Renegade dragonewts don't necessarily avoid Dragon Magic, though. If anything, they're likely to Exploit Up the Wazoo any they have access to, to use a Sandyism, as they're less worried about Impaired Spiritual Progression.
> Dragonnewts that have the spiritual
> hubris to use elemental magic probably become dinosaurs or magisaurs
> instead of renegades.
My own guess is that they're just Not Good At It. If a 'newt had a Glorantha: the Game character sheet, the "elemental makeup" column would have "weird draconic shit" stencilled across it. Hence, they'd lack the metaphysical wherewithal to do elemental magic properly. The RQ2 injunction against "elemental cults" is a bit fishy, though, since it's promptly broken in CoP (Aldrya is an Earth-rune cult, after all). I'd suggest something on the lines of, "Can't manipulate the elements by way of conventional theistic cults", as a (re-)interpretation of this factoid.
Has anyone had any Profound Thoughts (on any Hughesian Level) as to why the dragonewt rune is the (earthly) hermetic symbol for Air?
Peter Metcalfe defends his "obvious" association of Water and dragonewts against the merely factual evidence of RQ2:
> That was then, I suppose. However there are historical references to
> Dragons and their kin having elemental powers. Mind of the Golden Dragon
> who ruled the land of Saird during the Broken Council was said to have
> studied the myriad solar rites of Dara Happa and Peloria. Then there is
> the Dragon Sun who ruled Dara Happa.
This is getting pretty far from the track from "proof" that 'newts have _water_ associations, though, isn't it?
[Source of the Oslir]
> Ormsgone valley, I think. Dunno where it flowed before the EWF. The
> Erinflarth which is a major tributary flows from Dorastor.
Actually in the Skyreach Mountains, south of Muse Roost, it would appear. Which is alarmingly far south, really. A rational watershed would probably run through the middle of Tarsh. The Erinflarth certainly is a major tributary: one might argue that it could be the "real" source of the Oslir, in geographic terms.
> The Gate of Banir. I didn't think of it as a gate to Hell (although this
> is plausible).
As it was created, or at least controlled by, a paid-up Chaos Wizard, then if it connects to anywhere familiar on these God Learner Maps, the Chaosy Bit of Hell is the obvious candidate. Or it could be the Outer Void, possibly.
> My only niggle is whether the assembled Dragonewts think so
> clearly and consistently as we.
Fellow fans of the Arabian Knights might wonder what the invocation "Clarity and consistency of the Glorantha Digest!" might result in...
Alex.
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