> Anyway, I've been able to explain pretty much everything about
> everthing else, but explaining veneration and saintly magic seems to
> be beyond me. My friend is now convinced that anything that has to do
> with saints is actually theistic worship. . .
/// If you want to explain Veneration to Players, 21st century-RW finns (or americans, or french), my opinion is you can't. I am not interested in "neutral", "generic", "absolute" explanations, only by cultural, subjective, incomplete ones.
If you're a good (ie NPC) malkioni you know that THERE IS ONLY ONE GOD AND MALKION IS HIS PROPHET. God made the Universe and Malkion explained its Laws to us. Our able Readers, guided by the Wise Watchers of our Church, lead our gatherings every week and God Blesses us to Work Harder, Protect the Weak or to face whatever trial He chooses to send us.
Some Saints understood some of God's Laws and they taught us some Prayers we use to do our jobs even better, be we dronar, horal or talar. Zzaburs are Watchers and Knowers from the Church; they do learn mighty Spells directly from the Holy Books to Protect us from demons and error. Some Knowers do study magic outside of the church and are very strange, best leave them alone.
We do not prostrate ourselves before idols, offer sacrifices to them or cavort during obscene rituals like pagans and animal f...s do. We venerate God, Malkion and the Saints who understood our annointed role in life, guided by our Readers.
Now, if you keep asking stupid questions like "why is veneration different from what pagans and krjalki do", I will beat you until some sense gets into your thick head. If that's not enough, I will call the Reader to look inside your mind and banish the stupid thoughts through the Sacred Trials - and some are quite painful. If you still talk about such follies, we'll have to call an exorcist and...
Now, that's better - I see you have picked your shovel and begun digging again.
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