Hi all, thought I would throw in my 2 cents re: systems. For lighter, faster play Savage Worlds would fit the bill pretty well. Magic is flexible, modifiable and can be powerful without being ridiculous. A system that screams to be used for Earwa but requires a bunch of 12-sided dice and willingness to learn some mechanics is Blade of the Iron Throne. Combat is gritty, brutal and detailed, magic is powerful and terrifying and would not take much modding to make it appropriate to the setting. Both systems also have the advantage of being cheap.

A couple of things about BoTIT: Characters have passions/drives that influence the amount of dice they get to roll when performing actions which I think does a nice job of reflecting Earwa's 'conviction as reality' feeling and though it can be easy to get your ass killed the player accumulates points through play as well as their character, allowing characters to be brought in as replacements for those who die or retire.

If the idea is just to run games that capture the feel of the setting, as opposed to write something for publication these would be systems I would recommend. RQ6 would work well too though.

I think H hits it pretty much right on the head: Koringhus' leap is important precisely because it was his. In the moment he makes the leap he is free of the threat of damnation (the worldborn view of the Absolute) and has penetrated the lie of the Logos. In short he can make his choice without fear of consequence or driven by the momentum of what comes before. In that moment he becomes a self-moving soul, thus the reference to becoming one with the absolute for the space of an insight (horrific misquote/reference, but books aren't handy and I've had no sleep)