From: RuneQuest-Request@Glorantha.Holland.Sun.COM (RQ Digest Maintainer)
To: RuneQuest@Glorantha.Holland.Sun.COM (Daily automated RQ-Digest)
Reply-To: RuneQuest@Glorantha.Holland.Sun.COM (RuneQuest Daily)
Subject: RuneQuest Daily, Wed, 15 Jun 1994, part 4
Sender: Henk.Langeveld@Holland.Sun.COM
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From: MARTINCRIM@delphi.com
Subject: More info on Cam's Well; some on Moonbroth
Message-ID: <01HDJN0WFC3M90P4A4@delphi.com>
Date: 14 Jun 94 16:27:05 GMT
X-RQ-ID: 4584
CAMSWELL.8 Copyright =FE 1994 Martin R. Crim
All rights reserved
THE EARTH GODDESS
TRIPARTITE DEITY OF THE NATIVE FARMERS
The native farmers worship the Earth in their own way,
ignoring the standard forms used everywhere else. They worship
the Earth as a three-faced goddess of love and death. Her faces
are the Maiden, the Mother, and the Crone.
The Maiden's face is loving and young. She smiles, and each
of her teeth is a gem. With her hand, she gives us the first
fruits and the tender new shoots of grain. The Mother's face is
plump and warm, but lined with care. She too smiles, but she
also cries. She holds forth a sheaf of grain and a handful of
edible herbs, gained with much sweat. The Crone's face is ugly
and old. She cackles, and her few remaining teeth are dark and
crooked. She holds forth a fetish to curse her enemies, and a
piece of bone from her dead husband. =20
Each face also has another side, usually hidden (and the
Maiden has a third side). The total of six aspects (ignoring the
Well Goddess) corresponds to the standard Six Earths. The native
farmers differ in treating them as all one cult, and in
preserving other archaic features of Earth Worship. Unlike
everyone else, the native farmers ignore the God-Learners'
genealogy, calling the three goddesses by names belonging to
older Earth goddesses. They remain uninterested in the God-
Learners' careful assignment of myths to different aspects. The
native farmers never systematized their religion. Thus, the
following notes represent only an outsiders' viewpoint.
Native farmers often speak of the Earth as dead, without
distinguishing between Genert and Ernalda. In any case, shamans
and priestesses can still reach the Earth's spirit, or at last AN
Earth spirit.
Each temple emphasizes two aspects of the Earth. One is
always the Mother in her Benevolent aspect. The other is usually
a Maiden or Crone aspect, incarnate in a local spirit. These are
essentially sub-cults which give the spells Ernalda receives from
her associates. The Silver Crone provides Asrelia's Hide Wealth.=
=20
The Red Maiden grants Babeester Gor's Axe Trance. The Devouring
Mother grants Maran Gor's Blast Earth. The Grave-Digger grants
Ty Kora Tek's Bless Grave. The Virgin grants Voria's Invigorate.=
=20
The description of the individual settlements gives the sub-cults
present at each. =20
Although Prax has no living land or grain goddess, the many
local spirits funnel worship to the distant Earth Mother. At the
Paps, Earth worship depends upon the power of Eiritha, whose
center of power is there. At other Earth temples in Prax, Earth
worship depends upon a local spirit. The spirit is often called
a nymph, even if she is technically not one. The cult uses the
local nymphs as channels for the power of the primeval Earth. At
Cam's Well, Cam herself is that nymph, an incarnation of the
Maiden generically called the Well-goddess. Elsewhere in Prax,
Well-goddesses provide Dowsing.
Although the native farmers have not systematized their
religion, they have a rich tradition of myth and belief. Earth
religion permeates their lives, and all native farmers know
something of the three aspects of the Earth.
The native farmers sometimes give the Maiden the title of
Empress Earth. They know three aspects of the Maiden. The
bright aspect resembles Voria, the dark aspect resembles
Babeester Gor, and the third aspect is the Well-goddess.=20
Children come under the Maiden's special protection, and she
holds up one half of the Gate of Marriage (the right half, as one
views it when approaching). All persons belong to her until the
adulthood ritual, which occurs around age 15 or 16. Young women
of priestly families become priestesses of the bright aspect
until they qualify to be acolytes of the Mother. Temple guards
also belong to her, in temples that emphasize the Red Maiden. =20
At Cam's Well, the shaman-priests of Cam the Maiden
dominate. Instead of being a stepping stone, priestesshood in
the Maiden is the ultimate prize. Less lucky sisters become
priestesses of the Mother or shamans of the Crone. All but the
very old and the shamans belong to Cam. Well-goddesses elsewhere
only rule over specialists in well maintenance.
