>> > He's a trader:
>>
>> Actually, he is "Spare Grain," His essential task is
>> to hold he spare grain for the community.
>
>Huh? Storm Tribe p117: "Harst is the clan merchant god
>and inventor of barter... established trade in Dragon
>Pass... Orlanthi Harst see trading as secondary to
>their lives in the clan, whereas Issaries Harst
>merchants dedicate their lives to trading..."
>
>Traders. Definitely traders. Sure, they store the
>grain so they have something to trade, but that's a
>means to an end.
Which is contradicted by Thunder Rebels pg. 233: "Harst the Reeve is the Collector and Dispenser." Then: "He receives all the taxes of Orlanth's followers and all the extras that each stead produces and then distributes them where the chief directs."
I think this may be a clash between their practical clan role and their theoretical one. They have the magic and skills to trade but in practice get to do very little. After all how often is a clan going to trade? Probably a few times a year, maybe only once after the harvest, and the odd emergency. The routine work on which they spend most of their time is keeping track of what the clan has. They have the skill "Tally" which is a cult secret so by default they've become the clan bookkeeper.
>Sure, but I don't think Esrolia will approve of
>selling grandmothers, with or without capital letters.
I expect the Esrolians have changed the proverb slightly to refer the selling grandfathers.
-- Donald Oddy http://www.grove.demon.co.uk/
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