Zzabur and sorcerers

From: Peter Metcalfe <metcalph_at_bigfoot.com>
Date: Tue, 18 Jan 2000 12:45:36 +1300


Steve Lieb:

>It has to be remembered that Zzabur betrayed and murdered Malkion.

Murder is a bit strong. He certainly is a Judas Iscariot but Malkion was killed because Zzabur refused to help.

>Rather the gulf which seperates Wizards and Sorcerors is as
>much a seperation within the sorcerous (Western) sphere as the
>Lunar-Orlanthi contrast.

There are however sorcerers _within_ Malkioni societies and it's not clear where they come from. For obvious reasons, I do not believe that the Church would allow the Wizard Caste to choose between becoming a wizard or a sorcerer.

IMO the sorcerers are considered to be commoners by most Malkioni as the first commoners in the Land of Logic were investigators of the physical world (and most of them became farmers much later as the world degenerated and they needed to eat). Thus there is a precedent of sorts for them, even though most churches doesn't like their atheistic ethos.

Sorcery may run in families or a doubting Malkioni may be dissatisfied with the answers to the Meaning of Life as provided by the Church and seek learning from sorcerers instead.

The sorcerers are tolerated because every Malkioni manor or city like to have a wizard working for them whereas the Church doesn't have surplus wizards to satisfy their wants. Hence the sorcerers are hired provided they don't publically contradict doctrine and lore (they might emphasize some points to cause doubt in others, such as "all the Ecclesiarchs before Pope Mardron the Good were hopelessly lost in heresy and error...").

The Church would consider the sorcerers to be schismatics, but some are burned as from time to time to encourage the others to behave.

Powered by hypermail