On Godunya's senility.
>Well, this is a bit too simplistic for me, but I like the general gist of
>things. I prefer that Godunya _acts_ like this as a test for his
>subjects, but that he is really a shrewd old guy. He is the King of
>Heaven, after all. And every emperor since Daruda has proven in the end
>to be a dragon (except for Yanoor, but we have good reasons for why he
>didn't make it), so I choose to have faith that Godunya will as well.
And what about Good Ol' Shang-Hsa May-his-name-be-cursed? Obviously proving oneself to be a dragon in the end (or whatever we chose to call it) is not the same thing as being a wise, benign and capable ruler. I refer you to:
The Kralori know that their civilization is the most perfect
in the world. They believe their arts are the most refined,
their soldiers the most courageous, their cuisine the most
delectable, their rulers the most inspired, and their magic
the most impressive. _When_ (my italics!) presented with
proof to the contrary, they maintain that moral superiority
makes up for crude ostentation.
Genertela Book p21.
So it seems to me that proofs of Kralorela's imperfections are not hard to come by.
>So, this means that the Sun is literally a dragon as far as the
>Kralorelans are concerned. I wonder what they make of the Red Moon?
Given that the two states were joined during the time of Sheng Seleris, I have no doubt that the Kralori have been influenced by Lunar norms and have planetary rulers in the Celestial Court at Kuchawn. Perhaps the Red Emperor at Kuchawn is really TakenEgi, crippled by the Mad Sultan before being captured by Sheng and sent east? Of course, his cult will have become imbued by Kralori mysticism.
>For a really good example of this breakdown of the Uleria cult's aspects,
>just look at the names and natures of the three spells given to her in
>Gods of Glorantha: Erotocomatose Lucidity ("entertainment" = sex);
>Reproduce ("fertility"), and Community ("partnership").
Of course given that Courtesan is a communication based skill, I had always understood Community to be the spell to cast in orgies...
Kevin Rose:
>>>He _does not have to_ appear before the people to make speeches or
>>>proclamations (except in *very* special cases) and it is _not
>>>expected_ of him.
Me>>This sort of authority has to be maintained. The people have to
>>be made _aware_ of his authority whereever they look.
>But maybe not by public appearances. Did not the Japanese emperor speak
>publicly for the first time at the end of world war 2, when he announced
>the surrender? Until that point the contact that nearly all the people
>had was the his picture everywhere.
And how effective was the Japanese _Government_ during the years of the Co-prosperity Sphere? For example, the China Incident was largely driven by independant army commanders who ignored their superiors in Japan. To a large extent, the decline in governmental authority set in with Hirohito's father who went mad after contacting syphilis and became secluded as a result.
>I don't think this remoteness
>from the people adversely influenced the willingness of his people to die
>for him.
Willingness to die for him is not the same thing as willingness to obey orders from his chosen officials.
Duncan Rowlands:
>The fact that 99% of people believe in a divine being does not make it so,
>a few centuries ago the vast majority of people believed the world was
>flat, were they correct?
To be pedantic, they didn't. It was a 19th Century myth.
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