>> Wizards do not
>> cast spells for the average Malkioni because there are too
>> few wizards for that purpose.
>No, the wizard doesn't cast minor spells on his congregation,
>but he does perform all the communal magic which keeps the
>community safe and strong, the blessings and exorcism that
>makes minor, personal spells less necessary.
There seems to be some confusion over wizard.
The average village priest etc is not a wizard but one who is supposed to be more pious than the average Malkioni and trained in knowing the correct rituals to address God (Greg uses the term clergy to describe these people) to send the appropiate blessings for the whole community. In doing this, he is little different from the Knight who uses his magic for war, the farmer and his farming magics or the Lord and his rulership magics.
The Malkioni Wizards are far more important people that congregate in universities, run monasteries etc. They do not appeal to God but instead use their will to make the Cosmos do their bidding. The impious could describe this as commanding God and it's a bit of a touchy theological subject especially since these Wizards go off the deep end every now and then causing major embaressment all around.
>Take it from another angle then, on a fictive abstract power/number
>scale you have perhaps 1 sorcery adept with power 10 and 100
>malkioni commoners with power 1, 1 stygian adept with power 8
>and 100 stygian commoners with power 3. Don't take the numbers
>as any absolute.
I really view the numbers as to close to call for the adepts and the commoners on both sides have the same amount of power.
>But given the amount of god myths,
>I don't think the Doraddi are pure animists, mostly so yes, but
>with a touch of theism.
Even the oldest Doraddi myths have 'Gods' in them so I don't think that's an example of theism. For example, the Pamaltelan origin myth has Earthmaker being killed by Bolongo at a time when theism etc has not a chance to invade the South. So these should be viewed as myths about the Great Spirits rather than God myths.
Powered by hypermail