Rashoran illumination

From: Marko Perälä <perala_at_cc.joensuu.fi>
Date: Tue, 17 Apr 2001 21:34:33 +0300 (EEST)


I'm sorry I expressed my points badly. Let's try again.

> Here comes the question: Is there
> a non-chaotic form of illumination?

I didn't mean with this one the creatures, who are illuminated, but the ideals of the philosophy itself. The whole point in illumination is to see law and chaos as two parts of the whole like in Cults of terror. This is what Nysalor/Gbaji taught.   

> I know Rashoran wanted
> balance between non-chaotic
> gods and nations.

Well I don't KNOW it, but it was writen somewhere. Rashoran was born from the light that Xiola Umbar saw and began to helped different races and tribes to understand each other so the could work together against chaotics
of Greater darkness. That is the balance between non-chaotics against chaos.

> Nysalor changed it to balance
> between chaotics and non-
> chaotics.

I remember reading from Dorastor: Land of Doom that Osentalka was made from
the pieces of dead Rashoran. The illumination of Nysalor/Gbaji states that illuminates have knowledge of law and chaos being basically same. This is not what Rashoran taught. He teached understanding and cooperation, but chaos
was never mentioned in that context, only non-chaotics.

> If it exists, how does is it
> different from normal illumination.

If the basic philosophies differed so much, why should they be the same illumination. I think there should be a difference made between the concepts.
I want only to find out if the Rashorans version of this philosophy still existed somewhere and what elements in it would be different from Nysalor illumination. ( Both Rashoran and Nysalor are dead, atleast I think so. Therefore that should mean no trouble. )

> If things are so, then what
> about Arkat? He is said to be
> an illuminate, but his hatred
> to Gbaji would be rational if
> he was a Rashoran illuminate
> trying to eliminate chaotic
> heretics.

This was a thought that came to my mind. Arkat insane hate towards illumina-
tes started very suspiciously from my perspectively. He was an illuminate himself so why'd he start hating and persecuting them so suddenly. It'd seem lot more logical if he believed in a different form of illuminating philosophy that didn't embrace the methods of Bright empire. Insane hatred against heretics vs. insane hatred against ones own kind. I'd pick the first
one here unless someone shows otherwise.

> Also it is interesting to think
> about Arachne Solara's angle to
> this. After all she is presently the
> goddess of balance.

Arachne Solara keeps the gods and the world together with her net. What'd be more balance-keeping than that?

> Would e.g. a Ginna Jar initiate
> be illuminated in the Nysalor's
> or Rashoran's way?
> Comments, ideas, Explanations?

This I got from an unofficial net stuff as another idea that got me while writing the original message. There was a henotheistic Orlanth cult with lightbringer aspect, which had a subcult for all lightbringers. Ginna Jar was expressed as an avatar of Arachne Solara. The idea I had was about the balance. If illumination became from balance then what is the role of the goddess, who keeps the whole Glorantha from collapsing?

> I started to think about chaos and realised that most forms of chaos are
> corrupted from existing species. Humans => ogres, beastmen of sorts =>
> broos, octopus => walktapi, elementals => gorp etc.

I came to thinking that all or atleast many forms of chaos have a non-chaotic
form from which they have been corrupted to chaotics. I think this applies to
illumination also, since it was taught to mortals by Nysalor/Gbaji, who was
a chaotic god. Chaotic god teaches chaotic philosophy. Following this idea means that illumination had to be corrupted form of another philosophy. Since Osentalka was made from the corpse of Rashoran, which was corrupted to the chaotic god Nysalor/Gbaji, it's logical to think that Osentalka taught Rashorans ideals, which where corrupted, when Osentalka became chaotic Nysalor/Gbaji.
I hope this cleans the idea up a bit. I haven't read Hero Wars so I don't know how this works there.

Marko Perälä
perala_at_cc.joensuu.fi


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