>Which aspect/subcult of Orlanth do (male) clan chiefs belong to?
Orlanth Rex is the chieftain aspect of Orlanth. Part of the inauguration ceremony of an Orlanthi chieftain in most clans is initiation into the aspect. A chief might be devoted to other gods or aspects as well.
>Which subcult do _female_ clan chiefs belong to?
Orlanth Rex as well. Look, one way of looking at Orlanth Rex is that he embodies "chieftain's magic" - Orlanth was the first clan chief and created the path that others follow in order to be a chief.
>Is there a "Thunderous" aspect of Vinga? Or do women join O.T. directly?
No, there is no Thunderous aspect of Vinga. Vinga is best thought of Orlanth the Warrior for women. To the best of my knowledge, Vinga and Orlanth Rex are the only aspects of Orlanth available to women - all Storm Voices are male. BTW, Hero Wars has an excellent summary of the difference between men's initiation and women's initiation.
>What's with this "Hantrafal" guy?
Hantrafal is a son of Orlanth and the first godi. He discovered the way to channel the worship of men to Orlanth when he could not aid them in person. He persuaded Orlanth to allow the weak and friendless into the Storm Tribe so that they might become strong and united. He tricked the Trickster and made Eurmal, in his raven form, bring fire to the Storm People; thus were Eurmal's white feathers burned black.
Unlike most god-talkers, Hantrafal shows the way to intercede with almost all of the important (male) Orlanthi dieties - he is the great generalist of the Orlanthi god-talkers. With the rise of more specialist god-talkers, Hantrafali godi are rare but not unknown in Sartar.
Does that help?
Jeff
End of The Glorantha Digest V6 #163
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