>I don't think Initiation into Humakt is anywhere near this severe. I'd
>prefer to think of it in terms of the life of Humakt and the stages
>Humakt went thorough.
Paul Bestwick :
>I agree with this point, but the decision about where to tie the
initiation
>to is more open to debate.
I think it's very clear. We know exactly what the orlanthi believe Humakt's initiation into adulthood was. You'd have to cume up with a damn good reason for Humakti to ignore that - if it's good enough for Humakt, it's good enough for me.
> .....I say this
because at this point Humakt still
>had some Storm powers and Ragnaglar was still part of the family. This
is a
>story about how things used to be not as they are now.
The whole godtime is 'how things used to be', I don't see that these points are relevent. We know that the orlanthi do not view events in the godtime as being so strictly sequential and logical.
>
My point is that the
>defining point of Humakts were his first use of death and the severing
of
>his connection to Storm. This to me is what initiation is about.
For me it's about assuming the responsibilities of adulthood.
>
You could
>then have the point that when the initiate reaches Sword status, they
are
>the allowed 'back in to the community' representing Humakt rejoining
>Orlanths household and so allowing them to join other cults as
initiates (as
>per GoG notes at the start). This reflects some real world religious
>communities where the leadership have much more dealings with the
outside
>world than most.
This is where Runequest has always failed (I'm not talking about HW here at all). I just can't imagine a Sword, someone who has dedicated his life to the service of Humakt above all others and a leader of the cult, then joining another cult as an initiate. It seems absurd to me, when's he going to get the time?
It's alos contrary to historical precedent. Ordinary people in ancient times worshiepd at whatever religious ceremony they cared to at the time and sacrificed to the gods that were relevent to their present needs. Surely it was the upper echelons of the religious community that tended to dedicate themselves to a particular deity?
Humakti are not leaders of the Orlanthi community. They have no place on the traditional clan ring. They are a weapon in the hands of their chief.
Of course I'm talking about what I see as the majority of orlanthi, there are exceptions and I'm sure some of them see it your way.
Si
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