Third Age Glorantha as a spherical world from Joerg Baumgartner on 1997-03-26 (Glorantha Digest Vol 04)

From: Joerg Baumgartner <joe_at_toppoint.de>
Date: Wed, 26 Mar 97 19:24 MET

Alex gave some very good points how 3rd Age Glorantha doesn't fit any spherical model. The main problem are the rotations: The night sky revolves once per 24 h, around the Pole Star. This means the centre of the known surface world - Magasta's Pool - would be one of the poles for the eigen-rotation of a hypothetical spherical Ga. The system is complicated by large objects in several Gastationary orbits, like the Red Moon, Zenith, or Stormgate. Add in the "Jumpers", which are almost Gastationary objects, subject only to some wobbling in Ga's axis (the former, or mythological Spike).

Now if that's true, the Sunpath runs straight over the pole of the world. Planets rise and fall in this plane in a rhythm between 8 hours and a third of a year, including the sun and Lightfore. This makes an orbiting sun most probable. But why not? I suppose some system with an exothermous, bright sun in an orbit around a planet might be physically possible. A sun that burns out quickly, and possibly needs replacement or refueling now and then. (Explains the Darkness nicely. Enter the dwarfs and their world machine...)

This leaves only the climate to be explained. Why is the Genertelan kalikoswise region glacial, and why is the Pamaltelan anti-kalikoswise region burning? (Assuming Magasta's Pool as the Pole makes the terms "north" and "south" somewhat obsolete. Kalikos' Palace is a jumper always to the conventional "north", IIRC.)

Now, if we can have Ga-stationary bodies in the inner world (i.e. above Pamaltela and Genertela), why not as well in the outer world? Like a stationary infrared sun above a place somewhere "south" of Pamaltela. This would provide the main amount of heat for the world, evenly distributed by the seas and the World Storm.

Someone learned in hydrodynamics/meteorology: does it make sense that the storm and the pool rotate in opposite directions?

With this mercatorial stuff, back to the lozenge.