Jeff,
Thank you for that. I can now see how Orlanth worship in these regions had a common origin 12 centuries ago.
Though in some ways your answer raises many questions too. Even though the Orlanthi faiths in Heortland, and in Sartar (or more correctly in what is now Sartar but was radically different then), and in Vesmonstran, all started out as the faith Harmast would have recognised 12 centuries ago, how,could they also manage to end up in the same place 12 centuries later, when what had happened in the intervening 12 centuries in these three places was not the same? Especially if there is no overarching central hierarchy/bureaucracy to try and keep them that way. AFAIK there is no 'Orlanthi papacy' (or even an 'Orlanthi Lambeth Conference') to do this -- unless one has emerged somewhere between HQ1 and the new Sartar book that I haven't seen yet-- and even if there had, wouldn't it seem rather unOrlanthi?
Indeed if I remember correctly (and haven't been too badly Gregged in the interim), what happened in the intervening 12 centuries wasn't even the same across all of Heortland. Geographically the closer one got to the Esvulari, the stronger the influence of Andrin's Laws (as he was before and/or after Belintar). Viewed the other way up, the closer to Sartar Heortlanders are geographically, the less different their society, laws and faith are from Sartarite norms.
Maybe its a case of MGDV, (or maybe it even has something to do with being English, and living in the Pilgrim Fathers' last jumping-off point to boot), but in some ways I see the kingdom of Sartar (and the Orlanthi faith in that kingdom) as almost a 'puritan' breakaway from Heortland as it was under Andrin and/or Belintar (or at least as it seemed to be going at that moment in time) . IIRC the History of the Heortling Peoples also tended to suggest that northern Heortland largely resisted Belintar anyway, and carried on as before.
The influence of Andrin's Laws is one point where there may be differences between Heortlander and Sartarite practices (and if so, what does Vesmonstran think of Andrin?) Maybe there are others?
The establishment of cities by Sartar required some evolution in Orlanthi society in parts of Sartar. This too is a change that dates from after Harmast, (and presumably doesn't have a direct equivalent in Vesmonstran).
Also, does Sartar have Larnsti? Does Vesmonstran?
All these Orlanthi traditionalists saw off the twin challenges of the EWF and the Godlearners in the Second Age, but did they all do so in the same way?
Did they all get back to the same place they were before the Second Age?
Were they all in the same 'same place' at the start of the Second Age anyway?
Is Alakoring more important to the Orlanthi of Vesmonstran than he is in Sartar and/or Heortland?
Finally is Orlanth even called Orlanth in Vesmonstran? Or (at the risk of sounding like a Godlearner) is there simply a strikingly similar Storm god with a vaguely similar name,(rather as Issaries becomes 'Ashara' and Orlanth 'Vorlan' as one travels along the Old Wenelian Road)?
Thanks,
Richard Hayes
- On Sun, 7/6/09, Jeff Richard <richaje_at_aUv2hHpcKwxn6wglbAlfcd1EZySWpZx7psZ4r-NxQB2nprFWeXGlnZpfgPgYY2-JCxYbmnSHa8Q.yahoo.invalid> wrote:
From: Jeff Richard <richaje_at_aUv2hHpcKwxn6wglbAlfcd1EZySWpZx7psZ4r-NxQB2nprFWeXGlnZpfgPgYY2-JCxYbmnSHa8Q.yahoo.invalid>
Subject: Re: The Sartar Book - Whats Missing
To: ImmoderateGloranthaQuest_at_yahoogroups.com
Date: Sunday, 7 June, 2009, 12:55 PM
> In Ralios, it is presumably a Wesmonstran thing-- and how much do we know even about the ways in which the people of Wesmonstran worship Orlanth? Do they do it like people do in Sartar or Heortland?
The cult of Orlanth in Vesmonstran will likely be extremely similar to that in Heortland and Sartar. In the early fifth century they adopted the cult practices taught to them by Harmast (who resided in Ralios for several years after his Lightbringers Quest and is a very important cultural hero for the Ralian Orlanthi).
Jeff
You Are All Idiots. Signed, De Immod.
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