The Mother corresponds fairly closely with the standard
Ernalda cult, but with elements of Maran Gor. The people
sometimes call her Ga or Gata. She holds up the other half of
the Gate of Marriage. The House or Room of Birth is her womb.=20
Native farmers undergo the Ernalda initiation rite at adulthood.=20
Those who belong to the Mother have the obligations and benefits
of Ernalda cultists. The native farmers have no grain goddess.=20
The dark Devouring Mother aspect demands blood sacrifice and
unspeakable rites.
The Crone has the nickname Earth Witch. Her arms form the
gate of death. She dwells in tombs, but also in storehouses and
treasure troves. She contains elements of both Ty Kora Tek and
Asrelia. Shamans of the Earth and old women belong to her.=20
Devotion to her requires initiation in the Mother and the
sacrifice of a point of POW. She has no priesthood, only
shamans. =20
The Earth cult has pervasive influence on native farmers
culture. The priestesses and shamans rule the society. They
inherit the positions from their mothers, thus forming the
society's only hereditary elite (except in Indagos and Pavis).=20
The cult leaders' families can read and write, and preserve their
culture's lore.
Native farmers organize their Earth temples on familial
lines. One or more priestesses serve the tripartite Earth. Less
important relatives become Earth Witch shamans. Spiritual men
become acolytes of the Earth or priests of a local god. Old
women of the family prepare the dead for burial. =20
Native farmers earth festivals occur four times a year.=20
They alternate feasts and fasts. The first holy day falls on
Freezeday, Disorder Week, Sea Season, which marks the Dawn and
the first day of the new year. A feast begins at dusk on the
night before, and ends shortly after first light. The second
festival falls on Fireday, Death Week, Fire Season. Cultists
fast all day, and the priestesses perform rituals at noon. The
third festival falls on Freezeday, Movement Week, Earth Season.=20
This is the High Holy feast, celebrating the harvest, and begins
at dusk. The fourth festival is a solemn fast, and the cultists
engage in ritual mourning. It falls on Fireday, Truth Week, Dark
Season. The cult also has Sacred Time rituals.
Someone who wanted to join the native farmers' Earth cult
would have to prove his or her friendship to the people of the
Earth. Skills matter little, except to prove one's worth after
joining. Slaves and nomads may not join.
In Pavis, the Sartarites dominate the Ernalda temple.=20
Native farmers join, but look to their own priestesses for
guidance. Those priestesses must accommodate the Sartarite forms
of worship, celebrate the standard holy days, and obey the
Sartarite High Priestess. They cannot emphasize any of the other
aspects of the Earth as they normally do, although children join
Voria.
=2E..
MOONBROTH is a place of ancient prophecy and weird occurrences.=20
Foremost among the weird features is the geyser, which sends its
jet up every Wildday. The well-goddess who inhabits the geyser
speaks wisdom and power to her inner circle, which often includes
mere initiates and sometimes even nomads.
The Lunars have a large presence here, not only Sable Riders
but also Pelorians. They have built a large fort, with a
monument to their victory over the Bison and Impala nations. The
size of the Lunar garrison is a secret. The Lunars improved the
walls of the adjacent town, provided seed-maize to the folk, and
propitiated the geyser goddess. They need not have bothered with
the last step, because the goddess welcomed them. The name
Moonbroth is not accidental, and most of the goddess's prophecies
have concerned the Moon to Come.
About 400 native farmers inhabit the town. The Lunars treat
them as a subject people, which is quite an improvement over
being the nomads' slaves. Some joined the cult of the Seven
Mothers immediately after the nomad defeat nearby. Most kept up
the Earth rites, and the Lunars have made no move to suppress
them.=20
Moonbroth has a minor temple to the Seven Mothers, shrines
to The Earth in her Benevolent Mother and Well-digger aspects,
and a permanent shrine to Gagarth. The Lunars announced that
their fort eliminated the shrine to Gagarth, but no one has
tested their claim.
[part 2 of RQ Daily posting]
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From: Ana@fenix.fipnet.fi (Antti_Heiskanen)
Subject: Pictures
Message-ID: <9406141943.17m2@fenix.fipnet.fi>
Date: 15 Jun 94 07:43:55 GMT
X-RQ-ID: 4585
David says:
>Caladraland looks like a much grimmer place than I had imagined (I had
>pictured something mre Hawaiian), but the barrenness makes a lot of
When I made the picture, I didn't think so much how fertile land look
like. I concentrated trying to make a vulcano and lava. But maybe you
are right, it might be too grim. I have sent a new picture (not so grim
looking) to Shannon, who will hopefully put it to FTP site soon.
