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Dream Dragons

Posted on January 25, 2021

I do so love Dream Dragons. They raise all sorts of dream arguments like the Butterfly Dream of the Zhuangzi. Maybe all of Glorantha is the dream of a sleeping Dragon, and it is only the Dream Dragons that are aware of it?

There is always a difficulty in separating dragons from their philosophies and magics. This is true even in history, for although the True Dragons sleep they still dream, and their dreams are almost as terrible as themselves. Fortunately many dreams are whimsical or fanciful rather than greedy and vicious, and some dragons dream of teaching mortals their secrets or of things which do not harm men.Thus are born the Dream Dragons, a handicapped and limited species of creature which is grossly incomplete in its being, and whose whole existence caused by the sleeping mind of another being. These are the dragons most often seen by men. When people speak of dragons they usually mean this kind. Dream dragons are monstrous and terrifying, capable of destroying armies of men, are sometimes immune to all types of magic, and in general manifest the powers most frightening to humans.Dream dragons are like Gloranthan illusions: a temporary reality. They are formed from the unconscious thoughts of True Dragons and often manifest the traits which are normally suppressed by such wise and benevolent beings. Thus dream dragons are often cruel, selfish, destructive, and greedy for material wealth.However, some dream dragons defy the normal categorization and are known for their benevolence and friendship towards humans. Yet, even these have been known to treacherously turn against former friends, and the lesson of the draconic betrayal of all humans in the Dragonkill War are not forgotten, even after 500 years.

What is the antidragon equivalent of the dream dragon? an antidream dragon? a dream antidragon? a nightmare dragon? You mean the assignment of “good” and “bad” categories to the gods that the Vithelans keep going off on? keep in mind that the Vithelans are basically categorising things as “anti-” if it goes against the Vithelan world-view. They are “a rag-tag collection of all the entities whose nature is to oppose the gods, the mediators, and the beneficent aspirations of the mortal races.” So Orlanth is an anti-god because he killed HeenMaroun and generally brought calamities to the world. The troll gods are anti-gods because they are Darkness deities that devoured and polluted the world.

So who is NOT an anti-god? Giving their God Learner titles (from the time of the New Dragon’s Ring): Yelm. Yelmalio. Godunya. Grandfather Mortal. Dendara. Miyo. Lodril. Uleria. Chalana Arroy. The various deified emperors. Various local heroes and mystics. But cults like Orlanth, Humakt, Storm Bull, Waha, Maran Gor, etc. are all anti-gods.

Pamaltela? Pamaltela is a big place, and not strongly tied to things like dragons, trade routes across the Wastes, the God Learners, etc. Parts of it are, but again, it is a BIG place.

Jeff Richard

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