The Malkioni

All the people of the West are called Malkioni (the people of Malkion).  Apart from the Brithini, they are all worshippers of the Invisible God and his prophets, Hrestol and Rokar. They have a feudal caste society and are (with a few small exceptions) the only practicing sorcerous culture in Glorantha.  The Hrestoli control Loskalm in Fronela while the Rokari rule Tanisor and Sentanos in Seshnela and Western Ralios.  All Malkioni were originally immortal in the days of the Kingdom of Logic (an age before recorded time existed) but now only the Brithini still have this ability and only as long as they stay in the rigid roles of their society.

Invisible God - Basic Beliefs

The Invisible God, unlike most of the rest of the Gloranthan pantheon offers no benefits in life to his worshippers.  He has no spells and can't answer calls for divine intervention.  What he offers instead is ‘Solace and Joy everlasting' for those that lead ‘a correct and virtuous existence'.  This is usually interpreted to mean obeying the rules of your caste and fulfilling your role in life, whatever that may be.  There is also a similar understanding of sin and virtue as per our own world. The Malkioni believe that Chaos is the spawn of the Devil - a powerful entity whose only goal is the destruction of life, law and order.  Sin allows chaos into the world.

About Malkion:

Malkion was the Lawgiver of the Brithini back in the Age of Logic. He laid down the Immutable Laws for his sons, and told them that if anybody ever suggested changing them, they should be exiled from the Kingdom of Logic. Everyone could understand all of his Laws, which all made perfect sense. The world was a closed system, without Entropy or Friction or anything going wrong: a neat, enclosed, four-element world where everyone lived forever and nothing inconceivable could ever happen.

But then... the world broke, and started falling apart. The Sun went out, the Ice Age began, and Chaos crept into Creation. Illogical things started to happen, and the unchanging Laws of the Age of Logic became a deathtrap for most of their followers. Doing things the old way was now often extremely dangerous, and people start Dying - and there's nothing about that in the old Laws! Panic and despair...

As Chaos entered the world, Malkion received a direct Revelation from the Creator, which showed him how to give hope and comfort to the dying world. He took the new secrets of Salvation through Faith in Solace to his Brithini children, and tried to persuade them of their truth. Many of them were convinced, and followed him. But the others, the Amoral Majority, quite correctly pointed out that his actions were condemned by his own Law. Good law-abiding Brithini that they were, they quoted his own Immutable Laws back at him, and exiled him from Brithos.

These Brithini had listened to Malkion's Revelation, but they weren't convinced. They had no Faith in Malkion, or in anything: theirs was the path of austere Logic. To see it from their point of view, though, we know people were going stark staring loony in the Great Darkness. If Father Malkion had in fact flipped and encouraged mass Lawbreaking, surely it'd be a kindness to send him away somewhere he can't harm others.

Malkion's faithful followers crossed the Raging Sea with him to Seshneg, and lived in Malkonwal, his Holy City, and other places. They worshipped God the Creator with their newfound Malkioni Faith, and were guided in interpretation of the Laws by the Prophet who dwelt among them. As the world fragmented under the onslaught of Chaos in the Great Darkness, Malkion kept his people devoted to God the Creator alone. This single-minded dedication gave him the strength to fight the "I Fought, We Won" battle on behalf of the whole world, pulling everything back together.

‘I Fought, We Won'

This is a seminal moment in history like the Great Flood.  All races and religions across Glorantha have a legend that is similar, an echo of a time when great disasters rocked the world and Chaos threatened to overwhelm all life.  This time is called ‘The Great Darkness' and ended in a huge magical symbiosis where all the races and religions of Glorantha found themselves conducting great ceremonies at the same time.  The result was the defeat of Chaos in a battle called ‘I Fought, We Won' after which Time began. This is the Malkioni version of that battle:

"While the world was fragmenting under the onslaught of Chaos in the Great Darkness, Malkion kept his people devoted to God the Creator alone. Their single-minded dedication gave him the strength to fight the "I Fought We Won" battle on behalf of the whole world, pulling everything back together. All the Malkioni experienced what their Prophet had gone through:

The tattered remains of the world seemed to have no chance for unified action against the forces of chaos. They were isolated by unbridgeable gaps ... There was a unity between them in their wish for survival, and this unquenchable desire brought individuals across time and space, order and chaos to confront the final dissolution of the world. It did not matter from whence they were drawn or where it occurred. They fought their last desperate fight against overwhelming odds, motivated by their survival and determined to do their utmost. In this way they combined forces and unconsciously aided each other against their own fears. They were alone, yet they found themselves with others like themselves and gained strength."

