No but I think it makes a better story if it is a singular powerful entity, such as a majestic spirit. Even allowing for a certain amount of bragging and exaggeration on the part of Harrek I think binding the White Bear into its own skin ought to be a pretty significant thing.
Usually nobody binds majestic spirits into a fetish because its a really bad idea - its damn hard, you earn the emnity of a whole people and all the spirits of the tradition. You probably only have the sort of detailed knowledge to do this if you are a member of the tradition, in which case not only is this usually an unthinkable thing to do but you would of course lose all the rest of your magic if you do it. So although in pure power levels this is the sort of thing a hero-level character can maybe pull off its hardly the sort of thing most heroes would ever consider.
> Peter implies it does not even have living descendants. So I'm
> suggesting that Harrek can do this because binding the White Bear
> spirit does not rate as a change to the Compromise.
>
If being skinned is part of its myth - as Peter suggested - then the compromise is wholly unaffected. It will probably be back, one day.
> After all Harrek hasn't really killed it, he bound it. Releasing the
> polar bear spirit remains possible.
>
Exactly. The White Bear might not even mind, to the extent that spirits "mind" anything anyway. After all its just a different part of its mythic reality that it seems to be stuck in for a while.
-- Nic
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