Disorder clearly means different things to different cults, though the 'golden thread' seems to be a god or cult which at some level gains strength and purpose from a refusal to follow the rules that others do. Maybe at one level it also means opposing 'Order' whilst refusing to align oneself with Chaos?
As this rune is common to Lodril and Zorak Zoran (and Eurmal, since he found Death there?) can Disorder sometimes mean power over the Underworld too (or the ability to bring the Underworld to this world, which I guess is a major revolt against an important part of the cosmic order)
To me the surprising inclusion on this list was Lodril. Some aspects of Lodril certainly merit this rune, but does Lodril also merit this rune in his capacity as the god of unambitious Pelorian peasant farmers? Are we playing up the earthy, mischievous slightly subversive side of even the non-violent aspects of Lodril now? Maybe Lodril is such a "broad church" that not every aspect of Lodril should have the same three runes?
For Maran Gor and Zorak Zoran (but not Lanbril, and most of the time not Eurmal or Lodril either), this Rune also seems to be a way of saying 'berserk violence' without using the Death rune. Why not the Destruction rune though?
On reflection I can see Disorder as being just right for Zorak Zoran -- it speaks eloquently for his hate-filled fury towards most things (including Chaos, Law, Light, Troll society as run by Kyger Litor, and the difference between the material world and the Underworld).
I don't see it as clearly for Maran Gor though. I like the runic phrase that Maran Gor represents how Destruction/Disorder comes out of the (Malign?) Earth -- but why does Disorder complete the phrase more acurately than Destruction?
I can see some logic in Lanbril having the Disorder rune (thieves only respect the law when it suits them, which is the antithesis of Truth and Stasis), but I always thought Lanbril cultists were "in it for the money" rather than anarchists who see a spiritual meaning in theft, as somehow furthering a higher ideal of freedom or redistribution. (The write-up of the Handran thief cult in Tradetalk #10 (? Name begins with "E"?) is a better example of how thieves can see themselves as working towards a higher goal -- but surely this is supposed to be in stark contrast to Lanbril?) Indeed one early cult write-up of Lanbril suggested that thieves could be politically quite conservative when it suited them, as stability was usually better for business.
Why doesn't Lanbril have the rune of "Unequal Exchange", which is one of the "Five Movements" in the write-up on Runes in Hero Wars -- the others, if I remember correctly, being: Creation, Destruction, Equal Exchange (more commonly called "Trade" or "Communication", and called "Issaries" back in Cults of Prax) and Balance (which by the Third Age is commonly associated with the Red Moon, at least in the 'Barbarian Belt'). Indeed maybe Lanbril should possess this rune too? If not Lanbril, then who?
IMHO surely the Unequal Exchange rune, paired with Illusion (deception and trickery, though maybe Lanbril's emphasis on mundane skill and artifice over powerful magic makes a case for Mastery?) if Lanbril merits a second rune, is a better shorthand for what Lanbril is ultimately about?
What am I missing?
Richard Hayes
From: Jeff <richaje_at_0BmALnrP7SwCxIJcGlfu7T4lvDM6tCXYyaVSFYqfStD43_LEUL3F2bK68gBayvI10pHzlTb1CMujjg.yahoo.invalid>
To: WorldofGlorantha_at_yahoogroups.com
Sent: Monday, 21 November 2011, 16:32
Subject: Re: Rune magic
Trotsky, after looking over my rune files, I don't see *any* association between Disorder and madness. Or at least any more association than between any other rune and madness.
YGWV, but I don't see it there at all. Gods that have a Disorder Rune association (at least in HQ2) include:
Eurmal
Lanbril
Lodril
Zorak Zoran
Maran Gor
Be aware that NOT all the old RQ runic associations are correct - those God Learners made plenty of errors!
Jeff
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