Re: Broyan's Three Cults

From: Alex Ferguson <abf_at_...>
Date: Thu, 6 May 2004 02:49:16 +0100

Jeff:
> For a loooooong time, I labored under assumption (which Joerg and I
> created) that the Volsaxi were in many ways less materially
> sophisticated than the Sartarites. I no longer believe that.

Perhaps this relates to an earlier bout of cross-purposeness, to wit on the "(ultra)traditionalism" of the V., which I've been meaning to get back to:

> > > rejected sorcery, the Pharaoh and the Andrinic reforms. This can
> be
> > > described as "traditionalist" - but I'm sure if we compared 12th
> century
> > > post-Dragonkill Volsaxi to our early 17th century Volsaxi, we'd
> find
> > > plenty of changes.
> > ... or more narrowly one might say to that sort of period. But yes,
> I'm
> > sure you're right, and in that sense 'traditionalist' is more
> appropriate.
> > Esp. in the Rolf Harris sense (with no apologies whatsoever to John
> H.
> > <eg>): "Here's an old english folk song I've just written".
  

> Except, I don't think that the Volsaxi are some sort of cultural
> equivalent to Cato the Younger or the Amish, wearing long out-of-date
> fashions or peppering their speech with anachronisms.

The Amish I did not (and Cato I would not) mention, so I dunno how those "counterexamples" help us. Dress and language I don't know about, but I think if you told most Heortlings they dressed and spoke like they were still in the Storm Age, they'd say 'Why, thank you.'. (Some group may be explicitly influences by the West or (gasp) Peloria, perhaps.)

> They reject certain "modern" influences on Hendreiki society -
> sorcery, the Pharaoh, and the Andrinic reforms

Much like the Sartarites in those respects. But I think there's more to it than that.

> - and strongly embrace some very old Orlanthi
> cults (e.g., Vingkot) and reject some more popular Orlanthi cults (e.g.,
> Alakoring Rex).

Indeed. I think the Vingkot thing is of particular significance, as it implies to me, not quite a "pre-Heort" status (since demonstrably they're certainly Heortlings in that sense, and not Vingkotlings per se) but a distinctly different importance put on 'Heortish' vs. older customs. If one looks at the Vingkot cult(s), they're very much of the character of "religion like it was back in the Storm Age" (Bright Emperors? Kill 'em. Kingship? Lineal succession. Etc, etc.) Not so much as a whiff of "Lightbrighterist" attitudes. I may be playing this up for reasons related to themes in my own game, or the Volsaxi may be less "Vingkotish" than this paints them, but that's my best guess.

Another data point is the old TotRM "Rumour" about the Volsaxi using 'the last Orlanthi to use chariots'. Probably this is a ritualistic thing rather than a bold move to make Heortling cavalry of an even lower standard than it otherwise tends to be, but it certainly has at least a whiff of the "way back when" about it.

Cheers,
Alex.

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