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Some ruminations and notes on the Hill of Gold


jeffjerwin

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The Hill of Gold. (notes)

 

The Hill of Gold is an enormous volcanic plug. No temple is at its summit (13thAge in Glorantha) but a settlement (Peralam) serves pilgrims below, with ‘plenty of temples’. The Vanchite name for it is ‘Lip of Reladiva’ (Enclosure 2)

 

The parts of the Hill of Gold are:

Morhaka, the Dead Gullet

Tralastaro, the place of the Silverbark Tree

Edaranu, is the Holy Wanderings

Hodrudes is the Opossum Hut. In Vanchite legend, Sarval the Possum lives here, one of the three servants (= Shadows) of Heliakal; the other two are Tunoral the raccoon and Yermalio/Yotelap the fox (the traitor). White Fox is the pet and servant of Inora in other myths (Anaxial’s Roster), so Yotelap may become her follower after Khelmal was frozen.

Peralam is the Hill of Gold proper. This is the trollish ‘Court of Conflict’ and conflated with the Empty Mountain in Berenethtelli stories.

 

Yelmalio/Antirius/Lightfore. Called Heliakal in Vanch, where he is consort of Reladivela, the Mare Goddess. The Vanchites say Heliakal was ‘killed’ at the Hill and Tunoral the raccoon god took up the protection of the people. ‘He took a fatal blow atop the Hill of Gold but returned after the Dawn to prepare for the coming of Yelm’ [GS, p.102]. This may be the last of his ‘six errors’.

‘Wounded, robbed, and hounded from place to place, Yelmalio carried the spark of life throughout the Darkness’ [GS, p.102].

The Kargzant cult of the Pentans views Antirius as a failed god.

After the sixth error, Antirius returned from the Hill of Gold on the back of a ‘gaunt black ox which coughed up maggots’ [GRY, p.17].

The Orb of the Eye (also called the Orb of Authority) was held by the usurper of the Hill of Gold. The GRY divided Yelmalio into the immortal Antirius and the mortal Emperor Vanyamoret. Vanyamoret was faced with his Black Shadow, the Other of Yelm, Kazkurtum, after he was wounded by the Cruel God. The body of Vanyamoret was brought back on a red and white bull. His body was burned but the feast at his funeral was thin and not enough for the people.

Later Vergustus was killed attempting to recover the Orb (and usurp the throne from Manimat), and his people were eaten by digijelm (trolls).

Alaramsor appears to be an avatar of Lightfore. Compare the troll name for Yelmalio, Amanstan. [Enclosure 2]

 

Orlanth. During the Haradangian Battles, Rastalulf took the Vanak Spear from the ‘heart-space’ of a foe (Alaramsor) at the Hill of Gold (this was a hero quest, and in the Otherworld). Earlier, Rastalulf had fought Alaramsor at the Empty Mountain; the Rastalulf saga however says the second battle at the Hill was also at Empty Mountain.

This was in the First Age; Rastalulf was from Yinkstead, among the Berenethtelli, that is, the composite Hyalorian Riders and northern Vingkotlings.

Rastalulf was accompanied by six companions, a Knower, Scout, Speaker, Watchman, Healer, and Riddler.

The Vanak Spear was greeted by Rastalulf-Orlanth as his ‘grandfather’, that is, Aether. It was a weapon against the Darkness.

Orlanth disarmed Yelmalio, leaving him unprepared for the troll god (GS, p.102)

Vanchite legend makes him a ‘weapon’ of Valkharal (Valind-Inora), called Ralantak the Winds of Change (Enclosure 2).

The importance of Orlanth in the Hill of Gold legend is probably a First Age innovation, derived in part by Rastalulf’s actions.

 

Zorak Zoran. He took Yelmalio’s fire from him after slaying or incapacitating him (in 13G it is said he ‘smashed his thighs’ (i.e., his genitals) at the Hill of Gold).

Possibly called the Cruel God by the GRY, p.29. The Cruel God gave the Orb of Authority to the digijelm (the trolls) (GRY, p.44).

May be equated with the Black Shadow, that is, Kazkurtum (the Empty Emperor, the embodiment of anarchy). However, note that Yurmalio is both trickster and betrayer and ‘follower’ (shadow) of Yelmalio/Khelmal in Imther.

The Invisible Other encountered Antirius at the Hill of Gold, ‘but Antirius was not fooled’ [GRY]

Eventually the Orb was recovered from the digijelm by Darvedeskorgos, cousin of Khordavu, by gambling with the stake of his own soul.