>I do not recognize the rendering tech you used. Did you start with an
>exiting image? Or do them from scrath? Do tell.
I use Amiga and program called VistaPro . VistaPro is a landscape rendering
program. First you make the landscape you want the picture from and then
you set the snowline, direction of light, place the camera... etc. It is
for PCs, too.
-antti
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From: jacobus@sonata.cc.purdue.edu (Bryan J. Maloney)
Subject: Re: RuneQuest Daily, Tue, 14 Jun 1994, part 5
Message-ID: <9406141858.AA17805@sonata.cc.purdue.edu>
Date: 14 Jun 94 08:58:53 GMT
X-RQ-ID: 4586
"Yelm" = Yang Long, the sun dragon
"Dayzatar" = Tien Long, the celestial dragon
"Polaris" = Shing Long, the star dragon
I like these names, but I have one small problem with
the name Tien Long. Knowing RQ player's and
scholar's propensity for forging links between
similarly name beings, is it really wise to name a
dragon "Tien"? :) Especially considering the Kralori
link to Atyar? Just a friendly suggestion.
Actually, I think using "Tien Long" for Dayzatar-ish dragon is an excellent
idea, especially when some Theyalan Gloranthans hear about it. If any should
meet a Kralorelan scholar and challenge him on this particular name, I could
hear the conversation:
Theyalan Scholar: How can you honor a creature named Tien? Tien is a chaos
god!
Kralorelan Scholar: Tea is tea, whatever the cup's color.
>I too believe that much of a dog's docile behavior stems from the fact that
>his owner(s) are in loco parentis and that he is still emotionally dependent
>all of his life. I always thought that wolves were categorically different;
>I had read that wolves would never be "tame" like dogs, and that keeping
>one as a pet (assuming that one had enough space) was dangerous. The other
>day, however, I met a friend with a great big, friendly, happy, outgoing dog
>who showed no signs of being uncomfortable among many strangers in a strange
>place. I asked what breed of dog he was, and found out that he was a timber
>wolf! Not a wolf-dog mix, pure wolf. His owner said that he (the owner) assumed
>the role of the pack leader and that as long as he (the owner) was appropriately
>assertive during exercise and play, he (the dog this time) was exceedingly
>well-behaved. "He's not a slave," the owner said, "He'll never cringe or abase
>himself, but he's perfectly happy to accept my leadership."
I have to differ with you here. It's already been documented that behavioral
traits can be bred in various dog species. In fact, there is currently a
large project going on to track the breeding of some of these behavior traits
through controlled breeding mixes among various dog breeds.
Furthermore, that dog-wolf mix may very well be "well-behaved" but only if the
"pack leader" is around. The wolfishness will out in too many situations,
including the acts of small children. I know many dogs that you can trust with
children. I, myself was often watched by a boxer when I was very young. This
dog would never have mauled me nor my sister (in fact, she never mauled anyone)
The results of leaving a wolf mix with children are already too tragically
documented.
The reason that most dog breeds are so well-behaved is that we KILLED dogs that
weren't well-behaved. Thus, aggressiveness was very severely "punished".
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From: lindsell@rschp1.anu.edu.au (Graeme Lindsell)
Subject: Well, what am I going to talk about today? Loskalm perhaps?
Message-ID: <9406150609.AA03962@Sun.COM>
Date: 15 Jun 94 21:07:44 GMT
X-RQ-ID: 4587
Graeme Lindsell here, talking mainly about Loskalm again,
funnily enough...
Sandy Petersen on non-Sartarite Orlanthi:
> Lankst is probably the most advanced of the Orlanthi areas in
>Ralios, but it is crude and uncivilized next to Sartar.
How sophisticated are the Orlanthi of Pameltela? They were out of contact
with Sartar for the entire Closing, unless they had some Teleports set
up. (Could people fly over the seas using Sylphs during the closing?)
John Hughes festival - that I liked! I'd like to see more of the same,
about how people live in Glorantha.
David Cake on Hrestoli theology:
>Then came the prophet Hrestol - he claimed that there is a way to
>return to the perfection of the Kingdom of Logic, by striving for personal
>perfection, and sometimes this even leads to Immortality again (or rather,
>skilled wizards can learn to cast the immortality spell).
Hrestol saved the Kingdom of Logic? Don't you mean Malkion, unless you
put the KoL at the Dawn?
