Re: Lunars and Orlanth

From: Simon Hibbs <simonh_at_msi-uk.com>
Date: Tue, 13 Oct 1998 11:06:25 +0100


Ian Whitchurch :

>Why cant Orlanth and the Red Goddess co-exist ?
>
>I can understand why the Sartarite Orlanthi, or even all Orlanthi,
would
>believe this, but that doesnt make it true.

I happen to believe it is true, for two reasons.

Firstly, both are gods of the Middle Air and so are competing for the same 'territory'. Look at Peloria, the middle air is nice and peacefull, with a nice fixed unmoving moon keeping everything in it's place. Look at the sky over sartar, it's all storms and rain clouds and stuff. They're completely opposed and in conflict with each other at an elemental level.

Secondly, there is the philosophical dimension. The lunars believe that everyone can be integrated into the lunar way, all they have to do is follow the rules. They'll create a nice comfortable niche for your god in their empire and everybody will be happy. But the defining law of orlanthi religion and culture is that nobody can make you do anything. He's almost defined by his inability to tolerate such confinement and limitation of his freedom of action.

If you look at lunar mythology you will see that at no time in her myths does Rufelza (in any of her incarnations) actualy fail. She endures horrific suffering and undergoes deeply moving transformations, but she never actualy fails. All her apparent defeats are actualy victories in another fom, almost as though they were planned that way from the start. Orlanth has faced failiure, he has also recognised his own mistakes and acted to correct them. This is why the Orlanthi are fated to defeat the empire. In attempting to destroy Orlanth, the lunars face the failiure of their philosophy and it breaks them.

It's just a shame it's such a scruffy, smelly bunch of uncouth oiks that are finaly responsible.

Simon Hibbs


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