>Chaos is a passionate refusal to recognize the limits of the
>natural and moral universe.
This quote from CoT is, I believe, incomplete and superficial. All chaos is not of this world to a greater or lesser degree. This non-participation in the laws of the known universe results in the chaotic responding to the world in a number of different negative emotional and physical responses.
The result of all this hatred is to cause Chaotic objects and entities to interact harmfully with the natural world. Obviously, a patch of Chaotic sand doesn't "feel" dislike for the surrounding soil, but it _must_ respond to that soil in some negative way. For instance, the patch of sand may tend to convert the soil around it into more Chaos sand, as if it were a cancerous growth. Or the sand may cause an elemental reaction between it and the soil, resulting in the generation of poison gas. Or the sand might retract into itself, roiling constantly and exposing new sections of itself to the "bad" non-chaotic earth. Since it's chaotic, anything might happen.
More advanced chaotic objects react in more advanced ways. Gorp exude acid. All known chaotic entities tend to destroy the natural ecosystems in which they are found.
An intelligent chaotic being feels an innate "hatred" towards everything in Glorantha. This can manifest as physical pain, unfocused rage, emotional or spiritual anguish, etc. In a private conversation with Greg, we agreed that Chaotic philosophers probably distinguish between twenty or thirty different forms of "non-belonging" angst towards the cosmos.
This hostility towards everything can be interpreted as "refusal to accept limits", and no doubt that is one of the thirty types of Hatred of Glorantha from which chaotics suffer. Because of the pain of living, chaotic beings generally do not manifest the finer emotions, though this is possible.
Why do Chaos things tend to hang out together? Two reasons. The first, and more obvious, is that they tend to be created near chaos nests of some sort. The second is simply because the sight and appearance of other chaotic beings pains them slightly less than the ordinary world. Of course, even the most chaotic creatures known have a fairly large component of the Gloranthan elements within them, so broos (for instance) are not truly content even when surrounded only by their own kind.
>Storm Bull fought the Devil and was almost defeated when his wife
>Eiritha lend him her power. I have always thought this was
>represented by his gaining the spell Earth Power, but there is
>obviously something wrong with my reasoning here as he gets it from
>Ernalda. Also, if Eiritha lend him her power, why is the land
>blasted if she is a Goddess of Herd Beasts? I know she is the
>daughter of Ernalda and may have some connection to the earth, still
>I'm confused.
Okay. Putting on my God Learner hat, here is the solution to your problem.
Storm Bull did not gain strength from his wife Eiritha, but from his mother-in-law Ernalda (the Praxians concur that he got his strength from Eiritha's mother, but probably don't call her Ernalda).
Eiritha was already dead (killed in the Gods War) when Storm Bull fought the Devil. She wasn't even around when the Chaos things came.
The land was blasted because the Storm Bull and the Devil went stomping all over it, smashing it flat and wrecking all vegetation. In addition (and perhaps more importantly), Genert, the Land God, was killed by Chaos -- his death blighted all Genertela.
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