Boy - this thread never ends does it? I am a little saddened by a number of posts by folk refusing to buy/read GRoY, tFS, Entekosiad, even KoS - Greg's recent works represent the most new Gloranthan material since the early Eighties. Seeing as though I run about once a week (this week the Varmandi thanes fought as mercenaries of King Arim against the Lunar Syllilan-Sairdites around Goldedge) and I find Greg's new stuff invaluable (tFS - directly useful, GRoY as mythically useful - ok I don't find Entekosiad very directly useful, but I do like it), I guess I must be out of touch with the rest of these "gamers".
Oliver wrote:
>There have been Gloranthan societies following false myths. What was his
>name Lokymaydon? Didn't he pretend to be Orlanth for a while?
At the time, Lokamayadon (High Priest of Orlanatus, Leader of the Brotherhood of Storm, a prime architect of the Osentalka Project, etc., etc.) was walking in the path of Orlanatus. Indeed, Lokamayadon defined the path of Orlanth like no man since Heort. He hardly followed a false myth when he created the cult of Lokamayadon Orlanthi (or something like that) - his simultaneous appearance during the sacred rituals of the tribes "proved" that he was what he claimed - the avatar of Orlanth.
Sadly for Lokamayadon, his triumph enabled his downfall. He managed to suppress the souther Heortling tribes (Lokamayadon was not a Heortling - he was a Talastari, which makes all the difference). Harmast managed to be initiated into the pre-Lokamayadon rites of Orlanth and assembled a number of Orlanthi myths into a grand Lightbringers' Quest - even making up new myths in order to carry out his task. When he returned from hell with the gravest enemy of the Second Council - Arkat (or was that Gbaji?) - the Council's days were numbered. With the newly resurgent Heortlings, Harmast managed to redefine the cult of Orlanth - more precisely, redefining the role of Lokamayadon. The hero who was once hailed for bringing back the divine order represented by Osentalka was now reviled as the pawn of Gbaji-Nysalor.
I'm not saying that Harmast made a "new Orlanth" - its more like he "recast Orlanth". Imagine Orlanth as the fictional character James Bond. Lokamayadon cast himself as Orlanth (maybe Lok' was kind of like Roger Moore), Harmast cast Sean Connery as 007. Same character - yet different.
To reiterate an earlier post, myth is not true or false - it is metaphor. Don't read Gloranthan myth like a history text - if you are, you're missing the point. To me, the charm of Glorantha is that it provides a way of approaching myth - magic is simply a corollary to that.
BTW, I agree with Nick that 1968 is a recent year to be born - I vehemently deny that thirty is just around the corner!! I will pass the Bar before I'm thirty, I'm still young I tell you - still young!!!!!!
Jeff
End of Glorantha Digest V4 #525
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