Spider in the Bowl

From: Joerg Baumgartner <joe_at_toppoint.de>
Date: Tue, 22 Apr 97 19:14 MET DST


On the topic of Arachne Solara in Peloria, David Cake risks to defy
>both Stephen
>Martin and Peter Metcalfe and say that the Pelorians do know of her - I'm
>pretty sure its mentioned in TFS. In fact, we know more about the Pelorian
>worship of her than we do of Orlanthi worship, though what we know of
>Pelorian worship is pretty odd (check out the Pelorian Prosopaedia, guys -
>http://www.cwr.uwa.edu.au/~cake/Pelproso.html ).

Of course the Theyalans left their myths in the basin, even with the Dara Happans, and IMO somehow the Arachne Solara myth was instrumental for the creation of Osentalka, so all participants must have accepted it.

> I'd even go so far as to say she may be native to Peloria, rather
>than Maniria, but that would be *extremely* speculative.

If you believe in gods created from heroic action, then Arachne Solara is based on Cragspider's role in the Council as much as vice versa. This would make her origin either, or neither, with Cliffhome on the border (indeed watershed) between Maniria and Peloria.

Our authoritative source on AS in Peloria is Cults of Prax, Seven Mothers section, which has Deezola as her priestess. Which is most likely Gregged while we debate this... If it remains true, it still occurs almost a millennium after the Theyalan missionaries walked Pelorian turf as soon as they had sent the horse warlords packing. Maybe they avoided Khordavu's tiny core of a Dara Happan Empire, but I'm sure they walked the fringes, including Kestinliddi/Rhinliddi/First Blessed.

>Mind you, it would
>be very speculative to say otherwise as well... possibly another one of
>those First Council cultural cross over things - possibly even where the
>Orlanthi Ginna Jar was identified with the Pelorian Arachne Solara?

I don't like this Orlanthi vs. Pelorian angle, since almost half of Peloria is inhabited by Orlanthi or Orlanthi-influenced peoples. The identification of AS with Ginna Jar is a Lightbringer myth, and is likely to be found in other cultures' LB myths as well. (What myth do the Lodrili farmers of Doblian etc. have wrt the reascent of the sun?)


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