I'm putting up a few questions players (ok, mostly ariels) have asked, and my replies. There shouldn't be any major spoilers here, especially if you remember that character knowledge does not equal player knowledge...but can make an interesting place for characters to look and learn.
Q: There are several nonhuman races in Nod: Arovim, Avdim, Boabim, Reykim, and possibly Lilim. Do these share in original sin, and Adam's Expulsion from Eden? If not, do those races have their own Fall, or are human beings uniquely sinful? What about entirely new life, like Fireborn How does being unfallen but with free will work?
A: Not all of the races here are fully "nonhuman." Arovim, in particular, are just about as human as they are animal, and descended from Adam in that way. A detailed examination of Boabim souls (which, to my knowledge, no one has done with this in mind) would reveal that they are descended from humanity, and thus from Adam, though they come to it somewhat strangely. Some Reykim were once human, or otherwise descended from humanity, but they're a whole additional complication that I can't explain for this question.
Lilim are the descendants of Lilith. As she left the GardenOfEden before the Fall, some Lilim claim to be without original sin, unexiled, and thus having unique holy status. Few people actually believe them when they say this, however...something about they way they tend to use that story to swindle people makes it a little dubious. Even if that were so, the vast majority of Lilim are of mixed blood with the other human races at this point.
Avdim are thus the major question, a plant-race distinct from humanity, and not related at all. It's unclear if they have fallen, and there may yet be Avdim living in the GardenOfEden...in fact, if it's still a garden and as holy as everyone expects, there's a good chance. ariels has mentioned the idea that perhaps they fell for giving Eve the forbidden apple, and it's a good one. Right now, though, we don't know.
As for Fireborn, and unfalled, freewilled beings...I don't know. I'll let you know when I do, or if the question becomes irrelevant.
Q: Do animals have souls?
A: Yes and no. Animals do not have their own, personal souls. If they did, they would be people. But animals partake of the divine nature, both as symbols of the divine, and through the soul of the GreatAnimalAncestor. Each specie of animals has a fully ensouled ancestor from whom they derive their nature. The process by which these come to pass has not been examined. If you find an animal with a soul, however, you're look at one of two things: either it's the birth of a new species, or you've stumbled upon one of the Arovim who isn't showing you his human side.
Q: Does genetics work in Nod? How about other branches of science?
A: No, genetics doesn't work. This doesn't mean that inheritance is bunk. Men beget children on women, and the children look more like their fathers and mothers than they look like anyone else. But the physics of Nod is inherently magical, and as such, inherently mythological and divine. Adoption into a people can have signifigant effect on what physical features develop, and while people in the MountainLionTribe look the way they do in part because they have mountain lions in their family tree, they are also that way in part because they know that they are the people descended from Man and Mountain Lion. If you went through their initiation and adoption ceremonies, your children might have green eyes...even if you and your mate went through initiation at the same time.
In short, things work the way they do as much for cultural and religious reasons as for anything we'd consider "science." Those on the PathOfTheLaw are constructing their own, scientific understanding of the world, but while most of the phenomena match, the rules governing them are very different.
Q: Does all magic really come from God How can anyone use magic for evil things, then? How can you claim that anyone with any magic whatsoever (and everyone seems to have at least a little bit) is doing something wrong?
A: See NodMetaphysics.
Q: There are some more...should I hold on to them?
A: I'll try to type up the things I remember. If you have a question you'd like to ask, or if you don't think I've actually answered a question and not explicitly stated that I don't know, but here's what we do know, leave a comment. The comment form is on the bottom of the page.
comments:
Speculation on Lilith and the Fall -- Mon, 07 Nov 2005 13:19:04 -0500 reply
TheLegacyofEve