Re: Elves and Ill Bethisad

Hallo!

On Fri, 24 Oct 2003 15:31:38 -0400,
Jan van Steenbergen <ijzeren_jan@...> wrote:

> --- Jörg Rhiemeyer skrzypszy:
>
> > Padraic manages to create the impression that Dunein is essentially stuck
> > in the 19th century, that lynch justice is the order of the day and that
> > civil rights don't exist there. When reading his description of Dunein, I
> > get the impression that it is almost as barbaric as Afghanistan.
>
> To be honest, I never got such impression. Dunein is very *traditional*
> indeed, but not stuck in some distant past.
Then our impressions differ.  But I am not to judge whose impression is
more correct.  But I must confess that I have exaggerated a bit when
I compared Dunein to Afghanistan.

> > I bailed out because I didn't want the Elves to appear in that bad light
>
> Well, you might consider joining with Germanech instead; in that case you
> would have relatively little to do with Kemr.
I have considered that, yes, but as for now, I don't think I'll join at
all.
I get along very poorly with Padraic, and find it difficult to attune
to Ill Bethisad as a whole.  I simply don't like it very much; in any
case, I'll wait for Andrew's reaction on the current debate before
I make my decision.

> > I can live with a bit less tech.  This means that there is no Internet
> > yet, and no cellphones.  But overall something we would recognize as
> > "modern".
>
> As someone already mentioned, both the Internet and mobilophones existed
> *here* in the 1980s and earlier. They exist in IB too, but are far from
> democratised.
Yes.  Mobile phones were expensive and too bulky to carry them in one's
pocket; they were usually mounted aboard cars.  The Internet was largely
restricted to universities and corporate and government research labs;
pioneering amateurs had set up their own BBS networks such as FidoNet.

> Regarding technology, many things are different in IB, but not necessarily
> more old-fashioned. The fact that zeppelins and other kinds of airships
> flourish certainly does not mean that these are the same things that we had
> *here* in the 1930s.
Sure.  Airships are a technology that disappeared early due to
misfortunate
circumstances, and thus very popular among alternative history writers.
They are also a "gentle" technology which I really like and would also
fit the style of the Elves.

> One perhaps stupid question (I have been away for a while, so forgive me):
> I understood these Elves are entirely human; so what makes them "Elvish"?
It's mainly the tradition.  The Elves are the descendants of an ancient
civilisation that existed in Britain prior to the Celts and is the
source
of Celtic and Germanic mythological traditions of elves.  There are folk
traditions that attribute magical powers to them.  Their culture shows
some similarities to Tolkien's Elves; they seek harmony with nature,
yet they are sophisticated and advanced.

Greetings,

Jörg.


Cheers,
Jan