Bison and Carmanians

From: David Hall <100116.2616_at_compuserve.com>
Date: 24 Jul 95 17:01:48 EDT


Joerg writes:
> while the Pelorian Praxians' representative at the Broken Council
>(freeform) apparently still was aware of his origins etc, he appeared
>as a Dara Happan provincial gouvernor. He was not yet a Yelm cultist,
>but a worshipper of Pole Star.

You are talking of my alter ego, Wahnakar, the great Bison Heir! The Adamant Bison! Hammer of the Emperors! Killer of Sables! Vanquisher of Giant Bats!

Of course I was aware of my magnificent and noble origins. The Bison were *the* premier military force in Dara Happa, who so many times saved the Empire from disaster. It was us, and not the Sables, who occupied the hallowed lands of the Hungry Plateau.

I worry greatly that you suggest that Sables would ever occupy the Plateau while a true Bison rider lived! When they and their treacherous allies, the Impala, asked me for mercy I slaughtered them all. Hah! Hah! Hah!

Yes, I worshipped mighty Pole Star, and later on Yelm too, when I loyally served the mighty Emperor Mathiman the Impaler. What?!! You say there are no records of this Emperor? But surely there are records of my own glorious reign as Emperor after Mathiman? When the bison tribe rode astride the world in the service of the Perfect One.

NOOO!!! ?? Pah! You have been told lies. Do not always believe what you read in books, whether in this Book of Emperors or that Fortunate Succession. The scribblers have deceived you. They laugh at your gullibility. Trust only the word of a Bison rider who was there!

Peter Metcalfe on Carmanian Humakti:
>Of course the main rule Humakt=War and Yanafal=Trade is still a good rule
>of the thumb for a house.

I think bringing it all down to trade versus loot is rather simplistic, as Loren and Peter seem to suggest

I agree with Loren that for Carmanians Humakt = old traditional ways. Truth, decency, honour, nobility and chivalry (the good old values of the Persian nobility). Note that we are talking here about a westernised and civilised version of Humakt very different from the Orlanthi version. Death is not so central to this version, though resurrection would still be proscribed.

Now Yanafal Tarnils = new, liberal, and progressive, including some Dara Happan influences, and whole-heartedly embracing the ways of the Red Goddess. In Yanafal Tarnils there isn't so much room for those strict and overly rigid notions of honour and decency. You get the job done the best you can. Giving peasants crossbows and allowing them to ride horses is inevitable if you want to win wars and move on.
And why not get resurrected? The Red Goddess preaches eternal life and rebirth anyway - and it's a total waste of all those years of training to let a soldier stay dead. Lets be practical guys.

But Yanafal does not equal trade. It's still a war god! It just happens to be the primary war god of the Red Goddess and the new Lunar Way. The choice of Humakti or Yanafal Tarnils seems to me more symptomatic of a larger battle of ideas and values in Carmanian society.

>>Sandy Petersen <sandyp_at_idgecko.idsoftware.com> writes:
>> What better proof of the virtue of the Lunar Way than that a
>> paragon of betrayal -- a hero who turned on his own god -- should
>> become the symbol of steadfast loyalty throughout the Empire?

>Perfect analysis.

C'mon. Yanafal never turned on Humakt. It's just envy talking. The Humakti only tell those lies because they are losing the battle of ideas. They are the pathetic remnants of a dead society that still clings on to pipe dreams of an Empire that has long since gone.

Yanafal Tarnils is at the forefront of a new and exciting way of life which is not stuck in the past and wedded to outmoded traditions. The Lunar Way is one of toleration, enlightenment, equality and true freedom. Caste off your chains! Embrace the Goddess!

All Hail the Reaching Moon!

Cheers,

David Hall


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