Just to add another thread that's not about Boristi or Lunars...
SOME THOUGHTS ABOUT MALE TROLLS These musings came to me whilst stumbling about in the dark at Andrew Bean's farm in the Yarra valley after RQ Con DU (an awesome event).
I am thankful to John Hughes, Nick Brooke, and Pam Carlson in helping me express this imagery.
Whilst I may state things below 'as fact', all this is merely opinion which I express for the purposes of critique.
THE BIRTH MOTIF To me, the birth/womb motif is central to much of trollish life. I envisage that trolls see birth into the "real" world as a journey from one womb (their mother) into a larger womb (the underworld) or as Sandy (I believe) put this, the Uzterior.
Male trolls are also sent outside to hunt and generally do what their mother or wives tell them to do but look forward to returning to the safe warm "womb" of their cave or underground dwelling.
As trolls see the underworld as a womb, they also view that even though at birth, the physical umbilical is cut, a spiritual link or spiritual umbilical exists between a mother and her children.
For male trolls, this link is their main connection with the powers of birth and life that are central (and sacred) to trolls and, as trolls live in a matriarchy, birth and life are central to power.
TROLL MOTHERS AND THEIR SONS My belief is that troll mothers are loving but authoritarian. Kyger Litor is the demanding mother, _not_ the nurturing all-accepting mother, that role is filled by Xiola Umbar (who we are told is 'not-a-troll').
Troll males live in fear of disappointing their mother or their wife and losing their love and acceptance. Troll males are not encouraged to build strong links of males relating to males for their own sake.
Hence, the RuneLord cult of 'Karrgs Sons' for male trolls has been misunderstood by the God Learners and other patriarchal cultures that have come into contact with trolls. Who your father is does not matter as much in a matriarchy and this cult is a subcult of Kyger Litor so I believe that this cult is the troll cult of the 'Good Son', of male trolls serving the matriarchy. Trolls in this cult do not so much worship Karrg as try be _like_ Karrg by serving the interests of their mother and wife. Karrgs Sons are _not_ mythically the 'Sons of Karrg', they are more 'Sons Like Karrg'.
Now, I imagine some male trolls rebel against their mother (and the matriarchy). They defy their mother and form strong male to male links for their own sake. They are the 'Bad Son'. Some go so far as to seek that which is forbidden for trolls, Fire. Male trolls are allowed to _know_ fire but they are forbidden to seek it.
Zorak Zoran went and sought fire as a show of contempt for his mother and used fire to sear and burn away the spirtual umbilical that joined him to her. Thus he was no longer her son and Zorak Zoran is 'not-a-troll' for this reason. I believe the searing of the navel with flame is a Zorak Zoran initiation ritual and causes great pain but severs the ritual link with the mother/matricarchy and 'opens the third eye'. Zorak Zoran can also bring a form of life out from death, the raising of corpses which also a sign of contempt for the powers of birth and life that the matriarchy represents. Zorak Zoran empitomises the role of the 'Bad Son' in trollish culture.
My tentative belief is that in some respects, Xiola Umbar, has some aspects of the Wayward Daughter namely those who show mercy and comfort even to those that her mother has punished. To the authoritarian Kyger Litor, this is not a 'Good Thing' but subtle disobediance.
A further tentative belief, is that perhaps the Black Eater of troll myth that trolls fear so much is when a troll angers the mother so much that they are pulled back by the spiritual umbilical back into the womb and are then sucked back out into the void and non-existence that is before birth. Perhaps trolls are so afraid of this aspect of the Terrible Mother as so assign it away from Kyger Litor and to some form of 'Other'.
Enough for now,
Comments are welcome,
TTFN,
Paul 'RuneLord' Heinz
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