In Enclosure 2 the troll name for the Hill of Gold is Challenge Peak. It is reached by the Bridge of Passage and contains the Court of Conflict. ZZ took the shadow of death from Norag and used it to immobilize ‘Amanstan’, maiming him.

Orlanth attacked ZZ with the Firewind and the Hellwind (which is cold storm), but ZZ ‘swallowed them’. Hellwind is also the name of one of the spirits that was incorporated into ZZ by the Kitori, Zolan Zubar. Orlanth fled in a ‘cloud of smoke’. ZZ then took Death, and beat the sword into a maul.

ZZ returned to the Court of Conflict and subdued Humakt, Shargash, Vronkal, and Karrgan (the original holder of the rune of Ending, Kargan Tor; however, compare Kargzant).

Note however that Zorak Zoran, like Yelmalio, is a composite god of the Unity Council. He combines Hellwind/Zolan Zubar (possibly the son of Orlanth and the Dark Woman or of Inora), the Black Shadow/Kazkurtum (the hungry emperor), the Black Sun/Monster Sun (Shargash) and other great spirits into a new entity, by ‘eating them’. Because Zorak Zoran was made to destroy the Riders of Dara Happa, ‘Dara Happa on Horse’, he usurped part of Kargzant as well.

In Vanchite legend he is two entities, firstly a weapon or spirit dominated by Valkharal (Valind/Inora), called Orak the Nightmare, Mask of Darkness, and secondly an entity called Vinak the Bonecrushing Grip. (Enclosure 2) In ‘How Inora Preserved Ice Mountain’ she is served by hollri, or ice trolls, who drive off their cousin ZZ.

 

Inora/Norag: the trolls claim she was victorious at the Hill of Gold over the Little Death. This was on Fireday/Illusion Week/Dark Season, the Winter Solstice.

She froze Yelmalio after ZZ broke his thighs (GtG, p.156). This was because his sexual potency was diminished (my interpretation).

The White Lady received the Heart of Oslira from Antirius to give life. (GRY) This signifies the heat of the Winter Sun melting the Great Glacier.

In Enclosure 2 it is said that ZZ subdued Norag and took from her the ‘freezing Shadow of Death’. This was a fragment of Death itself, which she lost forever; she fled to the North.

In Enclosure 2 (The Fall of Heliakal) she is merged with Zorak Zoran (or his precursor) and Orlanth and described in Vanchite legend as Valkharal the Winter King, who may be more accurately her father, Valind the Glacier.

In the Ralian (?) myth of Inora she defeats all three: Zorak Zoran with her hollri, Orlanth by her freezing embrace, and Yelmalio by causing him to slip on her ice and fall off the mountain.

 

The Prototype of the Myth:

 

The Little Sun is the sun of the Lesser Darkness. He protected the people of Elempur. 

 

*Qelmal was Lightfore, the Little Sun. Qelmal’s horse was Hippoi, the mare, who was also his mate, though her brother *Qarzan attempted to take her away from him, and sorely wounded her.

 

At Peralam she toppled from the heavens, stricken by a treacherous bolt of thunder; the snow king was marching south with his armies. Qelmal convinced the Winter daughter to help him find his dying mate, melting her with his ‘heat’. Qelmal did not intend to stay with the daughter of Ice, but she befriended his shadow, a spirit with a tail of fire. Ever afterwards snow persists in the shadow of the sun.

Qelmal tried to leave with Hippoi, breaking his promise to the snow princess. She went to her father and demanded justice.

The enraged Cold King found him after Qelmal’s own shadow, the fox, betrayed and attacked him from behind, and the King of the hollri (snow trolls) buried him in wind, darkness, and ice, destroying Elempur. The Glacier afterwards separated this place from the rest of Dara Happa/the Empire of the Sun.

Hippoi was freed by the winter king’s daughter and was healed, in part, by Hyalor, one of the mortals of Elempur, making the Riders. Inora, regretting her anger, wept tears of sweet water, which combine to form the great river, and the Shadow Fox went into the Night, which now covered the sky, and fetched the stars to repair her mistake. When the Glacier went away the Sun climbed out of icy tomb and took to the sky again. But he never came to touch the ground in the Middle World again.

