>This in a nutshell is a large part of the debate. The "compromise" is a
>cultural belief of some Orlanthi to explain the fact that thier gods don't
>exhibit free will. The other cultures have other ways of explaining it
>that have nothing to do with the compromise, yet he insits that only the
>Orlanthi view is correct.
I increasingly believe that people are placing too much emphasis on the importance of the Compromise in Orlanthi belief - or more precisely the role of the Compromise to the Orlanthi. A caveat - the following is explicitly from the Heortling Orlanthi POV and contains a fair amount of conjecture.
The Orlanthi Compromise is most likely a myth of the First Council - and refers to the divine relationship between the Council of World's Friends and the Compromise of the Gods. In each of these very Theyalan - Orlanthi "Rings", the members of a group bond together to cooperate for a purpose. The Compromise of the Gods was needed in order to restore the world - the CWF was (probably) an outgrowth of I Fought, We Won.
Lokamayadon and Harmast both created "new" Compromises between the gods and men and new relationships between the gods. Still, from the Orlanthi POV all gods had a fixed relationship between them and man - their complex lexicon of myths and deities works to define the world. The EWF did not endanger the Compromise since it was within the Orlanthi mythical lexicon (the Hunting and Waltzing Bands proved that Orlanth was the Dragonfriend and King Storm Dragon - and everybody was happy). The downfall of the EWF resulted from the "fact" that dragons are treacherous bastards.
The God Learners were outside of the Compromise since they did not operate according to the Orlanthi conception of the world - naturally the downfall of the GLers was a result of the gods reacting against this breach of the Compromise. Naturally.
After the Dragonkill, the Southern Orlanthi get three centuries to develop in exclusion of northern Peloria and the old West. Three centuries in essentially an Orlanthi universe. The only glitch is the rise of a new big thingee in the sky - not a planet (because it doesn't really move around), not a star - but something else. Something not in the mythical lexicon. Since the gods didn't create it (otherwise the Storm Voices or the Aeolian wizards would be taking credit for it) - it must be from Outside the Compromise of the Gods. Therefore, it must be evil and chaos. Bad - Hiss Hiss!
Things aren't quite so clearcut for the Northern Orlanthi - they at least know who created it - foreign gods from the north. Hwarin Dalthippa convinces many tribes that actually this new thingee is a friend and they happily incorporate it (and Hwarin for bringing the good news) into their pantheon. Happy Happy Joy Joy! Others figure that it is just a Foreigner trick and it can't be a friend because their evil foes (fill in the name of the tribe) use the power of this new thingee to chase them off their land. It must be evil. Bad- Hiss Hiss!
Notice I never talked about free will or objectivist/subjectist/hidden variable subjectivist with a splash of vermouth and an olive.
Yours in a Spirit of Compromise,
Jeff
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