The Nameless Man

From: Lev Lafayette <lev_lafayette_at_z7INZ77-yMOY9zIIT5HfHLlmDPoP3nanh3rkDiolb10Q4QFFHcDf8M4oASz0_L>
Date: Wed, 21 Feb 2007 22:37:42 -0000

I am currently running a HeroQuest play-by-email, which is doing damn fine.

The opening objective of the PCs was to meet with the Nameless Man for Fronela in the middle of Dilis Swamp. Nice place really.

So, YGWV, I was promoting the idea of the Nameless Man being an avatar of Grandaddy Mortal. Sure, that's fair enough, I'm sure that others have though of it before, but being western monotheists they didn't want to muddy their beliefs with pagan superstitions.

So when the Nameless Man confronted them with the "who am I?" quiz, I was pleasantly surprised when the party's speaker (after due conferencing) came out with this, very Glorantha imo, answer:

• - - Quivering to the idea of having a common ancestor with the soulless plant-thing that was speaking to him, but fearing at most the return of Gbaji, Azhur considered all the answers of his companions.

The Bishop Donalari guessed that the mentioned gift was Time and this sounded right to Azhur's intuition.

This meant that the Nameless One was giving Time to all of them… Time sounded like mortality and wrongness to Azhur's malkioni belief.

The dwarf Kalen confirmed that the Nameless One wasn't a constructed but created man, perhaps related to the great mystery of the origins of life…

Finally the Nameless One was clearly asking for being protected as a part of mankind… in any case, the Nameless One was thinking being a close part of all them… what was the common point to all man-rune related beings here in the Dilis swamp, sent by the immortal brithini of Sog city?

For Aalmon and Icthya, the Nameless One was an apparition tied to the pagan legends of Grand Father Mortal, something that Azhur wasn't familiar with… but an answer was asked.

Azhur cleared up his throat, in the past he had to be brave in front of many enemy swords at once, but never he faced such a difficult fight.

• " I think…", he began slowly. "I think that you are…", his voice grew a little louder, "the deep savage impulse that lives in all men, a common trait that unite us in time and mortality."

Reluctantly, the knight looked at Sir El Grim's face trying to see where was hiding the mysterious and criminal spirit:

• "Pagans will name you "Grand Father Mortal" as a worshipped symbol of this common fragility, but the malkioni believers and the dwarves will name you "Sin" and "Breach", because it is acting against the law of the Universe that brings us to Death. Hrestol's teachings tell us that we can be saved and brought to Joy even as sinners, so we can enjoy life even at the cost of making errors against the rules of Malkion… in this way, Time can be a pleasure, a gift given by Sin."

With the finger, Azhur pointed the possessed knight of the Sparrow and added :

• " In fact and obviously now, you are him!", then he showed the rest of the fellowship, "but you are also them!", and finally he pointed on his own chest, "and of course, you are me! By protecting you, Nameless One, we will protect us and all mankind!"
• " And as the elf suggests and as Hrestol taught us, I have to respect you as deep inner part of man, a creation of the Invisible God, because in fact you are Man"

While saying this last words, Azhur just realized that he was just paraphrasing the last sentence of the Nameless One : "for I *am* a man". Could have the spirit given the solution within the riddle? This notion was a shock to the ex-knight and not-yet wizard's apprentice.

OOC Azhur"Sinnersbane" pledging to protect "Sin"... Ah ah ah !

By answering riddles, you finish illuminated... and by fighting Gabji, you finish krjalki yourself !

I wonder where this answer will bring us... I hope you all agree more or less with it.
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