Aldryami

From: Peter Metcalfe <P.Metcalfe_at_student.canterbury.ac.nz>
Date: Wed, 23 Apr 1997 00:30:52 +1200


Ian Young:

SM>> One of the current theories is that elves are literally
>> each a component of Aldrya, such that they make a large consciousness,
>> with some individuality as well. If you agree with this (as I mostly do),
>> then there really is no such god as Aldrya, because she is not a god, not
>> even an ancestor -- she is a name for the "Group Mind" of the elves.

>This strikes me as an unfortunate parallel of the Mostali "World Machine"
>where all dwarves are merely cogs in the machine that is Mostal. I consider it
>unfortunate because it perpetuates the sort of blow-for-blow Elf vs. Dwarf
>rivalry that slinks into every fantasy story, and seems to reflect a need to
>create a sort of cultural equality between them.

Well in Glorantha, the Elves do hate the Dwarves and vice versa. And what's more, this hate is far more vicious than what you see in Tolkein, crap fantasy novels or two-bit supplements put out by TSR^H^H^H WOTC.

>Now, this is probably a far harsher criticism than this theory merits, but it
>seems just plain wrong to reduce both the Aldyami and the Mostali to warring
>nests of ants.
 

The Mostali are not a nest of ants although they like to pretend that they are. They are about as far-removed from their ideal Mostali society as the USSR was from the ideal communistic society. They are not mindless droids but suffer the angst of mortars that leak in the night ('the grinding, the GRINDING!'), the temptations of heterodoxy and much much more.  

>Yes, the Aldryami are all plants in much the same fashion that
>all Mostali are earth/mineral, but where is the evidence that suggests that, as
>a group, they comprise the essence of Aldrya (other than mere intuition)? I
>suppose the real question for me, and I hang my ignorance out on display here,
>is to ask, where is this "current theory" promoted?

If you have Elder Secrets or Gods of Glorantha, there you'll find that the elf cannot explain its attachment to the forest in human terms. They also have a special elfsense which allows them to sense the emotions of whatever they touch.

The 'group mind' IMO merely means that the Elf senses the wellbeing of the forest in which he dwells via touchsense. It's a overbearing presense to him. To respond to the wellbeing is perfectly natural to the elf like learning how to speak is to us. If he comes cross a tree that was wounded by an axe and is suffering a fungal infestation, he will attempt to alleviate its pain.

An elf can send messages into the forest (ES mentions sending your fear into the forest when you encounter strangers) and spiritually powerful elves can cause the forest to work for their behalf although they may not be concious of actually doing so: ie an elf gardener feels a need for an army to repel the intruders, the local HKE initiates feel a need to muster at his place. The elf ultimately has complete discretion as to how he responds to a need, it's just that most elves are not cognizant of the fact they can do so or prefer to go with the flow rather than cause any cognitive dissonace with their elfsense (a human equivalent could be defecating in the public view). Thus the elven forest is more like a cooperative  anarchy rather than a group mind controlling the elves.

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