Re: Glorantha Digest V2 #110

From: Erik Sieurin <BV9521_at_utb.hb.se>
Date: Tue, 12 Sep 1995 12:20:19 +0100


Phil Johnsson comments who?
> > It seems to me that there needs to be a distinction between
_myths_ and
> > mythic events and _legends_, or, as another way of putting it, between
> > GodTime events and historical or quasi-historical events.
(things deleted)
>
> The only distinction between Myths and Legends is the time from when
> they happend to now. A myth is usually told by the shamens and the
> wise of events thousands of years previous but a legend may only be a
> few generations old. Heroquesting and cult holy time rituals bring
> those myths and legends into the present for those involved to
> experience and with Heroquesting one can possibly gain benifits from
> your cultures history.
> - -----------------------------------------------------------
Not in my opinion. A legend is not a Myth, it does not put a mark on the Godplane. I think this has be dicussed before, but I did not join then. I think since Time began, you can only change things on the Godplane by more or less active heroquesting. I.e, no new myths. However, things in the mundane world tends to follow the patterns of the Godplane. Thus legends may appear because of historical events that were influenced by mythic events. In a similar way, if a legend is mixed up with a mythic event, anyone heroquesting through that myth would see things as the legend-influenced myth he had heard. ("Orlanth killed John F Kennedy")

Jose Ramos says wise things about dwarves, but there is one thing I disagree with:
 You must remember that the items must be useful to
> the dwarfs, as they would not make them otherwise (unless in a hidden agenda).
Ah, but I see it differently. As the foreman says "we do not mind what you do in your spare time, as long as you are ready if you call you". In their spare time, most dwarves work towards perfection of themselves, especially Individualists. Unless they are individualists, they seldom do useful things then. I mean, if there was something useful to be done, the foreman would have told me, right? The Decamony knows what is best for me, right? So, the Silver Dwarves cast magnificent but fairly useless spells just to see if they can do it. The Copper dwarves make elaborate toys that demonstrate the principles of mechanics. The Iron Dwarves play wargames (and roleplaying games, in case they need to infiltrate a non-dwarvish place!) and create strange weapons. The Rock Dwarves carve elaborate sculptures and dig a lot of tunnels that leads nowhere.
Of course, they need special resources for this that they cannot produce by themselves. A Rock Dwarf needs toys made by Copper Dwarves and demolition equipment made by the Quicksilvers (you didnt think they did that all by hand, did you ?). So there is a "black market" in dwarven strongholds, where dwarves sell and buy and trade things they make in their spare time, so they can get the equipment they need to train in their spare time. Here the dwarven greed and miserlyness is nourished, that they later express when and if dealing with non-dwarves.
> Remember, with imagination and enough nilmergs you can do anything. Pity the
> dwarfs have no imagination.

But they do! They try to get rid of their FEELINGS, not their capability!

Erik Sieurin


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