Nicely put Philippe. It is worth reading again.
Chaos is the opposite of Cosmos.
Chaos is sometimes a thing, a component in the material world. (a broo or
scorpion man)
Chaos is sometimes an action, a component of the immaterial world.
(kinstrife, tapping.)
Either one is a weakening of the cosmic order. Not everything is equally chaotic, vile or corrupt. A scale exists. No one is exactly sure where the measures of that scale lie because they shift and slither around.
Let's take it to the Digest.
At 02:18 PM 8/30/2002 +0200, you wrote:
>Now, what a dark thread...
>
>
>I'm not sure I understand everything is said here, but I try :)
>
>I see Chaos as a something external to Glorantha, trying to enter, a bit like
>the sea eroding cliffs. Societies are perpetually attacked by minor chaotic
>creatures and manifestations, but can fight and cure them most of the time
>because they have developed ways to fight it. These are the rituals, laws and
>magical protections invented and discovered during the Great Darkness. They
>still work if maintained properly, but may fail, under sufficient stress or
>terrible conditions. the rites and laws are, in part, acting like a
>'socio-magical' immune system or a firewall if you prefer.
>
>Now, some acts are so abhorrent they universally attract Chaos. Rape, secret
>murder and eating people in secret, etc. Sometime, they attract it in such
a way
>or with such a force that it can slip trough the protections and corrupt the
>person or the society he lives in. Sometimes not. Wether the society condone
>this act or not has nothing to do with said act's tendency to _attract_
chaos,
>making chaos slap against the window, looking at you.
>
>On the other hand, there are acts that are socially prohibited and cause the
>normal magical, ritual protections to disappear, but is has nothing to do
with
>their tendency to attract chaos. If Chaos is also here, it can use this crack
>and come. Or not.
>
>If an act _both_ attracts chaos and weakens the magical immune system that
each
>society developped during Darkness, the probability for chaos to enter is
even
>greater. (rape in Heortling society)
>
>Kinstrife is not inherently chaotic, meaning the universe doesn't care
about it.
>But Orlanth do and takes his protection away when (if) kinstrife is done.
Then
>Chaos can come at its own time. Hey, if the way is open, why not enter and
>spread ?
>Some societies have no taboo about kinstrife (Valindi ?, Dara Happans ?).
Their
>normal anti-chaos protection is always 'on', you've no risk to become tainted
>after having killed your brother. That is, no more than in participating in
>other non-chaotic and socially tolerated acts : war or torture (in
reasonnable
>amounts).
>
>Rape is inherently chaotic, cosmically chaotic even, and there will always be
>Thed and her putrid breath just 'outside', waiting, and being sustained by
the
>act. Waiting for the metaphorical breach to penetrate (er,) in your body and
>soul. Some societies will protect rapists for a time (Char Un), because
that's
>the heritage and the strength of the gods/spirits/myth of these people.
The same
>way some people in RW are more or less immune against some disease (never
a 100%
>protection, as for chaos). Even for them, doing it many times will give Thed
>enough strength so that she can overcome the socially-maintened protections.
>Then they are broos (spiritually even if not physically).
>Heortling myth give no protection for rape : you're directly exposed to Thed.
>Here she comes.
>
>I'm totally on the wrong track ?
>
>
>
>Philippe
>
>
>(btw, I'm playing with the idea to oppose some Heroes with an ancient
member of
>their clan/family, chased away after a rape. Now, some broos attack the clan,
>somehow knowing _quite well_ the tula... And, what a surprise, their leader
>looks a bit like Uncle Hrotgeir... Uncle Hrotgeir who teached some heroes to
>hunt, or something like that... They loved him...)
>
>
>Philippe
>
>
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