No, it's just part of the job. As others have noted, the Orlanthi subcults handle age very well without much need to change aspect.
> > Again, perhaps it
> > is worth keeping in mind that the basic division of
> > the Orlanthi
> > goddesses is into three generations:
> >
> > Crone - Asrelia/Ty Kora Tek
> > Mother - Ernalda
> > Youth - Voria
>
> Yep. And between them, that covers the whole of a
> normal woman's life.
And that's not Orlanth. For Orlanth, its being a farmer, a father, a warrior. And just not as age dependent as you seem to think. Men don't work that way. As you say, don't try to turn the men into women...
> Sure. Now, which of these covers the guy in his late
> middle age moving on to old age? Not the Youthful
> Warrior, obviously. He needn't necessarily be a Storm
> specialist, he's just a farmer. Allfather, in some
> aspect or other, perhaps? I just don't want to see all
> men over about 40 being either useless, or technically
> women!
Er, I don't think that's what we've been saying. I think you are exaggerating the case rather much.
Warrior's always going to be needed to guard or train. He can do that till he drops dead. Farmer's always going to be needed to know when to plant, how to sow, and deal with the unsual problems around the farm. The ones that no one except he has seen in 'all his born days.' Thunderer's always going to be working his magic and if he's not, he's training his successors or teaching the young boys the things they need to know to be Men. Things they don't tell the women. Allfather will always have advice or be sought out for judgement. The older he is, the wiser and more experienced. And in any pre-modern society, that is valued.
It might be an idea to read up on how a pre-modern society functions. That said, people like Greg, Donald, John, and Jeff have posted some very good examples of how elders function in such a society. They definitely seem to know their stuff. It certainly correlates with what I know of village elders.
For example, I spent the last few summers in Turkey (in one of the more old-fashioned regions) and the old men of the village were essential in figuring out what had to be done. In fact, my thesis is heavily reliant on their input. The oldest men in the village knew more about the flooding pattern in the valley than the governement did. Twas amazing. They held court in the tea house and were continually asked questions by the younger men on a variety of subjects ranging from farming practice and correct ownership of the complex patchwork of fields surrounding the village to the proper methods for dealing with the government, to marriage suites, and what Attaturk was *really* like.
Oh, and my grandfather ran his farm till the day he died. He just slowed down a lot but Uncle Jim was always asking him advice on anything unusual. It was remarkable how the Old Man had usually seen something similar and had a workable solution - or he remembered something HIS father had told him about such a problem.
Jeff
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