Re: Re: Yinkini, marriage, and adultery

From: Roderick and Ellen Robertson <rjremr_at_...>
Date: Fri, 1 Nov 2002 11:05:24 -0800

> Beaten flat as a rug goes with the territory, natch. But really what
> I'm wondering is can a married yinkini have relations with other
> women, in at least certain circumstances, without magical fall out,
> like spirits of reprisal or more general community suffering? (at
> least in the King of Dragon Pass computer game, harboring adulterers
> is cause for a significant curse (loss of magic) on the community).
>
> So I'm not asking: "do people resent Yinkini messing with their
> family?" because of course many will.
>
> rather I'm asking "Are married yinkini bound by the same divine laws
> regarding adultery as other heortling?"

If a mating is mandatory by Yinkini religious dictates, then it isn't Adultery, it's just plain ol' Sex. It's the old "My God made me do it" defense, which *is* valid among the Heortlings, at least. So, on Wooing Day, if the wooing reaches its ultimate conclusion (sex), then it isn't adultery. Of course, Lug, husband of the gal you just bedded, may have different ideas, but Orlanth and Ernalda won't be sending down retributive daimones for it. Of course, it will still be adultery if the Yinkini is just tomcatting around without Divine Sanction, and he *will* be liable for the Wrath of the Gods (Storm Tribe 189 - Divine Retribution). "I'm a Yinkini" isn't a valid defense, "I'm a Yinkini and this is Wooing Day" is.

Any (non-yinkini) woman who actually marries a yinkini better have a very open view of what marital fidelity means! Besides the mandatory matings, a Yinkini is much less likely to be a faithful husband than other heortlings.

RR