Artmali, Fonritans and Death

From: Peter Metcalfe <P.Metcalfe_at_student.canterbury.ac.nz>
Date: Wed, 06 Sep 1995 20:58:55 +1300


Nick Brooke:

>>There is no link between [the Vadeli] and the Artmali of Fonrit and Oronin.

>There *are* no Artmali of Oronin.

It depends on what is meant by Artmali. I am using it to mean blueskinned folk as per the Glorantha Book in G:CotHW. You may quibble that Artmal is a Pamaltelean diety and thus by definition Artmali are found only in Pamaltela. But then the label of the Goldenskins as Kralori when everybody agrees that they came from Vithela renders this argument slightly moot. All I am merely saying is that the blueskins of Oronin, the Loper People, the Blues of Fonrit and the Veldang of Zamokil share a common cultural heritage (ie vaguel related to the Godtime Artmali Empire) whereas the origins of the Blue Caste of the Vadeli are solidly rooted in Western Mythology.

>There is, however, a direct link between the
>Vadeli and the blueskins of Fonrit: one of the reasons Artmali slaves
>were treated so shittily during the Second Age is that the God Learners
>of the Middle Sea Empire used all of the Ancient Malkioni Laws on how
>to treat those Evil-Blue-Skinned-People to justify their oppression.
>Not very kind, but that's Holy Scripture for you.

I'm not really sure that Fonrit was part of the God Learner Empire or that the Sorcerers of Kalabar who ruled all Fonrit during the second age were Malkioni. (I used to but no longer). I think the Kalabarans were indigenous rulers who were heavily influeneced by God Learner Philosophy but the core of their belief was Ompalam with some Artmali mysticism thrown in. Thus I don't expect the Kalabarans to have been too hot on following Malkioni scripture. The Fonritan Agimori have got enough scores to settle with the Blues to make their lives complete misery.

Sandy Petersen:


>If we look at
>these four cases of Death Introduction, we can find that three of
>them have exceptions. The Pamaltelans have their Original People,
>still wandering lonely and lost amidst the wastes, but never-dying.
>The Malkioni have the example of the Brithini, the folk that did not
>sin. The Kralori have the undying Dragonewts, living emblems of
>eternal progression. And the Praxians have the mighty ruins of the
>God Time's soulless Golden Folk.

Where do the Golden Folk live? In the hidden greens? Beyond Horn Gate?

> Almost alone among mortality myths, the Theyalans do not
>have a living breathing example of someone who does not die. To me,
>this makes me wonder about the Theyalan myth.

Umm. What about the Dragonewts of Dragon Pass? Do the Theyalans not consider Dragonewts 'living emblems of endless progression'? The Dara Happans also appear to have no exceptions to the Death rule but this is illusory: They consider Gods immortal and exceptions to the rule IMO.

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