Peter Metcalfe says:
>The existing list of primal rune holders is incomplete when
>it comes to Pelorian and other non-Orlanthi mythologies.
>Shargash (only vaguely known then and not even a name) is
>listed along with Lodril and Oria on page 98 of the
>Glorantha: Intro.
More than this, I'd say that there has been a radical reenvisioning of how the theist universe (all of magical Glorantha, really) works. The old lists aren't exactly wrong, but the understanding is so different now that neat fits are difficult (if not impossible) for some of these ideas.
>>That's a bit of a promotion for Pole Star, isn't it?
>
>No. He was given command of the Firmament when Dayzatar
>went away.
I learn something new (and stand corrected).
>>Malia, as I said before, was a fertility goddess, "a spirit of
>>healing with great properties to aid growth and birth" (Lords
>>of Terror, p.27) who perverted her powers to become a death
>>goddess.
>
>But she does not have any fertility powers *now* yet she's still
>recognized as mother of disease. Hence simply because Shargash
>is recognized as Father of Alkoth does not mean that they recognize
>him as having fertility powers.
Um, I think we're going to have to disagree here. In a non-game mechanics-classification sense, being "father" or "mother" to something means a fertility connection to that thing. I don't think Orlanth is a fertility god (in the sense that Heler is conceptually very much a fertility god or Ernalda-Eninta the Midwife has a fertility rune affinity), but Orlanth's storms are part of the fertility of the Orlanthi. If Orlanth's fertility is missing, it must be made up somehow (say, through the worship of Elmal or (more specifically) Barntar), or the people starve. Even the Esrolians need a husband-protector to quicken the Earth (and, yes, all of those gods are fertility gods in that role, fertility runes or no).
>>Bagog, as I said before, is the mother of the scorpion men -- despite
>>her runes, she still is the primal source of the darned things and
>>has, reasonably, fertility connections.
>
>But the argument is over whether she is a fertility goddess because
>of her recognition as mother of the scorpion folk. She is not.
>Reasonable fertility connections are neither here or there as any
>deity in glorantha can claim such connections.
That's part of my point -- the rather crude "assign three runes" system of Runequest doesn't serve the gods it describes well. It seems that every Tom, Dick, and Harry had the Death rune, for example, just because they were combat gods. Now, it looks like we have a finer distinction between gods who Fight (Orlanth, Vinga, Heler, etc.) and those who Bring Death (Humakt and Babeester Gor). Similarly, a lot of gods have associations with runes that they don't "hold" -- that "minor association with Fertility" bit about Thed (Lords of Terror, p.48) is an example of this. If Thed were wiped out, the broos would follow, because the source of their identity, being, culture, and fertility would be gone. Some might be able to "jump ship" to Malia, but then they wouldn't be broos anymore, not as we understand them right now. Maran has a lot of death associations, but she's still the Mother of the Gatings and, for the Gatings, she has fertility connections. (There's also that handy "Blood for Barley" blessing in KoDP which is, in it's death-oriented way, a fertility spell).
Peter Larsen
End of The Glorantha Digest V8 #497
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