Female power in Esrolia and the Empire (was Holy Country)

From: Alison Place <alison_place_at_...>
Date: Tue, 5 Jul 2005 19:22:23 -0700 (PDT)

    After a supper discussion with Ian, I thought I'd broaden the discussion over the Holy Country. I'd like to comment on the religious tensions already in the Empire between the Lunar Way and the older Dara Happan and Carmanian cultures, and the complications Esrolia should cause.

     Firstly, the Lunar Way has raised more powerful female gods than male. The Red Goddess herself is the shining (pun intended) example, but four of the 7M are female (well, who knows about She Who Waits?), plus there's Hwarin Dalthippa, Hon-Eel the Artess, Yara Aranis, Annilla the Blue Moon, and probably one or two others I can't recall. Then there's Jar-Eel and the Moonson's Sister, both unapotheosed as yet.

     Now this puts the Moonson in a theological quandary, as he is also Yelm-on-Earth to the Dara Happans. The Carmanians also regard him as their paramount Shah. Both of these are very patriarchal cultures. So, there is bound to be general worry in those parts that someday the feminine influences in Glamour might grow so great that Moonson becomes steered completely by the priestesses surrounding him.  Or even worse, that an Empress is crowned. Jar-Eel for Moondaughter, anyone? Added to this would be the ever-present fear of the Dark Earth goddesses. Push the peasants too far, and Gorgorma and her sisters rise. A nightmare for any Dara Happan noble, and one of the things that keeps them in check.

     Now add the present situation in Esrolia. There a matriarchy does exist, an abomination to right-thinking Yelmics everywhere. If that land is added to the Empire, what will be the result? Will it cause an enhancement of the already obvious divine partiality towards the female sex? Could it pull Lunar civilisation further towards matriarchy, from its already disgusting and wrong theory that male and female are equal?

     I would suspect that there are opposing forces in DH culture. One wishes to invade Esrolia to smash the matriarchy once and for all. Another is fearful that Moonson would allow this pollution to the Empire to persist, and that therefore conquering Esrolia would be detrimental to society at large.

     The sacrifice of Kings of the Husband Protector cults would form a part of this greater ferment. If the Moonson is to be accepted as the new paramount King, then it is not at all impossible that he might be considered the most worthy sacrifice. And to bind a new land to her Empire, might not the Red Goddess herself be most willing to spend her Son in this fashion? After all, he comes back... Or in realpolitik terms, there's bound to be factions at court that would find it convenient to change Moonsons. What manouvring might not be going on in Moonson's harem?

     It's true that Tarsh used to have the sacrificial custom, but seem to have stopped since Hon-Eel's line took over. That's a comforting precedent for the Dara Happans. However, marrying the Feathered Horse Queen is still considered the legitimate way to become the King of Dragon Pass, so that can't reassure them very much.

     All in all, I'm sure that the situation on the ground in Esrolia is very confusing indeed, which should provide some great opportunities for players and their PCs.

     By the way, is anyone running a campaign set in the court at Glamour itself? If so, how have you treated the male-female balance of power?

Alison



Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com

Powered by hypermail