>>Because of this [True Mostali being leaders],
>>the odds are that the existance of True Mostali becomes known
>>to the humans/outsiders.
>Your use of "odds are" reminds me of the
>arguments I've seen and heard that assert something like "clearly, ..." or
>"It is beyond cavil that ..." when the author didn't have anything except a
>hunch to base his opinion on.
If you have a better idea on how True Mostali fit into Dwarf society other than the model I have proposed (True Mostali as prominent leaders), I would be all to keen to hear it. Furthermore the fact that it's based on a hunch is largely irrelevant. What do you think goes on in this digest anyhow?
>For starters, Mostali are not forthcoming with
>filth about who leads them and whether their leaders are True Mostali
>or just Clay Mostali.
We can tell to a certain extent given that the names of the ruling dwarfs are generally known to the humans (or at least the educated ones) in the area. We can infer from their names (most of the time) whether they are True or Clay. (Orlanthi All) True Mostali don't take the title Diamond whereas Diamondwarves do. And we have a good sample of the Inner Circles of Mostali Civilization from the Broken Council Guidebook.
Dave Pearton:
>The east isles have an intimate connection with dreams and dreaming and
>they were once part of Vithela (with its draconic connections). Given
>the connection between dragons and things draconic with dreaming how do
>dragons and/or draconic philosophy relate to the east isles? Are there
>any dragonewts in the east isles? Is the lucid dreaming type of magic in
>any way related to draconic magic?
Vithela does not have any Draconic connections (save for the Sorn who are just plain chaotic reptiles). As far as I know, Dragon Worship was indigenous to Kralorela ere Aptanace the Sage set foot upon it. The details below were worked over a chat with Nils.
My opinion is that the Elders of the Dragon People used to go to sleep when they achieved a certain level of Draconic Awareness. They usually slept in rests common to each tribe of Dragon people. Occasionally in times of war, the Elders could awake those who had gone to sleep for the upcoming battle. Their magic is not dream magic but more like hsunchen totemism. The Tribes remain close to their holy spots where their ancestors sleep for they can use the draconic energies that issues from the Ancestors.
Now when the Vithelean immigrants under the leadership of Aptanace appeared, they looked with their magic for the best places to build their cities. Unwittingly they selected the points at which the various draconic energies from the tribal roosts met and played. The Dragon People couldn't use these spots of high synergy for their magic was specifically attuned to the tribal ancestors whereas the Sun People couldn't handle the raw draconic power that flowed near the roosts. This allows for really weird placements of Kralori Cities. Some places could be densely populated whereas others might be a wilderness in which a massive city was placed smack dab in the middle for no apparent reason.
So the result was that the two cultures actually shared the land without much interaction. I think that Shavaya was actually the Emperor of the Sun People and did not rule over the Dragon People. It fell to the next Emperor, Daruda (whom I think was from Dragon People) to combine the two nations and synthesize a common magic for them.
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