Re: Harsaltar the Terrible and the Red Emperor

From: Andrew Solovay <asolovay_at_36LVL5wInwF0xujShhbEuBGZ1saPFundUPeDAcrw5GBWIHMxpgPxtLg0-2E2poaznTA>
Date: Wed, 02 May 2007 00:25:33 -0000

wrote: >
> The youngest (propably, he's 10) member of the Household of Death
> fights the Red Emperor in 1602 at the lunar assoult on Boldhome. KoS
> tells us that he gives the emperor a mortal wound, but that the
dying
> emperor forces him to break a geas that kills him (Harsaltar, that
is). [...]
>
> 2) What is meant with the "forcing him to break a geas". It sounds
> fascinating, but I haven't figured out what it could mean. How does
> the emperor force a deciple of Humakt to break a geas? Mental
control?
> Also what sort of a geas would this be?

I know nothing about this event, but I can toss some ideas out there.

The simplest way to "force him to break a geas" would be to put him in a situation where two geases conflict. For example, suppose Joe Humakti has the geas "never break an oath" and the geas "never tell a lie". Well, if you can put him in a position where the only way to keep a particular oath is by telling a lie, then he'll have to break one geas or the other.

Or more broadly, you could put him in a position where his Prickly Humakti Honor leaves him no alternative but to break the geas. Maybe his geas is "never use any weapon but a sword". If you can put Joe in a position where the person he's sworn to protect will die unless Joe picks up a club and fights... well, some Humakti would say "sorry, can't do it, got this geas you know", but I think others would break the geas.

I could imagine that for some humakti, breaking the geas would kill them. But I think it's more likely that the Humakti, having chosen to broke the geas, would decide that the only way to recover his honor is to kill himself--in short, seppuku.