I have to say something, though I tried not to get involved, having said my piece at Gloranthacon V.
While the idea of ducks as created by the EWF is actually a very good one, I don't think it is true -- all of the other beastmen are specifically said to be such creations in KoS, but the ducks are definitely not in this list (page 103):
"The non-human races which survived the Dragonkill War were these:
Dragonewts ...
Aldryami ...
Uz ...
Beastfolk, of many diverse origins. Most of these had lately been prisoners and slaves of the Wyrms Minds Collective, or zoo specimens, pets, laboratory freaks, and demi-beasts.
Little People, including the wereducks of Duck Point, who hated the denizens of the marsh; the anstanabli ...."
King of Sartar makes a point of grouping ducks with dwarfs, and Wasp Riders instead of beast folk, and I think this is a telling fact.
Besides, the bit in King of Sartar about the ducks being "wereducks" makes me suspect that they originated as a hsunchen people at some point in the past, and now are stuck in a half-way state. Something like this would most likely have occurred during the Darkness or First Age, not just because of the machinations of the EWF.
Also, the idea of Arkat having once been a duck so appeals to me that I will not listen to reason, I'm afraid.
On the matter of ducks laying eggs. Although I admit the idea is cute, so that you can have duck parents pushing eggs around in baby carriages, I think it is not a good idea for two reasons.
First, I see no need to completely and irrevocably _change_ a _fact_ of Glorantha just for something Daffy-Duckishly cute like that. Different interpretations of myth are one thing, biological facts are another. Just because some people prefer this change, doesn't mean it is true. I'd rather the Gloranthan year were 364 days long, it would make things much easier, the whole world would make a lot more sense, etc. Don't make it true.
Second, the whole thing is just _too_ cute. Although I favor ducks as funny, not the serious creatures recently postulated, this is all going a bit _too_ far. Let's let the ducks keep some shred of decency, shall we?
Plus, the idea of ducks bearing their young alive was specifically mentioned in RQ2 as one of the important and debilitating points of their curse -- it is one of the main reasons they lost their flight.
If Sandy wants keets to lay eggs, I have no problem with that -- I think there is little if any relationship between the two species. But in Dragon Pass, the "cursed ducks" should remain as written, IMO.
Eric Rowe and I formulated a theory that perhaps the anti-Undead aspect of Humakt _originated_ with the ducks. Arkat brought the cult of Humakt to the Dragon Pass area in the First Age, that is fairly well-established. If the ducks already worshiped their own anti-undead deity, it is possible that that became a part of Humakt sometime during or soon after Arkat's campaign.
Another possibility: in the write-up in Tales 5, the primary anti-undead hero of Humakt is Li Phanquan, who is stated to be a yellow-skinned warrior from Kralorela. I suppose this guy could even be a keet from the East Isles, who came through Kralorela -- he does have "qu" in his name, after all. But I won't hold to this theory, it does seem a bit ridiculous.
Anyways, that's my take on the whole thing.
Stephen Martin
ilium_at_juno.com
- -----------------------------------------------The Book of Drastic Resolutions
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