Re: Re: Hon-eel Maize Quest vs Miller Quest

From: Peter Metcalfe <metcalph_at_...>
Date: Wed, 22 Aug 2001 20:05:05 +1200


At 12:04 21/08/01 +0000, you wrote:

>I recently ran an episode for our group, which involved the HonEel
>corn rites. I decided to modify the supposition that Alanthore is the
>*victim' in the rights and made Sinodal the victim. Why? Sinodal is
>the elf-god lover of HonEel.

Why? HonEel rescues Sinoda by killing Alanthore and gets corn. Without her intervention, Sinoda gets killed and the crop fails. Alanthore's death is necessary for HonEel's corn rite to succeed and for that reason, the people who play him ("convicted criminals, madmen, or impoverished down-and-outs" Glorantha:Intro pp102) are victims.

That there is a visible disparity between them playing suicidal evil roles (and damned for it) and their actual moral worth is deliberate and intended to raise serious ethical doubts. Having them play innocent Sinoda diminishes this concern IMO as it just becomes another version of Sacrificial King (already prominent in Tarsh and Esrolia).

>Sinodal dies, but HonEel has corn and this, IMO makes Sinodal a
>far better model for the sacrificial king.

But Sinoda is not meant to be a sacrificial king. That appears in Orlanthi rites (based on a celtic parallel) whereas the corn ritual is ultimately from Bliss in Ignorance (and modelled on an Aztec rites to Xipec Toltec, our lord of flayed skins) where no sacrificial king appears.

>[...] with the seduction and sacrifice of Pyjeemsab,

Pyjeemsab was not sacrificed. Murdered, perhaps, but it's more probable that his ticker expired in the marriage bed.

--Peter Metcalfe

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