I have recently been dealing with the existing sources on star information for Glorantha. In the course of working on an article entitled The Night Sky in Prax, I came upon an idea for Orlanth's Ring which I thought I would open up for discussion.
On page 152-153 of King of Sartar, the disruption of the Lunar ritual to create a Temple of the Reaching Moon in Sartar is described. I began wondering exactly what it was that Argrath had done. Here is what I came up with.
The Lunar ceremony was timed so that it began within a couple of hours after Orlanth's Ring disappeared into the Pole Star. This way, the Lunars would have a full week where the Disruptor would not be in the sky. Since a week is the length of time the Moon takes to go from Full to Full, this is appropriate in a mythic way.
Everything is going fine -- all of the priestesses, etc. are doing their part in the Dance. Every recognizeable celestial feature is present -- they have to be, for the sky to be properly recreated. And so that means that the star called Stormgate mustalso present.
Then, "among the participants a star fell, and in heaven it flared but a moment before it went behind a small, thin cloud. But the sacred proceedings did not slow."
I believe this is describing the occlusion of Stormgate by a small cloud, which called the priestess representing Stomrgate to fall as well. This may even have been a planned event.
But it backfired. Somehow, Argrath was able to move up the schedule of Orlanth's Ring and cause it to come out only a couple of hours later, rather than being gone for a full week. With no way to anticipate the appearance of the Disruptor, which should have been impossible, they were completely defenseless against the magics which Argarth and company channelled through it.
Note that the Green Star was NOT part of the constellation/invaders initially -- the seven people representing the seven orange stars did their spiral at very greatly accelerated speed. When the called the Green Star to them near the end, it left the Stormgate at that time, and rushed to join the seven before they reached the center. As it crossed the point in the sky where the constellation of the headless dragon is, it completed the dragon for just a brief moment, and that is when the green beam appeared.
Now, the part that is somewhat radical is that I think Argrath made a permanent change in the heavens. After this event, Orlanth's Ring was no longer gone for a week after entering the Pole Star Gate. Orlanth had been freed, and now he rose each week, disappeared, then rose again almost immediately.
Comments? I have a lot more of this, if people are interested, including a new planet I have discovered (though no longer visible in the Third Age).
Stephen Martin
ilium_at_juno.com
The Book of Drastic Resolutions
drastic_at_juno.com
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