Unusual Air gods/goddess

[kalidor]

Hi, I want to start this topic to collect examples of air gods/goddess and discuss posible myths about them. I will start with the "Growing Wind" that was was killed by Urox. Does anybody knows about it? also i cant find air gods with the plant rune, why? Was the "Growing wind" one of them?.

[Joerg]

There are no Air or Storm gods with the plant rune known to me. We have lesser deities/elementals like dust devils (might be the same as dirty whirlvishes), waterspouts, the Darkwind, and possibly also a firestorm. We have the Still Air (Stasis). The mermen use bubbles for some of their underwater habitats (Ludoch cities, Malasp nests), which may be ordinary elementals, or specialized elementals able to dive into the water.

The full (RQ3) cult write-up of Orlanth states that Orlanth admits anyone who breathes air. The question is whether Gloranthan plant life does breathe (use up oxygen) in its night cycles, or whether it is responsible for keeping the air breathable in the first place. If so, there might be a myth about some of Orlanth's sisters (mentioned in the Downland Migration, but nowhere else - a thoroughly underused resource of deities) making a pact with Aldrya or Flamal, emerging from the shelter of the leaves at day and hiding there again in the nights. Perhaps as wives of Flamal or some of his children.

It is quite likely that the Growing Wind had a plant connection. It seems to have been a companion of the Storm Bull (of the Genert's Garden mythic cycle, not Urox of the Heortling mythic cycle) who fell afoul of his berserk mode.

There is a role for the wind in plant fertility - the bearer of (airborne) pollen or seeds. (And the personal nemesis of anyone suffering from hayfever, so here is one drink on the Storm Bull.)

We haven't heard anything about hovering or otherwise airborne plants in Glorantha (or possibly aerial kelp, except in the Kahar fog). Yet. They may have been a feature of Genert's Garden, lost in the Gods War.

While talking about plants growing up in the air, I always felt that there should be some clouds that bear vegetation on their upper sides, like floating isles. There could be an entire semi-material civilisation up there, possibly a group of Helerings who did not join the invasion of the seas and lands in the Storm Age, or who returned from those while still victorious, or crippled in a way that they could not continue downwards.

 

I think that such new discoveries should be limited to lesser entities like variant elementals rather than Storm Brother level deities. Such may have existed in the Gods War, but obviously didn't survive into Time. The Storm Gods took heavy beatings fairly often, even when they won a battle. There is a reason why there is bronze all over the surface world.

[kalidor]

1 hour ago, kalidor said:

Hi, I want to start this topic to collect examples of air gods/goddess and discuss posible myths about them. I will start with the "Growing Wind" that was was killed by Urox. Does anybody knows about it? also i cant find air gods with the plant rune, why? Was the "Growing wind" one of them?.

Is strange because there are darkness, water, fire and earth plants in myths but not air plants. Maybe they were gregged

[Richard S.]

7 minutes ago, kalidor said:

Is strange because there are darkness, water, fire and earth plants in myths but not air plants. Maybe they were gregged

Well the green age was when there was an abundance of such unusual plants because all the gods were getting in on this idea of a "plant" form. The air was probably born later, after the plant rune was "out of fashion."

[kalidor]

4 minutes ago, Richard S. said:

Well the green age was when there was an abundance of such unusual plants because all the gods were getting in on this idea of a "plant" form. The air was probably born later, after the plant rune was "out of fashion."

Well... that is possible but there is no "after" in God Time. So i dont think that is the case. Unless Jeff or other "Canon Keeper" clarify the matter. 

[Joerg]

20 minutes ago, Richard S. said:

Well the green age was when there was an abundance of such unusual plants because all the gods were getting in on this idea of a "plant" form. The air was probably born later, after the plant rune was "out of fashion."

While there may have been no Storm in the Green Age, there was something like Air - Entekos.

[David Scott]

29 minutes ago, kalidor said:

Is strange because there are darkness, water, fire and earth plants in myths but not air plants. Maybe they were gregged

Looking at the Guide, page 116, The Golden Age:

Quote

This era saw new types of beings. The Form Runes were introduced and the Young Gods were born. Said to be creations of the Celestial Court, each deity made a Form Rune by contributing to it. All the elements then tested the Form, each by its own evolving nature. First made was the Dragonewt Rune (A), and all the world was trod by races now extinct, whose lives and kinds must be guessed. Then came the Green Age, when the world was covered by vast forests and fields as the gods experimented
with the Plant Rune. Next the world knew creatures modeled upon the Beast Rune. Finally came the Man Rune, and humanoid races spread across the world. 

Umath hadn't appeared so the Plant/Air combo was missing from this stage. At the end of this came the gods war. With the Air gods devolving into many types.

I think if any Plant/air combos exist then they are a form of elf. Perhaps living on top of clouds as @joerg mentioned.

[kalidor]

56 minutes ago, David Scott said:

Looking at the Guide, page 116, The Golden Age:

Umath hadn't appeared so the Plant/Air combo was missing from this stage. At the end of this came the gods war. With the Air gods devolving into many types.

I think if any Plant/air combos exist then they are a form of elf. Perhaps living on top of clouds as @joerg mentioned.

Well, there is a magical  "Forest of the Winds" where yinkin and Velhara live in Storm Realm

[Tindalos]

We know some elves worship Orlanth, or someone like him (Cults of Prax, 1 in 20 Elves follows Orlanth)

My guess is, here you'd be looking into the mythology of Orstan the Elder. Orstan was a tree, but was granted life movement by Uleria when she danced and sung around him. He shaped his son from the wood of an Oak Tree, creating Durev (also a son of Orlanth, and founder of one of the three great Orlanthi tribes)

As such, if you're looking for Orlanth-as-a-tree, it might be Orstan. (It's important to note, however, this is Orstan the Elder. Orstan the Younger, is his descendant, and god of carpentry)

[soltakss]

Orlanth Sylvanus, the Wind in the Leaves, represents both the destructive aspect of the wind, blowing down trees and opening up clearings for new growth, and the gentle aspect of wond, carrying seeds throughout the forest.

When he was young, Orlanth came to Aldrya's Forest and issued a challenge. A Gigantic Tree accepted and slowly moved into a clearing to face Orlanth, digging his roots deep into the earth for strength, but Orlanth summoned all his might and blew so hard that he stripped the leaves from the tree and uprooted it, throwing it back into the Forest. Laughing, Orlanth asked if there were any more challengers. A young, green tree accepted and trembled as it walked into the clearing, eventually digging its roots into the ground. Orlanth summoned his breath and blew once again, but the sapling bent backwards, so far that it almost touched the ground, standing upright again when Orlanth stopped blowing. Orlanth laughed again and recognised him as his friend. Soon afterwards, the seeds blown from the Gigantic Tree and the sapling took root and grew all over the Forest, far from the Clearing. Orlanth swore to protect the Earth and the Forests and left.

Worshippers of Orlanth Sylvanus are often Elf-Friends, operating on the edge of forests. They enter forests to deal with aldryami and have first rights on those trees and branches that have been blown over. They are forbidden to pick fruit but can gather any wind-blown fruit they can find. 

[soltakss]

The sapling also provides a Hero Cult that gives the spells of Wind Break and Resist Wind. Wind Break can be cast on a line of trees, a hedge or even material hanging from a line, it reduces the STR of the wind passing through the area by 20 points per point of Wind Break. Resist Wind allows the recipient to survive in winds of any strength, without breaking or dying.

[Ali the Helering]

Since air movement is essential for healthy growth of many plants, I would expect to find an air being as a helper-spirit for Aldrya.