Posted by Panu Petteri Höglund on 2:59 8/28/01
In reply to: (none)
What is the difference between elcari and murtani? I gather they are enemies, but where does that enmity come from? Are the blasted ktuvoks behind this, too? :)
We have only legends of this time. The Count of Years speaks of the Fall of the Elcari-- that is, their descent into sin. The sin was idolatry: a leader, Kharagh, convinced the elcari to make and worship a statue of their god, Khemthu-Nôr. The statue turned out to have the features of Kharagh himself, and he is said to have descended into madness, first declaring that Khemthu-Nôr did not exist (and demanding to be worshipped in his place), and then that none but he existed-- the elcari and the rest of the world were only creations of his imagination.
(This story reflects, at the least, the Cuzeians' estimation of the besetting sin of the elcari-- self-absorption. Cooped up in their mountain kingdoms, they often act as if the rest of Almea doesn't exist.)
Iáinos scattered the elcari across the world for this sin. But some of them had grown accustomed to fashioning idols, and instead of worshipping Kharagh adored totems of malignant power. These became the murtani. The Count of Years does not blame this on the ktuvoki, but on Amnäi, the Opponent of Iáinos.