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Originally posted by Eleanore

This might be a simple question, but what real life cultures of Netheril be compared to, particularly high netheril. Thanks!

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{April 2006}

The Netheril you saw in print differed in fine detail from my original, and Thultanthar was developed by others. So for the published Thultanthar, again I can’t answer as to the intent behind its detailing.

Netheril certainly wasn’t modeled on ancient real-world anything, and attempts to draw parallels between real-world places and Netheril are tenuous at best. In Netheril I intended to show the decadence of humans consumed by the desire to “master” magic, and achieve immortality or godhood (or the ability to reshape the world like gods, at a whim), and the contrast between their created worlds (not all floating cities, by the way), with altered gravity and such, and the “other” Netherese living like hardy hunters in the forests, ignored or considered beasts by the archwizards.

This doesn’t resemble either “real” or mythological ancient Greece at all. Not in society, climate, history, warfare, world-beliefs, presence or absence of magic, religious beliefs or divine influence - - sorry, no correspondence at all. Imperial Rome could be said to have a similar “we’re the greatest, the ultimate, and our might makes right; it’s morally right to do to the rest of the world just what we want to do” attitude as Netheril, but it’s important to remember that attitude only ‘comes down to us’ (except as fancifully amplified by Hollywood) in the fragmentarily surviving writings and proclamations of a few rulers, who were politicians attempting to justify their actions and positions. It’s highly unlikely the “average” Roman citizen (or legionary) held such views, considering what various Roman plays reveal of public attitudes, and what Juvenal says in his SATIRES. That megalomaniacs or persuasive politicians want (and profess to believe they deserve to wield) power is hardly something distinctive to either Rome or Netheril - - something so universal hardly establishes a parallel.

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Originally posted by The Sage In Netheril I intended to show the decadence of humans consumed by the desire to “master” magic, and achieve immortality or godhood (or the ability to reshape the world like gods, at a whim), and the contrast between their created worlds (not all floating cities, by the way), with altered gravity and such, and the “other” Netherese living like hardy hunters in the forests, ignored or considered beasts by the archwizards.

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