Siglolf Cloudcrusher

From: Jose Ramos <Jose.Ramos_at_univ-angers.fr>
Date: Fri, 14 Mar 1997 12:59:46 +0000

        Nick Effingham mentioned sometime ago Siglolf Cloudcrusher, and even proposed a spell for his cult.

        It is claimed that this hero cult can call stones from the clouds, and they can even be used in battle, which accounts with its popularity. As I do not like some unexplained features, such as where does the rock come from? and where does it go afterwards? the real answer for me is that Siglolf found some lost Storm godling, the god of hail.

        As anybody who has suffered a big hailstorm can attest, hailstones big as chicken eggs are known (very unusually) and have even caused deaths. The destruction to buildings and specially to crops is enormous. Even more usual hail, gravel size, does destroy whole crops of sensitive plants
(specially fruit, grapes being a typical victim).

        So instead of a hero that lets you drop a big rock on somebody's head, you have a hero capable of averting hail on your fields, and send it over your enemies. Much more useful from a community PoV, specially the orlanthi, not big farmers, against the safelstrans, intensive croppers all.

        Of course you have the secret rituals to get really big hailstones. But they are not individually targeted, you just let a hail of 1 kilo pieces of ice (2 pounds for the metrically challenged) drop on them. The effect at sea (well, lake) is even worse, destroying the rigging and flooding the ships.

        This would be the kind of magic that IMO gains converts. Of course, this would indicate that while Siglolf was bound no hail fell in Ralios,
(typical God Learner meddling with weather) so many Safelstrans are a bit
upset with Garundyer and his pals. Not that they can do anything about that right now...

        Beware the clouded skies,

Jose


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