Re: Short Worlds and Hero Paths

From: Ian Cooper <ian_hammond_cooper_at_...>
Date: Tue, 09 Mar 2004 13:33:46 -0000


Jane Williams wrote:
> I've read the link, and still feeling confused. How
> does one create a "short world"? How does one access
> one, if it already exists?

Its not clear from what Greg has put out so far quite how you make one. I don't think that you can simply wander out of Storm Village one holy day and set up your secret hideout, IIRC changing things just transports you to the God's War, but I guess that is the starting point. Perhaps negotiation with gods, saints, spirits. The closest thing I can think of that we know about is wizards constructing new nodes for grimoires. It must be at least a similar order of difficulty.

However Ice Refuge probably exists at the time of OiD, so it may not be of such concern to as to how you construct one.

You access it the same way you make any otherworld journey, by tearing apart the barrier between worlds with the right ritual at a matching holy place. Its just like what a thiest does on his holy day.

A short world may have mutliple holy places that act as entry and exit points. A short world could thus form a shortcut like a wormhole - enter from here and exit to there. Perhaps magic roads are just short worlds with an entrance and exit that shortern normal travel. The implication here is that Broyan and band have short world access to Ice Refuge from Whitewall temple.

Of course that leads to a host of other questions. Has it always been there? Are there other entrances and exits? Can the Lunars find them? How does anyone inside the short world already react to visitors? How does time flow inside and out? Can we get into the God's War? We may wish to decide some of these as story requires rather than up front.

However I can see a certain correspondence in the Larnsti ability to Escape tight spots and access to a short world refuge. If the Larnsti had the ability to be able to create new entrance points to a short world, and then new exit points from within they would not have to fear being penned up. They may even be able to close exits behind them. I doubt this is get-out-of-jail free. Glorantha always has a price.  

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