RE: Re: Baron's Friends

From: bernuetz.oliver_at_...
Date: Fri, 24 May 2002 10:10:24 -0400


Another possibility that occurs to me is that perhaps there's something equivalent to the Peaceful Cut that a head taker could use to free the spirit/soul thus turning it into nothing more than a trophy. I can easily see occassions when you want to keep the soul trapped especially in the case of blood enemies but I can't really see nonchaotic headhunters wanting all these trapped spirits around.  

Oliver

-----Original Message-----
From: David Cake [mailto:dave_at_...]
Sent: Thursday, May 23, 2002 11:23 PM
To: HeroWars_at_yahoogroups.com
Cc: Peter Metcalfe
Subject: Re: Re: Baron's Friends

At 10:11 AM -0700 24/5/02, Peter Metcalfe scribbled:
>David Cake:
>
>> >IMO there is a thin line at best between the ancient tradition of
>> >head-taking and Thanic Headhunting. Just as all rape honors
>> >Thed, so headhunting benefits Than.
>
>> Its the intent. Not all sex benefits Thed.
>
>I said and meant rape (which can be carried out for more than one
>reason). Very few human rapists are deliberate worshippers of Thed.

      I know what you meant, but I think its a poor analogy.
      Cutting off someones head is obviously not chaotic. Eringulf 
did 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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