spirit stuff

From: Michael Raaterova <cabal_at_algonet.se>
Date: Fri, 28 Jul 1995 04:59:56 +0200


Salvete!
It's nice to be back in Glorantha. Hope you like my comeback postings. Only 4 months' worth of digests left to absorb, but it'll propably be worth the effort.

Graydon comments:

>You'll also probably get family spirit cults, and spirits that are pretty
>literally friends of the family, as well as the spirits who are cranky
>and need to be propiated, with offerings being made to the friends
>spirits in almost the same, well, spirit, as a family member gets a new
>pair of pants - they're part of the economic life of the family, and
>entitled to certain things as a result.

        Definitely. I had the same idea too but somehow didn't incorporate it in the text. An extension of animistic notions is that everything spiritually potent can/should become an abode for a spirit or actually create one.

A battlefield could gather spirits of rage or gloom, spirits hungry for the spilt blood and assorted combat spirits. The shadowy remnants of the slain could still be fighting (not the actual ghosts perhaps, but the spiritual imprints on the landscape). Perhaps the battle itself has become a spirit. If someone summons and binds the spirit, frex, of the battle of Grizzly Peak and unleashes it in an upcoming battle between Lunars and Sartarites, shouldn't that influence the outcome of that battle?

The site of a magnificent wedding could be blessed be Ernalda or Uleria or some other nice divinity, making the spot a resort for windflowers and joyful spirits. If the wedding was a manifestation of True Love it could create a spirit that stays with the couple and tries to insure the happiness of the marriage.

Clans and tribes have wyters. Cities have their gods (and, presumably, a bunch of spirits). Families have family spirits. A person could have a spirit following him. These spirits can be malevolent or benevolent or both. Someone who commits heinous deeds could get a following of malignant imps that participate in the action. A noble Wind Lord could get the constant attention of a small Whirler that dances in his footsteps.

If you are using Pendragonish personality traits or passions, a character with extremely high values could get the attention of appropriate spirits. A value of 19 or more (or slightly lower?) in the Love Family passion could catch the fancy of Uleria, and she might send a spirit to this person, perhaps with the effect that the person's family gets along better when he/she is around.

Why not a group ritual that lets the participants create a spirit with an express purpose? The spirit is created with POW sacrificed by the participants, and its ability to aid the participants in their endeavour is based on the amount of POW sacrificed. Purposes could be 'to find our cousin [who was kidnapped by Western slavers]' or 'to end the bloodfeud between our clans' or 'to keep this site pure from chaos' or whatever.

This ritual is usually only performed by people dedicated to a specific course of action [the Household of Death springs to mind as an extreme example], but could also be performed by families who want to, well, keep their stead or family members free from disease. The spirit created could also be committed to a specific person or place.

BTW, i'm thinking of writing stories for the Pale Maidens and the Windhag of my previous posting. And/or some minor locality cults, like the Blue Stag Cult.
Interesting?

[I thought i was going to post some more elemental spirits, but that'll have to wait.]

Signing off to bed...

End of Glorantha Digest V2 #29


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