Yelm's Route

[Scout]

RQG

Page 139: "One day in Glorantha is the time needed for the sun to traverse the sky from east to west."

Page 160: "His path across the sky is towards the north" and "When his path is towards the south, he is a sickly pale yellow"

Is there a problem with Yelm's route across the sky? Probably not but I can't figure it out. 

[soltakss]

I think what that means is that in Sea/Fire Season Yelm's path goes from East to West, but more northwards in the Sky, but in Dark/Storm Season the path is more southwards in the Sky, but still travels from East to West. Presumably in Earth Season it is bang overhead, so maybe that should be Fire Season, I don't know.

[Martin]

the trajectory is East to west...but because the sky dome is curved the route isnt a straiught like its a curve so the first part heads north and the after the apogee the sun heads south as it goes west?

Edited December 31, 2018 by Martin

[Scout]

I think you're both right

Thanks all

[soltakss]

2 minutes ago, Scout said:

I think you're both right

And that, in a nutshell, is the God Learners' Secret

[Joerg]

Like so many things in Glorantha, it is a long story, or myth. Feel free to skip to the TLDR at the bottom:

Basically, it is all Umath's fault (or Shargash's for crashing the invader into the northern pillar).

Before Umath's birth, the sky pivoted on the tip of the Spike in a perfectly balanced  and centered way. There may have been a path from the Gates of Dawn to the Gates of Dusk that was trailed by A Sun earlier, but ascending to emperorhood, Yelm ordered things in his way and remained up all the time - no Sunpath in his reign, only stasis.

Umath's birth had lifted the rotating sky dome up, but it remained centered, and supported by the four directional pillars if no longer by the central pillar. When Umath invaded the sky, he met some resistance or at least reaction by the planetary sons of Yelm, and his ascent to the center of the sky where Yelm was enthroned was prevented by the self-sacrifice of the southern son who wrestled with Umath, and together they crashed into the northern pillar and into the Underworld. As a result, the sky dome tilted to the north. As another result, the stars became visible (actually they are described has having populated the sky through the same opening that Umath had used), with Pole Star taking up the center of the Sky Dome, which was no longer directly atop the Spike.

The god Kalikos then pushed the sky back upward, and by the force of his push the dome overtilted to the south, spilling some of its fire in the far south, causing the time of the southern tilt to be colder than the northern tilt (at least in Genertela).

The Sunpath as followed by Yelm started in the center of the Sky Dome and went directly west to the Gates of Dusk. We have no report of Yelm ascending from the Gates of Dawn in the Godtime, but within Time he did so, making his path up to Pole Star and then down to the Gates of Dusk.

We can see how his path would align to the stars by following the path of Lightfore, his antipode, that travels the Sunpath at night against the stars, but half a year delayed.

 

TLDR:

The sky dome and the sunpath on it pivots to the north in summer and to the south in winter.

[Scout]

That's great. Thanks Joerg.