 

My contention is that the Council substituted the artificial Zorak Zoran for the distant and still Valind. The fox-god, the little traitor, was partly combined with their Orlanth, but is more accurately connected with the Blue Moon [and the Bat of Death], who summoned the stars when the Sun and the Sun’s Son were lost, making the Great Darkness slightly less dim.

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Have you taken a look at the eight pages on the Hill of Gold heroquest in Arcane Lore (starting page 73)? Your notes don't seem to refer to this most detailed write-up of the quest.

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Telling how it is excessive verbis

 

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2 hours ago, Joerg said:

Have you taken a look at the eight pages on the Hill of Gold heroquest in Arcane Lore (starting page 73)? Your notes don't seem to refer to this most detailed write-up of the quest.

No, I missed that (probably because I can't find it on my shelf). I'll update when I'm able.

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5 hours ago, jeffjerwin said:

Qelmal

This is all exquisite. I like the Imtherite echo. Would he take the bat rune as his initial in Dara Happa or the foreign KH . . . or even CH? (This last probably unspeakable in various contexts and so bowdlerized to become Z/"Truth.")

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singer sing me a given

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6 hours ago, jeffjerwin said:

The Hill of Gold is an enormous volcanic plug.

I'm not sure I'd suggest this (or ever seen it suggested). Personally, I think it's more likely some extra hard stone - hard enough to survive the assaults by chaos that lapped at it.

6 hours ago, jeffjerwin said:

No temple is at its summit (13thAge in Glorantha)

Not the only reference to that - it goes all the way back to Cults of Prax p.53: "This is a place of pilgrimage and Heroquest, although no temple exists here."

6 hours ago, jeffjerwin said:

Reladivela, the Mare Goddess

Reladiva (or Reladivela) is not the Mare Goddess, she's the Earth goddess (though quite possible used differently in Six Ages - I haven't seen that content), aka the Green Woman.  Redalyda is the Mare Goddess, aka the Red Woman. 

6 hours ago, jeffjerwin said:

The importance of Orlanth in the Hill of Gold legend is probably a First Age innovation

I think it predates it - it's part of the ongoing Sun - Storm conflict even after Yelm dies.

6 hours ago, jeffjerwin said:

The fox-god, the little traitor, was partly combined with their Orlanth, but is more accurately connected with the Blue Moon

I wouldn't make that leap. There's really no connection with bats/Blue Moon with Hill of Gold stories, and no reason to add in.

Fox has associations with both Eurmal (Yotelap the Fox aligns with the Orlanth story, so definitely had Eurmal origins)

and as the white fox with Inora, so easy to blend together.

6 hours ago, jeffjerwin said:

In Vanchite legend he is two entities, firstly a weapon or spirit dominated by Valkharal (Valind/Inora), called Orak the Nightmare, Mask of Darkness, and secondly an entity called Vinak the Bonecrushing Grip.

Valkharal is definitely Valind.  Orak is Zorak Zoran.  Vinak the Bonecrushing Grip was not intended to be Zorak Zoran, but the hand/fist of Valind (basically an Inora substitute in the myth).

6 hours ago, jeffjerwin said:

The Prototype of the Myth:

All that said, the myth works fine.

32 minutes ago, scott-martin said:

Would he take the bat rune as his initial in Dara Happa or the foreign KH . . . or even CH?

I doubt the bat rune - seems to be apart from the myth. I obviously used Khelmal in my Imtherian/Vanchite stories which derived from:  Kerator (the Torch) + Heliakal (fragmented) + Elmal. And at the same time, uses the "foreign" KH which comes from Sanken, the land just north of Vanch (i.e. Khordavu's home).

CH only appears in two figures: Ashchartha and Chalana Arroy. CHA being white and associated with the North and the White Camp (I personally think they are Altinae deities). Less likely to connect this with the Yelmalio figure (though I did pair Khelmal and Khalana as brother and sister in my Imtherian myths).

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For those who are curious and don't have Enclosure #2, here's my Fall of Heliakal story.

The Fall of Heliakal

Though all know that Heliakal, the Seat of Judgment, left and did not return, only the Tusori know the fate of Heliakal.

