> 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.
Great Sister is not a mortal hero any more than Moonson is, she is the feminine aspect of the Red Goddesses humanity just as Moonson is the male aspect (see ILH1 pg.48).
> 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.
This is the sort of thing the Goddess reconciles, just as she reconciles Dara Happens with Trolls, another matriachal society, but also darkness worshippers who are the traditional enemies of the solar pantheon.
I don't think there is much likelyhood of an Empress because that would unbalance the Empire - the female elements of rulership reside in Great Sister.
Warning: this idea is not supported by any canon I know of.
I started thinking about where this idea of a female rulership and equality came from in the Lunar Empire. It's clearly not Dara Happa or Carmenia, so it must come from one of the other major cultures. Now the Red Goddess was born in Torang which is a Rinliddi city so I suggest that the Rinliddi tend towards sexual equality. I don't think it's a matriachy like Esrolia but one where work is shared irrespective of sex.
> 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?
Do we have a canon reference for this sacrifice of Husband/ Protectors? I'm not altogether sure it fits.
As for Moonson's court, I can't imagine many people there are aware of the practices of barbarians on the other side of the continent never mind take any notice of them. If they want a change in Moonson they will do it while making very sure someone else takes the blame.
> 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.
Many Female Tarsh Exiles still follow Maran Gor rather than Ernalda - they practice human sacrifice and cannabalism. This was always a fringe cult among Tarshites and doesn't require the sacrifice of anyone particular. Hon-Eel has replaced the grain crop with maize which is usually cultivated with human sacrifice so the number of sacrifices has probably increased. It is usual to sacrifice criminals though so the Dara Happens aren't going to worry about that.
> 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?
Well I'm not running a campaign there but as far as I can see Glamour is the Emporer's city and administrative core of the empire which means it's run by Dara Happens. Great Sister has a balancing, mainly female court, at Graclodont.
-- Donald Oddy http://www.grove.demon.co.uk/
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