Re: Ralian Orlanthi

From: Greg Stafford <Greg_at_...>
Date: Mon, 10 Jul 2006 10:55:02 -0700

YGWV
> Robert Davis commented:
>> You make a good argument, but I have always wondered why Ralian
>> Orlanth was very similar to the Orlanth we recognise in Dragon Pass.
>
> Orlanth, as a Great God, has a Glorantha-wide existence, but in
> history the "Orlanth religion" has its origins with the Heortlings
> of Dragon Pass. The "Orlanth religion" practiced in Ralios has its
> origins in the "Orlanth religion" of Dragon Pass - the Ralians
> learned the rites, prayers, songs, myths, and ceremonies of Orlanth
> from the Theyalan missionaries in the First Age, and there has been
> a continued interaction between Ralios and the Dragon Pass heartland
> in the last 1400 years.

Correct.

> Peter wrote:
>
>> Firstly Orlanth has an existence beyond the perception of his
>> worshippers
>> and so that all his cults, including those under another names,
>> would
>> have some basic similarity (stormy powers, three aspects etc).
>> Because
>> of his cosmological importance, he's not a deity who can be ignored.
>
> I certainly agree with Peter here.

Yes, me too, in general.

>> Secondly the only certain similarity between Orlanth in Ralios and
>> Orlanth in Dragon Pass has been the name (and there's some
>> scope for difference there).

While YGWV, in the canon this is wrong. The religion, remember, is a series of celerations, rites and magic that are accessible to the worshippers. These were learned by the Ralians from the Theyalan missionaries. Pfrevious to this the survivors had no religion other than a couple of ghosts, petty local spirits, etc., whose function was bare survival.

>> The Ralians are free to diverge from the
>> writeup presented in Thunder Rebels in a number of ways.

Yes, and they ahve in some ways. I am sure that some of the rites have been modified, some of the practices have been changed and so on, but the essentials of the worship have emained the same.

---

Sincerely,
Greg Stafford

Issaries, Inc.
c/o Greg Stafford
1942 Shattuck AVe, #204
Berkeley, CA 94704 USA