At the moment the Universe failed, Malkion was absorbed into the Invisible God, and together they recreated the Universe and inspired its inhabitants. Although the world was almost destroyed, Malkion single-handedly saved it, but died and went to Solace in the process.

The Castes

All Malkioni fall into a caste from their birth.  What happens after that depends on where you were born and under which Church you live.  These are the castes:

Dronar - Farmer Caste - This caste is not just peasants and those that work the land.  It is also the caste of merchants, tradesman and the general populace.

Horal - Soldier Caste - Professional soldiers and those that fight for a living.  This includes Knights who are basically senior Horals.

Zzaburi - Wizard/Priest Caste - Keepers of the secrets of sorcery, these are the main magic users of the society.  Zzabur, the greatest sorcerer who ever lived is Brithic and still alive but lends his name to the entire caste.

Talar - Lords/Kings - Rulers and nobles in the society - their task is to uphold the laws and ensure society functions fairly (this is of course open to interpretation!).

Menena - Women - Women have their own separate caste and are widely regarded as being spiritually inferior to men.  The analogy is Real World medieval thinking. You will, however, find female Knights, Wizards and nobles in various parts of the world.  The important point to note though is that they have ceased to be true Menenans in the eyes of their religions and society.

Important Malkioni Sects

Brithini: The immortal Brithini are atheistic, rigid, and codified. They only recognize the four castes of Dronar, Horal, Zzaburri and Talar in their original forms.  Theirs is the oldest form of Malkionism, but immortality seems to interfere with biology and births are rare so they are now threatened with extinction.

Hrestoli: Named after Hrestol, the first prophet after the Dawn who believed that the original castes limited spiritual growth.  His vision from the Invisible God was the creation of a meritocratic society where all people can progress through the castes.  He was martyred by the Brithini for his beliefs.  Hrestol society based in Loskalm is founded on these ideals and recognizes Farmer, Knight, Wizard Priest (also known as Peres), Lord and King as the natural progression and individuals are expected to strive to be upwardly mobile, mastering one caste before moving up to the next.  Thus all Knights have been farmers and soldiers before winning their spurs.  Critics say the reality of society is somewhat different, that progression is only for the select few and that most born in their roles tend to stay in them but surely this is just Rokari propaganda...

Rokari: Named after Rokar the second (and so far last) prophet to come.  Rokar believed in a back to basics approach, seeking the re-establishment of Malkion's original laws and castes.  As such, they recognize Farmer, Soldier, Knight, Priest (known as Doms), Lord and King.  The Rokari are, above all, Realists. Flamboyant displays, elaborate manners, intricate customs and so forth do not naturally endear themselves to the austere, purifying Rokari spirit. They creep in at the top, of course - such things always do - but the "Realistic" Rokari way is blunt, crude, rude: eminently human.

Life is nasty, brutish and short (unless you're pious), and there's no point pretending otherwise. Royal policy is at the level of grasping mediaeval monarchs everywhere: look at the way the King treats his Barons, and think of Coronation Oaths, and the evils Magna Carta was meant to moderate. The Holy Rokari Church sees poverty as a virtue, and hoards wealth and privilege for itself so that others must do without (and be better for it).

This overt power-clutching self-interest is anathema to the Hrestoli, both the Old Seshnelans of the Castle Coast (who like to keep up an appearance of living lives of gay abandon, courtly ceremonial and chivalric derring-do) and the Idealists of Loskalm (who place great importance in symbols and social ritual as embodiments of the Ideal).

The Rokari scoff at these attitudes, pointing out that they can degenerate into a facade of virtue, concealing vice and weakness within. "Such customs are bloated with decay, and conceal more than they reveal," the Rokari says. "At least you know where you stand with our King. When he kicks in your door, destroys your home, carries off your wife and murders your son, he's just doing what Kings always do. Does dressing it up make it any easier for you to bear?"

