<< Steve Lieb refers to black elves living in mushroom patches in his list of
examples of non-forest Aldryami. Recall, though, that black elves are not
Aldryami mythically because fungi are not plants, are not descended from the
plant rune,>>
They are repeatedly described in Trollpak as 'plants of darkness', the offspring of Dame Darkness and the Plant Rune, and similar phrases. Likewise, one of Mee Vorala's runes is Plant, and Flamal is an associate deity specifically because fungi *are* plants according to Troll Gods. Modern biological definitions which distinguish fungi from true plants on the basis of cellular structure are not relevant in Glorantha, IMO.
<< do not have Aldraya as an ancestor,>>
This, however, and their lack of worship of Aldrya, are the real reasons why the Voralans are not 'true' aldryami, except in the very loose sense of being 'plant people'.
<<The relationship between black and other elves seems fraught with possibilities, though. Is Mree Vorala (or whatever the name was) a death cult for green elves? >>
Troll Gods implies she has few worshippers other than Voralans, although I suspect she is a death/recycling deity for elves, whether many of them actually worship her directly or not.
<< Do brown elves scare their kids with the idea that black elves might get
them?>>
I'm not sure elves think like this; they aren't human and don't always act like humans. Fungi recycle the bodies of trees, returning them to the cycle of nature for rebirth, which is probably not a very scary thought for an elf. Admittedly, Voralans can create fungal diseases and might use them against elves who betray their ideals - and therefore could be something to threaten naughty kids with - but I don't know whether that's scary in the bogeyman sense because elves look at things differently, and I'm sure how naughty elven kids are anyway compared with human ones.
Forward the glorious Red Army!
Trotsky
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