Simon Bray :
> Having had my interest peeked by the Tusk Rider stuff. I hvae been
> reading up on the little pig squealers. What is the take on the
> Earth Goddess that summons Gouger into the world?
According to the Elder Races book, she did it to punish the Dragon Pass people who no longer worshiped her and made war instead.
My take is that the blood soaking the Earth awakened her Darker aspect and she sent Gouger to show that she was pleased, as a challenge and a gift for the one who would be the strongest and most cruel.
> I am inclined to believe that this could be somthing to do with Ana
> Gor and Sorana Tor, my reasoning is that the Bloody Sacrifices of
> the Ivory Plinth and the Appease Earth ritual of the Bloody Tusk
> seem very similar to the magic of Ana Gor, which in turn were derived
> from Gouger. Another option may be Maran Gor, although Gouger would
> then have looked more like an apatosaur or somthing ;-).
The rites of Ana Gor as known to the Dark Earth cults sound like a good option, but sure a pig-oriented earth connection would be good. Besides the Tusk Riders' cruelty goes far beyond what I know about the Dark Earth.
> Do the Tusk Riders see themselves as worshippers of this Goddess?
The Earth Goddess is an active part of their pantheon but the worship she receives seems to be mainly collateral, as the cult of the Bloody Tusk encompasses sacrifices to her.
> Is she bound up within their religion at all, or just an excuse
> for blood shed?
If the Tusk Riders stop their sacrifices, their Tuskers turn against them, so she's not just an excuse. I think Tusk Riders simply accept, as their religion and way of life, that killing and raiding and war and savagery are the only acceptable way, and the weak who deny this are Bloody Cut fodder. The Tusk Riders loathe the fools who pretend to hide that humans are bloodthirsty, sadistic killers. They don't hide it and treat any weaker than themselves as they deserve.
> On the theme of Tusk Brothers, I think it would be a shame to loose
> them, in my Glorantha they are Sacred, children of Gouger born in
> Tusk Rider form with the ability to return to the form of great Tusk
> Boars. They are more like swan maidens than Hsunchen, that is they
> are part of the magical nature of Dragon Pass and environs, a relic
> of the EWF. What do people think??
Why not? That's possible that they see themselves as descendants of an antediluvian pig Earth goddess and that some of them inherit shapechanging powers.
Concerning the EWF heritage, never speak in front of them of an hypothetical breeding with trolls, though!!
Jerome
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