Chivalrous Rokari

Most Rokari "knights" are thugs in armour, and don't bother to disguise the fact. Of course, you can find some Rokari knights who behave chivalrously: these are perpetuating the old traditions of Chivalric behaviour, which are frowned upon by the contemporary establishment.

While not overtly "heretical", chivalrous behaviour is not expected, desired or encouraged. This lack of official sanction, of course, makes the few "good apples in a rotten barrel" feel even more virtuous about keeping it up. (And, of course, it gives player character 'chivalrous' Rokari knights a chance to feel good about themselves).

Arkat/Henotheism: Arkat is one of the most controversial figures in western history.  Originally a Brithini Horal, Arkat's destiny was changed with the creation of a living god named Nysalor late in the 4^th century.  Nysalor was created in a magical ritual that caused the sun itself to stop in the sky.  Originally he was named Osentalka but as he grew, he took the name Nysalor, the Bright One, apparently bringing hope to the peoples of the newly populated west. 

Late, in his youth, Arkat saw the dark side of Nysalor's cult known then as Gbaji, "the Deceiver." Arkat fought and helped drive the vile religion from Brithos and made it his life goal to eradicate the Gbaji cult.  Over the next 75 years he would blaze a trail across Seshnela, Ralios and Peloria before confronting Gbaji in a final battle from which he would emerge victorious.  Arkat embraced every power and force that would give him an edge over his enemy - over time he became a Knight of Hrestol, a pagan Sword of Humakt.  He even went through rebirth as a Troll to better fight Gbaji and his chaos forces.

His success is largely accredited to heroquesting. This method of spiritual conquest and growth was known previously, but none had the knowledge and power to explore and exploit the possibilities. Arkat made many incursions into dimensions beyond the normal world to gain magical tools and allies against the cult he had sworn to eradicate.

After the war was over, Arkat ruled Ralios peacefully for 75 years and created a Church that fused worship of the Invisible God with participation in pagan cults. Known as the Stygian heresy by outsiders, this church was destroyed by the God Learners but its secrets survived the rise and fall of that movement.  Today the Church is gaining in power in Ralios and has its own bishop.  Called the Henotheistic Church it worships the Invisible God and a pantheon of deities that it calls Saints. Worshippers wield both divine magic and sorcery. 

Worship of Arkat himself has also developed splintered into secret cults and many of them survive to this day, all striving for the return of their hero in the aspect they venerate.

Heroquesting

Arkat uncovered a long known secret - that the powers of the Gods, spirits and other entities lay in dimensions beyond the normal world.  This truth was generally being understood across all Glorantha, especially among the pagan cults whose Gods had wrought great deeds in the Great Darkness.  Heroes that emulated the adventures of these deities in a ceremonial fashion often found themselves in different times and places, facing the same enemies their Gods had faced (or a lesser version of them).  Using their powers and wits they would prevail and gain magic, weapons or abilities that transformed them into heroes - beings with supernatural powers. They gave a name to this place - the Hero Plane.

In the west the hero plane is accessed differently to other parts of the world.  Perhaps it was Arkat's doing, or maybe the prevalence of sorcery has changed the fabric of reality but generally it is easier to transition from the mundane to the mystical world in the west.  Knights quest for themselves, for their Lords and their people without the need of the great ceremonies and prayers that the pagans undertake.  Western Knights call the mystical world the Questlands and have discovered that the barrier between worlds is especially weak at places where great battles and magical events have taken place or elder races (Elves, Dwarves, Dragonewts, Trolls) have been present.

The Questlands are roughly analogous to Gloranthan geography although like a dream, their resemblance to reality can be amorphous and fleeting.  The initial encounter in the Questlands is always a fair in twilight.  Various powers sell at the stalls and inhabit the tents but most of them are devious and can't be trusted.  Some can be however and many a Quest Knight has found valuable information there to aid their quest.  Beyond that, however, real challenges await...

The best real world analogy to western questing would be the quests of the Knights of the Round Table.