Exploring the unknown lands...

From: Alex Ferguson <abf_at_cs.ucc.ie>
Date: Fri, 21 Jan 2000 05:25:53 GMT


TERRA INCOGNITA:
> heroquesting in greg stafford's brain is sometimes dramatic, brasphemous,
> and sometimes solemn and formidable in some stage of expedition,

Sounds like what Nick has reportedly called 'an elementary channeling exercise'. (Another heffenbier (sp?), mein host...)

> IMO, in some stages I memorized correctly to see
> orlanth robbed shargash of magical entity: lightning boy,

Certainly LB is solar in origin, and the Shargash connection would make sense from at least certain perspectives. (Alkothi Times (Late Edition): SHARGASHI -- WE WAS ROBBED. Disputed Injury-time Winner Rocks Local Side, Referee Impaled)

> (I don't have information about same theme [the Grail Quest] in
> Pendragon)

We don't really have it yet in Pendragon, either. (gripe, gripe)

> the three thing distasteful about gloranthan vormai from RW japan:
> 1: only pirates?

Not only are not they not really typical of Vormain (unless the hard, outer shell of ravening piracy hides a hard, inner shell of piracy, which would seem a tad odd), as others have said, but bear in mind that the typical pirate isn't necessarily from Vormain at all. The same region has both the Fog Pirates and the Ratuki, for which you can blame Nils' charges, rather than mine... If there are any entire societies that exist largely by piracy, they're most probably in the east isles: though I'm sure they're rather laid-back, tolerant, and friendly in the manner they relieve you of your worldly goods, and indeed worldly existence.

The fact that the Tsankthi may not be much at all like historical Japan is no sort of problem at all, as far as I'm concerned. Bits of Vormain may take Japan as 'inspiration' (outright theft needn't necessarily be ruled out, either), but that doesn't mean it's purely a stereotype of Japan, and I sincerely hope that Japanese readers are offended by either how they resemble each other, or by how they differ.

> or is it derived from WW2? it is horrible idea.

I don't see any connection to the _pirates_ here, but I admit it's a compelling image in many respects.

> 2:gods and colour magic
> emperor Valzain, wizard Zaktirra, samurai Terask, and boatpeople Tsankth
> (especially, much japanese commentators mourned about description in
> TOTRM#17) are too-obscure and stereotype-mold.

The official material on these is exceptionally slight, so I'll certainly grant you 'obscure' in that sense. It seems harsh to call it stereotyped, though, if only for that reason. It tells people that Vormain has an emperor-god, a warrior-god, a very-nasty-sounding-otherwise-unspecific-god, and some piracy geezer, it's certain;y not intended to imply that's the sum total of their beings.

> 3:please don't hate us: blood-thirsty samurai and ninja succumbs whole land

Clearly Vormain has a warrior class, and to some extent they may resemble samurai, but of ninja-like critters I know nothing. If those are people's dominant impressions of mediaeval _Japan_, then that's presumably mainly an artifact of people's pre-occupation with Cool Martial Stuff

> do you think mistake all information or nothing! attitude to GTA membership?

Here you lose me; is this a reference to the large number of Generous Benefectors to the GTA from Japan (arigato gozamashita...), or a comment about GTA policies?

> idea
> some vormai hoped pilgrimrage to grave of saint hrestol the great as one of
> malkioni sect, they are oppressed in their domain by their pagan overlord ,
> and wanted support of high church of genertela (after 7th council?)
> circa Hero Wars.

Interesting idea, though it could work equally well with any 'oppressed Malkioni'. (As big a redundancy as 'squabbling Orlanthi', really...) Some particular 'hook' to connect Vormain (or ex-pat Vorumai Valkarans, a la Peter, or whomever) and the Malkioni heartland would be more compelling. The role of Vormain in the Hero Wars is remarkably obscure -- and I say that, not because I want to be deep and mysterious, but because I don't know yet. (Ditto Greg, I think, unless he's being _really_ deep and mysterious.) So brainstorming here is welcome.

> secret leakage of eastern prosopaedia from only available databank of GTA
> member:
> aether=vith=tarngatha

[etc]

These would all be 'correct' connections "on some level", though your use of an '=' symbol may be problematic to those of us with a mathematical bent. If you interpret them as being cognates, or as God Learner equations, or as connections made by some Gloranthans, then they all 'work' on at least one of these sorts of level. "The Petty Islanders claim they know TarnGatHa, whom they call 'Vith', but as they have failed to grasp his draconic essense, they understand nothing of him. [Abuse of God Learner Aether-equation deleted for family viewing]"

G'luck,
Alex.


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