Arkat and Ralios from David Dunham on 1998-12-17 (Glorantha Digest Vol 06)

From: David Dunham <dunham_at_pensee.com>
Date: Wed, 16 Dec 1998 21:26:04 -0800

I was wondering about Arkat recently -- why did he return to Ralios after defeating Gbaji? After all, he's conquered most of the world. Presumably he could live just about anywhere. Of course, there is that little problem that he's betrayed everyone along the way -- including the Ralians and the Uz.

I asked the "Ralios Experts" to clue me in, and we had a few theories. It might have been connected with Harmast Barefoot's Lightbringer's quest somehow -- was Arkat reborn into Ralios?

But the answer I eventually came up with was a lot more mundane. Since he ended up in Dorastor, he didn't have too many places he could easily go. Ralios was very close (and he'd betrayed it least recently, so some of them might have forgotten or forgiven). And he had probably made a sacred vow years before: "I swear I will lead an army across the Kartolin Pass." So he did. Just not from the direction everyone had expected.

Speaking of unexpected Arkat, he is due to return, but in ways people don't expect.

I believe one of the forms will be Arkat Liberator, in the person of Argrath of Sartar. He travels through Ralios on his Westfaring. It must be a huge disappointment to have Arkat Liberator say, "Sorry, just passing through. I really must run."

We suspect another form will be female, again because it's unexpected.

David Dunham <mailto:dunham_at_pensee.com> Glorantha/RQ page: <http://www.pensee.com/dunham/glorantha.html> Imagination is more important than knowledge. -- Albert Einstein