>One option is that the Seven Mothers is a carefully run cultic
operation, changing with each environment,
>drawing parallels in worship with the locals and being as obviously
friendly as possible.
>You can't reinvent their myths, but you can make them obvious side-steps
>from local cults so they make sense to adopt.
>Now, a part of me also likes the blundering Empire arrogance of
>"We made it a simple, barbarian version" without any thought that the Orlanthi on
>their borders in Sylila aren't exactly like Orlanthi further south.
I think this might be best handled for gaming and story-telling fun by having the Provincial Church - in typical Lunar style - both be a highly-centralized part of the system and be firmly behind letting gifted members improvise. So the "Church" in some ways thinks everything is northern Alakoring but the missionaries in the field are often more flexible. Whether that means they've managed a more Hendreiki/Heortling-esque version in Sartar yet... I say YGWV.
>If I recall correctly, The whole Sylila-Tarsh section of Orlanthi
>worship is Alakoring in nature, so that is some unity.
This seems to hold up upon further reading, although Saird (which seems to have been the big player before the DragonKill) was far more a confederation with lots different religions sometimes awkwardly getting along. It also appears to have survived the Dawn with a bunch of local traditions that continued on, like the Jajalarings (who seem not to be Orlanthi) and possibly some of the Holay traditions.
While it seems there is still mostly a strong Theist tradition in this area, and enough cross-pollination that perhaps the general progression of Theist magic is pretty consistent (not sure), it's probably not the same as what you see in Sartar. (And certainly has lots of its own take.)
Sartar is really very homogeneous when you think about it compared to other Orlanthi regions.
>(I personally think Alakoring covers this whole section, and then over the
> mountains into Ralios you get a new shift, and to the north in Fronela
> yet another.)
It seems Alakoring came from Ralios, so maybe the Ralian and Southern Pelorian systems are pretty similar. He was clearly focused on bringing dragon-breaking magic, so he might not have cared except that I recall he also brought Orlanth Rex to vex the priests. Not sure if that was something he brought from Ralios or if it was a unique thing brought in because the EWF was all over Peloria but not as prevalent in Ralios.
>Still, I can see grand themes of how the Orlanthi of this region view
>their magic to be largely similar, even as details vary.
>I don't think the Alakorings should necessarily follow the pattern of
>the Sartarites exactly. (My impression is also that Heortling and
>Sartarite are basically interchangeable on the broad stroke of magic -
>i.e. -the System in the Sartar book should be used.)
Rereading some more, it seems that really everyone was Heortling and so Heort's initiation is still probably used by all the Orlanthi. I'd been thinking of Heort's initiation as the "getting the three runes you are tied to", so that would mean all the Orlanthi using the same system.
>I do think there needs to be a "link you to a Rune" aspect in some way,
>but I see the "3 runes at adult initiation" as a Heortling thing, not an
>Orlanthi-wide one. Given the "Men are air" thing keeps Orlanth too
>involved for Lunar comfort, it may be that it WAS standard practice
>until the Lunars showed up, though. I think I'd rather see linking to a
>Rune come with choosing/initiating to a God. Perhaps more than one.
Thinking some more, it could be the elemental rune only that is the Heort tradition. So all Orlanthi have that one rune tie as part of their cultural worship. That would still be air for men (Orlanthi all, of course), which could be part of why the Lunars have so much trouble *really* stomping out Orlanth.
...
That might be worth keeping in mind.
LC
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