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Male and Female Mahjarrat

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Niadgan

Niadgan

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Hazeel said :
They only created basic plants, nothing that could actually think and be deemed sentient like animals, humans, vyres, etc. So it is possible they had no concept of gender.
Well, Mah seems to be a prominent exception, as she created the Mahjarrat (alongside at least one other sentient race). The other elder gods we've heard of might have only created plants and the like, but there could very well be others who created things more complex than plants. However, does anything in game state the elder gods are genderless? I haven't gotten my hands on every shred of lore there is in the game yet, but I don't recall reading anything along those lines.
I reserve the right to relentlessly edit this post many, many times over.

03-Dec-2016 22:59:32

Wahisietel
Oct Member 2005

Wahisietel

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The elder gods are genderless in the sense that they don't reproduce with a partner, but lay fertile eggs independently, similarly to the TokHaar and TzHaar. Female pronouns are nevertheless used for them due to them being "mothers" of the universe, and the common tongue (aka English) not being very good in using pronouns beyond he/she and her/his.

Life was kind of Mah's thing, she was fascinated with it. That may be why Wen did what she did to Mah's core. So she would probably know that most species need a male and a female to reproduce from previous cycles, explaining why the Mahjarrat are that way.
You never were our brightest star, Khazard. 'Vermin slaughtered like lambs'? What does that even mean?

03-Dec-2016 23:30:01 - Last edited on 03-Dec-2016 23:31:39 by Wahisietel

Hguoh

Hguoh

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Hazeel said :
Hguoh said :
Wahisietel said :
The thing is, like Mah, Zaros and Seren aren't biologically male and female either, and probably wouldn't have started identifying as such until after they left Freneskae and obtained a mortal following. So Mah creating more males because she favoured Zaros wouldn't really make much sense, since she wouldn't have viewed Zaros as such.


The elders were responsible for creating at least the first forms of life in the RS universe. Is it truly so much of a stretch that they may instinctually understand and create some sexually reproducing and even sexually dimorphic organisms even though they personally are genderless?


They only created basic plants, nothing that could actually think and be deemed sentient like animals, humans, vyres, etc. So it is possible they had no concept of gender.


Equally so, it's possible that they had a concept of gender (just like how people can make fantasy when it differs greatly from real experiences).

Beyond that, the Mahjarrat were taught how to sexually reproduce via the Ritual of Enervation by Seren before she ever left Freneskae (which indicates that Seren, at the very least, had some understanding of gender).

04-Dec-2016 02:52:08

Hguoh

Hguoh

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Anyway, I think Enarkhra's just a bit off in her assessment about why there are less female Mahjarrat than males. The Seren Memoriam Crystal: Dreams has this to say:

Whenever lucid, Mah cries out for Zaros. I do what I can to comfort her, but that is not much. What Zaros saw as her controlling us, I see as her protecting us... and now it is my turn to protect her. She sleeps more than anything these days, and her dreams manifest - they are pale imitations of Zaros and myself, their bodies not even formed entirely of crystal.

It's less that Mah liked Zaros better than Seren, it's that Mah missed Zaros and had Seren right there. Keep in mind that Seren left later only after Mah had degenerated to the point she was making Muspah rather than more Mahjarrat.

04-Dec-2016 02:55:38

ZAmorakZaros
Apr Member 2013

ZAmorakZaros

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Wahisietel said :
Or maybe it's just that Azzanadra is sexist and prioritised saving males over saving females when he was protecting Mahjarrat from Tumeken's blast. #BlameAzzanadra2016

Or maybe most female mahjarrats just didn't like him and stayed as far away as possible from him.
NO
I do not ship ZamorakxZaros.
I follow them. And Marimbo, the best t5 god.

04-Dec-2016 06:15:45

Half Centaur
Jun Member 2010

Half Centaur

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I don't see how this is complicated.

Yes, Mah obviously created Seren and Zaros in the context of two genders- while Seren and Zaros probably weren't aware of this initially, what with being the only sentient beings on Freneskae and all, but Mah evidently did- as she did create the Mahjarrat with biological sexes later.

Zaros left Freneskae first- regardless of Mah's feelings towards either God beforehand, she would be missing Zaros- Zaros would be on her mind- not Seren.

It's unlikely that the Mahjarrat would actually kill the females as targets- since they are, well, to put it plainly, a more important resource to the propagation of their race. If they had a modicum of intelligence- they wouldn't sacrifice them at all, unless they absolutely need to, as without them, there's no hope for *new* mahjarrat.



