Me:
>Why would these emperors have been so shortlived then? not compared
>to normal humans, but considering their vast magical support
Sandy:
> I guess they could get their projects done sooner, and Pass
>On. Or maybe they were poisoned by jealous subordinates.
Hmm, then I guess their projects were less ambitious? As for poisoning I think the subordinates often poison each other, but not the emperor himself. That would be to kill the empire.
Me:
>Has Kralorela changed that much or is it one of the few human lands
>in Glorantha which keep the ages-old golden age practices?
Sandy:
> I think it's convinced it keeps the ancient ways. And
>probably does. But remember that the Kralori Way of necessity assumes
>a continual evolution and improvement.
Now I don't protest. When you wrote about Kralorela a utterly changed it sounded more revolutional than this evolutional approach. I think the Kralorelan way is unchanged in its structure and important traits but that new practices are incorporated all the time, which of course changes details.
Sandy:
> Other reasons
>Godunya might be so long-lived are:
> 1) He's not a real emperor, just a dragon that the Exarchs
>are using to focus power on to maintain the empire.
Unlikely but remotely possible! I think the Kralorelan empire needs an emperor. Just as Rice Mother _is_ the rice in Lin Chongs paddies the emperor _is_ Kralorela.
> 2) He's not a real emperor, and there's NOTHING where he is
>supposed to be. The Exarchs are in complete control.
Very unlikely IMO, but as a rumour it might be.
> 3) He was turned into a dragon, and so can't die. Hence all
>of us living now in Kralorela are stuck with an inferior-quality
>afterlife until he learns how to Pass On. No easy trick for a dragon.
That's a good one.
> 4) The harm wrought by the New Dragon Ring was so
>far-reaching that it is taking Godunya much longer to repair the
>spiritual malaise of his population, which is his real work. The
>bridges are only a show to distract the Emperor's foes from his real
>labors.
That's also good. Actually, the bridges need not be a ruse. The ones built so far may be exercises for the building of the final bridge which the dead spirits will walk directly to the newly renovated Palace of Miraculous Rewards for the Worthy.
> 5) The incorporation of the KoI into our sacred kingdom has
>slowed the Emperor's spiritual progression as, of course, his soul's
>metabolism is based on _all_ the inhabitants of our divine empire.
>Alas. We should cut loose the KoI and rid ourselves of this burden at
>once. But it may already be too late.
This one's good too.
> 6) Godunya is living a long time as a sign to us that this is
>the greatest Emperor ever since the Dawn. We are truly blessed.
Why not, but the previous three are definitely the most colourful. All in all you have made me doubt. I'm still not convinced that there were any more emperors than Yanoor and Godunya after the dawn, but I'm wavering.
Alex:
>Or perhaps that Godunya is utilising the magics of the FDR to prop
>himself up? Either deliberately, as a side-effect of the changes
>they must have made to the emperorship.
That's a really awful thought. For that heresy the Seven Incorruptible Judges of Recalcitrant Heretical Foreigners will condemn you to the death of a thousand cuts!
Sandy on Kralorelan diet:
>TYPICAL KRALORI FARMER
> Staple: rice
> Other: that's it, really. Just rice.
No vegetables?
> Kralori that live near the coast supplement their rice with
>fish. Kralori that live in the interior supplement their rice with
>pork, dog, and horsemeat.
FOr the interior there is fish from rivers and ponds. (Fish) ponds are good to have in rice growing areas where you need to flood the fields.
Nick:
>There's now almost enough material out nowadays to
>tempt me to Kralorela for a brief game visit. BTW, is anyone thinking of
>organising a Pack from all the odds and sods that have been developed?
Peter:
>I am working on some Kralori stuff with Nils at the moment. I'm
>focussing on the philosophy and practice of Enlightenment and What
>It Actually Means in Kralorela.
We have thrown some ideas back and forth, some crazy, some good. The enlightenment stuff Peter mentions is really great. Peter says it is a first draft but I think it deserves to be posted here real soon. Peter has put together something which evokes a haunting vision of strange and wise mystics, a great adjunct to the mysticism rules which have been mentioned before.
>As for a Kralorela Pak, it would
>be a momentous undertaking. I'll think about it...
Count me in... that is in an undefined future when my head (and my sadly minuscule free time) isn't full of the East Isles.
Humakti:
Rich:
> What is the Humakti version of the creation story?
Whatever the local culture says. Humakt doesn't care about the start of things. He only cares about their _end_.
/Nils W
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