I know what you meant, but I think its a poor analogy. Cutting off someones head is obviously not chaotic. Eringulfdid it clearly motivated through love, to prevent public display. It is probably often done as a practical manner of returning the most important part of someones remains to their homeland when moving the whole body is impractical.
I think sex is a better metaphor (twisted though it is) because, odd as it may seem, you can cut someones head off because you mean them well.
Cutting off a vampires head to prevent its chaotic rising as a chaotic act? Again, seems unlikely.
So we are left with the idea that the difference between an act being chaotic and not would be only intent, nothing about the act itself? But what about if it is cut off by someone meaning well, and then later displayed by an enemy (after capture of the first person)? Or cutting heads off is not chaotic, but displaying them later is? What about displaying the vampires head to demonstrate that its threat had ended? Either seems to make the line between chaotic and just gruesome pointlessly vague.
> >There are significant differences between what head hunters
>>and Thanatari do.
>
>How does this prevents the taking of enemy heads from benefiting Than
>at some level?
No, its just further weakens the thesis that they must be essentially the same.
Personally, I think the difference between stealing someones head when they are alive and taking it when they should have no further use for it is a clear enough distinction, and far clearer than the idea that this particular Heortling custom benefits Than and no one has noticed.
Cheers David
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