>On 1 Dec 2003 at 17:08, John Hughes wrote:
>
> > I'm at work, so I can't quote from KOS
>
>The Household fo Death, meanwhile, attempted a counterattack. With the
>Aldichuri
>army they marched against Tarsh. They beat off a troll ambush and then the
>pig-riders
>too. Then they reached the Glowline and the full force from the Temple of
>the Reaching
>Moon seared the souls from the bodies of all mere mortals, and sent the
>survivors, both
>the cowardly and the wise, in blind panic from the country.
>I did't see anything there to suggest that the HoD was based in Aldachur.
>Where did
>that come from?
Ah, thanks for the KOS stuff. :) I'm confusing campaign and unpublished Far Place material with official writ. In my own meanderings, I've used the arrival of elements of the Household in Alda Chur around 1601 as a symbol of Salinarg's disasterous policies before the invasion, and one of the reasons the city turned so quickly from being pro-Sartar to pro-Lunar. So take it as part of my personal vision. However, whether based in Alda Chur or not, they set off from the city on their disastrous raid against the Glowline with, as your quote from KOS indicates, an 'Alda Churi army', so most of my comments about support elements and the Alda Chur war temple still stand if they prove useful.
It may also (just guessing here) have been the age of their leader. Anyone
read
>"Ender's Game"? Interesting ideas on what happens when you get very young
>children
>involved in warfare.
Frightening thought. In Glorantha, what would it mean? Given most Orlanthi are happy to delay initiation, I imagine that early initiation means a much higher death/madness rate in the initiation rites. The earlier the initiation, the less mythic and physical preparation for the journey to the Godplane and the participation in Everyhing. And knowing that ones so young are already given to the death god... brrrrr. My clan, at least the rowdier elements would want to suffocate the humakti involved. Dread rites indeed. And given the relationships between magic, sex and the onset of puberty, initiating so early is going to induce some bizzare effects. It does happen of course, but with terrifying and no doubt unforeseeable effects. Terrible magics perhaps, but also a lack of adult vision and balance. In my own mind, I associate it with a kind of passive possession or heroform - the patterns of the Godplane impress themselves on an unprepared mind, partially or totally wiping the young personality. As much as Ender, I'm thinking of St. Alia of the Crysknife. And of the legacy of the child soldiers of Africa. And, of course, the Razoress.
Cheers
John
John Hughes
Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research
Australian National University
Canberra ACT 2600
Phone (02) 6125 0649
Visit CAEPR on the web at http://www.anu.edu.au/caepr/
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