"In reference to your thread in Digest#56.
I disagree with your thinking that Yelm cannot be introduced to a populace.
To worship Yelm one must be descended from him. His cult does not
colonise new lands. It seems to me very out of keeping that a
Yelmite noble would go out into the wilderness to marry barbarians.
I'll discuss your message as it goes:
"I find in it lots of references to Yelmalio. Balazar, the founder, at least of the Citaedel culture, is said to have introduced the religion in about 1050, before dying as a member of the Golden Horde."
(Without going back into the Elmal/Yelmalio debate.)IMO, I believe
that Yelmalio is either 1) a watered down version of Antirius (without the
membership restrictions), or 2) An actual son of Yelm that specializes in
War and FRontier settlement for the Solar panrheon. My basis for this is
the lack of a "war" god for the common soldier for the solar pantheon and
most importantly, the lack of a god which follows the ways of Yelm.
Remember that the only way to get into the Yelm cult is to either be
"born" into it or achieve preisthood in an associated cult and get
accepted. Can you imagine all the new Yelmists being from eithert Lodril
or Dendara or even Chalana Arroy. Yelmalio seems to me to be a great
cult for young males who want to someday belong to the cult of the Sun,
especailly due to numerous geasa at the rune levels.
"Except that we now know that this can't be true."
You contradict yourself next by saying.
"Balazar came from the North West to the land that now bears his name.
That sujests Dara Happa or Imther."
This would suggest he was a Yelmite, being a noble (we can assume) from Dara Happa.
It can't be true becuase Yelmalio does not exist as a Dara Haparn
god. When the Pelorians and Dara Happans hear about Yelmalio they
all go 'who?'. There isn't a place for him in their society.
Polestar serves as captain of Yelm's guard (and Light in the
Darkness - has this been explored?) and I assume that non-noble
professional soldiers would worship him. Levies will still follow
Lodril of course.
War isn't as important to the civilised Dara Happans as it is to
barbarians and so the war god is a less important.
" We know that he can't have introduced Yelm to the country, cos you just
don't introduce Yelm to a culture."
Every culture worships the sun in some form. Again the general populouswould not qualify to be initiates but remember Balazar set up lineages of his sons (and a daughter??) who would qualify to be members. Also Yelm is the ruling class god, which would not neccessitate the need to convert the whole population.
There is a huge difference between worshipping a sun and Yelm.
"We know that Yelmalio doesn't exist in Dara Happa, though I guess Khelmal
is an option."
I addressed this earlier. (need for a war god etc.)
I replied
"What do you reckon? Who do the citaedel Balazarings worship?"
If you take the history of the area, and the LOW population
numbers of the natives, combined with the eventual induction of tribal
nobility, their proliferation, and the intermarriage of the Balazar with
the Votanki, eventually all the citizens would have some claim on
membership rights.
Although I believe that the Dara Happan would freak at this debased
version of their beloved emperor. ( Also remember that when Grif MTn was
published their was no write-up of the Yelm cult and the reprint Griffen
Island uses the god Hilme ( to me a corruption of Yelm) who possess
ressurection and the aforementioned membership restrictions.
There was the Wyrms Footnotes version, which while not listing
Rune Magic gave a pretty good explanation of the social structure
of Yelmite society.
Since Greg Stafford did a lot of re-working of GM I assume that
had he thought that they worshipped Yelm he would have said so.
I never like Hilme. Apart from anything else he sounds too much
like Himile, father of cold, for me too be able to keep them
separate.
" A debased Pole Star might be an option. In any case it won't greatly
resemble the cult from a civilised area like DH, or even Sartar."
I don't believe Pole Star has made it to Sartar yet (with the exception of the Lunar Army.) But i do hope for the long-awaited write-up.
I suspect that Pole Star is rather like Yemalio, save that
Yelmalio is the dominant god in his culture, and Pole Star is a
servant. Both of them are into Spears etc. Pole Star does seem to
have the Elmal, light in darkness, protector of the hearth
business.
Of course this is just my opinion.
And your opinion is welcomed (if not actually shared)
Keith E. Smith
And Nick Eden
Also
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