Starry-eyed Apes...

From: Peter Metcalfe <P.Metcalfe_at_student.canterbury.ac.nz>
Date: Wed, 24 Jan 1996 17:08:54 +1300


Andrew Behan:

>> As for the Lesser Logicals 'apeing' the Brithini way, I'm uncertain
>> if the Brithini had much contact with monkeys or apes for the slur
>> to arise.

>Well despite their complete lack of contact with simians of any kind
>medieval scholastics still managed to arrive at the same idea.

The Barbary Ape of Gibraltar springs to mind as does mention of Apes found in the Classical Texts. The Brithini on the other hand are writing the texts and I have strong doubts as to whether the Waertagi were as widespread as they claimed or whether the Blue Book of Zzabur is as comprehensive as claimed (with respect to the flora, fauna and the lore of other lands).

Martin Crim:


> Each civilized land has a different star lore. Kralorela is the most
>advanced, because its records stretch back to the first Rising of Yelm in
>the Golden Age....
> Western astrology comes from the Brithini, but the theistic Malkioni
> sects changed the system to stress the role of the saints' stars.

A minor Gregging here (Martin may already know this since the article was dated 1992). The Ivory Pages version of the Glorious ReAscent has a lot more about Star Lore. To put it succinctly, the Yelmists of Dara Happa are the most advanced as Yuthuppa was the ancient City of the Starseers.

The Kralori claim to have recieved much of their lore from the City of Watchers to the West (Yuthuppa). The Malkioni originally had the Zzabur Lore but they recieved much lore from the City of Pillars during the First Age (I think). Both the God Learners and the Modern Malkioni deny that the City of the Pillars is Yuthuppa.

> For Yelmists, ten is lucky. Two is lucky, because Yelm is the second
>son of Aether. Five is unlucky, because it is the number of Umatum and
>Oralanatus the usurpers.

Five is Truth according to the Yelmists. They and the Lunars don't believe in the God Learner Cosmoslogy. Eleven (beyond perfection) would be an unlucky number while sixty-nine (Uleria's Number in the Perfect Sky) is considered obscene.

As for Yelmic Astrology, they could foretell heavenly events to a certain extent. About a century or two before the rising of the Red Moon, the Starseers were engaged in the Coming Planet Debates. This isn't too much different from predicting Solar Eclipses IMO.

I think Yelmic Astrology is more concerned with divining the Stellar Radiations so as to manipulate them for doing Priestly Magic (ie building Temples of the Reaching Moon) rather than ascertaining their effects upon Joe Average.

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