> The final [Elmal] cult write-up in ST is unfortunately incomplete and
> sometimes, IMO, rather erroneous
For what that's worth. *All* the cult writeups in ST can be treated as incomplete and erroneous whenever it suits one's purposes to do so.
>> (They don't think Elmal is "missing" his Fire powers, because they >> don't think he ever had any worth speaking of).
> I disagree completely, except as suggested above: IMO the Heortlings
> core mythologies _do_ associate their main sun god with fire and heat
> (the opposite suggestion being quite bizarre, really), although they
> might be called "Sun" powers, not "Fire" ones
Yeah, that's the angle I was taking. As the published cult has a Light rather than a Sun affinity, probably Light is seen as Elmal's major manifestation by the Heortlings (relegating the lesser affinities over fire and heat to the appropriate Lowfires, Hot Water Bottle Goddesses and the like).
> But there's certainly an Elmal Torchbearer subcult
Agreed, completely. But the torch is most important to the cult as a source of *Light*, not a source of Heat and Flames. (You would not expect to find Elmal Flamethrower, I think).
> He also has a fiery chariot, Heat, and Fertile Dryness powers, and
> many, many other attributes and powers, that a God Learner would
> ascribe to the Fire Rune.
Yes, but we are not God Learners and need not hobble ourselves with their classification scheme. The Heortlings do not consider Elmal's "Fire Powers" to be lost, crippled, weak, missing, etc.
> Elmal's Fire powers are very inferior to Yelm's, of course, but
*quite*
> superior to Yelamalio's.
If you can name one cult with Fire powers *inferior* to those of Yelmalio, I will grant you that the sentence above is particularly meaningful.
> And BTW, I think the minor fire powers given to the subcults described
> in ST are correct : but Elmal has 3, perhaps 4 other important
subcults,
> not described, having much better fire magic [etc.]
I completely agree.
Cheers, Nick
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