Re: Ralian Orlanthi

From: Peter Metcalfe <metcalph_at_...>
Date: Tue, 11 Jul 2006 11:23:51 +1200

Jeff wrote:

>The "Orlanth religion" practiced in Ralios has its
>origins in the "Orlanth religion" of Dragon Pass

Could you (and Greg) at least learn to say "some of" before "its origins"? The "all Orlanthi worship comes from Dragon Pass" reeks too much of the position that "all pyramids must have come from Egypt".

If people had retained knowledge of sacrifice to the gods during the Great Darkness (and some had), then Orlanth can be contacted independently without any need for help from the Theyalan missionaries.

Furthermore in the west, Worlath (and other gods) were worshipped by the pagans of the Seshnegi and the Akemi.

>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.

I can think of far more deviations than just subcults.

1. High Gods Worship - there may be a cultic practice that worships Orlanth as a High God (MoLaD p45).
2. Different feats for the same subcults. A farmer worshipping Orlanthcarl may not necessarily know any oxen feats because his clan has no history of using oxen.
3. Different initiation patterns - the Heortling pattern of one subcult and one aspect may be unique to the Heortlings. A place in Ralios could initiate a boy with an adventurous subcult, an allfather subcult and a thunderous subcult instead.
4. Foreign influences - the Ralians are right next to the Safelstrans who were heavily influenced by the Arkati and the God Learners. While most foreign practices can be identified and kept away from the main rights, a few others can't be and some foreign practices might be so insidious that the Orlanthi take extra precautions to avoid this pollution with the result they look extreme to the Heortlings.

--Peter Metcalfe