Hrestol showed his companions and followers - the "Men of All" or so-called "knights" (which literally means "youth" or "servant") - that it was possible to reach the Creator as he did (but that no mortal had achieved prior to Hrestol). That moment of contact with the Creator, that Unity between Creator and Creation, is Joy and was definitely a form of spiritual support!
Imagine, after an endless Ice Age that nearly resulted in the destruction of everything, the little settlements on the western coast of Genertela experienced a new Dawn and renewed contact with the Creator! Imagine the possibilities, the potential, and the optimism of Hrestol's message.
> 2. RELATIVE POWER OF KNIGHTHOOD: Is Hrestol's ability to kill the goddess Ifftala primarily from powers granted to him from being a knight or is it more due to factors unique to him (his lineage, his fate, etc.)? For example, let's imagine a campaign where, after Hrestol is banished from Seshnela, the Pendali successfully quest to gain a new divine ally which has the same strength and nature of Ifftala. Leaving aside YGWV, in a canon interpretation of knighthood is it reasonable to suppose that Sir Player could prepare himself sufficiently to repeat Hrestol's feat and slay the new Ifftala?
Hrestol's magic was not a divine feat. Maybe one of his companions, after gaining Hrestol's insights and experiencing Joy, could also gain Hrestol's understanding into the workings of Glorantha to defeat the demon-guardian of the Pendali. But it would depend on whether the follower of Hrestol had achieved comparable insight - and not on mere rout repetition. Wizardry is something you *know*, not something you *are* or something you *have*.
> 3. THE PENDALI: These guys are described as being "civilized hsunchen" but I'm not sure what this means. Were their urban centers walled cities of stone like the Seshnegi or cruder hill forts? If they were walled cities, did the Pendali move in and take over existing centers and peoples? Did the Pendali wear metal armor in battle and use civilized weapons and tactics? Did they have access to sorcery or theistic magic? What was their main source of strength in war?
Whoah! I think people dramatically overstate the condition of mortal races at the time of the Dawn and understate their poverty. I doubt there were more than a few thousand Malkioni in ALL Genertela at the Dawn (divided amongst seven colonies - so lets say less than a thousand per colony, maybe less - making each settlement about the size of a modern Sartarite clan). The Pendali probably numbered around a thousand, maybe more, maybe less - again about the size of a Sartarite clan.
I doubt the folk of Neleos lived in grand walled cities of stone. Maybe the ancient walls of Neleoswal still stood undamaged from the Gods Time; more likely they lived in the husk of the God Time city, eking out a miserable existence (but surviving) through a combination of obedience to the half-remembered laws of Zzabur, tribute to demons, ancestor worship, aid from the aldryami, and sheer determination. Heck, they needed Xemela system of logical categorization to determine who was dead and who was still living!
The Pendali were also miserable survivors of the Darkness. They had their ancestors, those gods and spirits who had survived the Darkness as well, and perhaps some could still shapechange into animal form (I don't know - Greg is the expert on this). They lived in little villages, had "kings", and were certainly more impressive than the little bands of Hsunchen hunter-gatherers who couldn't decide if they were animals or men.
Jeff
Powered by hypermail