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> I was unaware of Dormal being required to submit to a trial by combat
> before being recognized by the Orlanthi as a god. This invalidates
> the Orlanthi belief in KoS that 'New Gods are Bad' IMO.
I reckon the major cause of the Orlanthi/Lunar friction, and probably the whole Castle Blue fracas, was territory. Ignoring the mundane threat to Orlanthi lands posed by the Empire, the Red Goddess was muscling in on somewhere already spoken for in the Compromise, the Middle Air. This is explicitly mentioned in sources (don't ask!), if I remember correctly. Dormal found a new niche for himself, and had the approval of the relevant deities (he's associated with Magasta, isn't he?). The Red Goddess, on the other hand,tried to take some turf from an existing, and powerful, God. This would set a precedent (and did), so everyone with an interest, or who owed Orlanth favours, decided to stop the upstart then and there, and failed.
The war continues, both mythologically and physically (Hey! Mythological weapons. We need a treaty banning their use. Mythological warfare suits: protect the user from religious fallout.)
As for the RG's physical presence on the mundane world, Peter and others have already pointed out that it is a manifestation, a by-product of her being, rather than a breach of the Compromise.
Robert McArthur:
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> Any thoughts on why the lunars didn't turn the Block into a holiday resort and
> fun park?
Blurk!!
Reasons against:
> a) the devil might get out
Big reason not to mess about with the Block. Too much messing, the Compromise gets threatened, Castle Blue all over again, but with _more_ people on Ol' Blowhard's side.
> b) it would mean *all* Praxians would unite against them (though what
> the hell, they'd all be in one place for the Bat then wouldn't they?).
I think there might be more than just Praxians there, and the mystical support would probably be pretty impressive, for the reasons given above. And if the Bat came, to the High Holy of the greatest anti-Chaos god around (arguably), would the Zorak Zorani stay out? Would the whole area not slide into the God Plane for some mystical Storm Bull vs. the Enormous Chaos Baddy re-enactment?
On the more prosaic side, how about:
c) tourists/traders/truestone quarriers would have to travel a _long_ way across some fairly inhospitable territory, probably with the Praxians and others conducting a guerilla war all the way, and then survive at the Block with every SBuller around doing there best to kill them _all_. Think what damage a single bomb at an airport does to the tourist trade, even if no-one is hurt. Now imagine maybe 1 in 10? 1 in 5? of travellers don't make it back. Is it worth the effort?
ian gorlick:
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Who watches the Blue watchmen?
Given that the Blue Vadeli are superlative, immortal sorcerors capable of cloning themselves and creating homonculi, etc, not to mention the more mundane talents of summoning and controlling all sorts of nasties, and creating familiars, as well as commanding the Reds and Browns, would the children need to be watched by other of the children? Brown babysitters would seem ideal, and the children could even be allowed out to play with Browns trailing them, and Reds to call on if things got nasty. The Blue could even leave a clone behind to babysit, suitably brainwashed.
And why not just insert a magical compunction never to harm the parent. With the might of a Blue's sorcery behind it, only other Blues could interfere (apart from Mostali, Brithini, deities, etc, but would they bother?), and if one Blue interferes with another, a very nasty war could result.
The current take on the Blues sounds kinda like the movie versions of Dracula crossed with an urnbane demon: intelligent, well-educated, looking to the long-term, and seeing others as insignificant cattle, unless they get in his or her way. I imagine they are wary and respectful of each other, but not averse to destroying another Blue if the opportunity presents itself. After all, are they going to destroy _all_ life, of merely non-Vadeli life, in which case the Blues will hold the power, in which case the fewer Blues the better, and only one is best!
We'll go to the phones now ...
David Henderson
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