Heliakal was the son of Pallanak, the Fire Orb and Lord of the Sun.  His father gave him rule over Reladivela, as he gave other sons rule over other parts of the world.  Reladiva, daughter of the earth, was the consort of Heliakal and they together ruled the Bowl of Reladiva.  There came a day when Pallanak was cast down from the sky.  There came a day when wicked gods chipped and broke the Bowl of Reladiva and Reladiva hid in shame.  There came a day when the Seat of Judgment no longer moved.  Heliakal knew then that justice was gone from the world.  Heliakal called upon his kin for aid and they answered.  Tunoral came at the rear for he always was a follower in those days.  Heliakal marched north to fight Valkharal who is called Winter King and who had locked justice in a frozen tomb.

The forces converged at the Lip of Reladiva[1].  Heliakal, guided by the shards of justice, made the three demands to Valkharal.  Valkharal, true to his nature, refused.  Then Valkharal, true to his nature, made his own demands, though they were injust.  Heliakal, guided by the shards of justice, refused.  Then Valkharal, true to his nature, revealed his first weapon, Ralantak the Winds of Change.  These tore at the allies of Heliakal and on that day, Yotelap the Fox betrayed his lord.  Then Valkharal, true to his nature, revealed the second weapon, Orak the Nightmare, Mask of Darkness.  He frightened the allies of Heliakal and on that day, Sarval the Possum played dead.  Then Valkharal, true to his nature, revealed the third weapon, Vinak, the Bonecrushing Grip, the Fist of Valkharal.  This broke the allies of Heliakal and on that day, Heliakal sacrificed his own fire powers so that his allies could flee.  Though the fires of Heliakal were enlarged by the Winds of Change, and though the fires of Heliakal drove the Nightmares away, they were useless against the Bonecrushing Grip.  Heliakal was seized and crushed, his bones broken and his blood sealed in Ice.  Valkharal made his palace there and called it Ice Crown Peak.

Tunoral was amongst those who fled, but not before he found the Shield of Heliakal and carried it into hiding.


[1]  [Hill of Gold]

Edited by jajagappa
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Some of the origins of these bits are visible in the original entries from my New Lolon Gospel:

Khelmal [KHEL-mal]

--cultural leader and hero; men’s god

Khelmal is the son of Yelem, the sun.  His father gave him rule over the Imtherian lands during the days of the Glorious Empire.  With Yelem’s death, Khelmal led the fight to preserve the world.  He fought first Orlantio and then Orak at the Hill of Gold.  He sacrificed his fire powers to escape his foes traps and to continue to aid the people.

Heliacal [HEL-ee-ah-cahl]

--the Light Protector

This companion of Khelmal defended Khelmal's right side at the Hill of Gold and helped hold the forces of darkness at bay. Heliacal is always depicted as a huge warrior carrying a huge and blindingly bright shield.

Valind [VAL-ind]

--north wind

Valind is one of the seven storm sons of Umath and embodies the frigid powers of the north wind, including the snows of winter and the all-destroying glaciers.  He brought these powers south during the Storm Age and drove Khelmal from the Hill of Gold. Of all foes of Khelmal, this one was never beaten until Yelem returned to the sky. For long his children ruled the mountain peaks of Imther, advancing in the dark seasons and retreating only in the fire season. Valind is shown as a frosty giant with icy beard and icicle spears.

Verhil [VEHR-hil]

--ancient earthwielder

Variously called the son of Genert, the brother of Nealda, or the father of Balurga, Verhil is an enigmatic figure best known for stepping forward at the Hill of Gold to fill the breach created when Yurmalio betrayed Khelmal.  Verhil is said to have sacrificed himself to allow Khelmal to flee.  He is not known to have survived into Time, though his title of Earthwielder has appeared several times.

Yurmalio [yur-MAHL-ee-oe]

--trickster, betrayer of Khelmal

Yurmalio was once the companion of Khelmal, a loyal and faithful aide.  But he was seduced by Orlantio and betrayed Khelmal at the Hill of Gold.  After that, he pursued his own desires.  Over time, he traded away his own luck for that of others until he had no luck at all.  Eventually, he was defeated by various heroes, whether Khelmal or Gordaval, Arahar or a clan founder. Yurmalio is depicted as a sinister and sneaking fox-headed man.

The Battle at the Hill of Gold:

Khelmal finally forced a confrontation with Orlantio after Orlantio refused to return Nealda.  Khelmal gathered his kin and allies and went to fight at the Hill of Gold.  Here Yurmalio betrayed Khelmal.  Basmal was slain by Orlantio and his lightning spears were taken.  But eventually Khelmal rallied his forces and turned Orlantio aside with his Spear of Hope.  Orlantio departed, though not before telling Khelmal that Nealda was now in the hands of Orak the Hell Wind.

