The same good ol' question : what is Chaos ?

From: hcarteau_at_CBPyIyPvBJ-24_MkCQZ3hWc0p_2csFHIWUtHxmj9iJRzbo7YT2wMEJZfjK2ZSdMx036
Date: Sat, 18 Aug 2012 22:11:16 +0200 (CEST)


Calling ompalam, or the red moon, or gbaji, or malia, or krjalk, "chaotic" seems meaningless. "Chaos" as we understand it is the orlanthi (heortling orlanthi) definition. But the world is vast, and not everybody knows of chaos.

The kralori don't AFAIK: they know about their ancient ennemies, duly listed to help the Emperor.

The malkioni don't know chaos and don't have a word for it. What they have are krjalki, which means "demons", evil sorcerers, gbajites : this is all evil, but not chaotic.

The fonritans don't recognize chaos, what they have is "disobedience" to the rule of Slavery. Anyone that isn't a slave is evil and dangerous. Deities like ikadz, which are revulsive elsewhere, are a valued part of this system.

Even the Dara Happans don't identify chaos as such - they face digijelm, a name extended to all monsters, and barbarians, a name extended to all non-dara happans.

To these guys broos, scorpion men or oozing monstrosities are the same kind of problem as smelly barbarians (orlanthi) or masloi pirates or heretics : a source of danger, often of evil as well, but nothing "super-extra-nasty-CHAOTIC" that the orlanthi recognize.

And the lunars are, of course, those who thought hardest about this, and they do recognize Entropy, the stuff that fills the universe and in which floats the bubble that is Glorantha. If this stuff creeps in the bubble, weird stuff can happen : sometimes horrible - and it must be destroyed, sometimes very useful.

Down with the chaotic label! Glorantha is bigger than a few smell orlanthi's obsessions :-))            

Powered by hypermail