Re: Why is there a holy country anyway ?

From: Peter Metcalfe <metcalph_at_RJtLCstzLK7Pe0YA9XvuEYxrA3IocXotZqQ5xl9sJOaaZxm3f85zaANkCNL5Wk4vlUB>
Date: Thu, 26 Aug 2010 23:11:58 +1200


On 8/26/2010 1:18 AM, Peter Larsen wrote:

> That's an interesting idea. So the Holy Country is, in a very real way,
> Belintar?

In my opinion, Belintar is the magical shadow of the Holy Country. One can live in the Holy Country without being part of Belintar.

> Is it possible that Belintar somehow "locked" the individual parts of the
> Holy Country apart? So that there could still be conflict between Queens in
> Esrolia, for example, but not between Esrolians and Uz.

There is conflict within the Holy Country. The Esrolians have had civil wars (mentioned in the RuneQuest Companion) while Heortland has the Volsaxi rebellion. The conflict of the Volsaxi is largely because they reject the Pharaoh and that I think is key to the conflicts elsewhere within the Holy Country.

I don't think the Queens fight each other. I think the civil wars (mentioned in the RuneQuest Companion) takes place at a lower level than the Queens, ie the Grandmothers. The Pharaoh after all has his Queens under control whereas the Grandmothers Council resists his reforms.

And I must recant partially my statement about the countries not fighting each other. The Volsaxi have had conflicts with the Kitori although one resists the Pharaoh and the status of the other is murky. Likewise the Esvulari may have border conflicts with God Forgot while tensions between the Esrolians and the Caladrans are probably played out in Porthomeka (in part because Esrolia proper sends propitiatory sacrifices to Caladraland).

So the opportunity for a divide and rule strategy is there even with the Pharoah alive.

--Peter Metcalfe            

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