> >I would say that this is an excllent synopsis of what I'd expect of a
> >player character who has obtained Enlightenment.
>
>But an NPC hero? Doesn't sound like Harrek to me. Or even Argrath.
That's right. Harrek and Argrath are not in the ILH-2 sense "enlightened". Perhaps Harrek will be enlightened after his big battle with JarEel but currently he is not knowing how to live (as Nietzsche might say) and is struggling towards that goal.
>A hero becomes one with an aspect of eternity: variously described as
>illuminated, enlightened, incarnating their god - I suspect ways and means
>might differ, but broadly a hero (in the technical, Gloranthan sense)
>leaves human values behind to incarnate an aspect of eternity, whether its
>Balance or Change or Storm or War.
There seems to be two eternities operating here - the magical eternity that comes with embodying divine powers (the traditional or magical Hero) and the transcendent eternity that comes with awareness of the All (the Campbellian or transcendent hero). It is possible to become a magical hero without having any awareness of the All which would be a tragedy by those who are aware of the All.
This suggests the human hero, the one that fights for human values.
>What about the person who takes on the burden of herodom, but turns back
>from the brink to preserve human values and lives?
A rousing chorus of "for He's a jolly good fellow"...
>(I suspect this is a
>much a description of Kallyr as an Argrath struck down by treachery before
>her time)* Are there other examples of such?
There are a couple of Lunar examples in the ILH-2: Deneskerva and Greya Stoneshaper. Deneskerva never sought immortality saying "I do not chase insubstantials" while Greya fought HonEel over the issue of human sacrifice but never tried for immortality.
>What sort of term should we
>use to describe them? And is the fact that they are bound by humanity, the
>present and history rather than eternity a failure or a triumph?
It depends on what the criterion is. From the view of their friends, they are
good guys (how many people are going to remember Harrek as a good guy?).
From the view of magical eternity, they are failures. From the view
of the All,
only one things matters and AFAIK one can be a human hero with awareness
of the All.
--Peter Metcalfe
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