Martin Crim makes an Indecent Proposal:
> I propose that all Gloranthan cults with double (and triple) names
> (with the exceptions noted below) are composites of the God Learners:
[long list of exceptions]
and then hot-shoe-shuffles:
> Some A's are B's. But some not-A's are B's, too. Thus, B
> is not a subset of A. Never said it was.
Which I think means "Oops, did I say "all", I meant "some", really", though it may just be a quicker refresher course in set theory for all you Liberal Arts and Soft Science type. Just how many cults is it this theory now covers? Chalana Arroy, and... help me out, here.
This isn't to say that lots of cults _aren't_ God Learner composites, or such to a large degree. Trouble is, the more GLised they have been, the less sign there is of it in the extant cults. Frex, Issaries doesn't have a double-barrelled name, his subcults are not geographically localised (with the post-GL exception of Etyries), and his head is fairly horn-free. Overt examples, like C&A, are cases where the GL types hadn't given it the full polyfila job, or perhaps wanted to leave the subcults semi-intact as a glowing testimonial to their handiwork.
> And I don't know about 666
> sacred 'n' savory serving suggestions, but there are probably 100
> different ways to cook the couple dozen varieties of rice.
Clearly you're not counting the sacred'n'sweet ones, or the sacred'n' sweet'n'sour ones. I think a mass Digest outing to our respective local Punjabi and/or Cantonese takeaways would manage 666 instantier, and probably 6666 spellings in the process.
> The elves of central Genertela clearly worship a god whom
> all agree is the same as Yelmalio
They do? I'm not so sure. I think there are several possible motivations here:
a) The elves worship the sun in some form; b) Rootless elves seems to worship a cult like Yelmalio; c) The elves get the credit/blame for the DP cult of Yelmalio.
The first is pretty much a given, but doesn't tell us a lot. The second is a two-edged whatsit: if a Yelmalion cult were an elvish orthodoxy, why would it attract only rootless worshippers? The third is very fishy. Which elves are referred to, central Genertelan Browns, Greens, or Teshnan Yellows? In any event, this could be a politic way of crediting the Yelm or Antirius cult, for example, as worshipped by rootless elves, which would be a lot more acceptable than saying "I got this great new idea from Dara Happa, guys!"
The question "Who is the Aldryami sun god?" has not, for me, been satisfactorily answered, or really even asked. Maybe Greg has worked it all out, but has remembered what happened the last time and isn't telling is.
> Hurril's associates are [...] and Yelm (who provides Fight Disease).
If Hurril is the Elvish Sun, why is he associated with a Different Sun? The relationship here needs some hasty rationalising, I feel.
> Rather than Resurrect, Antirius provides
> the spell of Divine Justice. This spell is similar to divination,
> except that it gives the caster not only the correct finding but
> also the appropriate judgment to be made.
I think this is entirely redundant with Divination, unless it gives results like "300 hours community service", or "Putting out of three eyes per defendant". Mind you, there's no reason why it has to be _called_ Divination. Well, apart from the fact (in this case) that it's a hokey alternative.
> [Waha style Yelmalio cult] geases are generally the same as
> Yelmalio's, again substituting the tribal animal for horse.
> I expect the above statements to attract some flames, because
> Eiritha beasts aren't sun-connected, unlike horses. Tough.
> Geases are local and (at least should be) symbolic. They're the
> pebble in your shoe to develop your faith.
This is perfectly true, but what reason is there to expect the geas list of a Praxian sun cult to resemble that of the Sun Dome, even granting that they have geasa in the first place? An aetiolgical connection is hard to see here, so I'm unconvinced about such a degree of similarity.
Alex.
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