>Which one is it? (or have I missed another possibility? ;-) )
I'm not sure quite what 'it' is. Are you asking what the real actual truth of Glorantha is? The Malkioni and Mostali believe in the existance of the IG and Mostal respectively, and believe that their magic would not, could not work without their beliefs being true. The Brithini deny this and are true atheists, believing only in impersonal laws which make all magic possible.
Asking "what if Mostal doesn't exist" isn't the same as asking "what if I (a Gloranthan) believe Mostal doesn't exist". What any one person believes doen't change the true nature of things, so realy this all just about definitons and language. Reality is actualy the same for Brithini, Malkioni, even Aldryami. They just slice their semiotic salad different ways.
Mostali magic only works if you believe in the existence of Mostal and proceed in your behaviour from that starting point. Their magic doesn't work, or at least works much less effectively, if you deviate from that as a basic assumption. Otehr people's magic, even sorcerous magic, may be founded on a world view that doesn't include mostal at all. That doesn't realy tell us much about the existence of Mostal though, because the Mostali might say that actualy these foreigner's magic couldn't work without the existence of Mostal whether they realise it or not.
Are the Mostali right? Who can say?
Simon Hibbs
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