Orbs and Gods Wall

From: Peter Metcalfe <metcalph_at_voyager.co.nz>
Date: Wed, 24 Jun 1998 23:53:34 +1200 (NZST)


Julian Lord:

>Well, IMHO there are/were several Orbs, anyway, which takes some juice
>out of these particular nits.

Which begs the question of why later emperors (including the current emperor, Argenteus) are not depicted with Orbs.

>It seems to me that arguments pro et contra whichever position would depend
>on a reliable dating of the Gods' Wall. When was it made/created ?
Plentonius >appears to have believed the Wall ancient, at the time of Khordavu's reign, >which suggests that the Orbs Ezelveztay/Orb of Authority/Orb of the Eye/Orb
>of X and an Orb-like thing represented by the Light Rune in Yelm's left
hand >were ancient relics from the"start of the world" (GRoY p. 62).

The Wall is simply an ancient frieze erected during the Golden Age. Secondly, when Plentonius says that the figure is that of the Orb (Ezelveztay) over the Seated Emperor, he is giving his _interpretation_. The figure could quite easily be a representation of the Sun (Yelm) shining down on the Emperor (Murharzarm?). Therefore the importance of the Orb of the Eye in Dara Happan mythology is not a necessity.

FWIW the 'Light Rune' in the hand is actually a ring. Khordavu holds a similar one on the cover of the GRAY. It's not part of the Regalia AFAIK.

>This would support Harald's position, but iconography can be easily
>tampered with ... and conspiracy theory is fun, too (all those
>cover-ups) ...

The Wall is engraved in Steadfast so permanent tampering is next to impossible. Although people have attempted to paint over some of the figures in historical times, I prefer to see changing interpretations as being the efforts of people honestly trying to make sense out of the Wall rather than diabolical plots intended to damn mankind.

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