Just where in Cerilia does wine come from?

Dungeons & Dragons The Royal Library
21

Actually, the Good Folk where renowned in all of Europe for their love of drinks; the time and effort needed was deemed more of an interesting subject, and there is little shame in such pursuits: to take something wild and untamed and make something cultured (not civilised - it’s not the same thing) but still wild and untamed (as most faery drinks happen to be; and far more potent than your average moonshine ;)), that is a true goal of mastery!

Unlike what most people think of the Sidhelien, they should look at the Dockalfar and the Sidhe of myth: majestic people, one with the world of land and spirit alike, but not teatering dolts that would do nothing if nature did not provide for it…

The Sidhelien are creatures of majesty, and that means that they have their own music, as we all know, haunting and honed to such perfection that any other will always remember it, even if not able to reproduce it, with uncanny clarity - and so it also is with their foodstuffs, their garments and raiments, their halls and tapestries, their woodwork (for their is some coaxing into giving living wood shape without destroying the tree - or taking only what is needed with proper respect), and, amongst these and many more, their drinks and beverages.

As for cider, it’s an excellent drink. Also note that fruit-brandies, most particularly and most commonly made from berries of various kinds, should be held in very high regard. Whiskeys and vodkas should also be around too, yes. Any distillant should be included, if possible.

22

Vos, cause their names are similar to the Slavic names, may drink some traditional Slavic drinks, like “VODKA”, or in the southern regions like Molochev and Kozlovny traditional drink of Slavs from Balkans called “RAKIA”(man i like that drink:D ). Thrust me its the drink that suits them perfectly .

23

Da! Jebiga pičku materina!

But what about… Šlivovica! Nazdravje!

24

I see that you speak Serbian( or Croatian), where are you from mate ??? and by the way Sljivovica is Rakia.
And it is maybe little to familiar with our history but i see Khinasi as Arabs in most of the cases , and as i remember their religion forbids the drinking of the alcohol and instead they used some narcotic like hashish ( if this is the right word for it i can’t find it in my dictionary ).
Except for religious reasons it is a medical fact that alcohol cause dehidratation and that is not good thing in a desert.

25

Serbocroatian is one of the languages I only pretend I can speak, I’m afraid, though when it comes to upping one’s score in the language game it’s a fabulous choice. For the price of one language you can, at least according to the politics of the day, speak four - Croatian, Bosniac, Serbian and now even Montenegrian, too! If that isn’t a deal, I don’t know what is.

Meanwhile, in the more innocuous world of Birthright identity politics -

I do agree that the Khinasi would have hefty religious taboos against the consumption of alcohol. The climate of the Cities of the Sun is punishing for the tippler, as you rightly say, and their notions of honour and seemly conduct in public likewise speak against drunkenness. There’s also the fact that the Khinasi worship the goddess of Reason!

That said, the history of the Islamic world shows quite persuasively that such strictures are rarely enough to keep man away from the bottle. The Khinasi too should have scoundrels and rakes aplenty who do not give a fig for what is considered proper, and even more simple and god-fearing men who enjoy modestly but secretively.

Yet more interesting however is the idea seen in many religious systems that the profane, forbidden and polluted, something no proper man would touch, is in virtue of that very profanity also a source of holiness. To be splattered with blood, for example, is often seen as bringing on deep ritual pollution, yet when slaughtering an animal at the altar, this pollutedness serves as a conduit for man to clean himself of his own impurities.

Likewise, alcohol has, despite what the Ulema may say, always been a key ingredient in Islamic mysticism, particularly in deeply religious poets such as Rumi - himself an authority on religious law - and Hafiz. Seems to me the Khinasi should have their share of these, too.

As all societies, then, the world of the Khinasi should not be a static, one-dimensional block, but a place riven with tensions over what the good life is. Of course, that makes things much more interesting when bringing this place to life in Birthright.

26

These interdicts were so hugely reinterpreted as to be nearly void in some areas and periods - more than one Andalusian prince realized the sheer importance of wine in their economies, groups like the Alevis and the Bektashis, the general liberalization of the Ottoman Empire during the Tanzimat period (much too late, I agree, but in the renaissance, we have a sultan of Rum dying of a cyrrhosis), a certain tendency for many middle and upper class (practicing) moslems to consider that it’s okay so long as they’re sober for prayer. There are also a few alcoholic beverages still native to Syria (IIRC, Raki); and most of the Basarji hardly live in a desert.

And Umar Khayyam would hardly have used wine for his metaphors if it had been so universally loathed as pretended.

27

they don’t need to live in desert, but they have to travel trough it for many reasons( trade,war…etc…), and i don’t think that a hangover in the middle of the desert on that scorching sun is a nice thing.

28

And thus Avani teaches the wisdom of moderation to the foolish man…

Can’t believe I forgot vodka in my earlier comment! :o

29

I always figured the Tarvan Wastes and the Sphinx’ area to be more like Gobi (i.e. desolate, but moderately grassy). It’s hard to picture it anything like the Sahara given the surrounding areas.

30

There are no true sand deserts in Khinasi at all I’d say, looking at the map. The Gobi or the Kalahari, that sounds about right. You reckon they have meerkats there as well?

31

Quite so, Gwrthefyr! But don’t forget that such wineswigging wastrels tend to pay the price in the end. The Alevis have been for much of their history a reviled and persecuted people, and the Almoravids, limp from their drink and flowery poetry, were easy prey for the Almohads. When the conquerors in turn took on the vices of the conquered, the Spaniards were all too happy to kick them out in turn.

As for the cyrrhos’d sultan - I remember one of the Abbasid caliphs died of asphyxiation when his half-sister and lover sat on his face for just a little longer than the good man could hold his breath. But that, too, was a somewhat atypical incident…

32

it is surprising how power tends to corrupt people, and how immoral thy can become .
I mean read the 12 Emperors of Rome(De vita Caesărum) by Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus and it will be clear to you.

33

Suetonius isn’t exactly known for his trustworthiness, and people in the know when it comes to the Latin say nasty things about his prose style as well. But then he does write a mean gorefest of a tale!

34

I wouldn’t consider any specific claims reliable in Seutonious, but the general claims attributed to him by cccpxepoj, namely, “it is surprising how power tends to corrupt people, and how immoral thy can become,” seems pretty reliable. Sure Seutonious may have elected to relate compelling but questionable stories and likely exagerations to relate the culture of corruption and immorality he saw, rather than less compelling but firmly accurate stories, but these authorial choices do not cast doubt on his ultimate conclusions, which could be argued without any specific social circumstances. The statement, “it is surprising how power tends to corrupt people, and how immoral thy can become,” seems pretty solid.

35

My point exactly, thank you.
And of course I know that Suetonius is not a reliable source of information but if 99% of his writhing is a lie, then that 1% makes me sick.