King Karmanos etc.

From: Nick Brooke <nick_at_etyries.com>
Date: Sun, 6 Apr 2003 18:47:10 +0100


Greg writes:
>> Terra Incognita writes:
>> I don't know well about the death of "Carmanos"
>> cult in the Battle of Four Arrows of Light.

> Nor do I. I do not believe this is something in MY canon.

The reference is to your excellent Zero Wane History, an event at the = Battle
of the Four Arrows of Light:

http://www.glorantha.com/library/history/hle-0wane.html#four-arrows

: "The Second Arrow was Yanafal Ta'arn'ils, Wargod for the
: Empire and Wielder of Fury, who fell first upon the King
: of the Carmanian gods. King Karmanos was wounded in the=20
: assault...

When I was working on Carmanian background for you, I interpreted the "wounding of King Karmanos" at the hands of Yanafal Tarnils (identified = as
"King" in both appearances) as resulting in the extinction of legitimate Carmanian royalty: their royal "farr" was snuffed out. Hence the Blood Kings' Wars, when no rightful claimant to the throne could be found - by either side - despite half a century and more of campaigning.

I agree that it has no wider effect on the Carmanian Dualist church, = which
is still doing just fine in the West Reaches.

> It is possible that Idovanus is either a force that is=20
> neither wizardry nor theist, a mystic kind of philosophy.=20
> Alternately, it is possible that TWO ENTITIES are both=20
> worshipped as Idovanus. And it's still possible that it's
> an entity in its own short world.=20

"See the nonsensical cavorting you have to perform to believe in = 'misapplied
worship'?"

Why not just call it "defiant" and have done with it? :-)

> I think that this--Carmanos' true deep insights--is more=20
> important than his sycretization. The latter is more of an=20
> add-on to his true insight.

Utterly agreed. Carmanos was interested in the TRUTH, not in harmonising = (or
pillaging) belief systems. That his Truth led to the incorporation of = other
cults into the Carmanian way of life was a by-product. He was *not* a = God
Learner (or wannabe, or emulator): the Carmanians *despised* the God Learners.

>> Considering Syranthir's personal misfortune (his missus slept >> with his brother), the
=20
> Non canon for me, though not rejected by me either. (I just=20
> don't know that tale...)=20

That was my *deliberately* outrageous interpretation of your 0WH:

http://www.glorantha.com/library/history/hle-0wane.html#carmanian-empire

: Syranthir "left home and enemies after being betrayed by his wife and : brother."=20

Sure, there's other ways of being "betrayed", but this had the right = feel of
legendary depth to me, when I was working on the Syranthir cycle.

>> Ten Thousand might be very skeptical about rights >> based on kinship.

> This is true. Remember that they came form a land that was=20
> more Hrestol-oriented (meritocracy).=20

We'd best agree to differ, here, about how meritocratic the Hrestoli of Loskalm were in the early Second Age (and indeed are today), as this has = no
impact on the wider discussion.

Cheers, Nick

--__--__--

Powered by hypermail