me:
> > Of course, the Helerings are mostly (completely?) dead now,
>> and any sub-cults that might give leadership magics on a par
>> with Dar are unknown to the Heortlings. As we've seen, Maran
>> is worshipped differently in Tarsh and Sartar, so why not
>> Heler? Certainly if a Heler-worshiping player characters wanted to
>> quest for the lost secrets of Helering leadership, it would be a
>> mean-spirited Narrator who would deny any chance of success....
>
>I would say that this is definitely on the money. I note the use of
>evasive language in Thunder Rebels and (most especially) Storm Tribe
>regarding the ultimate fate of the Helerings. I note also that "as a
>god, so it's people" (and vice versa) seems to apply in Glorantha,
>and, while Heler was mostly frozen in the Darkness, one drop
>escaped. Does this indicate isolated Helering settlements along the
>Choralinthor Bay, or further west? The references breed many ideas
>that would definitely lend themselves well to a Helering PC's
>attempts to "reinvigorate" Heler to lend Orlanth more strength in
>the upcoming battles...
I seem to remember an article or post that there are isolated Helering communities scattered around, but nothing is coming to mind. Given the mutability of Heler, maybe the trick is to recognize them when you see them.
As for "'as a god, so it's people' (and vice versa)," I'm unclear on this. I don't know if Gloranthan gods wither away from lack of worship or whether they just become harder to contact. Lets assume for a second that the Helerings are all gone; Heler is only worshipped as a secondary god in other pantheons (Storm Tribe in Sartar (and maybe in Ralios), Earth People in Esrolia, etc). Few of his people require his leadership powers (except those that flow directly from his worship as the Ram Who Leads the Flock), so Heler stops offering them. Now, is this because Heler has lost the power to be a Dar-like leader or because his worshippers no longer hear the call of that sub-cult? Personally, I think it's probably the latter -- you would have to heroquest to find the mysteries of Heler the Leader, but you wouldn't necessarily be telling Heler anything he doesn't know.
Unfortuantely for the quester, even if he managed to uncover the sub-cult and joined it, there would be no other worshippers to reinforce the rituals, so the practice would probably die out with the quester.
Peter Larsen
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