runs, storms and dragonewts

From: Peter Metcalfe <P.Metcalfe_at_student.canterbury.ac.nz>
Date: Tue, 25 Feb 1997 15:58:02 +1300


Joerg Baumgartner:

[On the origin of God Learner Runes]

Me>>The God Learners had perfectly ample runic sets of their own IMO.
>>What do you think they wrote with?

>Kingdom of Logic's Linear-B, or whatever you want as a parallel. Unless
>Aerlit's son brought knowledge of the theist (well, Storm people) runes to
>the Kingdom...

If you look at earthly pictograms, at their most basic form, they are all deeply similar. For instance, the Sun is depicted as a round orb, the Moon is depicted as a cresent. Hence I don't see the need to assume that the God Learners or their ancestors must have gotten their basic set of runes from the World Council.

>But then there is Slontos, the key region for contacts between the Theyalans
>and the early Malkioni. Broken Council Guidebook tells us that the Theyalan
>missionaries beat the Malkioni ones to the city-states there, and introduced
>their monomyth.

I don't think this is the _earliest_ period of contact between the West and Central Genertela. The Logicians had arrived in Northwestern Peloria well before the Great Darkness, significant interaction had occured in Ralios and so on.

Me>>IMO Aerlit is a being of Waertagi myth and not a proper god learnerism.

>Aerlit was a deity/greater spirit which figured greatly in the later war of
>the Seshnegi against the Pendali/Basmoli of Seshnela, summoned and
>controlled by Seshnegi sorcerers. Granted, this was during the Serpent
>Kings' dynasty period, but part of Malkioni history, especially Jrusteli
>history. They were settlers from Seshnela, after all.

You must remember this is the period when the Malkioni were friendly to the Waertagi who were patrons of Aerlit. Afterwards when the God Learners fought against the Waertagi, Aerlit (like Magasta) had become Theos Non Grata in the God Learner mythology. Think of Jehu and others kicking out Ba'al worship out of Israel.

[Air Rune derived from planetary movement:]

>Still doesn't feel right to me. Umath's path, ok, but up the Spike, not on
>the Sky Dome. (If the Yuthuppans are right about the golden sky dome, no
>stars would have been visible there, in any case.)

I don't understand as this is what Orlanth's Ring now does. Why shouldn't it be doing what it did in the Good Old days rather than having to mirror what some two-bit demigod did when he climbed up some molehill?

And as for the Golden Sky myth, stars were apparently visible back then as the Gods Wall has three star gods (Polaris, Ourania and Oropum).

Me>>Since the stars [of Orlanth's Ring] are orange,
>>I think an association with flint or the thunderstone is made.

>Except that it isn't a planet in the usual sense.

It was _originally_ a planet.

>>2) When the Orlanthi framework of their mythology was still in
>>its early state (ie pre-great darkness),

>Lesser Darkness, you mean?

I'll bite here with a deep digression and say no. If you use the God Learner Schematic, then the barbarian invasions of Peloria occurs before the Classic Pelorian Civilization which marks the Golden Age of Peloria. I believe the basic roots of the 'Storm' mythology (ie Tryannicide and Freedom) had been settled then.

>IMO reliance on the stars came only with the Greater Darkness, and
>the Star Captains' aid.

Why? It doesn't in Dara Happa and I don't see any reason why it should not be so for everyone else given that stars were visible before then.

Me>>But nobody knew that Orlanth blows in the form of a cyclone
>>or whirlwind until the God Learners started their meterology
>>experiments.

>Remember that the Orlanthi used to stand on sky-high mountains (like
>Wintertop) to observe the weather. With Gloranthan visibility phenomena,
>they might have observed this.

Given the visibility of Thunder Mountain (in Dorastor), I don't imagine they could see to the ends of the Inner World which would be required for an understanding of the World Cyclone.

Peter Linton Tracy:


Me>> [Dragonewts] don't have a written language. Written Auld Wyrmish was
>> invented by clever scholars in the second age.

>Which would have been after the sharing of all those great dragon secrets
>with the EWF. Also, what about all the carvings on the dragonnewt plinths
>dotting the world, esp. Sartar? What about tatooing?

One doesn't need writing to share dragon secrets - the source that says Written Auld Wyrmish was invented by humans comes from the Gloranthan Book (Languages section) of the Genertela boxed set. As for the carvings on the plinth, all that I know is that the Plinths are carved _in_ the shape of specific creatures (frogosaurus et al.) without being marked by runes.

As for Draconic Tattooing, I imagine it's really ritualistic scarification by an utuma - ie a dragonewt would carve a hole in his hand (cf the multilation of the Heifer in Elder Secrets). Lhankor Mhy Sages love to posit about how the Dragonewts by exposing themselves to the Sword Death are making themselves stronger. But that's the sort of stuff Grey Sages waffle about on idle afternoons.

End of Glorantha Digest V4 #218


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