Hi David,
> I just started reading the ILH. Truly awesome.
Thanks!
> However, I do have a few questions about the Imperial
> Census boxes in the different sections.
>
> 1. The populations always seem to add up to 100%,
> suggesting that virtually no one outside of the listed
> groups lives in those areas. This seems rather odd. I
> would think that, for example, there would be at least
> a few Darjiini in Kostaddi. It's right next-door after
> all. Perhaps we are to assume that these are the
> "in-game" Imperial censuses, and therefore not
> neccesaraly accurate. If so, it would have been nice
> to know who "really" lives where.
Most regions have an Other category - where there isn't, there are going to be odds and sods around, but not really statistically meaningful numbers - and yes, this is an inexact censis, so if they tend to be living in isolated communities, itinerants, etc they are more likely to be overlooked.
> 2. I'm unsure about the use of the classification
> "Lunar", in the censuses and elsewhere. I was under
> the impression that the term usually refers to either
> Imperial citizenship or adherence to the Lunar
> religion, thus being more of a political/religious
> classification than a cultural/racial one. I figured
> almost all "Lunars" are also something else, such as
> Darra Happan. The censuses seem to suggest that there
> is an actual Lunar race. If so, where do they come
> from, who are their ancestors, what clothes do they
> wear, etc.? I can't find any description of "Lunars"
> in the book other than the Imperial citizen
> description.
In the light of recent discussion, it is interesting that this came up recently on the Digest. Let me just quote my answer then:
"On the whole, there is a very strong, basic correlation between ethnicity and religion - for example, a Dara Happan is a solar, whether a hoity-toity Yelmie or a dirty-handed (and -minded) Lodrili or a blood 'n' guts Shargashi. However, the Lunar Way is explicitly and unusually apart from these traditional identities. Just as becoming a Lunar citizen (a specific juridical status) not only incurs special responsibilities, it also makes you subject to Lunar law rather than the local law of the culture in which you committed the crime, so too does turning specifically to the Lunar Way make you different. You may have been born a Pelandan, still dress and talk like a Pelandan, but you are now something apart. (This doesn't mean just accepting that the Red Moon exists and is powerful, it means initiating to a Lunar cult.)
So, 'Lunar' is the most general term of all. In the context of the Western Reaches, it means Lunarised Carmanians, Pelandans, etc and is there in part as an index of how 'Lunarised' each region is. Silver Shadow has a whacking 46%, for example, with Doblian at the other extreme, with a pathetic 5%.
After all, it is vital to stress that this is not just the Lunar Empire, it is *also* the empire of the Yelmic Imperator, the Padishah, etc. *Most* subjects of the Empire know that their Emperor is also Moonson, but they serve him not so much for that reason but because of some other, generally more primal allegiance. At present, one man is able to fill all these political, historical, mythic and sacral roles, to be the Yelmic Imperator, the Padishah, the Paradisal Aviator of the Rinliddi, the Provincial King of Kings, etc. But what happens when there is no such single figure able to wield such varied authority...?"
All the best
Mark
Powered by hypermail