Re: Return of Ezkankekko, the Only Old One

From: Stewart Stansfield <stu_stansfield_at_cGPe5woFo5C_2ma2WRh8RPfVkOC5zA7qEM_3I2i9C1Twh4SQjxj3gXm8TwRS4>
Date: Tue, 22 May 2007 11:34:47 -0000


Hi Dan,

Just a couple of notes on bits in my competence. Things are a touch busy at the mo, so my apologies for the brevity, but I should be able to follow up any queries ASAP (before Tentacles).

Great ideas!

> Did Argan fight Lodril, or Caladril, or something else?

<Sam Beckett> Oh boy... </Sam Beckett>

I'll try to be brief here, and explain myself (and I'll probably have to) later. Exactly who and what the volcano gods of Caladraland are (and their genders) has been rendered a little muddled by both conscious change, with different authors having different ideas, and a few unfortunate, accidental errors.

Very simply put, when looking at the myths of Caladraland, Vestkarthen = Veskarthan = Lodril = Caladril = Caladra (*only as written in Glorantha: Introduction to the Hero Wars*, and that's important). Those names all describe the same general mythic principle, though there are some distinctions, as noted below. Don't worry about the Volcano Twins for the moment, or the overly familial relationships some imply.

You can really just apply the old RQ Companion/Broken Council Guidebook myths to this single, great, masculine volcanic entity -- they haven't changed, though the local Caladran take can be a touch peculiar.

The important thing is that Argan Argar fought a dominantly masculine volcanic entity that symbolised Fire Within Earth and [was]/[had his home in] the Vent (the greatest volcano in Glorantha). Irrespective of what folks have called this volcano god where, that's the idiom Greg, Peter, etc. have been following in recent years. People have become ever more interested in developing a very immanent, elemental, physical cult in Caladraland -- "A local god for local people!"

Nowadays, Greg calls that entity Veskarthan, but don't worry too much about the names. They are labels folk attach to aspects of a greater volcanic force. The simplest way to describe this is as follows:

Veskarthan translates as "Great Father", the supreme, primal progenitive force and greater god of the Caladran mythos, the Fire Within Earth; Caladra translates as something like "Mightiest Cratered Mountain", the volcanic form of Veskarthan thrust up to rule Sky and Earth, his* fiery throne and pore. Most Caladralanders don't distinguish between these two principles as some other peoples do. There are a variety of reasons for this.

Caladril is an older, First Age linguistic form of Caladra. By all means adopt the Ga-Lodril linguistic conspiracy theory if you wish, but I won't be stamping it on the milieu!

[-ra is an honorific. After all, you've seen She-Ra, right?]

So Caladra *is* the mountain, a great entity, and one that combines Fire and Earth. Given this very immanent and elemental correspondence, you can probably see how different folk have manifested different views (including genders) on the volcano at different times. There are local myths that feature a feminine aspect to the mountain propitiating Veskarthan's fires, and this is what the GL played upon when Telerio ("I want to be the Fiery One! Why do we women always have to be passive?!" Moray: "Okay, sis, okay...") forged the more feminine 'Caladra' cult of the Volcano Twins.

> Now that the GLers have changed Caladril around, what is going
> to turn up instead?

Please see above; that old-style hick 'Caladril' entity is still the one to beat up. From the Caladralanders' (and Esrolians') perspective 'Veskarthan' is the name to use in this context. The King of the Mountain (High King of the Caladran tribal hegemonies and confederacies) is his 'mortal' champion.

Though folks have tended to focus on the indigenous, more savage, masculine volcano god in recent times, they haven't done away with the Twins cult. However, it is safe to say that the Twins cult did not weather the fall of the GL quite so well (or cunningly) as indicated in Chuck's write-ups (sorry, Chuck -- don't blame me).

As of 1621 S.T. they are around, but not in the position of power that the RQ2/3 era write-ups suggested. Or, basically, if you're familiar with the relative importances suggested in the old RQ2/3 write-ups -- wherein the Twins is the dominant cult, and Lodril distant and subsidiary -- just flip 'em. The Old Ways are in power.

However.

And it's a big 'However'. Those folk who like their hippy dippy New Age glitterball fascists Twins cult shouldn't worry. The Hero Wars is a time of great struggle in Caladraland, too. The exact nature of Veskarthan, the Twins, and the religious picture in Caladraland will be dealt with in CALADRALAND, WEST OF WENELIA (provisional title), being written for Moon Design. The greater storylines in the book do allow for the Twins Cult to reassert its dominance and have incestu... I mean Twin Priests once again reigning over a land of Bliss and Harmony (or Harrek could just get drunk and wreck the place). They just don't rule the roost at the moment (1621 S.T.).

Quite seriously, I've been fearing writing this post for two years. Lots of folk have been confused witless, and trying to resolve/reconcile/ruthlessly liquidate all the differing views, opinions and writings isn't an easy task. If you've got any more queries, please feel free to ask, but I'm away for a bit as of this Thursday.

Cheerio,

Stu (Caladraland wallah)            

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