. They lived in a tiny hur made of straw and never ate anything else than rice and crows, for the man was forced to sell all good fowl he caught to get the rice. Their clothes were so old that they were patched with bird skins, and their house was made of sticks and mud.
Onw day when the birdcatcher went to see to his glue sticks and nets, he
found a absolutely HUGE bird caught in his largest net.
"How wonderful!" he exclaimed. "This huge daughter of the sun will bring
me much rice from Wung Po the rice-dealer! She is fit for a mandarin's
table!" But to his horror, the bird said with melodius voice:
"Oh no, birdcatcher, please spare my life! I am an eagle, and I will not
taste good - in fact, the rice dealer's customers may well be so
disappointed that they tell the rice dealer to punish you for peddling
raptor meat as good fowl."
The birdcatcher thought about this, and then said:
"Ha! You do not fool me! Eagles are used as pets by the big landlords, so
I have heard it! I will sell you for much copper cash to some bigwig
farmer, and eat good meat and drink wine for the first time in my life!"
At this the bird grew truly frightened, and hastily said:
"No, dear birdcatcher, do not do that! I am, you see, not a real eagle at
all, but a witch woman of the Animal People. If you free me, I will make
magic so that you can eat meat and drink wine anyway."
The birdcatcher frowned.
"How do I know that you will not cheat me?"
"Oh, I swear by Wild Man, our common ancestor, that you will be
satisfied!" the eagle witch said nervously.
With this the birdcatcher was content, since no one would cheat on an
oath to their ancestors, and so he released the eagle and went home.
There his wife met him, beaming with joy.
"Blessed be the Gods of the Fields and Fishponds(1)!" she shouted.
"You can never guess what happened today!"
The man laughed
"Yes, I can! For some reason, I will have meat and wine for dinner. But I
do not know how."
The wife was stunned.
"That is true! For when I came home from gathering firewood, I found a
cask of wine and a hunk of pork on our table. But how did you know?"
And then the birdcatcher told his story about the eagle witch to his wife.
To his surprise, his wife got mad at him.
"You idiot! Why did you not wish for somewhat more useful? This will
hardly last us a day, and you gave her a life for it! But still there is
aremedy! She swore by Wild Man that you would be satisfied, and tell you
what: I AM NOT SATISFIED, AND YOU WILL NOT BECOME SATISFIED UNTIL I
BECOME SATISFIED!! Find her again, and demand that she makes you a
wealthy farmer!"
And so the man went off into the forest again, and to attract the eagle
witch, he sang this song:
"Eagle Woman of the sky,
I have troubles, tell you why:
My Wife is hard to satisfy."
And the Eagle Witch finally appeared and asked:
"What do you want? Was not the meat fresh and the vine ancient?"
The man bent his head in shame and said:
"Eagle Witch, I can never be satisfied until my wife is satisfied. Make
me a wealthy farmer!"
And the witch shrugged, and said:
"So be it! But I hope that will satisfy your wife!"
And the man went home and found a large house with squealing pigs,
fishponds teeming with fish, and huge green ricefields. And momentarily
his wife was satisfied, but so was the farmer.
But one day his wife said:
"You know, the magistrate's wife still do not respect me, since I am the
wife of a mere farmer. Go to the Eagle Witch and demand that she make you
a mandarin!"
And the farmer went again into he forest and sang:
"Eagle Woman of the sky
I have troubles, tell you why:
My Wife is hard to satisfy."
Again the Eagle Witch appeared, and said:
"What is it now? Was not the fishponds full and the ricefields fertile?"
And the farmer bent his head in shame and said:
"Eagle witch, I can never be satisfied until my wife is satisfied. Make
me a mandarin."
And the witch shrugged and said:
"So be it! But I hope your wife is satisfied this time!"
And even before the farmer came home he noticed that the witch's magic
had worked, since he now carried a yellow robe of rank, and his cap and
all the six Buttons of Office. And his wife was satisfied for a while,
but one day she came and said:
"You know, a mandarin is merely a mandarin. The Exarch's wife still treat
me as a peasant woman. Go to the Eagle Witch and tell her to make you an
Exarch!"
And the mandarin trembled, but went again into the forest and sang:
"Eagle Woman of the sky,
I have troubles, tell you why:
My Wife is hard to satisfy."
Again the Eagle Witch appeared and said:
"What is it now? Do you not carry all the six Buttons of Office, and are
not your robes a fiery yellow?"
And the mandarin bent his head in shame, and said:
"Eagle witch, I can never be satisfied until my wife is satisfied. Make
me an Exarch."
And when the mandarin was on his way home, he felt his body quake with
magic power, and the trees and flowers kowtowed to him as he walked
towards his new palace. And for a while his wife was content. But one
day she came and said:
"You know, being an Exarch is not all was it seemed to be like. I have
realized that no mortal may be content."
And the Exarch sighed with relief. But then his wife said:
"But not so for the immortal Dragons. Go to the Eagle Witch and demand
that she turn us both into dragons!"
And the Exarch quaked with fear, not with magic, but still he went in to
the woods and sang with a faltering voice:
"Eagle Woman of the sky,
I have troubles, tell you why:
My Wife is hard to satisfy."
Again the Eagle Witch appeared, and this time she was thunderous.
"What is it now? Does not your body quake with magic? Does not the trees
and flowers kowtow to you as you pass them by? What could your wife still
wish for?"
And the Exarch buried his face in the mud and whispered:
"Eagle Witch, I can never be satisfied until my wife is satisfied. Turn
us both in to dragons."
But at this the Eagle Witch shrieked and howled, and demons of all the
five elements appeared and danced around her.
"DRAGONS? DRAGONS, MY FOOT! RETURN HOME, BIRDCATCHER! YOUR FILTHY WIFE
AWAITS YOU IN YOUR MUD-HUT! AND MAY NONE OF YOU EVER TASTE MEAT OR WINE
IN YOUR WHOLE LIFE!"
And all she said become true. The birdcatcher who had been an Exarch
returned home to his wife, and found her in the mud-hut, and never in his
life did he get to taste meat or wine, and neither did his wife. And no
matter how much his wife begged and cajoled, he would go out in the woods
again and sing:
"Eagle Woman of the sky,
I have troubles, tell you why:
My Wife is hard to satisfy:"
Although none of it was a lie, as most songs are wont to be, and most
stories as well, including this one, but you would never deny a
storyteller his piece of crust and his glass of watered wine, would you?
Merry Sacred Time and a Happy New Year! And by Saint Greg, I DO hope we meet again!
Sven Erik Sieurin
End of Glorantha Digest V1 #57
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