Joerg:
>Good that the Orlanthi are less specific. Ok, so you can fragment
>someone's self into up to 49 pieces (at which point self-reassembly is
>deemed impossible, compare Orlanth's fight against Wakboth, KoS p.79).
>But if you encounter the walking dead or spirits, you know they are
>incomplete. You don't ask in which way.
Some of the current vagueness comes from the fact that the unthinking body/spirit dualism of the RQ rules obscured and discouraged the exploration of 'souls', 'breaths', 'parts' whatever. [Here insert 'Death to Neoplatonic vitalism' slogan of choice].
However, I most certainly agree with Joerg that Heortling beliefs are a good deal more pragmatic and fluid than the Dara Happan and Peloran ideologies. I believe that there are several overlapping tribal and cultic traditions, and that all will accepted as 'true' as long as the associated ritual or spell works on the day. Orlanthi understand the strong poetic and metaphoric elements of such talk (though they'd never express it in that way) while appreciating that a certain concreteness of your technology is needed when you're dealing with an unwilling ancestor or recalcitrant heroform.
As I've noted previously when discussing this topic, soul is not the same as spirit (a troublesome concept in itself), and each Orlanthi 'breath' is a contribution to wholeness, integration and unity of purpose. Like the ancient Hebrews, the Orlanthi value unity and wholeness, and their concept of 'breath' is not a simplistic body/spirit split.
The phenomenological orientation of the Orlanthi discourages excessive navel-gazing or theorising on *any* matter, yet they have a long experience with possession, communication with the dead, soul-loss, heroforming, ancestral possession, spirit integration, and initiation, and so must have a working vocabulary of the different 'breaths' which animate them. So while agreeing with Joerg on the fluidity of heortling belief, I do believe that concrete technologies and vocabularies (plural!) of 'breaths' exist.
I believe that Orlanthi belief includes breaths that are inherited, some that are awakened by various life events such as initiation, and some that are communal (wyter-breathes, if you will). There will also be substantial traditions associated with animal souls (totemic and power animals) and 'souls of place' that become inter-twined with individuals (very important for Odaylans).
My thoughts are still developing, and I'd welcome speculation and comment. There is a tremendous folk literature on the topic from most cultures, its a 'sub-cultic' religious theme that has universal fascination (and, in Glorantha, utility). There may be a few paragraphs in Thunder Rebels on breaths and breathing, depending on a) whether its fun and source-compatible, b) whether you can generate interesting scenarios from it, and c) whether it gets gregged or rodericked.
Cheers
John
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