I'm trying to keep the Ralian Orlanthi discussion on this List so that Greg can more easily follow it and pipe in whenever he wants. On the other list, Robert Davis commented:
>You make a good argument, but I have always wondered why Ralian
>Orlanth was very similar to the Orlanth we recognise in Dragon Pass.
Orlanth, as a Great God, has a Glorantha-wide existence, but in history the "Orlanth religion" has its origins with the Heortlings of Dragon Pass. The "Orlanth religion" practiced in Ralios has its origins in the "Orlanth religion" of Dragon Pass - the Ralians learned the rites, prayers, songs, myths, and ceremonies of Orlanth from the Theyalan missionaries in the First Age, and there has been a continued interaction between Ralios and the Dragon Pass heartland in the last 1400 years.
Peter wrote:
>Firstly Orlanth has an existence beyond the perception of his
>worshippers
>and so that all his cults, including those under another names,
>would
>have some basic similarity (stormy powers, three aspects etc).
>Because
>of his cosmological importance, he's not a deity who can be ignored.
I certainly agree with Peter here.
>Secondly the only certain similarity between Orlanth in Ralios and
>Orlanth in Dragon Pass has been the name (and there's some
>scope for difference there). The Ralians are free to diverge from
>the
>writeup presented in Thunder Rebels in a number of ways.
There are likely to be some different subcults in Ralios (Vingkot is less important, Siglolf Cloudcrusher, Alakoring, and other heroes are likely to be more important), some local variations (Orlanth's Seat in Ralios is at the Top of the World and not Kerofin, etc) but essentially the writeup presented in Thunder Rebels holds true for the Ralian Orlanthi as well.
Jeff
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