Sheng and 'Wicked Ministers'

From: Peter Metcalfe <P.Metcalfe_at_cantva.canterbury.ac.nz>
Date: Tue, 25 Apr 1995 16:49:06 +1300


Graeme Lindsell:

>My suggestion that these
>form of organized magicians were a reult of Sheng's ideas was to try and
>provide a reason for his tremendous successes, and to provide some parallel
>with one Genghis Khan, about whose abilities we've heard so much lately.

I'm not really against this. Sheng does perform a similar trick at the battle of Gardint (in KoS) with his shamans. There they summon their ancestors in such a horde that it became visble to Agrath's warriors on the other side of the river. Admitedly this is some time after his 'Dance across Peloria'.

One thing is I don't think his massed shamans were the sole cause of his success. Sheng dominated the Pelorian basin for about 75 years which is a little long for the Lunars to play catch-up in terms of overcoming military advantages.

Other causes of his success in the 'Dance across Peloria'

  1. Somehow Sheng triggered a 'Sun Swirl' (perhaps by sacking Yuthuppa?) The Solar Cults and Cities of Dara Happa seem to have fallen to fighting amongst themselves as a result to see who was the Rightful Sun. The horse nomads could easily mop up the pieces. Moonson is unable to bang heads together to restore the Unity of the Empire as an early WF places him as being killed at the battle of falling hills about four years prior to the Horse nomad invasion.
  2. Sheng imported loads of Kralori stuff and perhaps some troops to cement his rule. These are frustratingly obscure, alas. Only the abilities of the Mystics are known.

[Daruda's Draconic Invasion of Kralorela? Film at 11]

>I find the sudden appearance of draconic
>influences in a previously Solar culture to be more likely a result of
>an outside invasion than an internal tranformation.

Internal Transformations can be radical. Cultures are _not_ staid boring things. They are dynamic! Otherwise this sort of thinking will lead you in to believing that the Industrial Revolution was brought about by an Invasion of Railway Barons and Dark Satanic Mill Owners.

IoK>>Each regiment would have a
>>guardian spirit - a sort of regimental godlet - that would help glue the
>>unit together as a unit.

> According to KoS, it's this regimental godlet/wyter aspect that seems to be
>what Argrath taught to the Sartarites, not just that for magician units.

I'm sorry? The one of the units involved are the Eaglebrown warlocks which is a magician unit in KoS. There is evidence of groups having their own wyter among the Sartarites before Argrath. One of these were the Night Jumpers who were around since the time of Tarkalor.

Nils:


>I think Daruda was a great heroquester who
>met and befriended dragons on his quests and brought back the powers,
>maybe using dragonewt mercenaries just as Peter suggests, in order to
>enforce the new beliefs. However, I think he was already emperor when
>this happened.

How about Daruda was clearly Emperor (The RQ Companion speaks of him as Shavaya's Son which is a little odd perhaps he claimed as his inheritance?) but the 'Wicked Ministers' refused to acknowlege his rule or obey his commands. So Daruda goes to the Mover of Heavens and gains the Draconic Secrets from him and raises an army of followers/disciples of his new secrets to storm the citadels of the 'Wicked Ministers'.

Unfortunately his perusual of Draconic Secrets have lead him unable to have Children so at his Passing On, the 'Wicked Ministers' (who come out of the Civil Service like maggots out of dead meat) ressurect the rule by Council and rule Kralorela until Thalurzni (who seems like an outsider - perhaps he's the only one) comes to power. Mikaday could be an application of the principle that 'if you can't beat them, join them'.

I wrote:

>>In fact, I'm groking the theory that the Teachings of Aptanace the
>>Sage really envisioned rule by a Council of Sages (ie like the
>>Exarchs and the Mandarins).

Nils replied

>In fact, I think rather that Aptanace is
>a backwards projection of typical Kralorelan values: a mythical figure
>invented to justify a lot of stuff. One of the pre-time emperors is said
>to have ordained the 'Kralorelan way'. I guess that's when Aptanace was
>thought up, so that the stuff not fitting the solar setup could be
>explained away.

You don't make people up out of whole cloth. You seize upon somebody who is little known but much respected and pretend to find some new stuff about him. Certainly this is plausible for Shavaya who brings about the Empire of Splendor and names Metsyla(!) and Aether as predecessors.

Loren Miller:


Stuff about thrones and governers of the Ancient Land of Carmania assented to.

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