Pam Carlson asked in a recent post if the Emperor of Orlanthi myth is always Yelm. The Wrothelingans of Brolia explain the Invisible Orlanth cult by telling the story Orlanth and the Good God. Orlanth was jealous of the sorcery of the Carmanians so he went to the Creator and demanded to be told the secrets of nature's law. The Creator laughed at his unsophisticated visitor so the Thunderer smashed his head open with his axe. As soon as the dead god hit the ground things began to pop out of existence and everything was caught up in an entropic maelstorm. The Creator's vizirs told Orlanth that all the world would disappear if the Good God wasn't there to think it. Orlanth and his closest kin then descended into Hell and after many challenges retrieved the Demiurge. The rescued God admitted that he was impressed by this previously unseen aspect of Orlanth, which we now call Invisible Orlanth. Indeed the Good God was so grateful that he made Orlanth his messanger to the lands of men and instructed him in the wisdom of Acos.
This is -not- the mythos associated with Invisible Orlanth embraced by his urbane Carmanian worshippers. (They probably see him as the Holy Spirit to the Red Goddesses Messiah.) On the other hand the Brolians, naturally, don't appreciate all the subtleties of Henotheist theology.
Peter Metcalfe says that Brolian lawspeakers don't read or write. IMHO
there are no specialized lawspeakers in Brolia. If is believed to have
broken the customs of Lanatum a weapontake is called. All adults gather
together and decide whether the accused did what they are supposed to have
done and if they did whether it is against custom or not. (To simulate this I
have a 'Custom' knowledge.) The opinions of the elders recieve most respect, as
their youth was closer to the time when Lanatum gave the clans their
customs. If the living cannot resolve the dispute the kolating drums up
Sarius the Lower Wind who brings his breath to the land of the dead where
he asks the ancestors to judge the case. If even that fails he must
travel to the Thunderers tent behind the West Wind to ask the
custom-giver himself what judgement is to be taken. IMHO the Brolians
rank Lhankor Mhy about as highly as Eninta.
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Andrew Behan
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