Friday, December 3, 2010

Even more Glorantha

The cult of Orlanth the Dragon is a male-only cult because Orlanth was the first to split his tongue and so taught all others to do so.
The above is one of my favourite lines from the Cults of Glorantha. It reminds me of the Bible. Almost all of the Bible follows this syntax; "[premise] because [utter nonsense]". If someone were to say such a thing in the real world, I would think "befuddler" or "liar". In Gloranth, it's a sentence paragraph that requires no further explanation. All I think is HeroQuest!

Orlanth was the first to split his tongue, literally, and in doing so he allowed all others that followed him to mystically incise their own. The HeroQuest would involve divining the knife that Orlanth used (a la the Grail from The Last Crusade) as well as following closely to the ritual Orlanth followed in being the first non-dragon to speak Auld Wyrmish.
Auld Wyrmish
This is the language of the Dragonewts and the Empire of the Wyrms’ Friends. Humans who speak it must mystically ‘split their tongue’ in order to be able to replicate the curious sounds made by the forked tongues of the Dragonewts. It is a complex language; mystically rich, including poetry, song and ritual chant. It sounds like no other language in Glorantha and is exceptionally difficult to master. Draconised cultures use both Auld Wyrmish and the tongue for their culture and/or region: Auld Wyrmish is rarely used exclusively.
And now for something that I'm almost 100% certain has never appear anywhere in any version of D&D, a spell called Delivery.
Delivery
Duration Special, Rank Initiate, Touch

Delivery ensures that a natural childbirth is safe, clean and with managed pain for the mother. The spell lasts for the natural length of the delivery and is usually cast when the waters break although it can be cast when contractions have begun. The beneficiary of the spell feels relaxed and calm, and, although she will still feel the pain of childbirth, it is neither distressing nor overwhelming. The spell dissipates once the child has been born (the spell guards against still births or birthing difficulties) and the cord is cut and tied magically as the closing act of the spell.

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