Sorry about pretty much taking over Digest #114. I'd say it won't happen again, but....
Joerg talks about Tolat/Shargash:
>Not reasons, but useful meters. Gloranthan night sky gives an enviably
exact
>clock in clear nights, with an 8-hour index (Mastakos aka Uleria), plus
a
>measurer for the amount of night to be expected (Lightfore), and a
couple of
>planets which can tell you whether it is
Disorder/Harmony/Stasis/Movement
>week or not (Tolat/Shargash, blissfully absent during Theyalan Sacred
Time),
>etc.
My esteemed colleague Jorganos Longstride failed his World Lore (or Star Lore) skill here. Tolat/Shargash has a period of 4 weeks -- 2 in the sky, 2 in the Underworld. Thus, he is visible in Disorder and Harmony weeks one year, then in the Underworld the next year. He is visible in Sacred Time one year, and not the next. Assuming he rises on Freezeday, by no means a given. My guess is that he probably splits the week, so he is _always_ visible at some time in the Theyalan Sacred Time.
BTW, his 2-year Cycle indicates (to me) that his holy days would be on a 2-year cycle, resulting in one High Holy Day every two years, not every year. Has any of the SFC noticed this?
Dave Dunham
>I don't think it's popular among the other Orlanthi (though they
>undoubtedly watch for unusual portents, like suddenly moving stars or
>comets [does Glorantha have comets?]).
Most assuredly Glorantha has comets/shooting stars. In Prax, they say they are bits of the Spirit World escaping into the physical world, IMO. I am sure Orlanthi would view them somewhat the same, while the DHs would undoubtedly take a different view.
The problem with Gloranthan "astrology" is that all of the planets have too regular (and short) a period for it to work the same way as in the RW. Except for variations in the Southpath, there is a Grand Cycle every 248 years, as opposed to the RW where it takes, what, 10,000 years? This is a big degree of difference in predictability.
If the Gloranthan stars had a precession (or whatever) beyond their rotation every year, this would be solved (that's the cause for such a long Grand Cycle on earth, or so I am told, rather than the planets, though they are not so obviously predictable as in Glorantha). But Greg seems pretty clear that they aren't. The only disruption since the Dawn has been the Sunstop, when all the stars stopped moving.
Still, some cultures would have evolved some sort of Astrology based upon the stars, planets, and special features, particularly things like Jugger, the Sky Storm, the Northern Lights (yes, they have those in Glorantha, too), and the Lost Rocks. Other phenomena would probably be factored in as well, in addition to celestial things -- local omens and weather are good examples which I think the Ralian Orlanthi would pay more heed to than the stars.
Eric Sieurin
No matter what Eric says, I am in favor of Duck Vampires -- they are just too cool. Not real effective, true, and they are even more ostracized by human vampires than ducks are by humans. But they are still way cool.
FTR, I like Darkwing Duck, too, and am all in favor of Quack Fu. So sue me.
>Or the duckish Odayla teach Command Insect spells, and special
>bughunting tactics, and have some insect spirits/gods as allied cults.
This is a cool idea, however, exactly what I would like to see in ducks. After all, what good is Odayla when ducks are hunting for swamp weeds?
Finally, do Theyalans, including ducks, distinguish between Chaos and Delecti and his undead? I think not -- they recognize Delecti as chaotic, and the swamp as well.
Sergio Mascarenhas on the Genesis of the Upland Marsh Without reading Sergio's post, let me just say that Greg has said that at the time of the Dragonkill War (i.e., before Delecti), the area where the Swamp is now was a series of clear lakes.
I also got the impression that part of the reason for the creation of the Swamp was the damming up of the Creek Stream River.
Consider this -- perhaps the Swamp was formed later, when Belintar changed the flow of the River? I am sure that, for a time, the River had no outlet, until Belintar created the New River. So, Delecti may not have created the Swamp at all, he may have had to do other things to escape the dragons.
Like become a vampire and turn all his people into zombies, so that they would no longer qualify as humans, and thus would be safe from the dragons.
Stephen Martin
ilium_at_juno.com
- -----------------------------------------------The Book of Drastic Resolutions
End of The Glorantha Digest V5 #117
Powered by hypermail