Re: How Nasty Is A Trickster?

From: Paul Andrew King <paul_at_...>
Date: Sun, 22 Sep 2002 20:12:24 +0100


>a short question that puzzled me after our last session:
>
>HE, hunter, clanless orphan and adopted into a familiy, is in secret love
>with HER, who is supposed to marry his stepbrother.
>
>HE urgently wants to keep it a secret for he is afraid of
>disappointing HIS stepfather [and stepbrother, too], SHE is for taking
>the truthful road.
>things really get messed up when the clan's trickster finds them both
>in secret love in the woods...
>accidently HE beat the trickster a couple of days ago, so it's
>unlikely not to become a personal thing, too.
>HE tried to convince the trickster not to reveal what he saw, but the
>Eurmali was just laughing and ran away.
>
>I'm curious now - how you would handle the resulting situation:
>
>the trickster, angry about HIM, possesses the key to tragedy,
>but on the other hand is actually suppossed to reveal the secret love,
>because their secrecy breaks heortling's laws.
>
>how nasty is a trickster?
>would your-average-eurmali let pass an opportunity to spread 'chaos' and
>uneasiness?
>what 'counter-measures' are legal for HIM to prevent the uncoverage?
>

Just my thoughts. Trickster's aren't likely to be considered reliable so if the trickster just tells everyone it may make no difference (unless there are people who are ready to believe despite the source). Some people may suspect, though so it would become harder to keep things secret.

I would have thought that the trickster is more likely to try to arrange it so that someone - preferably the stepbrother or stepfather - finds out with a big does of humiliation and embarrassment for somebody.

Coming clean is probably the best defence. Unless the trickster isn't bonded in which case I would think that anything up to and including killing (but not secret murder) is legitimate. Second best would be to try to break things off (which has potential from the story perspective). Of course if HE and SHE still love each other then there is plenty of scope for nasty trickster tricks at the wedding or the following weeks.

That said I don't think that tricksters are actively malicious (at least to their clan) beyond practical jokes. BUT they don't see the consequences of their tricks. If a joke embarrasses and humiliates someone who has - in the trickster's view - unjustly beaten them then the trickster will almost certainly go for it EVEN if kinstrife might follow - the trickster simply won't think it through that far.

-- 
--
"The T'ang emperors were strong believers in the pills of 
immortality.  More emperors died of poisoning from ingesting minerals 
in the T'ang than in any other dynasty" - Eva Wong _The Shambhala 
Guide to Taoism_

Paul K.

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