Here is a different spin on things - maybe the reason the rituals took so long is that the Lunars were trying to find a way to kill Orlanth so that Ernalda would NOT go to sleep. As we all know, Ernalda will work and does work with the Empire in parts of Glorantha. Maybe the Lunars don't know why this happens and maybe its the principal reason for the delay in the magical preparations.
I believe that it is a canonical view that magic, and heroquesting is not an exact science. 'Magic works and it works if we do it like this' sort of thing.
Maybe its a bit like quantum theory - theories that Gloranthan think are the reasons but they have no way of empirically proving it this way or that. Also, I have this feeling that when people heroquest they see things through the prism of what they know. To do otherwise would require you to have the fabled Runequest sight of the God Learners, and what I believe the most powerful of the heroquesters probaby posses, Jar-Eel, Kallyr et al. All just conjecture of course.
Regards
Rob
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