S:KoH does not contradict my suggestion that Elmal's (limited) Truth rune should be filtered through his Fire rune. The basis of his Truth rune -- Elmal's loyalty to his Lord -- is part of his 'Solar' heritage, and sets him apart from others in the Storm Tribe (who are not like him, but can respect him for this). Heler is very different -- but the Storm Tribe is big enough to accommodate them both, under the leadership of Orlanth and Ernalda.
Elmal was unfaithful to his first wife (Inora), though perhaps with some justification (Orlanth accepted both parties' claims about the other), so whilst his Solar character is reflected in an inflexible approach to gender roles and social hierarchy, it is not tied into strict monogamy.
Less sure about the suggestion that his cult has a degree of "all boys together" with a barely concealed homoerotic subtext though. Elmal isn't Yelmalio -- it is a very Heortling form of Fire worship.
Secondly homosexual 'jocks' don'tneed to be repressed in Heortling culture -- they can be 'out and proud' as Helering Rams (or warlike manifestations of Orlanth?) instead. Though I'm not sure about the Orlanthi 'gay marriage' thing -- if that were so, Orlanth would have got together with Heler instead of Helera
(I speak as someone who briefly went to the same school in Michigan as Mitt Romney -- though by my time (in the early 1990s) it would have been the devout Mormons who would have found it hard had they not remained in the closet!)
Richard Hayes
On 01/06/2012, at 6:52 AM, Charles wrote:
>> Also, is there a mythic reason for the hostility >> between Heler and Elmal outside of the wooing of >> Esrola?
This mythic rivalry is addressed directly in the Elmal cult writeup, S:KoH pg 152 and does say it is firmly based on the wooing of Esrola though.
> He and Heler are rivals for the affections of Esrola, the Earth, who takes one of them each summer as a Year-Husband.
So, while I'm sure that the contrast between the solid gender roles of the Elmal cult (only makes initiated to Elmal, women must join Redalda) and Helers sexual ambiguity is brought up in the rivalry, it isn't the source of it, the source of it is good old male competition for the favours of a woman.
And OK, so that stuff I said in my last message about Elmal being less interested in the less committed forms of Orlanthi marriage would appear to be wrong, or at least have a clear counter-argument.
Cheers
David
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