Gudleifr, Animal Spirits, and the Exodus?!

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Bonehead
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Gudleifr, Animal Spirits, and the Exodus?!

Post by Bonehead »

I have always wondered why, if King Gudleifr was commiting near Genocide of Proto-Hillfolk and sacrificing them to the Animal Spirits, when these Proto-Hillfolk fled into he Fey Forest, why didn't said Animal Spirits aid Gudleifr in stopping his enemies from escaping? Instead, the Hillfolk seem to guess that the Animal Spirits, or whatever Fey Folk reside in that forest, let them through!

Do the Animal Spirits not care for the Sacrifices? Were they not empowered by the sheer number of burnt offerings that were made?

Is it because Gudleifr just wanted the Hillfolk dead, and his heart wasn't in the actual sacrifices?

Maybe whatever lives in the Fey Forest is not Animal Spirits or connected to Nature?

Discuss!
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Marcuson
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Re: Gudleifr, Animal Spirits, and the Exodus?!

Post by Marcuson »

It makes sense, I suppose, that people believed that the blonde-haired Hillfolk were close to the Inner Light, but I always thought it was strange that Gudleifr thought that sacrificing thaumaturges, or potential thaumaturges, would please the Great Animal Spirits.

Is there any evidence that the Great Animal Spirits prefer any particular sort of sacrifice, or indeed sacrifice at all? Their natures are enigmatic, and how can humans understand what they desire to begin with?
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Lexx416
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Re: Gudleifr, Animal Spirits, and the Exodus?!

Post by Lexx416 »

I have maybe the "Unfun Take" on this. I've always looked at Gudleifr and the Hillfolk Exodus as a cautionary tale - that the primal forces of the world are wild and truly beyond our comprehension. That Gudleifr made a terrible mistake - he made sacrifices to the spirits, thinking he understands the Great Spirits, and thinking he has any amount of sway or clout with them, and that they care at all about Gudleifr and his Mortal Human Problems.

The Faewyr and the Huecatn both ascribe the Fey Forest as "otherworldly domains" in some fashion - I think that's probably an important piece to the puzzle of how the Hillfolk were able to escape their pursuers without being harmed.
"You hear the Woses, the Wild Men of the Woods... Remnants of an older time they be, living few and secretly, wild and wary as beasts."
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Candelori
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Re: Gudleifr, Animal Spirits, and the Exodus?!

Post by Candelori »

Marcuson wrote: Sun Jul 03, 2022 3:01 pm It makes sense, I suppose, that people believed that the blonde-haired Hillfolk were close to the Inner Light, but I always thought it was strange that Gudleifr thought that sacrificing thaumaturges, or potential thaumaturges, would please the Great Animal Spirits.

Is there any evidence that the Great Animal Spirits prefer any particular sort of sacrifice, or indeed sacrifice at all? Their natures are enigmatic, and how can humans understand what they desire to begin with?
I have always taken Gudleifr's given reasons to be a mere excuse to remove a group of people he considered a nuisance and potential threat. The ways and philosophies of thaumaturgy were new and different, and threatened to distract from and weaken the traditional belief systems Gudleifr used to maintain influence over his people. By sacrificing them to the Animal Spirits he would prove the inferiority of the foreign beliefs he associated with these people, at the same time proving his own dedication to the traditional spiritual beliefs of his own people.

I must admit however that I do not believe I have seen mention of human sacrifices to animal spirits beyond the acts of Gudleifr. Perhaps he sought to take his dedication to unprecedented heights by adding this new extreme practice.
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