Looking for a very specific shot in the dark...

Darius the Red

New Member
Hi, I have a hard one for ya! Wait, that didn't come out right.....I have a challenging request for ya! Yeah, that's probably a better way to put it...

So one of the things I do with my studies of mythology, history, etc, is build stories for roleplaying games with friends. I'm looking for a few characters that will help me round out the story. I have a cast of several figures, some mythological, some pseudo-historical, each from a different culture, and so I'm trying to avoid using two characters from the same mythology. I'll list what I have, and then I'll say what I need. I thank you for humoring my long-windedness.

Hercules of Greek myth
Gilgamesh, King of Uruch of Sumerian/Akkadian Legends
Morgaine LeFay, Sorceress of Arthurian literature
Syuing Fang, one of the first recorded female practitioners of Chinese alchemy and medicine
Sinbad the Sailor from 1001 Arabian Nights
Luciferis the Fallen Angel from Christian scripture
Odin of Norse mythology (specifically in his aspect as Grimnir, the wandering Sage)

To join this cast of characters (and hopefully without drawing from the same culture twice) I need two more.

Firstly I need an example of a virtuous or heroic individual who fell victim to lustful desire (their own or the seduction of another) and after screwing up royally because of it, swore never to indulge in pleasures of the flesh again and devoted their life to honor/virtue/something equally noble.

Secondly I need a mythological or legendary object that embodies divine order or rule of law. It has to be a doozie, something that was a big deal.

Anyway, here are your challenges. Any takers?
 
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Misa

Member
There is the Egyptian feather of Ma'at, which after death the hearts of the dead were weighed against. Ma'at was a goddess of law/order/truth. If they did not measure up to her feather they were devoured by the demon/goddess Ammut.

For the virtuous/heroic individual who fell victim to lust/desire and overcome it, you might look into Buddha; he was raised closeted from suffering/aging/sickness at his father's desire to spare him the knowledge of it once he did find out the truth he desired to experience it/understand it/be enlightened by it.
 

Darius the Red

New Member
Siddhartha is actually an awesome example and I can definitely use that, but not so sure about the feather of Ma'at. I'm trying to avoid using objects that belong to deities. Any other ideas on that one? It's definitely a good suggestion, but it won't work for my scenario. I also considered excalibur, embodying the lordy right to rule and destiny and that kind of thing, but I already have Morgaine LeFay on that list and I don't want to repeat stories. Otherwise Merlin would have filled the Wizard slot more easily than Odin does and Lancelot is an easy pick for a Noble Knight who fell victim to lust.

Awesome idea tho. Just wish I could use it.
 

Caburus

Active Member
How about Aaron's rod? In the Bible it symbolised the divine right of the Levitical priests to rule the Israelites, but in later legends it was the staff which God gave to Adam when he left Paradise and was passed to his descendants - Jacob used it to cross the Jordan, and Judah gave it to his daughter-in-law Tamar. It passed eventually to Aaron, and from him it passed down to King David, who passed it down through the Kings of Judah as their divine sceptre.
 

Darius the Red

New Member
Wow....actually I think you might be on to something. I was unfamiliar with Aaron's rod since I didn't read the exodus story that closely but it definitely seems to fit the bill. I might go a step farther tho and use Moses' staff, Aaron's Rod, and the other eleven rods from the other eleven tribes of Israel (the ones that didn't blossom when Aaron's rod did) and consider them a set of holy relics. The power of a prophet to liberate (Moses' staff), the right of Rulership and law to guide(Aaron's Rod) and the populace both subject to that order and authority and that requires that authority to be guided and protected (the other eleven rods representing the other tribes). That's actually way more perfect than I thought it would be. Thanks! If anyone has further suggestions or questions, let me know. I'm always open to updating further on projects, plus this is turning into a pretty good discussion.

P.S. I realize (at least I do now, after some quick research) that some Rabbinical schools of thought regard Moses staff and Aaron's rod as the same relic instead of two, but it suits my purposes better to have them separate for symbolism...also I like the number 13...

P.P.S. I have Syuing Fang the Chinese alchemist on my list, but she's as close as I could find to a female legend that fits the bill from the far east. Picked her cuz apparently in several of the stories about her life her husband killed her for either not bearing a son (three girls in a row) and expecting use of alchemy was behind it to prevent her husband from using a son to gain and abuse political power as she was the daughter of someone important, or he wanted to be a famous alchemist and she wouldn't be a good little wife and give him her knowledge for fear of how he'd use it. I kinda want to find a better figure to fill the devoted wife/mother/woman-in-accepted-societal-role but too dedicated/compassionate/humble/etc. to punish/refuse/allow destruction. I love Syuing's story, but it took so much research to find it and she's nearly unheard of. A good-hearted woman from the far east who dies tragically or with great sorrow or regret. Bonus points if she has ties to alchemy, mysticism, or somethimg miraculous. I realize Quan Yin fits this bill, but she's either a Bodhisattva (and thus buddhist, and I have Siddhartha from buddhism now) or a deity (with the one exception of Odin and the Half exception of Heracles I'm trying to avoid using deities) she isn't really on my options list. Either way I'd be overbooking Buddhist figures. Any thoughts on this new challenge?
 
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Darius the Red

New Member
Hmm, I'll have to debate the virtues of the rods for the tribes of Israel and Moses's staff vs. The three sacred treasures of Japan....both good, but I have to decide which is better.

So, any ideas as to my PPS. Note on my previous post? The Chinese female alchemist is definitely the short stick in that bundle.....
 
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