>Is that a fair summary of where we differ?
>>Yes it is.
My response to this is... sorry, check back later after my head has stopped spinning.
Nick:
>Joining the Council of Egi might ordinarily appear to be a prime example of
>what MOB referred to as being "kicked upstairs" to a position of "revered
>impotence on the Red Moon" (not a verbatim quote, pardon me for loose
>phrasing).
Close enough!
Apart from the Egi, I think there are many other positions of revered impotence on the Red Moon. For mystics, those in genuine honourable retirement, those who have suffered greatly for the cause, elderly "Model Citizens" (whoops, Soviet analogy again!), and other such types, it is a signal honour to be elevated to the Red Moon, there to spend the rest of your no doubt magically extended existence working on rarified pursuits in a state of satiated crimson radiance. But for those in the prime of life, it's oblivion as far as their temporal careers go (the House of Lords analogy is exact: see "Yes Minister/Prime Minister"), and an honour that is very difficult to decently refuse. But it's better than having your eyes poked out and shoved in a tower, which is one alternative way to dispose of rivals.
>But in the succession crises, it'd be like being one of the
>Tories' Men in Grey Suits who emerged from the woodwork during the glorious
>Fall of Thatch. I think there would be keen competition in certain circles
>to be "elevated" to the Council of Egi. Not just *during* a succession
>crisis, but throughout the normal political life of the Empire. A very
>Urquhartish position...
Agree entirely. "Grey Eminences" is another phrase that comes to mind.
>NB: I have assumed the Egi are *always* resident on the Red Moon, sitting as
>a heavenly Council, and not that it's a job one turns up to (like e.g.
>popping into the House of Lords for a quick vote).
Agree. As a general rule, I think going to the Moon is one-way ticket.
Martin:
>I think that they do leave the moon on occasions.
Maybe, but I think an Egi having an involvement in mortal affairs would be about as commonplace as US President Bill Pullman's leading the jet attack on the flying saucers in "Independence Day".
>Nope. But I do think they have some level of activity and I do think that
>they do NOT always have common goals. Some of them are beyond mortal
>concerns, some are not. Some are also worshipped entities in their own
right
>like Aronius Jaranthir and thus do manifest on the mortal plane.
I agree that they would not always have common goals, not even during an interregnal succession struggle. But I prefer to see them as exclusively backroom boys, mysterious, shadowy figures who really come into view only when a succession crisis occures. As Nick says, Veils, Masks, Illusions, Mirrors...
John Hughes:
>Whether
>or not you find the surface analogues useful (and its never been a single
>metaphor: elsewhere Nick has described the Lunar Empire as 'Graeco-Roman
>Byzantine Islamic Soviet Englishmen') you cannot fault the scholarship, the
>care, creativity and real *love* for Glorantha that have gone into the
>crafting of the various TOTRM visions.
I'm sure everyone who's been involved appreciates John's sentiments.
>In the same way, I didn't find MOB's comments about 'po-faced mythological
>journeying up Greg's bottom' particularly helpful, though I *do* understand
>his growing exasperation.
Sorry if I offended you. As Dame Edna would say, when I talked about "po-faced mythological journeying up Greg's bottom", I meant it in a caring, sharing, affectionate sort of way.
Cheers,
MOB
End of The Glorantha Digest V7 #615
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