[Glorantha] Pharaonic assassination

[Peter Metcalfe]

Joerg Baumgartner:

> >>If Tatius was in Sartar at the time, he would have taken
> >>part in this, and his support would have amounted to
> >>something.

> > Why would [Tatius] have [supported the Pharaonic
> > Assassination if he was in Sartar]?

>In his function as Dean of the Imperial College.

That only gives him a license to stick his nose into other
people's magical projects.  This is not necessarily the
same thing as other people wanting his support or even
wanting him to know about their secret projects.

There's also a date argument based on his appointment
having been a compromise between Icilius Overholy
(appointed 1618 - Genertala Book p40) and Fazzur but
it may refer to something other than his appointment
as Dean.

> > The Empire is not a monolithic
> > institution efficiently marshalling all its resources to the
> > fulfillment of the Seven Year Plan.  Tatius and JarEel are
> > rivals for Imperial Favour.  In a culture where the advancement
> > for promotion is through the Dart Competitions, Tatius
> > would have been remiss if he didn't put some resources into
> > sabotaging JarEel's plans just as he was sabotaging
> > Fazzur's.

>In this case I see it rather like an Imperial Writ entitling JarEel to
>demand Complete Support of the Lunar College of Magic for this
>mission.

Drop everything and give Complete Support to our political rivals?
Most Lunar politicians would translate that into Give an appearance
of Complete Support while actually working out ways of sabotaging
the writ holder's magical at a critical moment so that it looks like
she snuffed herself through her own incompetence.  To be safe,
JarEel would need to have some way to compel Tatius that it's
in his best interests that he does not even think about Sabotaging
her project (something like having his mother hostage and threatening
to throw her

As for my own view on the project, I believe that JarEel was in
deep disgrace (due to her failure to prevent Moonson from being
maimed by Harsaltar the terrible in 1602).  Moreover she is one
of many Lunar Magical groups are trying to subvert the Holy Country.
The earliest are the agitators that incited the Ditali and Solanthi to
go to war while another is probably working Chaos Magic on the
Print.  JarEel leaps back into favour because she gets the first
result by assassinating the Pharaoh on a shoestring rather than
having merely used the vast resources of the empire.

>Probably signed by Great Sister in the name of Moonson. Tatius trying to
>thwart JarEel in this would be of a similar scale to Haradangian walking
>out of the Second Council on the eve of completion of Osentalka, and would
>have guaranteed JarEel undertaking something similar to Kallyr's
>Dragonrise at the dedication ceremony of the new temple. It may well have
>cost JarEel some concessions, though.

Except that Harandangian's walkout was open while there is nothing
to prevent Tatius from engaging in secret skullduggery.  To openly
plot the demise of your rivals is high treason, to secretly do the same
is good politics.

> > I didn't say correspondence to the Holy Country - I said
> > correspondences between the unknown Sixth and the
> > Lunar Element.  And all that's required to access the
> > Lunar otherworld is a temple.

>IMO not even that. A Lunar magician of JarEel's calibre probably can cross
>over with the help of full moon and a decently sized piece of moonrock.

I don't see JarEel as being that powerful even now.

>As I said, I have no problem at all with Boldhome being the site of great
>supportive action. It just doesn't offer any advantages for either
>accessing the Underworld (where she cut off Belintar) or the Holy Country
>otherworld.

It's not known that she cut him off in the underworld, it's only conjectured.
My position is that she cut him off in the part corresponding to God
Forgot (because of the Lunar connection) and that Boldhome was used
as a crossover point because it was _closest_ to the Holy Country.

If you don't agree with the theory, that's fine as it's only my opinion (so 
far).
But when critiquing it, you could at least try to avoid stating cojectures
as fact.

>If a magician could deal with Chaos, the Footprint would be a good place
>to invade the Holy Country otherworld, crawling in the tunnels of Krarsht.
>This also serves the Limbo theme nicely.

Except that Chaos isn't Limbo but infests the hell portions of the Holy
Country Otherworld according to the Arcane Lore map.

--Peter Metcalfe