A Duck Mini-Pack

From: Sérgio Mascarenhas <sermasalmeida_at_mail.telepac.pt>
Date: Mon, 28 Jul 1997 13:13:11 +0100


When I discovered Glorantha (about 15 years ago through RQ2) one of the things that I liked most about it was that it didn't stick to conventions about fantasy universes and specially about intelligent races. That impression was based on races like newtlings, dragonewts, baboons, and ducks in particular.

Some time ago I started to take notes on what might be the duck equivalent of Troll Pack. Last month I started to explore the RQ Digest and Glorantha Digest trying to find interesting stuff on ducks (and to me 'interesting' implies the Treat the Ducks Seriously approach).

So I decided to share my own account on ducks with the GD. It goes like that:

DUCK MINI-PACK Part I - The Myths

The Durulz mythology is organized around the encounters between ducks and the gods in Mythic Times. Before Time, ducks had few contacts with the powers of Glorantha. In fact, they avoided mixing with the affairs of gods, specially with those of the greatest gods. But sooner or latter they were forced to confront the powerful. The mythology records the gods that had a major impact on the ducks destiny.

Those gods are organized in two categories: Duck Friends and Those We Serve:

Duck Friends

At the origin (Golden Time) Ducks were followers of Yelm and part of this god's retinue (BL and RoC).
But ducks were unconfortable under the strict rules of behavior of the Sun God and felt attracted to the freedom of storm. In fact, they started to spend more and more time between Orlanthi followers then with their relatives.
Eventually they became friends with Eurmal since they liked the games and tricks of this god. That's why in duck culture Eurmal is considered the First Friend.

When Orlanth confronted Yelm, the sun god ordered its followers to form ranks behind him. Ducks felt divided between their duty to the sun and their friendship to storm. They confronted Yelm which, outraged, outcasted them and cursed (BL, RoC). Yelm's curse had two major impacts: ducks could no longer fly (they weren't allowed to access the sky) and they were forbidden to present their eggs to Yelm for blessing.

But ducks didn't want to take side with Orlanth either because they still loved Yelm. And when Orlanth slew Yelm, ducks decided that they shouldn't follow him. So when the lesser darkness came, they found themselves by the side of Humakt and others that choose neutrality. Humakt found on the company of ducks a small relief to the sorrows of those times. And Humakt became the Second Friend.

All along the lesser darkness ducks saw their friends in both sun and storm fields fall to the power of death. Being neutral, they didn't fight, but they decided that there should be something they could do instead of simply watch the carnage. With sorrow in their hearts, they started to boat the fallen friends to the Stix. TKT acknowledged their act and accepted their help in her work. That way TKT became the Third Friend.

Eventually ducks had to stop because the Mother of Durulz couldn't stand with the pain and discomfort of carrying an egg she could not lay. That's when BBG noticed them. She saw in the Mother of Durulz -which carried a son and couldn't give him to birth - the symmetric image of herself - she who could give to birth but couldn't carry a son. So, with a swing of her ax, she freed the son of the Mother of Durulz. For BBG that was a moment of joy: by that act she was somehow participating in the mystery of motherhood. And BBG became the Forth Friend.

Than came the Greater Darkness. Ducks wandered trying to escape both chaos and war. They eventually stopped by the Creek-Stream, only to fall in a trap laid by the Uz hunter god, Zong. But thanks to Eurmal tricks, ducks were able to escape the trap and turn-it against Zong, trapping the trapper. After long arguments, they liberated Zong and both became companions in hunting. That's how ducks fixed their residence in the place that would be called DP in latter times and how they found the Fifth Friend.

Those became since then the Five Friends of Ducks. In historical times ducks would organize their myths of the Duck Friends into a coherent set of magical practices (To be explained in a latter message).


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