> I'm not sure where you're fitting the atheists in there - the whole
>point about them is that they don't believe God is accessible at all, with or
>without layers of priesthood. The group who take the view that God if
>accessible without the necessary intercession of priests would be the
>Hrestoli.
Well, OK, but couldn't some schools of "atheist" sorcery teach that the Divine is reachable without relaince of Church or Saints, and the Invisible God worshipped by most Malkioni is a distorting mask hung over the ineffable truth of a more purer Divinity? Their sorcery, then, would be an expression of their oneness with the Creator and their understanding of its pure laws. They wouldn't be atheist by 20th C definitions, but they'd be close enough for most Malkioni, I'd think.
Don't the Hrestoli require passage through the priesthood on the way up the ladder? The Lords of Loskalm certainly sound like theocrats.
> If there such a thing, I suspect the Perfecti are it. Certainly they
>appear to be mystics of some stripe, since they avoid the use of magic.
Definitely; it fits the Cathar model well. Although, there are so many bizarre European sects in the 14th C, it seems a pity not to adapt them -- flagellents, the Brethern of the Free Spirit, the Lollards.... The West, especially Ralios, should be lousy with them.
Peter Metcalfe says to
me:
>>Simon Bray talks about giant wasps, who could provide a sort of paper to
>>central Genertela. Also, I'm sure all those Gorokki-Bee clans do great
>>business provding the wax that makes up the Lunar Empire's version of a
>>Palm Pilot.
>
>Methinks this is far too close to simony for either the wasp riders or
>the bee clans. These are primitive cultures worshipping their beasts,
>not pulp and wax industrialists.
I wasn't really thinking industry anyway, more "cottage" production or even tribute to the Empire to be left in peace. However, you're probably right about the Wasp people, (I'm just as happy with that since I think paper is scarce), but Gorakiki worshippers (at least for uz) seemed to be quite happy to sell produce of their charges. Has this changed? On the other hand, there may be no uz worshippers of Gorakiki-Bee; Troll Gods only mentions Hsunchen. C'est la vie.
Peter Larsen
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