> > Argan Argar would really be Ganesatarus, the Devil. His worship
> > would not be open among the Carmanians (or particularly the
> > Spolites) and it is geared towards darkness rather than trade.
>Really? I was trying to strike a Light/Dark balance, but must
>still have a serious misunderstanding of Carmanian Dualism.
Understanding Carmanian metaphysics _is_ tricky.
>I was under the impression that "Darkness" is not automatically evil.
>Ganesatarus is The Lie, and could come in the form of Light or Dark.
But his best-known manifestation, GanEstoro, is an Dark one.
> > Why is Buserian a Modern Cult? He should be dropped anyway as a Dara
> > Happanism.
>Patron of the Lunar Bureaucracy? I was reaching there, I will admit...
The Lunars, the Buserian and the Viziers have separate institutions. As the Glorantha Intro points out:
The [Lunar] University maintains an intense rivalry with the
Carmanian Halls of Viziers, where the Carmanians are schooled
in their arts; and is considered more prestigious than the
hoary old Buserian Schools of Dara Happa, with their emphasis
on scribe-craft, sky-watching and night-time sojourns.
p103.
FWIW in the original draft, the above paragraph actually ended "...with goats".
The Buserian have taken over the bureaucracy of the Lunar Provinces.
> > There would be a few priesthoods, but I think they are magical societies
> > sponsored by a House for power purposes (ie a Valind Priesthood to
> > invoke Winter against one's enemies, an Atyari priesthood to steal
> > secrets or a Ikadz priesthood to invoke torment) rather than being
> > the average vizier deities to help with the knowledge.
>Ah, that makes sense. Aren't Ikadz and Atyar listed as part of the
>Chaos Pantheon? I figured outright chaos worship would be rare, even
>in the Lunar Empire. If they are *not* tainted, then they certainly
>do fit.
Ikadz is merely evil while Atyar is chaotic. But since the Lunar Empire already contains such horrors such as the Vampire Legion, the Crimson Bat, Yara Aranis, the Mad Sultanate, Shargash, and the HonEel Corn Rituals, nobody is going to be too put out by the knowledge that some Carmanian Houses are supporting secretive priesthoods in their struggles with one another.
> > Drop Urvairinus and rename Maran Gor (perhaps JagaNatha, the drinker
> > of blood) and Zorak Zoran (Ratakar the murderer or Daak the stranger).
>It looks like I am going to need Entekosiad to do this right. I was
>under the impression that the information in that book was too dated
>to be applicable to modern usage.
The book is modern but rather esoteric as it's basically a Greg's brain dump. Since the book deliberately investigates ancient mythology and virtually treats modern day Carmania and Pelanda as an aside, work has to be done to make it relevant to the Hero Wars. An example will suffice:
We are told a fair bit in the Entekosiad about the Ersoon and also about ancient firesticks that was used in shaping the world but nothing is said about their importance to the modern Lunar Empire. In writing the Intro, I had to make up how the Ersoons are actually the magical wands of the Magi. (There was also a update on Invisible Orlanth that was cut - it was changed into the Orlanthi Magi whose Ersoons are swords and they divine Idovanus's Will from the Weather. Make of it what you will).
--Peter Metcalfe
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