Some of these ideas are incomplete or present alternatives.
In the God Time there existed on the south-eastern slopes of the Spike, Ganderland where all the intelligent species of the feathered kind existed in service to their Lord Vrimak and the Emperor Yelm. Ducks, herons, magpies and many more lived there to act as courtiers, heralds and entertainers at the court of the Emperor of the Universe. Some sang, some danced in the air and some carried information for their Lord.
(Some people say that the Ducks were Yelm's Jesters. But that's just the
sort of thing some people would say!)
But then Orlanth the Rebel came and slew the Emperor. The world plunged into darkness and their purpose in life was lost.
In one tribe there was dissension: the leaders of the Ducks were divided: One part said that they should stay with the other winged species and maintain the honourable way of their ancestors. Others said that Yelm had proved to be a weak god and they should turn to the service of the mightier god, Orlanth. The traditionalists stayed behind and the rebels left the Spike.
The rebels settled in the land to the north of the Spike, what is now Maniria. They turned their alleigance to the Storm Gods and forgot their one-time loyalty to Yelm.
The traditionalists stayed in the rapidly decaying nests of Ganderland. When the Spike shook and then shattered at the infiltration of Chaos they and the other intelligent birds took flight. They took themselves to the East Isles. There one tribe turned to chaos and became the pteradactyls. The remnants of the winged peoples became known as the tribes of Keets. They had a single ancestral cult that kept them unified: the daughter of Vrimak Grandmother Keet. Each tribe also had their own tribal god, in the case of the Ducks Mother Duck.
Now at the Dawning there were many loose ends to be cleared up. The goddess of Dreams had to weave her net to seperate that which was Real from that which was Unreal. The interface between the Godtime and the Mundane World that is the Net of Dreams had to be carried in the instant of Yelm's rise to every corner of the world. No one would agree to carry it but only the youngest and least regarded of the Gods of the Winged Ones. Each Duck-Keet was asked and each gave up his power of flight that the world of Dreams should be put in its proper place. Mother Duck flew bearing the Net of Dreams to every part of the world.
"I go now, and you shall see me no more," she told her children. "But there is one who shall come to bring you to the skies again. There is one last Egg." And then she flew.
{{That is very much In My Glorantha. Her last egg was stolen and taken by the rebellious Ducks. It is now on its way home...}}
And as she flew over Dragon Pass her forgotten disobedient children likewise found themselves coming down to earth with a hell of a bump! The Durulz have no idea why this happened. They themselves suspect that it was a curse but try getting one of them to admit it to an outsider. None of them think it is in fact something to be proud of.
The histories of the Durulz and the Duck Tribe of the Keets developed
seperately. The Keets had some interface with both Western Culture
(through the missionaries of the Good Sorcerer) and with Vormain. (So
that I can have Samurai Ducks!) The Durulz developed into the cunning
fighters and (fairly) orthodox Orlanthi that we know and love.
One point that I haven't clearly decided is the question of live young
or egg bearing. Mythologically, there is no reason for the Duck-Keets
sacrifice to change them in that regard. So what I'm thinking is that as
the rebellious Durulz went north, Vrimak cursed them in that regard,
saying "If they wish to be the creatures of Orlanth let them be
Orlanth's in full measure." And so in this regard they became mammals
(the creatures of the storm). This curse did not deny them the power of
flight. There are flying mammals.
So what I'm tending to now is that the Duck-Keets still lay eggs while the Durulz don't. What would happen if they tried to mate is a very good question....
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