Its time for one of those "Gloranthan Perspective" ramblings. Hold onto your pointy hats, Acolytists.
"Man is made out of three great principles: Body, Spirit and Soul.
Think of these as parts of a triangle, the Triangle of Law, which
holds all secrets of the Universe within it. In the ideal state, the
point of Soul is the highest, and and the Triangle rests on Body and
Spirit. In this state, Man is in full control of his Passions and
Bodily needs, and the Triangle may last forever. Such a Man can live
forever. Pagans can never reach this state fully, since the beings
they worship themselves are models of other behaviour, with other
things than the Soul on top. There are some that are worse than
others, of course - the Krjalki known as Trolls have clearly the Body
on top.
When the point of Spirit is at the top, man is ruled by his passions,
with no self-discipline at all. Such a behaviour is harmful in the
long run, and causes aging and finally Death. Even worse is the state
in which Body is ascendant. This is the state of Animals and
Animalistic beings. A Man dominated by his Body is not even dominated
by his Spiritual Passions - he is dominated by simple needs like Lust,
Fear and Hunger.
It should be noted that there are beings who have reached the state
of Soul Ascendant, but who are still doomed to fail at reaching
Solace. Witness the krjalki known as Dwarves, for instance. They lack
the Spirit part of their nature wholly, and witness the ancient
symbol for their race: A blunt triangle, the Rune of Stasis. Now, IF
a Dwarf dies, does his Soul Ascend? No, look at the symbol. It cannot
stand upright, so his point of Soul scuttles off in the wrong
direction.
Or look at the Brithini, who have almost made themselves into
Krjalki. They DO have the Solace of the Body, but since they lack the
Joy of the Heart, they can never reach the Solace of the Soul. Their
Triangle is empty. And that is even worse than the meaningless death
of a heathen - to reach an Immortal state of Emptiness."
Erik Sieurin
End of Glorantha Digest V2 #371
WWW material at http://hops.wharton.upenn.edu/~loren/rolegame.html
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