M Cule's anatian monomyth:
Bravo! A good one! There's just one minor quibble:
One point that I haven't clearly decided is the question of live young
or egg bearing. Mythologically, there is no reason for the Duck-Keets
sacrifice to change them in that regard. So what I'm thinking is that as
the rebellious Durulz went north, Vrimak cursed them in that regard,
saying "If they wish to be the creatures of Orlanth let them be
Orlanth's in full measure." And so in this regard they became mammals
(the creatures of the storm). This curse did not deny them the power of
flight. There are flying mammals.
But there are no mammals who does not give their kids milk - that's the definition of a mammal. That doesn't mean it holds in Glorantha, but it's an old one in the RW.
So the question is: Does female ducks have tits? (The same person who maintained that ducks must have teeth, otherwise they couldn't hold their cigars, might perhaps reason: "Of course! What else would young drakes make locker-room comments on?") Do they breast-fed their young?
Back to Duckburg:
Ingo Tschinke:
Carl
Barks was first and best illustrator Walt Disney have ever had. He
invented
the comic idea of Donald Duck, his nephews, Daisy Duck and - Uncle
Scrooge
(in german we call him Onkel Dagobert).
Nitpicking corrections:
1, He was a writer, not only an illustrator (_very_ important point to
me, since I think the script is as important as the images in comics).
2, He certainly wasn't the first illustrator to work for Uncle Walt.
3, He did invent Scrooge McDuck, but Donald, Daisy and the nephews all
had appeared before in comics and animated shorts. He gave them
personality, though.
Back to Glorantha:
I hade another idea why their is sort of a peace between the ducks and
Delecti.
Ducks do have anti-undead magics, but the major reason Delecti doesn't
attack them is that they have control over the swamp.
The ducks have always seen themselves as _human_, except in looks. They feared the Dragonkill War (despite, they maintain, not being active Dracophiles). It was they who raised the swamp from the waters of their native river. Themselves in-between man and beast, their lands in-between earth and water, they hid from the dragons. So did Delecti and his minions.
The swamp is kept as large as it is by the ducks. Lakes and swamps tend to slowly be overgrown and disappear in certain types of terrain - and Dragon pass happens to be such a terrain. If the ducks did not perform their rites to the river spirits every year, the swamp would begin to dry out. The swamp, or rather its borders, gives the duck a favored, fertile habitat. It is rich in fish, insects and various water plants they love to eat. If the ducks wish, they can extend the swamp.
Delecti also derives his powers from the swamp. He has no real chance of moving in lands which are not covered in water like that. Outside, he would be struck by the curses of the dragons (or just devoured). Similarily, his more powerful creations (stitched-together dinosaurs, dream dragons, giants etc) cannot leave the swamp and its closest area. Delecti turned to the Vivamort cult just to get minions who easily can move outside the swamp. Thus his lands and lair became an haven for undead, not because Delecti likes them, but because no one else wants to work for him. (Which makes him Dr Frankenstein with his castle guarded by vampires. Suits me.)
Delecti knows that if he destroys the ducks, no more swamp, and he
becomes dragon lunch. Since his wonderful projects aren't half finished
yet, that must not happen. Thus no major actions are taken against the
ducks.
However, his newer minions need to feed on the life-force of sentient
beings. The closest sentient beings are the ducks. The ducks have turned
to intensive Humakt worship to reduce the number of vampire and ghoul
victims, and their Lismelder neighbours have followed suit. As mentioned
before, the Vivamorti really doesn't want duck minions (Count Duckula?
Naaah.) so they just suckem dry, they do not animate them.
The ducks, of course, know that they could wipe out Delecti by stopping their rituals and letting the swamp dry up. However, that would be the same as normal Orlanthi starving their cattle. They have no interest whatsoever in doing something like that.
Erik Sieurin
End of The Glorantha Digest V5 #109
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