> As a Carmanian, I don't think Yanafal Ta'arnils had ever _heard_ of the
> Humakt cult when he helped to create the Red Goddess. He probably
> worshiped the Carmanian War God (Carmanos?), which has some similarities
> to the Humakt cult. But from what little I remember about Carmanos, I
> think it likely the War Cult of Carmania allowed resurrection. For the
> right people. I could be wrong.
If I can recollect the original description in Prosopaedia (how much of it has been Gregged?), it stated that Yanafal Tarnils "bested his master, Humakt". It may well have been Carmanos, in fact, and the current identification with Humakt may be an imperial addition to show evidence of the superiority of the Seven Mothers versus the Storm Gods, but the connection with the Truth rune suggests that it was Humakt, most likely.
Be it Humakt or Carmanos, I do not think YT has _inherited_ the practice of resurrecting the dead from a pre-dating cult. I prefer the interpretation whereas he, as a mortal, HeroQuested to gain access to it. Maybe he discovered a very warped version of the Lightbringer, which he later used in the ritual that recreated the Goddess. The comment about YT defeating Humakt may well refer to his achievement in reversing the usual "once dead, you stay with Humakt" geas of the Humakti, rather than his being victorious in a contest of arms.
> Now there is a nice idea. Though it does beg the question of who makes up
> the corners of the Law rune -- there are Four castes (plus the women) in
> Malkioni culture. Is one of them inside the Triangle, or what?
Nice idea indeed! But have the castes _always_ been three? The Rune obviously predates the Lesser Darkness, but I am unsure whether Horali were present in the ancient Kingdom of Logic. I view them as a new caste introduced when the need to battle the Elder Races and the Savage Men arose. Nick Brooke's History of Malkionism (quasi-official) states that the class of Knights was introduced by Hrestol _after_ the Dawning. If this is correct, the three vertices of the Law rune are Talar (mind), Dromal (body) and Zzabur (soul). I think that Brithini identify them with principles, not people, while theist malkioni do name them as the three original castes, as you suggested.
http://www.geco.it/~guccione ------------------------------
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