> I'm not an expert on Glorantha in any way, shape, or form, so I
> realise this might have been explained in some source that I haven't
> even heard of, much less seen, but I was wondering if diamond had any
> of the impact that iron seems to have had on Gloranthan societies?
> Does diamond have any useful properties that are usable by non-Mostali
> craftsmen or magicians?
Apart from the common use as pretty bauble, diamond can be used for cutting glass and even gemstones. Since glassblowing is known in Ralios, I suppose cutting glass will be a useful property which can be performed with uncut diamonds.
Cutting gemstones with diamond dust doesn't really take high technology - a potter's wheel can be greased and dusted, and then a gemstone can be brought into shape by slowly grinding away. The abrasive effect on the potter's wheel will be significant, but copper plating or ceramics might mitigate that somewhat. The main question is whether anybody but the Mostali works as gemcutter. Given a place name like "New Crystal City" sort of suggests the craft, though. Close enough to Gemborg, the source of the technology can be guessed.
Jane Williams mentions the mysterious vanishing Falangian Diamonds, a type of magic crystal (i.e. divine blood spilled in the Gods War) with unknown magical properties.
> Any of the really long-term Gloranthan Gurus care to explain them?
The best theory I have heard links them to the Falangian Wine brewed by Argrath the Foodman for Gonn Orta using the Giant's Drinking Cauldron, probably as an ingredient. The Mostali have a use for them which might be similar in nature, given their food recipes...
Peter Metcalfe
> The old cult of Caladra and Aurelion did have a Diamond Edge runespell
> from Mostal (This was RQ2) which acted as a Bladesharp 8. The Cult
> Compendium (p230) seems to have updated this slightly by saying this
> can only be cast on stone axes and other weapons.
Probably resulting from the neighbourhood to Gemborg Volcano. I like the restriction...
> There is also the trivia fact that Adamant is the greek word for Diamond
> so the two substances might be related at some level.
They share the maximum hardness. Wikipedia tells us that "adamas" means "untameable", or probably "unworkable". (Which isn't quite true for diamond since it can be split into smaller pieces with hammer and chisel. Chipping off blades like with flintstone won't work, though, unless you're a Mostali.)
Other than that, I doubt that diamond has as much magical inertia as adamant. On the other hand, I like the idea of western sorcerers tapping diamond to power huge spells, leaving nothing but soot in the process.
John Machin
Elemental Progression and Hepherones' Philosophy
> I was wondering, assuming that Hepherones' Elemental Philosophy is
> correct and there is a sixth element, where would this fit in the
> Elemental Progression? Would it instead be a kind of neutral "axis
> 'pon which the others turn" sort of thing or would it take a place in
> the cycle, conquering one element while being conquered by another? Or
> wouldn't it fit in at all (thus showing that the Philosophy is
> flawed)?
The elemental progression actually is a network of relationships between all the elements. The pentagramm/pentacle presentation defines the interrelations between the common five elements. A sixth element would require a three-dimensional representation as the corners of an octahedron, or a projection thereof. The set of five elements would remain a subgroup of that map.
If one was a proponent of a sixth element theory, one might complain that the philosophy is incomplete, but it doesn't break down with the addition of another element. Just as you may have four-elements sequences in the five-elements model, you may have five-elements sequences in the six-elements model. Adding yet another hypothetical element would multiply the connections, but leave the basic idea of elemental interaction intact.
Powered by hypermail