>1) Are there any published sources detailing myths of the Lunar
>Empire? More specifically, myths about the Red Goddess and the Seven
>Mothers?
Since the actions of the Red Goddess and the Seven Mothers occurred within recent History, the lunars tend not to have myths but biographies about their heroes.
The earliest and best introduction to the Lunar 'myths' is the Lunar Wane Chronicles which are now out of print but may be returning in on Chaosium's web pages in the near future. They are written in an objective style but suffer from some minor inaccuracies (the old capital of the Carmanians is called Dolebury instead of Shahdash).
The Lunar Wane Chronicles are apparently written from a Tarshite or a Post-Sheng point of view as they do not make clear the ties of Lunar Mythology with the Old Dara Happan mythos. For an understanding of that, one has to look at the Fortunate Succession which is a list of deeds performed by the Emperors of Dara Happa throughout the years from Yelm himself right down to the Everglorious Moonson. Unfortunately the myths of the Red Goddess and the Seven Mothers are sidelined in this work as the focus is on the Emperors. This work-in-progress is available from Wizard's Attic.
Finally there are myths about what the Red Goddess was before she was resurrected by the Seven Mothers. These are scattered thoughtout two other works-in-progress, the 'Glorious ReAscent of Yelm' and the 'Entekosiad'. The mentions are quite fragmentary in some places and nobody who reads these tome can be sure what it is that the Red Goddess has done.
To dispel these insidious clouds of unknowing, the Great Sister has taken it upon herself to publish an illustrated pamplet called 'The Story of Our Red Goddess, called Rufelza' which gives everything that is needed to know about her to be liberated.
>2) While rolling up a High Llama Storm Bull initiate, one of my
>players asked me what exactly the taboo against horses meant.
Horses are evil in praxian eyes. Slay them but do not eat them. If you must touch them, clean your hands afterwards.
Joerg Baumgartner:
>There are uncounted cases of Hsunchen-peoples becoming "civilized" or
>barbarian, and various cases where the reverse development has been
>observed (Genertela Players Book mentions Galanini Hsunchen in 3rd >Age
Ralios, whereas in the late 1st and early 2nd Age there were no >true
Galanini Hsunchen but quite civilized horsepeople.
I don't think any cultures in glorantha are reliably documented to have
regressed to hsunchen-status. The advantages in becoming Hsunchen are
far offset by the numerous things that one has to give up. For all
Orlanthi in a clan to become Telmori for example (let's say they imitate
their wild neighbours), one has to give such things like the plow. That
alone puts a massive crimp in their population density (tenfold is a
good rule of the thumb) and thus their more-civilized enemies can defeat
them by the sheer force of numbers if the neo-hsunchen try and hold
territory. Plus their enemies get to have such advantages such as ride
horses, make metal arms and armor
and more effective forms of government. There's a good reason for the
location of most of the Hsunchen in glorantha. They are in territory
that nobody else wants (for now).
Given that the term 'hsunchen' also serves as an insult and the Galanini are elsewhere (white wolf writeup) said to be solar worshippers as were their ancestors before them, I'm of the opinion that the modern Galalini are not Hsunchen but their neighbours believe that they are. Even the 'civilized' pony-riders of 1st age ralios were labelled Hsunchen quite a few times by the seshnegi (most probably when they were at war with these pony-riders).
>IMO the Galanin-descended rulers of Galin fled into the wildlands and
>adopted the Hsunchen lifestyle to hide out from God Learner
>persecution.
They have a more nomadic lifestyle and less of a material culture than
they did in the days when they ruled Galin IMO but I don't see them
needing to turn themselves into horses to escape the God Learners.
>From the contemporary map of the 2nd age west (in the Sog City
Guidebook), it seems to me that the God Learners really didn't care
about what happened in the wopwops of the Ralian uplands so long
as their hold over Safelster was undisturbed.
Given the habit of raiding, I admit the God Learners sent frequent reprisal raids into the uplands to suppress the Galaninae. However the Ralian Orlanthi were just as hostile to the God Learners as the Galaninae and would have been subject to the same reprisals. Yet the Orlanthi did not revert to cow-hsunchenism, zebra-hsunchenism etc under the pressure of such attacks so I fail to see why the Galanini should revert to such ways (if they have ever held them in the first place).
>In the 1st Age the Pendali reverted to Hsunchen ways, too...
A large portion of them were traditional Basmoli before their dispersal at the hands of the Seshnegi.
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