Sister Malia Theresa?

From: Carlson, Pam <carlsonp_at_wdni.com>
Date: Wed, 10 Apr 96 11:00:00 PDT

I have a difficult time thinking of Malia being accepted as a legal diety anywhere, even in the LE. (Well, maybe in the Kingdom of Ignorance, or in LDoaH's army, but I know little about those.)

Historically, the Pelorians were with everybody else in hating Malia. Yelm specifically kicked her heinie, and has a special Fight Disease Path to combat her. Yelm also has a deep obligation to support Chalana Erissa.  (These may have come from the WW write-up, but I think they fit in well, so I keep 'em.) The whole solar culture revolves around the principle "Do what's right (Just), even if it kills you." Propriating Malia does NOT fall into that category.

As to whether Malia is Evil - I say yes. In Glorantha, disease is not caused by biological viruses dispasionately seeking to replicate themselves

• it's caused by hostile spirits. Disease kills you, your husband, your children, your chickens. There is nothing good about it, and it causes suffering, so it is evil. The most moral thing to do is to support your healers and good gods in their fight against Malia. Propriating Malia is done by desperate people, and they are to be despised. Every time Malia is propriated they undo the good gods' efforts against Malia.

Even in the real world, with our modern outlook on medicine, killer diseases are portrayed as evil. The old terrors of plague, tuberculosis, smallpox - and now AIDS and cancer - certainly seem evil when they strike someone you love. We have a unique opportunity through technology to innoculate ourselves without strengthening a deity behind disease, but Gloranthans don't have that choice. Any worship of Malia adds to her strength, and is therefore evil. Better to devote your efforts to finding new paths toward her destruction.

All IMO.

Pam

---

End of Glorantha Digest V2 #473

---

WWW material at http://hops.wharton.upenn.edu/~loren/rolegame.html