I think a problem is that there are a great many answers. Working on the idea that there are a multiplicity of truths, here is what I have so far garnered. Please feel encouraged to ridicule or critique this as you wish, to get to the bottom of the situation. I'm trying to define the varying mythologies of this volcano god(dess) as worshipped through time and space.
Caladraland is central to my forthcoming campaign, so I'm trying to get as much info on this as possible. You Orlanthi lot get hundreds of pages of Thunder Brothers and Storm Tribe... I get a few paragraphs! So bear with me... :o)
CALADRALAND (pre-God Learner):
Which was the original god from an *indigenous* perspective... Caladra or
Caladril? I forget. I'm not ignoring Peter's answer as much as it might seem
here, as around the time of the Broken Council and Palangio's invasion, was
there an initial attempt to link this indigenous God with Lodril, before the
God Learners came about? Was this link of the 'they are the same' or 'father
and son' form? I maybe misremembering something here.
Was this indigenous god chained by Argan Argar from the Caladralanders' viewpoint, or is this myth only held by the Trolls? Or was it some form of Lodril chained by Argan Argar, and it is only through Lodril's later identification with the volcano god that we think this indigenous volcano god was subdued?
The horror, the horror...
CALADRALAND (pseudo-God Learner):
This original god is taken by the God Learners, and monkeyed around with.
The older 'male' [though Greg speaks against this] god is put into the
background and identified as Lodril. Perhaps Moray and Telerio specifically
spread the 'Lodril is chained' idea to push people into worshipping their
new construct.
The Volcano Twins are Caladra [female], who takes elements from the older indigenous god, and is twinned with Aurelion [male*], a Jrusteli earth god. Caladra's sex is changed to fit into the newer ethos, as Peter says. As people have also pointed out, this new situation is useful as by promoting the Volcano Twins you attempt to break any mystic ties over the land the trolls might have by holding [insert here] volcano god prisoner.
*Peter in Glorantha: Intro, it says that Aurelion is female... is this only like the 'Calandra' thing?
CALADRALAND (post-God Learner):
Following the Closing, even Moray and Telerio's efforts started to fail. The
older worship of an older Caladra [male] as volcano god became increasingly
more prevalent, eventually dominating the region. But, ironically, Lodril is
still accepted as his father. I know the idea that Belintar resurrected the
more peaceful Volcano Twins cult was dropped from Glorantha: Intro for
brevity, but we can assume it had a little renaissance. Whatever the
situation, after the Pharaoh's disappearance, the cult further faded.
Presently, Caladra [male] is the dominant god of the Vent region, and worship is also occasionally given to Lodril, his father. The Volcano Twins (Caladra [female] and Aurelion [male]) are still worshipped around the Low Temple and in Porthomeka.
HEORTLINGS (in general):
In Orlanthi mythology, references in Thunder Rebels and Storm Tribe seem to
imply that they effectively view Lodril and any Caladran volcano God as the
same. Elements of Lodrili and Caladran myth seem to combine in the
Vestkarthen stories. That's understandable, as the finer points of
volcano-worship are probably not high on the agrarian and pastoral Heortling
agenda, and you can't see them over-detailing this myth.
For the Orlanthi Heortlings, Vestkarthen was ko'd by Urox, Maran and then the trolls.
What's with everyone picking on this poor guy...
ESROLIA:
Esrolia maybe more problematic, and thoughts might vary dependent on
Faction. Closer to Caladraland and with a prominent Warm Earth Faction and
the acknowledgement of Erdana, I see a mode of recognition that lies closer
to current Caladran practices, God Learner or otherwise. Though the idea
that Maran dominates Caladra would be appropriate. If Caladra was male...
yet post-Esrolian Porthomeka follows the Volcano Twins...
TROLLS (of the Shadow Plateau):
Do you think the Trolls would see the situation as followed in the majority
of Caladraland, but view Lodril as imprisoned, and his son Caladra acting in
his stead? Or do they just see one volcano god, who they've imprisoned and
whose writhing causes the eruptions to the south?
IS LODRIL/CALADRIL/[INDIGENOUS VOLCANO GOD] FREE (dependent on
mythocentricity...)?
Sources vary... but was Lodril actually released from his chains? Or is he
still chained... or have the Lowfires just been released? Or is he being
gradually released? Feel free to give a different answer for different
regions/races/cultures!
All the best,
Stu.
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