Elmal and Teshnos

From: Peter Metcalfe <P.Metcalfe_at_student.canterbury.ac.nz>
Date: Thu, 24 Oct 1996 20:32:36 +1200


Nick Effingham:

>Okay -- defining everything -- has the story of Elmal losing his fire
>powers at the HoG been published? Has it been written unofficially according
>to the knowledge of anyone on the digest? What do we know other than Elmal
>lost his fire powers i.e. who took them? What did Orlanth do while this was
>going on etc....

Ah. This is going into South Pelorian History. The only source was a reply given at the RQ CON Down Under lore auction and even then we do not know for sure if the hills of gold are involved. IMO they did. I also think that Orlanth was not involved in the Elmal's version of the Hill of Gold but Shargash.

Pam Carlson:


>*polite cough* Well, I think the point is that the gamut of Gloranthan
>sun gods all seem to be too uptight to go in for Hazia smoking.

Umm, Pam, what about crazed blood letting of the Blood Sun Cult in the Kingdom of Ignorance, the orgaistic ceremonies of Solar Pentan Shamans, the Simony of the Dara Happans, the Paedophilia of Solanthos Ironpike and the Praxian Sun Dance? If the Sun can grant those weirdos with magic then why would he be upset by a simple hazia puff to induce an estastic state?

Leon Kirshtein:


>To all of you 'people in the know', what happens if a broo rapes a ghoul, or
>even a vampire? Will there be ofspring?

Probably somewhat magical. The hybrid will probably have a decayed look and will have to eat fresh corpses to stay alive. For this reason very few reach maturity.

Anthony Bushell:


        

> 1. The solar cults so prevalent in Teshnos were introduced by
>Sheng Seleris when he invaded the region. I believe that there is a strong
>parallel between these cults tand those of the Egyptians.
        

Plausible although I've always thought some of the cults were moulded by the God Learners (ie Solf, Somash and Zitro-Argon) when they ruled the place.

> 2. The current culture is a development out of a reaction to
>Sheng's conquest (how extensive that was is a matter for contention) and I
>see that it might be similar to the development of the New Kingdom in Egypt
>after the Hyksos invasion.

The trouble here is that the New Kingdom had an agressive foreign policy and a good military which is rather odd when your adapting it for Teshnos. Much better IMO would be that the Nobles are all descended from the Pentan Invaders and the Teshnans haven't bothered to expel them when the Pentan Hegemony collapsed elsewhere. The local cavalry that the Teshnan Khanates once had have been fruitlessly frittered away in disasterous military adventures and the main striking force is the Elephants.

> 4. After they were gone the Teshnans maintained the cults that
>had been introduced because they gave greater power and prestige to the
>nobility. This may have been accompanied by a period of expansion which was
>curtailed by the Lethargy that enveloped the land. As a result many cities
>that had been founded to the east were abandoned and eventually reclaimed by
>the forest.

I have difficulty with the timeline this requires. Sheng was sent to the Pits of Perdition in 1460 ST and the last elements of the Pentan Empire were destroyed at the Nights of Horrors in 1500 ST. After this the Teshnans expanded their cities into the east. All this depends on when you think the Lethargy began?

> Basically what I am considering in a caste based culture which has a
>more Egyptian style religious structure than a Vedic one. This allows for
>some tension between the cults and allows for the many different varieties
>of Solar worship that are prevalent in Teshnos.

To make it more interesting, we could have the posts of the Big Five Cults filled not by worshippers of the cult but by Priests from one of the Hundred Fire Cults. Thus no one will progress from a Somash worshipper to Somash Priest directly but he will have to join a lesser cult. Of course the only way the Priests will be selected is by influencing those who make the appointments. Once in, the priest would favour his own cult-brotherhood and factions form within the Big Five Cults. Many of these cults may be Pentan Ancestors turned into Teshnan Gods while others are God Learner Spirits and so on.

Thus say the position for the Furalor Priesthood of Dombain has fallen vacant (the Priest concerned was kicked upstairs as a result of offending one of the Gang of Five). The cults of the Elf-friends, Lotus-eaters and Flame Brothers all desire that one of their own shall get the post. The Elf-friends could call upon Garusharp (who is also an Elf-friend) to influence the Highest Priestess of Furalor to make the decision in favour of the Elf-friends. The Lotus Eaters could make many sacrifices to Furalor so that the Temple of Furalor will be impressed by them and so hopefully reward them with the post while the Flame brothers will kidnap the sister of the Highest Priestess of Furalor....

> Lastly, a question. Can anybody give me some information on the
>place of a Yelmalio style cult in Teshnos. I currently see it as a subcult
>of the Somash cult.

If you're talking about the human worshippers of the Elf Sun God and not the people of Sun County, then I don't think it is confined to Somash going by the model above. It would be strongest in the Somash Cult as a result of Garusharp but its adherents would be found in the other Four Big Cults.

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