If you broadly agree with my ideas about Vronkal (not that I'm sure you do, but you refer to him later), I'm more than a little confused about what the distinction is. (Or did you mean _brown_ elf hero? (Been there, done that!))
> When Zorak Zoran killed Flamal, he started
> hunting ZZ. He wasn't very good at it and ended up getting ambushed in
> Vanch. Afterwards, he meets up with HKE & others, ultimately resulting in
> Flamal's and Yelm's ressurections.
I really don't see what motivates this as an elf cult of any sort. This is the human Yelmalio/Antirius cult, with a Lightbringer role grafted on, as far as I can see. Which is overdoing the Monomyth on the one hand, and completely changing his mythic role on the other, if you believe in some sort of Identity between the two. If the DP Yelmalio (proper) cult is partly derived from "Elfio" (as KoS thinks), this partly explains the first (though not the Hill of Gold, methinks), but in such a case, how could they "forget" his resurrecting the sun, and all plant life?
> First, where does he get the aether powers? Fighting Wildfire in the forest
> of Prax (perhaps his home) would make sense, but could only get him light,
> not fire, powers.
As I don't think any elf god _has_ fire powers, this seems more like a solution than a problem.
> Second, whe else was involved in the Flamal seedquest?
If anyone, ought not _Aldrya_ to have a role? So far, the story of the seedquest sounds like several hypotheses in search of, if not evidence, then at a common tapestry to hang them. Sounds like if anything, you have the LBQ in mind as a model, but with no real basis for using such a structure. Given that other _human_ cultures don't adhere to it all, I'm not sure I see the force of the argument for elves believing it, independantly.
> BTW, I think the HKE title is always borne by the dominant local variety,
I wonder if the title HKE isn't mainly a _brown_ elf one, but _applied_ to green elves. I.e., green elves have "Vronkal", green/brown mixes have HKE, predominantly brown have have a "Yelmalio" figure, and yellows have None of the Above (who needs HKE, we got Big Sis)? Just a thought. Though clearly, it seems mreli still join the HKE _cult_ freely, in all areas (that we know of), so apply salt vigorously.
> Botanical question: If we classify red=swamp, green=coniferous,
> yellow=broadleaf, & brown=deciduous, how do we classify bushes & shrubs
> (i.e. runners) that live in deciduous areas, but are evergreen (e.g juniper,
> cedar, etc.)?
They're "green", I think, but of course, not actually elves. Presumably the same applies to broadleaf evergreen _trees_ (other than where they're Yellow, hrm), in largely deciduous forests (if such things occur in Glorantha.)
> On elves using metal: I'd say that copper is Ga's fiber and crystals are
> Ga's sap.
I like this, especially the Sap. One doesn't Liquidise fibre though, so to extend the metaphor, one should forge it by... Err. I dunno, Extrude Copper? ;-) More evocative verb sought. Entwine?
> Where is the Aldrayan rain god(dess)?
I suspect they don't need one. What if each storm, or cloud, is a mediumsized spirit air/water: then it's a shamanic function, rather than yet another divine cult.
Chris, I don't my posts on this subject haven't sounded over-critical, as I seem to have Disgreed more than I've either Agreed or Suggested. Think of my various carpings as a sort of Baths of Nelat, perhaps? ;-)
Slainte,
Alex.
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