Jonatela

From: Peter Metcalfe <P.Metcalfe_at_student.canterbury.ac.nz>
Date: Sun, 17 Nov 1996 00:35:57 +1200


Andrew Bean:

>Considering the huge number of sins available to the Rokari to commit (I
>figure the sacred 300 of Malkion plus extras will exist) any of which will
>stop you going to Solace does the Rokari church offer confession ?

I'm sure they have penances and indulgences whereby any spiritual flaws are remitted. It's not important IMO how this flaw comes to light and I don't believe they have a sacrament about it. One merely goes to a priest (or a priest comes to you if your sin was both public and outrageous enough) and has the penance given or pays for the indulgence.

>I'm sure the hell and brimstone priests will have
>condvinced him that hell is a certainty. Yet he is a soldier and less than
>perfect (as soldiers are). How does the average "joe" get out of the fact
>he is probably sure that he will not go to Solace as he is too prone to
>sinful thoughts if not the occasional action?

Such a dilemma is amply answered by what My Father Told Me in the players book (p21):

	'Too much pleasure must be avoided, for drunkeness and
	gluttony and lust are all truely vices.  But only too
	much I say.  The wizards dun us daily with their fear
	of God, telling us that anything of the flesh is bad.  
	I am not so sure: have they never sipped chill wine or
	sank teeth into the fresh haunch of venison?  Never felt
	the warm quiver of naked flesh?  No, of course they have
	not and their bitter vows turn them into damnable hypocrites
	or shrill-voiced saints admonishing us against life itself.
	Be sure that Hrestol did not rail against the common 
	pleasures nor threaten his loyal Duke Yadmov for feeling 
	no guilt over love and hunger.  So walk the path of 
	experience and temperance together.'

Further enlightenment can be found on Nick Brooke's web pages.

[In the case of a Jonating Orlanthi against a Malkioni Lord]

>In case the character comes back to haunt the other PC sometime in
>the future I was trying to think of the mythic resonances that are
>occurring and how my character would be perceiving it.

This IMO is difficult as the Orlanthi of Fronela are only slightly related to the Orlanthi of Dragon Pass. Thus the myths that a Sartarite Skald would know by heart would only recieve a puzzled look in the Jonatings lands. In any event, the Jonatings are little more than dehsunchenized Rathori who were took up a sedentary lifestyle little more than 750 years ago. Thus a lot of their mythology would have a hsunchen element rather than be concerned about abstract notions of clan rights and all that. Thus Orlanth* would be worshipped as an animal totem (ie Bull, Bear) rather than the Lightbringer Hero who puts the world right.

Their main focus of mythic hatred would be the Atheistic Eastpointers and the Loskalmi God Learners. These evil people have introduced vices such as agriculture, war, politics, god magic and sorcery. Moreover they have cursed the Jonatings so that they cannot live without these vices. It is only through the worship of Orlanth that the Jonatings can survive death without having their spirits dissolve into nothingless.

Thus the Orlanthi would rebel against a Malkioni and has plenty of myth to back him up. He would not see the Malkioni as the Evil Sun Emperor, but rather the Wicked Sorcerer who seeks to corrupt the people of the land.

*I have the feeling that the Jonatings actually call Orlanth by the name of Resant and that it is only outsiders and educated Jonatings who call the cult Orlanth.

All IMO

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