Sunday, May 28, 2006

The Dhe’nar View of the “Gods”: Oleani (Arkati)

05/28/2006

The Dhe’nar know Oleani as The Breeder, patron of fertility, and the mindless and artless rutting of animals. Though they acknowledge that it is important for a society to reproduce and survive, they put no more stock in Oleani than that.

The Dhe’nar do not believe in “Love”, considering it a conceit that other sentients convince themselves exists, solely to try to give meaning to their reproductive urges. The Dhe’nar believe Oleani feeds this delusion, and consider this “romanticizing” of her true nature to be nothing but harmful. Thus, when the Dhe’nar call upon Oleani, it is in her aspect as patron of fertility, nothing more.

Ivas is seen as the path by which to transcend Oleani and her base urges, turning simple reproduction into something more significant.

The Dhe’nar View of the “Gods”: Mularos (Arkati)

05/28/2006

Mularos is known to the First Born as the Painseeker. He is the arkati who draws strength from suffering, and those of the younger races that attach themselves to Mularos seem to limit their understand of him to the most superficial of levels, seeking pain as its own end. Amongst the broken and maimed, he is a sign of redemption, feeding the belief that their weakness is in fact a source of strength, and chaining themselves to these falsehoods. Some mentally ill individuals follow Mularos, proving that he draws not only the broken in flesh, but in mind and spirit as well, and these maim themselves in misguided attempts to bring themselves closer to their “god” hoping to acquire his favor.

Needless to say, the Dhe’nar take different lessons from Mularos.

To the Dhe’nar, Mularos, while not particularly worthy of respect, represents the notion that hardship of the flesh can bring with it spiritual strength. Those who choose to draw lessons from Mularos amongst the Dhe’nar do so with the understanding that physical pain is merely a forge for the Spirit, and it is through that method they seek Ascension. They do not seek pain as its own end, merely as something to overcome. To avoid pain and hardship altogether is to remain frail, a notion which lies near the core of Dhe’nar society. The Dhe’nar choose to live in a harsh environment, and they train themselves to a harsh standard.

That said, the only value they find in Mularos is as a symbol. The reality of Mularos is that he peddles delusion to the weak, and is therefore depraved and harmful. 

The Dhe’nar View of the “Gods”: Niima (Lesser Spirit)

05/28/2006

Niima is the daughter of Charl, and much like Lorminstra is the go-between for Gosaena and our realm, so Niima serves as a bridge between Charl’s alien mind and the comprehension of mortals. When Dhe’nar seek to study Charl’s domain and his power, often they do so by way of Niima, as attempting to deal directly with Charl invites disaster, as he is difficult to comprehend at the best of times. Oftentimes, even when unasked Niima intercedes when mortals beseech Charl directly anyway, in order to protect the beseecher. So it is that many of the younger races’ priests of Charl in fact deal with Niima more often than their chosen patron, even if they do not realize it. 

The Dhe’nar View of the “Gods”: Meyno (Lesser Spirit)

05/28/2006

Meyno is said to be the oldest living stone giantess, and she’s possibly dead, possibly dormant.

Frankly, the Dhe’nar do not care. 

Sunday, May 21, 2006

Site Software Upgrade Today (Updated)

05/21/2006

Upgrading to the new version of the site’s blog software today, so if the site happens to be down briefly at some point, you know why.

Update: Upgrade complete. Carry on.

Wednesday, May 10, 2006

Dhe’nar Temple Caste and Sympathetic Magic

05/10/2006

One of the more frequent questions asked of Dhe’nar in GemStone is that, since they do not consider the Arkati to be truly divine beings, and often consider Arkati to be adversaries of mortals rather than worthy of worship (or even worthy of respect in some cases) then how is it that Clerics and Paladins even exist amongst the First Born, never mind seem to be granted spiritual power by the Arkati?

This, in fact, is not a puzzle to the Dhe’nar Temple Caste, because the workers of Spiritual Magic amongst the First Born operate on a different theory of magic than the younger races. While the short-lived mortals perform spiritual magic by making themselves subordinate and submissive towards their patron spirits, the Dhe’nar spiritual magicians operate under the theory of Sympathetic Magic.

Sympathetic magic is the use of images, physical objects, sounds, and other symbolic behaviors which in some way resemble the person or thing one hopes to influence. In the case of Dhe’nari members of the Temple Caste, the Arkati and their behaviors are the subjects emulated.

In other words, Sympathetic Magic is the manipulation of symbols, to create magical effects using the power of the object symbolized. If one wishes to evoke the power of Eonak, one looks/sounds/acts/thinks like Eonak. If one wishes to evoke the power of Fash’lo’nae, one does the same for him, and so on and so forth.

Dhe’nar clerics and paladins therefore draw on the power of the arkati by making themselves as similar to the Arkati in question as possible, and obtain their power in that manner. All Greater and Lesser Spirits have a “pool” of power available to and surrounding them, and Sympathetic Magic allows one to “tap” into that pool and use a portion of it as if one were the Arkati itself. Note that this similarity must be in more than just appearance. Intricate and arcane meditations are required to bring the mind of the Dhe’nar to the proper state as well. 

For a more modern analogy of the overall process, consider temporarily spoofing a network into thinking you were its proper owner, then using its resources/bandwidth briefly to accomplish some other purpose.

This is how Dhe’nar draw upon the power of the Arkati while still seeking to replace them. Instead of worshipping an Arkati, and asking it to bestow a portion of its power upon the supplicant, Dhe’nar who use spiritual magic have learned to access it without having to bend knee to the “gods” and beg.

Note that accessing the power does not automatically confer the ability to use it well, or use it at all. It still requires will, intelligence, and training to wield the power of an Arkati properly after it has been accessed. Simply “dressing up” as an Arkati does not grant you its power.

There is one more method of utilizing and Arkati’s or Lesser Spirit’s power without worshipping it, though this secondary method is much rarer. It requires making use of the Magical Law of Contagion, which is the Law that things which have once been in contact with each other continue to act on each other at a distance after the physical contact has been severed. Thus, it is possible to draw upon the power of the Arkati as a Cleric or Paladin if one has a relic that an Arkati has once been in contact with. The relic maintains a bridge between the user of magic and the Arkati whose power once touched it. This is rarer for two reasons: One, such relics are difficult to find and those that are known are heavily guarded by their owners. And two, an Arkati may take notice of the use of the relic and decide it wants its former belonging back.