re: Elmal?

From: David Dunham <dunham_at_pensee.com>
Date: Mon, 2 Apr 2001 19:15:13 -0700


Tuna wondered

> how the cult of Elmal operates within the broader Orlanthi faith? I
> mean, alright, the Aranwyth -are- Elmali, but why? It doesn't make
> any sense (at least for me) from a religious point of view, because
> after faithfully looking after Orlanth's stead while that god was
> away, Elmal was given the responsibility of patrolling the Great
> Tula and the underworld--that makes him a very important deity, but
> Orlanth is clearly -the- king of the Gods. So howcome a society
> that accepts the Orlanthi pantheon primarily worship a god who's
> subserviant to another?

You don't stop respecting your clan chief just because he acknowledges someone else as tribal king.

I believe the forthcoming Storm Tribe will include the Elmal subcult which is analogous to Orlanth the Chief (Dar the Chieftain). IIRC, this arose because Elmal was in charge while Orlanth left on the Lightbringers Quest.

You may recall from the computer game King of Dragon Pass that some clans have honored Elmal since way, way back. They didn't stop doing this when they joined with the more numerous clans who favored Orlanth.

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


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