I imagine that Mahjarrat birth just skews to favoring males, due to Mah's original intent of emulating Zaros in a way. Females are fewer and far between- they're left older, facing more battles, before they 'face the void'. There's a higher chance that they've died in battle- perhaps after being weakened by birthing, or made themselves an enemy at a ritual. Palkeera died in battle after all.
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04-Dec-2016 09:13:17

Wahisietel
Oct Member 2005

Wahisietel

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Half Centaur said :
I don't see how this is complicated.

Yes, Mah obviously created Seren and Zaros in the context of two genders- while Seren and Zaros probably weren't aware of this initially, what with being the only sentient beings on Freneskae and all, but Mah evidently did- as she did create the Mahjarrat with biological sexes later.

They're literally made of crystal with no internal physiology to speak of, and we've seen Zaros's original/current form naked - he's not outwardly "male" either.

You never were our brightest star, Khazard. 'Vermin slaughtered like lambs'? What does that even mean?

04-Dec-2016 11:28:35 - Last edited on 04-Dec-2016 11:30:27 by Wahisietel

Niadgan

Niadgan

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Wahisietel said :
Half Centaur said :
I don't see how this is complicated.

Yes, Mah obviously created Seren and Zaros in the context of two genders- while Seren and Zaros probably weren't aware of this initially, what with being the only sentient beings on Freneskae and all, but Mah evidently did- as she did create the Mahjarrat with biological sexes later.

They're literally made of crystal with no internal physiology to speak of, and we've seen Zaros's original/current form naked - he's not outwardly "male" either.



Although they have no reproductive anatomy, Seren and Zaros still seem have decidedly "feminine" and "masculine" traits, respectively- voice, figure, and possibly even garb (Seren wears a corseted dress whereas Zaros wears an armored robe), to name a few. Although it's not definitive, given Mah seems to have a concept of gender (as indicated by the existence of male and female Mahjarrat), it's possible Seren and Zaros may (or may not) be feminine and masculine beings, respectively.

That being said, it's important to keep in mind that all we can be certain of is what has been explicitly stated- if even that (Who else can remember a few quests that entailed deception or misinformation?). The only reason this thread has anything going on in it is because the lore discussed is ambiguous. It's better to enjoy this opportunity to speculate rather than prematurely assume there's any right answer at this point.
I reserve the right to relentlessly edit this post many, many times over.

05-Dec-2016 06:24:32

Half Centaur
Jun Member 2010

Half Centaur

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Wahisietel said :
Half Centaur said :
I don't see how this is complicated.

Yes, Mah obviously created Seren and Zaros in the context of two genders- while Seren and Zaros probably weren't aware of this initially, what with being the only sentient beings on Freneskae and all, but Mah evidently did- as she did create the Mahjarrat with biological sexes later.

They're literally made of crystal with no internal physiology to speak of, and we've seen Zaros's original/current form naked - he's not outwardly "male" either.



That's the gods, which is why I said gender. Mahjarrat have biological sex though. Hence the reproduction.
"We call it being a hero"
"That's interesting, we call it utter stupidity"

05-Dec-2016 07:54:29

Wahisietel
Oct Member 2005

Wahisietel

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Niadgan said :
Wahisietel said :
Half Centaur said :
I don't see how this is complicated.

Yes, Mah obviously created Seren and Zaros in the context of two genders- while Seren and Zaros probably weren't aware of this initially, what with being the only sentient beings on Freneskae and all, but Mah evidently did- as she did create the Mahjarrat with biological sexes later.

They're literally made of crystal with no internal physiology to speak of, and we've seen Zaros's original/current form naked - he's not outwardly "male" either.



Although they have no reproductive anatomy, Seren and Zaros still seem have decidedly "feminine" and "masculine" traits, respectively- voice, figure, and possibly even garb (Seren wears a corseted dress whereas Zaros wears an armored robe), to name a few. Although it's not definitive, given Mah seems to have a concept of gender (as indicated by the existence of male and female Mahjarrat), it's possible Seren and Zaros may (or may not) be feminine and masculine beings, respectively.


Yes, but we've only ever seen/heard Zaros and Seren after they have met mortals, and in the case of Seren, reshaped her figure (to give herself feet, a mouth, a nose, and presumably other "assets" ), so we don't really have an accurate depiction of what they looked/sounded like originally.

Mah is an alien. Why would she make Zaros and Seren to conform to human standards of what femininity and masculinity entail? Such a thing would be irrelevant to her, especially since they presumably predate humanity.
You never were our brightest star, Khazard. 'Vermin slaughtered like lambs'? What does that even mean?

05-Dec-2016 13:38:21 - Last edited on 05-Dec-2016 13:38:56 by Wahisietel

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