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Zolan Zubar ‘Lord Demon of Death’, the Hellwind, was an ancient cave bear spirit connected to Sky Bear and Odayla. He is a spirit of the Cave Bear; the wind that howls out of the deep earth. Runes = Air Darkness Death. reasoning: Sky Bear is later tamed and ridden by the Red Goddess. The same entity seems to have been killed by Vingkot at Grizzly Peak. In Sylila/Talastar the paramount god and storm god was Sky Bear before the Unity Council/Lightbringers brought Heortling culture to southern Peloria. It is of course possible that the Ur-rebel of the pre-Council Pelorian mythos, the killer of Yelm, was in fact Sky-bear, son of Umat. Darkness = the element brought to the surface by the bear, and Death = the murder of the sun. Thus the Red Goddess has already subdued and mastered one aspect of the killer of Yelm. It is interesting that the Kitori slew Broyan, because of this, and the enmity of Vingkot and Sky Bear. ‘At that time there lived in the sky a great monster that was called the Sky Bear. It thumped to the ground right in the middle of the ceremonies, and it challenged Vingkot to the rights that Orlanth gave to it. Vingkot said, “This is a place of peace. We have agreed to speak here first.” But the Sky Bear growled back. “I am not one of you.” And it attacked. However, Vingkot was a doughty warrior, and he drew his sword and fell to against the bear. It was a fierce struggle, but Vingkot was more fearsome and so he finally slew it. Its body was so huge that it lay like a great hill upon the earth. Vingkot claimed that spot as his own sacred land. Orlanth was pleased with this resolution.’ -The Book of Heortling Mythology Note there is no equation of Sky Bear here with Orlanth or Odayla. Still, the dead bear becomes a totemic spirit to the northern Vingkotlings, the Summer Tribes. The Kitori resisted Gbaji and supported Arkat, much like the Hendriki. Varzor Kitor learned the secrets of Darkness from the Only Old One. Varzor Kitor bore Ironbreaker as Warlord of the Second Council. Similarly, ‘[t]hey then appointed a warlord, a son of Gwalynkus who bore Ironbreaker, and declared war.’ [in 180] The early warlords (a mixture of species like Pavis; viz VK’s mixture of human and troll) were from Lakrene, and thus were of Sylilan/Talastari associated tribes – the Sky Bear peoples. The proto-Kitori are thus likely a clan/tribe/band of bear-worshipping Orlanthi [not necessarily Heortlings], originally from near Dorastor, and perhaps were in fact Varzor Kitor’s hero-band. Zolan Zubar would have been their wyter. They found refuge in the Shadowlands after the Darkness peoples left the Council (prior to the 340s). If so, the weirdness of the Troll Woods as a Uz habitat may have much to do with the proto-Kitori connection to a forest/mountain/cave spirit. This suggests that the absorption of Zolan Zubar by Zorak Zoran was an Arkati innovation, made to develop the Kitori into a weapon against the Light of Illumination. By merging Sky Bear into Zorak Zoran (or his prototype, Fear/Hell/Darkness) he would be even more effective against the Little Sun/Yelmalio/Palangio. Note the doubling of ZZ and Orlanth as opponents of Yelmalio at the Hill of Gold. Zolan Zubar as ‘bearpaw’ indeed still survives as a Kolating spirit - though not as a theistic source of magic. It is my belief that trolls and bears, as can be seen below, have certain similarities... Below: the skull of a dark troll (Trollpak); the skull of a cave bear (wikimedia)