I particularly like the idea of members of the clan choosing which ritual to take part in. As David Dunham piointed out, many thousands of warriors accompanied Orlanth on his quest in the God Time. The way I've written it for my game, members of the clan decide which part of the ritual they will participate in. The chief members of the lightbringer cults will tend to take roles in the LBQ rite while farmers, crafters and so on will be the primary participants of the Unity rite. Warriors may choose to join the LB rite as Orlanth's loyal men, or the Unity rite as the stout Elamli and hearth protectors. Ernalda priestesses and acolytes may turn up in both rites as well, in the LBQ as prisoners to be rescued, and in the Unity as the source of communal spirit and the last vestiges of fertility and love in the dire time of darkness.
I don't think the stay at home ritual ought to be any more individualistic than the 'team-oriented' LBQ. On the contrary, it is this ultimate unity of spirit, soul and purpose of all people at the time that unites them in the struggle against chaos in the I Fought We Won battle (by the way, did anyone else have the problem on first entering Glorantha of thinking it was a slang term for I *Thought* We Won!? I confess it took me a while to work that one out!)
The Unity ritual would emphasise the communal support aspect of the struggle, both for each other, and for the Lightbringers who need the support of their community to achieve their purpose.
The Lightbringers probably go on a physical journey across and out of their clan lands. Whether this takes them to the Hero/God Plane on leaving their lands I don't know - it might depend on how much the 'questers' really want to achieve. I don't think the Sacred Time ceremonies are a full scale re-enactment of the LBQ. I think they are 'just' ritualised forms of it which are designed to restore the world rather than achieve a more direct and tangible goal.
Couple of threads to consider: Do the Lightbringers find a real foe on the Inner World and hunt it down, or is it a 'ritualised foe' such as the one Pam mentions in her post - a clan member taking the role of the enemy and being slain, figuratively or actually (or both)? If the former, it would make good sense for chaotics in Dragon Pass to keep a low profile at Sacred Time as scores of bands of real tough hombres scour the land for some baddies to kill! This touches on another thing I have contemplated a bit, which is, what do the chaotics do at Sacred Time? Obviously they take part in their world breaking rituals, but what about practical action? Do they disrupt other Sacred rituals by storming in and raising steads while all the tough guys from the clans are away? Makes sense, but but the Orlanthi probably wouldn't last long if it happened on a wide scale. Maybe the Lightbringers would gain some spiritual warning from their lands when enemies approach so they can go fight 'em. Anyway there are potentially lots of variations on this idea. Which ones do you like?
Regardless of the actual rituals undertaken (and the LBQ and Unity are only the main two) it is as David Dunham and Michael Raaterova say, a highly spiritual and emotional time.
Thanks for your patience.
Saravan.
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