>>Personally I'm waiting for ILH-2 as a guideline to what the Teshnans might
>>be able to do.
>This means, we can draw some analogies between the Solar Pantheon and
>the Teshnan, right?
ILH-2 covers the Lunar pantheon (the Solar pantheon is intended to be in ILH-3). What I was referring to what Issaries believes Lunar "mystics" are capable of and hoping to extrapolate from that. The chief difference between the Dara Happans and the Teshnans is that the Teshnans believe that all fires are equal, whereas the Dara Happans favour the Higher Fires above the Lower Fires.
>>Now the picture is more complicated as Vai Madar Sa is actually
>>a Vithelan Diety rather than a Teshnan one and the Teshnan
>>cults would work differently.
>Are there other influences in the Teshnos Pantheon? As they are
>very tolerant against other religions they seem to suck up nice
>customs or forms of worhsipping from other Pantheons as it helps
>their Enlightenment.
The Vithelan influence is accepted because Teshnos was once the part of the ancient land of Abzered (a land that also encompassed Vormain and Kralorela) so the Vithelan religion is seen as part of the Old Ways. Kralori influences are scorned because of the invasion of Sekever while the the only Vormaini found near Teshnos are bloodthirsty pirates.
The other major influence on Teshnos is from Pamaltela mainly in the influence of the cult of Tolat, which has been accepted as being part of Solf (cf Kab Tolat Solf - one of the three moving gods and worshipped by the Foot Soldiers) and also the Yellow Elves.
Lesser influences would be the Seleran Empire whose impact was twofold, in the shape of the animist Pentan overlords and the Dara Happans and Lunars exiled to Teshnos to cause spiritual turmoil.
Lastly there is the Dark Flame hidden deep within Than Ulbar (in the Wastelands) but worshippers of this flame are slain whenever exposed.
>>All the Five Gods are Fire Gods and so the Fire Realms
>>encompass their otherworlds and not just the Somash otherworld.
>What else is known about this Pantheon or these five gods? In fairy
>tales and myths from India and other countries in this region gods
>often become men to interact with people or are forced to become
>men. So is this also happening or has happened in Teshnos?
The Vessel of Light is literally the incarnation of the Five Gods (the current vessel is an incarnation of Zitro Argon, his predecessor Solf and an incarnation of Furalor is overdue). Likewise when a Teshnan mastered the Second Teaching (by finding there is no difference between his Life-Flame and his God's flame), he has become a lesser incarnation of one of the Five Gods.
>I agree, that the Somashi don't order other cults directly. But until
>another cult receieve word from the Vessel of Light or the Council
>of Five it has passed through one or more Somashis hands an minds.
The other Five on the Wheel can communicate with their own priestly hierarchies and don't need Somashi messengers. Moreover the Five Priesthoods largely do their own thing as they have done for centuries. The Council of Five usually becomes involved when two priesthoods clash with each other and are unable to resolve their differences or in the case of something extraordinary happening (like a Teshnan conquering Melib).
Secondly the Somashi do not expand at the expense of other cults. It is an article of faith that all the Five Gods are manifestations of One and the highest ranks of the Somashi priesthood know this in their own life-flame. Thus the Somashi are impelled by their own faith to ensure that all the Five Gods receive proper worship.
>If we take the numbers of the Zitr into account it is very difficult
>for them to have knowledge of everything what happens.
There are less than a dozen Zitrs but the Nobles, who are both the ruling caste and the higher ranks of priesthoods, are more numerous and more active in protecting their own patch. And these Nobles are not just Somashi but include Solf drug-lords, Furalor Woe-priests etc.
>(if I'm right, there
>seem some differences in the number of Teachings and the
>number of castes in both main rulebook and the Voices, too.
>I can point them out in detail if you like),
There are three teachings and four castes (counting the Zitrs). The fourth teaching in HQ voices is an error made by the in-voice proprietor.
>Some questions about the zitrs. In the Voices it is said, that they identifiy
>your life flame. In the Zin Letters the priests (2nd Caste) have the feat of
>identifying your life flame. As there are only a handful of Zitrs it seems
>very
>difficult for them to identifiy all new born babies. Is this a task of the
>priests
>instead or are not all babies identified?
I haven't seen the Zin Letters but the Zitrs can read the details of people's previous incarnations, not just their life-flames. Secondly there is little need to identify the life-flame of new born babes. In Teshnan funerals, when the body is cremated the officiating Priests take a flame from the pyre and magically embed it within the soul of a new born babe. That's how the Teshnans keep track of who was who in a previous life.
>You stated implicitly (if I understand you right) that every caste is
>looking in the appropriate lower caste for new members ...
That's for promotion and to judge whether the new members are ready.
--Peter Metcalfe
End of Glorantha Digest, Vol 11, Issue 194
Powered by hypermail