RulingNations@aol.com wrote:

>When I first wrote up the Litany of the Gods of Honor I commented that I
>had no idea where Demerhaze came from, she just "seemed to fit." Well,
>apparently my non-conscious mind has been working for some time on
>complementary religions to the Ministry of Inquiry (of which Exquaestio
>is a member), because I've since figured out how well my picture of
>Demerhaze fits with the mythic structure of the Ministry.
>
>In a world like Celandra, the deities exist regardless of the patterns
>that mortals wish to put them in, whether those patterns be those of
>logic or the unconscious. However, even if such a designation as "God of
>Storms" has no real meaning to the god himself, that doesn't disallow a
>religion or a god from making use of such a designation. For some gods
>this may happen by accident, as a particular set of myths resonates with
>a particular cultures, and another god's do not. More sophisticated
>gods, however, will use this process deliberately.
>  
>
I rather like this concept.



>As a complement to the Ministry of Inquiry, the archetype I perceive for
>Demerhaze is that of the Shadow Child. In this aspect she represents the
>childish, primitive, and often animalistic urges which exist in all
>worshipers. She is nature, the origin that all worshipers must grow
>beyond to achieve their true destiny. She is the child that is left
>behind when a worshipers grows to be an adult. She is the danger from
>which the hero protects. She is the divine fool who drives the search
>for wisdom. And yet, the priesthood of Demerhaze would understand very
>well that "The price of liberty is eternal vigilance." For when growth
>is done, danger met, wisdom acquired, the worshiper discovers that
>Demerhaze is just as much where he is now as where he was when he
>started.
>
>  
>
This strikes me as being the most sophisticated interpretation of 
Demerhaze, one that would be used by a sophisticated society. In a more 
primitive culture, such as the mountain clans of Kasovia, her more feral 
aspects would come to the fore.

>I see Demerhaze most often as being depicted as a child or young woman
>in primitive or historical garb. Her tools are primitive, but effective.
>Often she may be depicted as having two or three faces: one serene and
>childlike, one feral and mad, and one blank and ignorant. However, it is
>important to note that however shadowed and dreadful Demerhaze may be,
>her religion exists not to worship or extend those shadows, but rather
>to aide a worshiper in dealing with them. Thus, when a worshiper comes
>to Demerhaze seeking vengeance, it is the duty of her priests to
>aid the supplicant in such a way that he grows "beyond" the vengeance,
>becoming greater than he was, not lesser. (As an ideal taught to the
>priesthood the image of Inigo Montoya from _The Princess Bride_ comes to
>my mind. Though had he be guided by the Cult of Demerhaze he would have
>been far more prepared when his vengeance was achieved.)
>
>  
>
I don't entirely agree with the above paragraph. For the Kasovian 
worshippers of Demerhaze, the concept of growing beyond vengeance is 
meaningless. The majority of Kasovians have no concept of justice beyond 
vengeance and blood-feud. A real-life analogy would be traditional 
Albanian culture, as contained in the /Canon of Lek/. In the 1990s, a 
Western relief mission had to pull out of Albania due to constant 
attacks by members of one extended family. When asked why they were 
attacking the relief workers, the clansmen explained that the relief 
workers had given food and water to a family with who they had a blood 
feud. Under the /Canon of Lek/, the first family was obligated to attack 
the relief mission, even though that meant losing access to food and 
clean water for the whole region. Kasovian blood-feuds are similar.

Another analogy would be the relationship between the Narn and the 
Centauri in /Babylon 5/. "Blood cries out for blood." Kasovian 
blood-feuds and vengeance cycles often continue until one or the other 
or both families involved are completely extirpated.

However, Demerhaze's most important aspect in Kasovian society is as the 
Goddess of Night and Darkness. In that role, she is reputed to be the 
mistress of all the things which go 'bump' in the night.

>Granted divine authority is usually extremely idiosyncratic. One chosen
>priest might be granted the ability to see the relations between
>individuals and how she can affect them. Her student might become a
>destroyer ferocious and strong when calling upon the authority of
>Demerhaze.
>
>We can, of course, see how this religion can be easily misconstrued.
>Even for its adherents it becomes all to easy to confuse its worship of
>means (childhood as a means to adulthood, ignorance as a means to
>knowledge, and vengeance as a means to morality) as a worship of ends
>(unending childhood, deliberate ignorance, and vengeance for vengeance's
>sake). There is another issue, however, which makes the Cult of
>Demerhaze even less popular in certain areas. To societies based upon
>obedience and stability, the Cult of Demerhaze is a haven of rebels,
>freethinkers, and radicals (or whatever epithets are most appropriate to
>the culture in question). Such cultures often attempt to anathematize
>the Cult, only to find that their efforts may have destroyed the cult,
>but done nothing about the problems they thought the Cult originated.
>
>  
>
Another nifty idea. However, I somewhat prefer the notion suggested in 
an earlier post, which was that Demerhaze's main worshippers in urban 
societies are the marginalized: escaped slaves, beggars, street 
children, orphans, the poorest of the poor. Still, the two conceptions 
are not necessarily mutually exclusive.

>Such, then, is the cult of Demerhaze. Its complementary aspects with
>Feroze's worship should be obvious. Demerhaze is the origin or mystery
>which leads the worshiper to seek out Feroze for the tools and
>instructions needed to reach towards the final destination (not
>currently identified with a particular god). Demerhaze and Feroze thus
>join together (with the subsidiary organizations and deities) as members
>of a single pantheon; allies in some ways, rivals in others, but not
>differing in ultimate goals.
>
>(Comments?)
>
>  
>
One final thought: is Demerhaze a 'native' Being of the Dreaming, 
co-opted into the Ferozian pantheon; or is she an Outsider? Personally, 
I'm inclined to the first choice, because much has already been written 
that implies Demerhaze to be 'native'. In particular, there's her ties 
to Lucia, who *is* native to the Dreaming.

Andrew Janssen

>Jefferson (Exquaestio)
>http://www.picotech.net/~jeff_wilson63/rpg/
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>  
>

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