> 1) Huraya.
>
> The first approach is that Huraya was just another "damsel in distress"
Don't think so.
> The second approach I have is that Huraya is the secret daughter of Ernalda
> and the "not-so-legendary-faithful" Heler.
A definite possibility.
> The third approach I imagined is that Heler was so very faithful to Orlanth
> that one night, he managed to take Ernalda's place and he spent the night
> with his king. Once again, Huraya was the result of this unlikely one-night
> affair.
Another definite possibility.
> Well, I'm aware that those ideas are highly subjective and wouldn't fit with
> most of your Gloranthas. But i can live with that, since i like them. I just
> was wondering if there were any material or suggestion that I could use to
> extend or replace those theories.
I've thought about her myself, and my own understanding is that she's such a minor figure that she probably doesn't have any Generally Accepted mythology. That is, the Orlanthi Tribes probably don't share stories of her, wacky Diffusionist theory notwithstanding ...
Remember, though, that fog and mist creatures have three possible elemental connections : Water, Darkness, and Air. So, the most likely solution is that she's the daughter of Heler and some unidentified Darkness goddess / daemoness. (and there are very few of these in the Orlanthi pantheon !)
> 2) Demons (or devils?)
> I'm a bit confused about demons, who they are and what they mean to do.
Trotsky will probably give you a more informed answer, but here's another :
> Is demon a specific name or just any kind of monster that fits in the
> general class of "evil creature from the underworld"?
There is probably a distinction between daemons and demons. These last would be your "evil creatures from the underworld".
> Are demons chaotic?
Demons yes, daemons (mostly?) no.
> Are they spirits? Minor creatures from the God Plane?
Daemons : No. Yes. They are like very small gods, or rather more like self-aware manifestations of divine attributes.
Demons (probably) : No. No. Demons are probably living entities of the Chaos Realm(s), and/or spirits, daemons or 'essences' that have been corrupted by Chaos (pending positive information on the Chaos Realms, if any exist as discrete areas of Glorantha)
> Can demons be "invoked", summoned?
That is indeed the most likely cause of the appearance of this whole class of entity in the Inner World.
> How? by who?
By summoning, spirit travel, or 'sympathetic' sorcery. For example, the Humakti can sacrifice to call Sword Daemons into their swords, shamans can travel to the Spirit World to call a Hearth Spirit into your home, and sorcerors can manifest the pure Runic powers of Inner World substances (much like physical manifestation of a platonic Idea within the shadow on the wall, so that the shadow becomes the Truth).
Chaos demons can be summoned and bargained with by evil magicians, as usual ...
> Can they be banished?
Yes, unless they are 'naturally' embodied ones.
> 3) Dragons and Chaos.
> Can one be affected by the other?
> What's the power of dragons on Chaos? Can dragons, and dragonewts, be
> perverted by Chaos?
Yes, but it's unlikely. The Hydra (of Pamaltela IIRC?) is a Chaotic True Dragon. Very nasty !!
Dragonewts can be affected by chaos much as any other creature, but their magic
gives them progressively more and more defense against such contaminations,
AFAIK.
> 4) "Outer space"
> I seem to remember that Glorantha is like a bubble (or rather an egg) inside
> an ocean of primal chaos... so somehow Chaos is the substance that lays "out
> of the world", no?
> how does that fit the "intersection of three planes" perspective? What's
> chaos from the cosmologic perspective (I mean compared to the planes)? The
> Chaos rune is not a "world" rune?
Chaos is considered to be 'outside' Glorantha by all cultures that accept the notion of Chaos, BUT : their definition of 'outside' is actually *cultural*, and what is 'outside' is in fact part of the Cosmos, and part of Glorantha. (actually : one of Greg's best semantic tricks to date!) Logically, then, and from our own POV, the ocean of primal chaos *is* part of Glorantha, and probably constitutes a separate Realm of the Other Side.
> 5) Magical Items
> How do you imagine the differences between the magical items of each magic
> system?
Shamanists create fetishes, or 'discover' 'naturally' magical totems.
Theists fill certain items with divine power, although this usually demands certain personal sacrifices. Some avataric entities manifest as objects instead of creatures.
Sorcerors create items that are attuned with a Node (or several) of sorcery. Such items are very often not permanent magic, but are powered by very long duration spells instead. Some natural things (such as power crystals) are naturally (or miraculously) resonant with the sorcery plane.
> Can the mystics enchant an item?
Some, yes : but they *shouldn't* !!
Bad grasshopper. No biscuit.
cheers,
Julian Lord
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