> What about other dead people who aren't in hell? Wyters? Ancestors?
Well, wyters don't go to Hell, as far as I know. When they leave the world, whether through "death," disbanding the group they represent, destruction or unbinding their host item, or whatever, they return to the power that produced them. So, if they served a particular god, they go back to that god. An ancestor sinks back into the undifferentiated mass of ancestors, etc. I think it's probably difficult to get a particular wyter back, especially if the group was disbanded or a lot of time has past. This is not the same as standard that has been sitting in a clan's shrine or a regimental hall for 200 years -- those wyters weren't "dead," only "sleeping."
I doubt if you could pull an ancestor back, either. If they have been dead for a while, they aren't much beyond an ancestor. Besides, if you are going to do a LBQ and probably die and get damned in the process (Kallyr's can't be the only one that went wrong), you might as well look for a more potent helper than Uncle Sven who made really good pies. (Now if he was the Pie-Making Dragon-Killer of Saird, you might have something....)
> One MGF thought on all of the above is that the magic of the LBQ is that
>it doesn't always bring back the person you went after. Sometimes it might
>create a new entity based on the questor's expectations, or in the case of
>one on the course of losing their individuality, reshapes them in the form
>the questor anticipates (or fears).
Could be, and it would certainly explain some things. On the other hand, I'm not sure that anyone goes on a LBQ with a detailed result planned -- you want help, but I think it's up to the gods (or Fate) to determine what you get. I also think that any "gift" from the Underworld will be a mixed blessing -- Arkat and Sheng being two excellent examples. Furthermore, say you really want Arkat back (and manage to convine a huge number of people to help you get him); what do you really know about Arkat? You have some legends, some dubious histories, and some cult lore -- the "real" Arkat (supposing you get the real Arkat and ignoring the effects of a millennia of being dead and worshipped) is not too likely to be what you imagined. None of this says your idea is wrong, but it would be one factor among many. The LBQ is pretty much a desperation move, I think -- no one does it on a lark.
> And on another note, we know that CA resurrection is sort of a lesser
>version of the LBQ. Do we know what the rituals and myths behind
>resurrection is in other cultures that have that power? I'd be very curious
>to know how it comes out from a Yelmic perspective.
I would guess that returning when Biijif becomes Yelm again would be a safe bet. I mean, Yelm dies every night and comes back every morning, so there's a pretty potent myth right there. In Alkoth, Shargash rules the living and dead -- if He tells you to get up and start living again, I don't suppose you argue. There are plenty of Earth Goddesses in Peloria, some of whom may have resurrection myths/powers. One interesting possibility is relife sickness -- in GRoY (hmm, maybe FS), we are told that Yelm was illuminated in the Underworld because He, the One, experienced (as Biijiff) being one of the nameless dead, the Many. Perhaps instead of Heortling-style relife sickness, Yelmite resurrectees return illuminated and less concerned with the world, more likely to join the Priests of Dayzatar than, say, be a tough warrior again.
On the other hand, Solars are pretty stern about rebellion, and resurrection might be considered rebellious. I suspect the Guardians of the Underworld in Solar Myth are even tougher and harder to sweet-talk that their Heortling counterparts.
Peter Larsen
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End of The Glorantha Digest V8 #466
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