>This is euhemerization again, defined as the idea that the legends of
>supernatural beings are really "mythologized" acts of historical human
>beings. I have little use for it.
>This is (again) NOT EARTH! In Glorantha, why can't there really be
>gods? I feel that Simon is using the fact that supernatural beings
>don't really exist here, in the real world, to devalue their
>"existence" in the fantasy world of Glorantha.
I think you are confusing the existance of euhemerisic events with the thesis that all Gods were once mortals. While I think that some euhemerism occurs in Glorantha (the Red Goddess, the False Gods of Malkioni legend being good examples), I do not believe that all gods were originally of mortal status (Aether, Nakala etc). To say that Euhemerism should not exist in Glorantha is a tad sweeping IMO.
William Robertson:
>As cultures, both the Brithini and Mostali detest reproduction. So,
>they've distanced themselves from the fertilty aspect of the
>death/fertilty duality. Thus they are distanced from the death aspect as
>well, and do not normally die from aging.
>I don't know if this applies to the Vadeli, because I don't think I've
>ever heard of the Vadeli. I am a little out of date.
The Vadeli are a culture that like the Brithini stems from the Golden Age Kingdom of Logic. They would be called Malkioni but they do not worship the Invisible God (being athiests) nor do they acknowlege Malkion as Lawgiver like the Brithini. They claim descent from Vadel. They are vile and disgusting and every Malkioni (save the Loskalmi) hates them.
The Vadeli are of three castes: the Blues, the Reds and the Browns. The Caste name comes from the colour of the skin. The Browns are the most common and are mainly merchants and sailors. They are mainly found in the West although they also control selected Jrusteli Isles and control a port in Pamaltela called Garanz. The Reds are warriors and pirates and are particularly vicious. They were thought to be destroyed in battle against the Brithini in the Ice Age but they have reappeared in the Red Vadeli Isles since the Opening. They apparently collaborate with the Browns.
The Blues are thought to be the Wizards and Rulers of the Vadeli People. They were made extinct during the Ice Age after Zzabur sank their lands with a Terrible Spell. All Malkioni (save the Vadeli) acclaims this as one of the few good things Zzabur has done for the world. Horrible rumours abound (cf Elder Secrets) that some Blues have returned to the Lands of the Living. There is no link between them and the Artmali of Fonrit and Oronin.
The Vadeli certainly do not distance themselves from the Life/Death Duality. They grow their own kids and eat them for immortality.
My current thinking is Brithini and the Vadeli avoid aging through several means. The chief mean is avoidance of emotional change. This means that the humours in the body do not change dramatically and thus bring about general physical decay. (A RW example of this would be insulin injections for diabetics - the many sudden shifts in the sugar level take a toll upon the kidneys). Most humans do not know this and think nothing of getting angry, happy, sad etc. Thus they age and die.
The Brithini avoid aging by chiefly adopting the four castes. Each caste has a set limit of jobs it can do. Thus if you're a zzabur, you don't have to face the emotional stress of ploughing the fields in the morning. You do have to face the stress of wizardly tasks but your professional training and outlook (A Zzabur's got to do what a Zzabur's got to do) enables you to repress the emotions. If you take on too many jobs like fighting with a sword in addition to the wizardly tasks, the emotional stress becomes too much to repress and you start displaying physical emotions. Death then is inevitable. To avoid the repressed emotions building up to an unhealthy limit (thus triggering a drastic change in the humourous balance), all the Brithini pay a visit to the Zzaburi weekly to have their repressed emotions tapped.
The Vadeli have a similar practice in avoiding age. They always maintain a fixed demeanour when outside. Thus the Browns are seemingly friendly, polite and sycophantic no matter what the provocation. [Unfortunately once you turn your back, something bad invaribly happens as the Vadeli are completely amoral and think nothing of betrayal].
When the Vadeli do formulate a desire for something, they repress it like the Brithini. However instead of tapping the repressed desire later, the Vadeli release it. They do this by means of a magic rite which ensorcels the area. This rite is performed in the privacy of their own homes or ghettos. The ensorcelment allows them to consumate their desires without disturbing the humours. Thus if a Vadeli wonders what it would be like to pull wings of flies, he would go home and pull the wings of flies within the safety of his home. They were pulling wings of flies over twenty thousand years ago. Because they became jaded with disreputable things over the long years, the Vadeli have sunk to the depths of depravity in committing the vilest of enormities. The Vadeli think nothing of commiting incest with their parents or siblings. In fact having one set of grandparents is the norm among the Vadeli.
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