Re: What Mostali Look Like

From: Felix Felix <felixtimestwo_at_LkI88X0G5XbuhtkwbsoOy3XkKohURErkiTrGtKndAe-hAg_v4nOjbTzJurQmEU>
Date: Fri, 9 May 2008 09:12:01 +0100 (BST)


> Donald Oddy wrote:
>Is it true that humans are associated only with the man rune? Most
>things have two runes. I can't recall anything which associates any
>runes with humans as a group.

>Even if true is that a human classification error? A troll would
>probably assign the runes man and light to humans.

>There was probably a mythical being that was the embodiment of
>the man rune but I wouldn't like to bet it was recognisable as
>human. Most of the single rune beings perished in the God's War.

Eek! I've absolutely no idea if I ever read that racially humans were associated with just the man rune, or that I've always just assumed it. Either way, I've thought it for a very long time, not that that makes any difference to anyone else, I guess.

As for a classification errors-I realise that many sages may use runes as a shorthand for describing things-but runic associations are a kind of basic 'truth', rather than being subjective, so whilst, for example, an uz could lose the darkness rune, she would have to do some pretty extraordinary things to do so.

>What I'm getting at is that what we associate with ageing and decay
>does not necessarily match what the Mostali think. What we regard
>as ideal they probably see as signs of immaturity and growth.

Yeah, that's a perfectly good rationalisation if you accept that Mostali look like little old men. Although, again, you might wonder whether (orthodox) Mostali would even fully comprehend the idea of growth (or maturity). And it would beg the question as to why non stasis-associated humans grow to resemble Mostali as they decay, age and change.

If that was just a part of the man rune make-up of the Mostali and was occurring in ageing Mostali who had drifted from Mostal's way, then it would seem a bit more consistent..

The wikipedia article on dwarves (or more properly dwarfs, apparently) is quite illuminating (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dwarves). Originally, Norse dwarfs were man sized death associated creatures. Most of the modern tropes about dwarves are from Tolkien, and are pretty ubiquitous, which makes them a bit stale in my view, which is why I was dissatisfied with the 'vanilla dwarfism' that afflicted many of the descriptions of Mostali.

'Vanilla dwarfism'-heh.        



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