> We know that Glorantha is made of three kinds of
> "stuff" put together and other things: the
> Theist/Sorcerous/Animist stuff, I mean.
>
> We are taught that the Three Worlds collided and that
> Glorantha is a kind of Star Crash Universe.
>
> BUT this "accident" happened before Time (as I
> understand, at least).Right?
In one sense.
In another sense, it's a continually ongoing process : the collision of the n Worlds is set to happen all over again during / _as_ the Hero Wars.
> Therefore:
> Is it correct to say that "The Three Worlds collided
> one against the others" OR "The Three Worlds burst out
> of the same source" are two non mutually exclusive
> statements?
That's about right, except that the sort of dualism that's implicit in your statement didn't really exist at the "time" AFAIK, and ultimately it still doesn't, except in the Inner World, up to a point.
The mutual exclusivity of the n Worlds, the crashed-together nature of the Inner (and some [parts] of the other) world(s), and the single ultimate Origin of Glorantha are all truths (as far as they can be so), but appear to be ultimately derived from cosmic singularities and supernatures that cannot normally be resolved without utter distortion into the pervasively dualistic/opposite nature of human/mortal speech (and, according to some pessimistic theories, human/mortal thought), except where and insofar that they have acheived crashed-togetherness (in the Inner World).
Which would appear to be a self-contradictory statement, BTW (a materialist should properly dismiss the above statement as "incoherent gibberish"). (cue smart-aleck stage left)
The crashed-togetherness is ultimately a mystical or alchemical essence ("Togetherness" is a core avenue for Gloranthan Mysticism), not a materialistic consequence, even though it has material consequences for the shape of Glorantha.
The "secondary causes" of the n Worlds crashed-togetherness level (not the mystical/alchemical primary causes) are the ultimate level most people should even think about (there are n Worlds, having the following xyz consequences in Glorantha as a game world ... ).
Fortunately, the mystical or alchemical properties of crashedtogetherness are AFAICS completely irrelevant (except as a game world sub-structure) to Gloranthan roleplaying. They are only relevant to Glorantha as a mindscape, and as a tool to unlock some parallel understanding of ourselves and RW. **
Less excruciatingly, and definitely more usefully, "The Collision of the Three Worlds" is just another Gloranthan Creation Myth ... :-)
Julian Lord
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