>I'm in the process of working out the details of the Durbadath
>cult, and the information about his mythology seems quite
>sketchy. Thus far I've only been able to find three solid details
>about him.
>1) He abandoned his son Votank, who later refused to accept his
>amends. Later, he gave Votank to Yelm. (I'm aware this might
>just be a justification for Dara Happan enslavement of the Votanki.
Durbaddath's abandonment of Votank is Simon Phipp's interpretation of why the Votanki no longer worship Lions. However the Durbaddathi were still extant in Balazar at the time of the commentary on the GRAY and they may still be.
>2) Someone beheaded him, and Yelm gave him a lion's head as a
>replacement.
That is a Yelmic interpretation, not a story known to the Balazarings. It's probably a story about how Durbaddath came to be a Dara Happan cult during the time of Emperor Urvairinus.
>3) Yelm or Lodril defeated him and then gave him a place of honor.
If you look at Anaxial's Roster (p86), you see that Durbaddath resisted Murhazarm (mistakenly called Mashunasan) but surrendered to Dara Happa after his children were enslaved and served Urvairinus loyally. After Urvairinus's death, Durbaddath revolted and his cultists were treated as wild animals.
Since the chronology of mythical Dara Happa has been distorted again and again (in particular some deeds of Urvairinus appear to predate Murharzarm and some much later), the chronology of the Durbaddath cult during mythic times is probably much more complex (that it was favoured by martial periods of Dara Happa and condemned during puritanical periods of Dara Happa might be a more accurate picture of what happened).
>In particular, I'm curious to know who beheaded him. (I'm also a
>bit curious to know why Yelm happened to have a lion's head
>lying around, but I suppose that's just the sort of thing gods have
>stashed in their closets in case it comes in useful.)
Who beheaded Durbaddath isn't important. It's a myth of how Durbaddath came to be accepted by Dara Happa (and the presence of another myth indicates that this has happened more than once). The myth might be little more than an imperial regiment losing its patron god ("its head") which was replaced by the Emperor by Durbaddath.
There might be more to his beheading in Dara Happa but it has no importance to the cult elsewhere.
>I also seem to remember that there's a really famous Durbadathi
>warrior at the time of the Hero Wars, but I'm blanking on that.
You are probably thinking of Greymane the Lion King. I've heard Jeff Kyer suggest that he might be using Pendali influences but I think it more probable that Palangio brought Durbaddathi warriors to Maniria.
--Peter Metcalfe
End of Glorantha Digest, Vol 11, Issue 73
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