>> That [the Stygians are] 'doing it wrong' is an objective fact, which
>> can be seen by the fact that their magic is cack by comparison with
>> those who worship the appropriate gods correctly
>Not quite. Those "correct worship" people don't live in cities with
>populations far beyond those manageable by the theist cults available in
>the region (Safelster mostly).
The Otkorioni Henotheists (being correct worshippers) do have better magic. Furthermore virtually all Safelstran cities hire pagan warriors and rokari soldiers as mercenaries because their war magic is so much better than the average stygian as well as being less likely to corrupt the city from within and impose their own lies about Arkat. That these mercenaries have not sezied control of the cities they guard is a tribute to the power of the Hidden Masters.
>Arranging with the peasants' theist
>background (which works fine on that level of society) while keeping the
>greater truths in mind for the aristocracy and the cities seems to be
>the mainstream reaction to the contact between Theyalans and Malkioni.
I don't believe the Safelstran peasants are generally full-blown theists. Perhaps at the fringes and certainly in Otkorion, the peasants are pagans. IMO most Safelstran peasants are Stygian just like their elders and betters in the city because it offers them the chance of becoming one of the Hidden Masters.
In effect I believe Stygianism is a democraticizing faith that potentially allows all to become enlightened. Most Hidden Masters are burghers who generally favour the status quo while there is a aristocratic minority that seeks to reverse their declining public fortunes. Offsetting the aristocratic masters are commoner demagogues and the radical levellers from the countryside.
Since they are a secret society, it would seem proper that they keep their deliberations on how their city should be run secret. The obvious corollary is that individual masters undoubtedly use their power and influence to engineer crises and nefarious plots to persuade their ilk to adopt their point of view. All of which makes Safelster a turbulent place to live in.
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