> > 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:
Let's double-check our sources. IIRC Broyan is described in TR as an "ultratraditionalist" - not the entire Volsaxi tribe. We know that the Volsaxi resisted the Pharaoh and the Andrinic Kings, that they have a well-established herocult of Hendreik the Free, that they have Vingkot High Kings and a strong Vingkot cult, and that they support the Larnsti Brotherhood. And that they quite legitimately can trace themselves back to the Dawn.
For the sake of this discussion, let's talk about the Volsaxi (and not Broyan + Volsaxi). I've been working with Greg on Broyan's background and knowing more about the Volsaxi is very helpful for that.
>> > 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 equivalent to Cato the Younger or the Amish, wearing long out-of-date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.perhaps.)
> 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,
Without using the word "ultratraditionalist", I think it is safe to say that the Volsaxi consciously reject Andrinic, Pharaonic, and other Western influences - especially religious and ritual influences. Even if they have heavily armored weapons-thanes and huscarls that ride on horses and use shock attack. I believe that they view the Pharaoh, the Andrininc reforms, and (later) the Lunar Empire as incompatible with their hero - Hendreik the Free. At the same time, the Volsaxi may have more of a noble "class" than the Sartarites - the kingship is confined to members of the Darvolsaxi clan.
> > - 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.)
This may be an overstatement. The Volsaxi tribe is pre-Harmast in formation (and may well be the oldest continuously extant Heortling tribe). Vingkot appears to be one of the more aristocratic Orlanthi cults - it does glorify the warrior, the magician and the king, over the carl. Based on discussion with Greg, Vingkot is also the victory cult for the Orlanthi - before going to battle, King Broyan sacrifices a bull to Vingkot for battle-luck. Vingkot provides an alternative to Humakt (and Starkval) for war-kings.
I do think the Volsaxi have a well established cult of Vingkot - and I am darn sure that Whitewall is the center and holy place of the Volsaxar Vingkot cult. Vingkot may well be the main Orlanth subcult amongst the Darvolsaxi (who probably don't have a whole bunch of farmers and such). However, we are know described the noble elite of the Volsaxi and not 98-99% of the tribe.
Most of the Volsaxi should be largely indistinguishable from the other pre-Andrinic Hendreiki.
> 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. The Volsaxi and Hendreik the Free predate Harmast (althoughHendreik doesn't predate him by much). That being said, I think that most Volsaxi are largely indistinguishable from Sartarites. The big difference is that they have a royal clan, and they have a very old history (which given the proximity of the Derensev Library, is a written history). The Volsaxi leaders have much better access to their past than most Sartarites.
> 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.
I wrote that rumour! I think the Volsaxi kings ritually use chariots - hopefully the Whitewall walls are wide enough for a chariot to ride on top! I don't think (anymore) that the Volsaxi use chariots in warfare.
Jeff
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