>Because Chaos was not part of the world,
I don't think this is a universally held opinion amoung the Malkioni. Chaos
to them may have a different meaning than to the cultures of central Genertela.
>and sometimes this even leads to Immortality again (or rather,
>skilled wizards can learn to cast the immortality spell).
I believe that Brithini immortality is a spell, created and maintained by
Zzabur and the other Brithini sorcerers. Malkion was known for promising
Solace and having children, both alien to the "No Sex Please, We're Brithini"
outlook - I think the immortality and restrictions came after him.
> My big change to Hrestoli society that I would like to moot here -
>if (as accoding to Sandy) positions like Squire, Acolythist are actually
>able to advance up the hierarchy quickly, this implies that the standard
>tests for caste promotion are subject to some variation.
The medieval world was divided up into "Those who work, those who war and
those who pray" wasn't it? The Malkioni have those as well as "those who
rule" as a separate group. I think the Hrestoli requirements are
Those who produce
Those who fight
Those who pray
Those who rule
The "productive" requirement means anyone who has a productive skill can
try for promotion, with productive being defined to suit those setting the
test. Skills at farming or manufacture obviously apply: a Squire or
Acolythist probably can use Craft (Armouring) or Ceremony. Merchants or
bankers without any "productive" skill as part of their work would be in
trouble.
IMO the skill requirements given in RQ3 for advancement into any position -
Acolyte, Priest, Rune Lord or the Hrestoli classes - are less important
than whether there is a position available to be filled. If you get the
10 points of Rune Magic and the skills, but there is already a local priest
with all the acolytes he needs, tough!
In Loskalm, this means there has to be a knightly position to be filled.
This probably means in the huge standing army Loskalm supports (there has to
be some reason for it). The Fronela write-up mentions that there are
thousands of trained but unarmoured troops available ofr local defense in
Loskalm - these are probably those peasants who've passed the tests to
become a knight but haven't been able to get into the army yet to do their
"national service". They'll still be working as peasants and not be
entitled to advance to the priesthood until they've fought for their country
(or sat around the capital in a guards regiment, if they have powerful or
rich relatives).
I suspect it might vary thoughout Loskalm - there are some areas where
the children of Wizards and Knights go through on the nod, while in
others the requirements are strictly enforced.
Sandy Petersen writes re Loskalm:
> Maybe now that the fog's gone, the exile solution is starting
>to have problems -- folks who are kicked out no longer vanish into
>oblivion. Instead, they form small hostile communities, and cause
>trouble among the neighbors.
A question about the Ban - what happened if a "community" split up in an
region under the Ban frex a group in Jonatela spits off from the rest of
the Kingdom? Did the Ban come down between them and divide them up, or were
the borders of the Ban fixed in place in 1500? The size of Loskalm without
any internal divisions shows how homogenous their sociey is.
--
Graeme Lindsell a.k.a lindsell@rschp1.anu.edu.au
Research School of Chemistry, Australian National University, Canberra.
"I was 17 miles from Greybridge before I was caught by the school leopard"
Ripping Yarns - Tomkinson's Schooldays.
---------------------
From: alex@dcs.gla.ac.uk (Alex Ferguson)
Subject: Talar, etc.
Message-ID: <9406150614.AA20319@hawaii.dcs.gla.ac.uk>
Date: 15 Jun 94 06:14:01 GMT
X-RQ-ID: 4588
Joerg:
[RQ-Adventures]
> > If this distribution is defunct, any change of
> > anyone bringing over a suitcaseful to flog at Convulsion?
> We are.
Good chaps.
> Alex in X-RQ-ID: 4497
> > But at any rate,
> > what else would one call Hrestol, since any other caste terminology couldn't
> > have been invented yet, his own (if any) being the earliest alternative.
> Prince, as the Malkioni do.
I suspect this is a Joerg "Nya!", but at any rate, I'll bite: Prince is a
title, not a caste description.
> >> It's even possible that Malkion said nothing about immortality (ageing
> >> may not have been a big problem that far back in Godtime).
> > Malkion arrived after Death, so I tend to believe that even if no Brithini/
> > Malkioni had died to this point, they became aware of the possibility.
> What makes you think this? Malkion is the father of Talar, Zzabur, Horal
> and Dronal, according to the few Malkioni legends we know.
Eh, or at least his revelation, and building of Malkonwal did. I hereby
disclaim any suggestion about when he was born, or whatever.
> BTW: Any ideas who Urostio was?
Chief Talar in charge of spell-forbidding?
Alex.