> > Is your understanding increased to remember that Elmal is a god,
> > and that most of the gods can bi- or tri- or multi-locate at will?
>
> I know that, we're talking at cross purposes. When I suggested
> that Lightfore might be Elmal's sheild which he loaned to Orlanth, I
> take it as a given that Elmal's shield is one of his powers, it's part
> of him. What the Orlanthi believe about lighfore isn't realy the
> point, the point is Elmal lights the surface world while he is also
> the sun travelling through the underworld.
I agree with both of you here, and while I was myself aware that the Surface World _became_ the Underworld during the Darkness when I joined in the discussion myself, I still think that the most important element as far as the Elmal cult is concerned _isn't_ the reality of what actually happened in abstract terms during that period of existence, but rather what the Elmali themselves remember about the period, what stories they tell, and what HeroQuests exist.
It's certainly important IMO that there is an Elmal in Hell myth-cycle and corresponding hero paths, but I feel that the overriding consideration myth-wise is that Elmal survived the Darkness : so, I think that the "Elmal the Survivor" and "Elmal in Hell" epic cycles should be so separate in the average Heortling mind that the one "happens" "before" the other when they tell Elmal's story (a false view from within Time certainly, and bounded by its limitations, but I can't really see "Elmal's Bi-Located War against Chaos, and How He Was Dead (But Not Really & Here's Why)" as a good bed-time story for the average horsethane's young sons, not if he wants them to love Elmal like he does that is ... ).
So, I think that Elmal's adventures in Hell take place * before * the Chaos Wars from a Heortling POV, perhaps before he became Orlanth's thane, because I think that it's the only sensible human-POV way to reconcile these two great Elmali epics.
Anyways, the idea of Elmal braving the dangers of Hell, all on his lonesome, surviving, winning, to rise in the East against all odds and gods as a Survivor just ... appeals to me ... :-)
Julian Lord
Powered by hypermail