It seems the debate on the alignment of the GS is missing the middle ground
between good and evil built right into the alignment system: neutrality.

At 04:48 AM 10/13/98 -0500, James Ray wrote:
>
>Is the Elven Hunt Good or Evil? As long as THAT is the starting point for
>this string, then there are two possible answers:
>
>1) GOOD, because it prevents any further encroachment on the part of the
>Humans against the Elven Forests (or what remains of them)
>
>2) EVIL, because its members measure their success by the number of human
>corpses they produce per patrol.

James has defined the two poles pretty well. However, they can be
complicated. If the GS is "good", then it is clearly good only for elves,
never for non-elves. However by the very act of ignoring the harm done to
others, such a position neglects the needs of others. The hunt is not life
promoting. It promotes elven lives at the expence of others.

If the GS is "evil", and there is plenty of ammunition to support this
argument, how do we deal with the ultimate fact that the hunt is a last
effort at survival? Aren't the elves like a cornered animal?

Certainly the Gheallie Sidhe would attract evil elves, whose main purpose is
revenge. However as the threat to an elven land became more dangerous,
neutrals, who could stomach a certain a little killing for the greater good,
would join the hunt. Good elves would keep out of the GS, and stick to
defending their realm in honorable war.

The fact that elven lands are unsafe to even enter is testament to the fact
that elven vigilence is based in evil. Who you are, or what your intentions
are is immaterial. Enter some elven domains and die. However, the evil
seems to be limited in its power. Without the kinds of claims which attract
the neutral elves, the killing is limited to tresspassers. Only when the
neutrals can be brought under the banner of the Gheallie Sidhe does the hunt
leave elven lands.

So the hunt, IMO, is neutral with evil tendencies, and at its heart, and
evil core. Without the evil elves to keep it alive, it would become a
forgotten custom.

Kenneth Gauck
c558382@earthlink.net