I am in the process of creating that Pelorian Prosodaedia that some people expressed an interest in. Its not quite ready yet, but in the process I have come up with a few theories to float here. Anyone with suggestions, please let me know.
I think Yamsur was originally Pentan, rather than Praxian or Pelorian. Yamsur is allegedly the father of Hyalor Horsebreaker. Yamsur does not appear to be part of the mainstream Yelmic beliefs, but nevertheless is persistently mentioned as being part of the Yelm pantheon. If Yamsur was originally Pelorian, some clues to this would remain in the original Pelorian myths, and if Yamsur was originally Praxian, they would not be likely to try and fit him into Yelmic myth. I think Yamsurs being mentioned as a son of Yelm might possibly be the invention of someone like Jenarong to explain how the horse nomad nobility qualify for Emperor. Yamsur being Pentan can still fit in with his showing up at the battle with Genert. And the Pentans and Praxians have had enough contact that the name Yamsur might well be known to the Praxian sun worshipping tribes. Yamsur being dead also seems to fit in with the general battering that Kargzant and associated cults takes at this time. Perhaps Yamsur was originally a son of Kargzant?
The Yelorna cult. This might originate from Jarst or nearby. They supposedly have unicorn riding deities. Yelorna may originally have been one of the Starlight Ancestors, and then Dara Happanised in the second age (adding the Shield Maiden tradition). Its presence in Prax may well date from the EWF times, hence its temple in the Big Rubble - they may have come to Pavis to investigate the other unicorn riding tribes there, or even to get access to a new source of unicorns if their own were dwindling.
Polaris - most mentions of this god seem to be from Raibanth, but surely it seems more likely to have originated in Yuthuppa? Yuthuppa otherwise does not have a war god of any kind. Also, Polaris is grouped with Ourania on the Gods Wall, and is a star god. I think there are still many Polaris worshipping Raibanth residents, though - Yelm can occupy a similar position, but has the twin disadvantages of not being open to anyone outside the noble families and even for those in the noble families giving pretty poor access to magic until you reach Imperator or Elder status (which, requiring as it does getting to Sun Lord first, is pretty hard).
Creating a modern Pelorian Prosopaedia is somewhat complicated, because almost all the current source material is way out of date. Does anyone have any info on what cults are worshipped currently? Some things I am unsure about include the Rinliddi bird cults, such as Avarnia, the other parts of Yelm, the other Jernotian deities, and the Naverian goddesses.
And last and probably least, its interesting to compare the
original (GRoY) Celestial Court (Glorantay) with the more modern (God
Learner?) version. A rough correspondence goes something like
Celestial Court (GRoY/Glorantay - modern deity)
Harmony - Harana Ilor,
Love - Uleria,
Beauty - Tylenea,
Joy - Acos,
Truth - Orenoar,
Growth - Larnste,
Entertainment - Ratslaff?
Athletics - Kargan Tor,
Art - Ratslaff?
and Aether Primolt
From which we can conclude a few things about Dara Happan culture, though it would be unwise to read very much into this. For a start, fighting is thought of as sport, which we already knew (hence their gladiatoral tradition). For another, Joy comes when everything is going according to the Law, hence the tradition of Justice. Beauty is not to be taken to seriously (its connected to illusion). And my favourite, Art and Entertainment are considered to be tricksterish and disruptive, hence the classical Yelmic dislike of the artistic temperament (they don't mind looking at it, but they think its a lower class perverse thing to actually create art and enjoy it).
May the light of the reaching moon shine upon you,
David
PS anyone got a theory on what the Pelorian word 'Enslib', as in
SurEnslib and BiselEnslib, means? Same on 'Lotralas'?
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