A brief (2 sentence) description of Yinkin was given in the Associated Cults section of the Orlanth cult write up in v1 n4 of the magazine Heroes. His (IMO incorrect) "secret perception" is alluded to by the spell he (supposedly) provides; Identify Scent. Thus, it seems that Yinkin's special perceptual ability is his sense of... of... of _smell_?
_That_ is what I have a problem with.
I dislike the idea of explaining that Yinkin is stuck with the spell Identify Scent because Yelmalio took/stole Catseye from him. If this was so then it seems to me that, just as Yelmalio after ZZ, Yinkin would be blind. (Although, come to think of it, that actually MIGHT explain the Identify Scent spell! But then, are we really ready to accept that all shadowcats are sightless? I'm not!)
I think Yinkin got along with Elmal pretty much as well as he got along with anyone in Orlanth's stead. Elmal was someone to scratch Yinkin's ears and a warm body to curl up with at night.
I think Yelmalio and Yinkin are not at all associated, much less part of one another's pantheon. They probably have a lot of distain for one another; Yelmalio dislikes the mammalian air-beast who needs light to see but who refuses to give proper deference to the Light Gods, while Yinkin dislikes anyone who doesn't give _him_ proper deference by paying attention to him or who tries to tell him what furniture to stay off of.
Yinkin may be a "loner" when outside the stead, but he is not at all an "outcast." Having a shadowcat around the stead is probably a necessary part of being Orlanthi! It one of those things Orlanthi DO! He's the Big Guy's half-brother on his mother's side, for Orlanth's sake! Heck, he's also related to Ernalda, who is his grandmother's sister! He's part of the family! He's KIN!!
My personal feeling is that he is worshipped as a subcult of Orlanth (mostly Adventurous and Lightbringer), except in a few areas that can support his worship through a spirit cult (and there Yinkin is probably Associated with both Orlanth and Odayla.) I think Odaylans worship Yinkin not because of any mythic connection between the deities, but because of the usefulness of Yinkin's spell to the Odaylan hunters. It's a matter of respecting a successful fellow hunter, and wanting to learn some of his tactics.
Peace,
Peter
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