RE: Lunar tricksters?

From: Weihe, David <Weihe_at_danet.com>
Date: Wed, 8 Mar 2000 17:38:41 -0500


> From: Andrew Barton <AndrewBarton_at_compuserve.com>
> Do tricksters have a social role in the Lunar Empire, as they do in
> Orlanthi society?

Yes. In any non-Orlanthi culture they are evil, and killed whenever they are found. Thus there role is like that of the witch in Germany during the Thirty Years War, or Defeatists in early August 1945 in Japan, an excuse for not realizing that the problems afflicting you are your own fault. That whenever you kill Trickster it just comes back in a more dangerous form never stops them, either, even though some Lunar scholars have figured that out.

I am not really clear as to the differences between Talastaring and Heortling Orlanthi, so I cannot say whether the former treat their Tricksters any differently than do the latter, and if so, how. Orlanthi are considered to be very weird by other societies because they sometimes keep pet Tricksters around, too drunk to do any harm. Non-heroquesting Orlanthi often agree with this assessment, until they have to perform one without him.

> Or would they be opposed to the empire, as an
> underground resistance? Or both?

This question assumes that all Tricksters are alike, and that they are an organized and unified cult. In fact it assumes that an individual Trickster will be able to form a plan and carry it out, so that two tricksters COULD form a cell, and recruit others. Facts tend to contradict these assumptions. Trickster may sometimes be a very powerful force, but seldom because the Trickster planned it that way. In fact, the more that a Trickster plans things the more likely they are to go awry.

Certainly some are opposed to the Empire, but others are probably happy to serve it to the best of their ability (and with friends like those, who needs enemies?).


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