An Odaylan who tried to steal the qualities of the great stag would be doing what most evil people do; trying to gain power or knowledge without regard to those around him or her, or to the culture's rules. It's not necessarily Chaotic, as has been pointed out.
It should get your god on your back, at least as soon as the god realises it. That's where I think things get interesting metaphysically. This wretch tried to take a shortcut to what he wanted (in this example better abilities to hunt elk, or to possess the strength and swiftness of the elk), and in so doing broke his god's rules, and damaged the stag's spirit by preventing it from rejoining Odayla or being reincarnated. What invokes the spirit of retribution? Does the god realise the contravention spontaneously, or does it take the stag's spirit, or another Odaylan's prayer, to bring it to Odayla's attention? When noticed, is it enough for the hunter to make whatever restitution or outward act of contrition is necessary, and follow the rules thereafter, or does the repentance have to be soul-deep? How much does one's chosen god know your inner heart?
My take on the latter is that the closer you have bound yourself to your god on the old lay member, initiate, Rune level scale, the more ability your god has to know your real feelings. Do others agree with this? Likewise, is it the outward acts of worship that are more important to the god, or trying to act with the spirit of the god? Does this vary from god to god?
Alison
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