Orlanthi suppression - NOT

From: Martin Laurie <102541.3423_at_CompuServe.COM>
Date: 17 Oct 96 20:27:56 EDT


Nick B. gave a nice summation of why the Lunars wouldn't be suppressing the Orlanth cult and wouldn't be slaughtering the male fighting age population. I have to agree that those kinds of policies are straight from the Sheng Seleris rule book on "Atrocity and Getting you're Subjects really pissed off" and not at all Lunar (possibly Shargashi but they don't make policy in the Empire).

It seems quite clear in KoS that the tribal Kings do exist and the lunar policy is to use Sartars tribal division against itself by divide and conquer policy. This policy was most successfully enforced by Fazzur who understood clan and tribal politics from his own life in a clan state. Tarsh may be more structured towards unified action than Sartar but many of the small time political drives are the same. This policy probably collapsed when Tatius took over. He was pure Raibanthi Dara Happan and would consider the barbarian kings beneath his notice. An Alkothi warlord would know his Eusibus and would have used them like Fazzur, if less effectively.

Cult oppression will be indirect, rather like the Muslims did to other faiths in Spain. They will tax the other faiths to support their own belief. So anyone who converts to the Seven Mothers will be relieved of their tax burden, those who stay Orlanthi have to shoulder it. A lot of Orlanthi would have gone with it and many of the most important of these are eaten by the Dragon at the ceremony.

The sad fact is that without the whole Dragon incident and even without the Reaching Moon Temple, Lunar (or more acurately - Tarsh) power would have been enforced on Sartar and eventually on the Grazelands. Given a generation more to solidify their control Esrolia and Heortland would have been absorbed too. This was all achieved with an Emperor who was a complete prat too.

Martin Laurie


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