> > Remarkably, there are only about 1000 Yelmalio cultists in the Far Place - less than 10% of the adult male population. Their dominance in Alda Chur is a tribute to the ruthless leadership of Harvar Ironfist and the support he has gained from the Lunar Empire.
> >
> That sounds about right to me. In Hugh's material only the men belong and by the beginning of the hero wars sun worship in Alda-Chur has become increasingly elitist becoming a cult of exclusivity for the powerful.
I'd switch that around. The Yelmalio cult in Alda-Chur (which only a few clans and bloodlines participate in) has been increasingly powerful. Few outsiders have joined the cult (or even can).
>I believe that Yelmalter still caters to the loyal yeoman farmers of slightly higher affluence who might also aspire to join Yelmalio if they could.
Within the handful of clans and bloodlines that worship Yelmalio, worshippers will include farmers as well as thanes. But keep in mind that clan and bloodline is the main organizing principle even for the Yelmalio cult.
>The Elmali have mostly been driven into the hills with the rest of the upland cultures that have a higher mix of Orlanth cultists though even still some Yelmalio cultists as well.
There are very few Elmali. Probably less than there are Yelmalio worshippers. And I doubt there are more than a handful of Yelmalio cultists living outside of the area around Alda-Chur.
>Among the lowland commoners those that are farmers worship Lodril and Sharla a subcult of Ernalda. I guess the point being that Yelmalio is not the only source of sun worship in the Far Place.
I think John's placement of Lodril in the Far Point is either wrong or misnamed. There might be a local volcanic earth god that some scholars associate with Lodril, but the Pelorian Lodril cult is not found there.
> And in and around Alda-Chur when it is in Luner Hands there are even a few Darra Happan Yelmists. A-C being a major trade center has a very high component of trader cults, both Pelorian and Manirian in origin.
The cults of Issaries and Etyries are both present at Alda Chur. Argan Argar, probably not.
>The impression I get is that the revived Yelm temple in A-C eventually has many shrines to different aspects of the Yelmalio cult personified as hero based subcults.
Given the small size of the Yelmalio cult, I doubt there are any subcults, at least as that term is used in HQ2.
>The Blue Flame spirits are probably guardian spirits of the temple that are worshiped now as Yelmalio Enduring. At least this is what I am going with until someone can publish something more definitive. I would add that A-C is worthy of serious treatment in any book on Sartar or Dragon pass being one of the most important trade cities and when controlled by Sartar its second largest.
You want to have Blue Flame spirits guard the Yelmalio temple in A-C, go for it. Sounds excellent.
FWIW, the Far Point is not in the core lands of Sartar and was only a part of the kingdom for about a generation. And I am not sure how much of its current population can be attributed to its new importance under the Lunar Empire.
Jeff
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