[A version of the complete story appears in The RuneQuest-Con Compendium, though that version clearly included an element of propaganda directed at the Sun Dome temples of Dragon Pass and Prax.]

Khelmal’s Sacrifice:

Though Khelmal had driven off most of his foes, Orak the Hell Wind and Valind the North Wind still marched with their demon allies from the north.  Heliacal, Khelmal's right-side protector, had held them at bay throughout the battle, parrying all blows with his massive shield of light, but the light was not enough to stop those foes.  Neither were the firs of Ryar, which could stand the dark and cold, but broke in the hurricane gales or from the grinding power of deadly ice or under the power of the demon axes.  Khelmal was forced to turn and fight them, though he was sorely tired, and the foe was overwhelming.

Khelmal called to his friends and allies to rally around him.  He still carried hope and offered what he could of it to those with him.  He still carried the truth and understood that there was still one path to survival, the only victory that he could now achieve.  While Heliacal stood on his right, Khelmal engaged Orak hand-to-hand.  Horrible, fearful winds buffeted Khelmal and drove lesser beings from his side.  But Khelmal did not try to win.  Instead he exposed his left flank, allowing Orak to wound him.  And from the wound flowed the fiery powers of Yelem's son, drenching Orak in flame from which he could not escape.  Half the hell demons burned in that flow and the others withdrew, confused and cursing the wildfires which sprang up around them.  The legions of Valind were lost, melted into mere puddles that could only reflect the glory of Khelmal's achievement.

Khelmal's loss was great, though.  He was only half what he was and his own forces were in disarray.  The wound could not be staunched.  So Khelmal called upon his allies to follow him and join him in the mountains of Malatain where he could heal somehow and rally mankind to save the world.

Orak, burning in agony, became twisted and distorted into a being of pure hate.  Pieces of him turned to ash and were carried by the winds into many corners of the world from which hatreds still spring.  That which was most whole called upon his son Ebonn Afrax, the heart of the Hell Wind, to take up the battle standard and destroy the hated Khelmal once and for all.  Thus began the great pursuit.  Khelmal, wounded and exhausted, limped up along the mountain paths while the demons of the Hell Wind howled around, chasing after his light, his hope, and his truth.

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I'm not feeling so well so I'll cop to a few mistakes and explain a few other choices, but only in brief.

first, the Arcane Lore summary is mainly of interest because of the importance of Chaos in the standard heroquest depicted here, though there are other details I'll have to think about. Most non gamest write-ups do not mention Chaos. Chaos would seem to belong to the Greater Darkness, which seems better assigned to after the events of the story.

I conflated the mare goddess with the land goddess, probably from a remembrance of Elmal. Mistaken, but not really critical to my reading. Nealda in Imther is of course relevant mainly to Yelmalio and Orlanth's rivalry, which is a continuation of the struggle between the Emperor and the Rebel. But if Orlanth is a development (as I was going with) of the post-Beren period, then prior to the appearance of the Rams the more obvious captor is Valind, who actually covers the Earth with his frozen body. An intermediate step would be depicting Orlantio or his precursor as a separate lover of Inora or brother and thus jealous opponent of the snow-melting falling sun.

The fox problem - yes, I spend a lot of time working on fox entities - is that Ulurda, the blue mover, is a goddess from Sylila and Naveria and (presumably) Rist, not far away, who is connected with the freeing of the stars from the Sky Bear, whom she befriends/tames (again, storm is accompanied by a trickster fox). Perhaps the (male) Yurmalio/Yotelep can be identified with her dead or missing consort (Ulurdum). Also, there's the whole aspect of the Moon as the child/mother/sister of the Sun, and thus his Other in the Dara Happan sense of woman as man's Other, besides the whole eclipse language of a 'shadow on the sun' which is most obvious among the Blue Moon entities. It is the Blue Bat that distracts Yelm so he can be slain by the Rebel; it is the Fox that betrays and distracts Lightfore so he can be disarmed.

While it is reasonable to say that a Wind/Storm god is a fundamental part of the story, clearly that would be Valind, not so much Orlanth/Orlantio, as the main antagonist. Has anyone else noticed that there are places named for Lightfore's enemies just north of Vanch? Orlentos and Zeranos...? Perhaps there is where those gods were worshipped...

Also Zorak Zoran isn't fundamentally a troll god as I see it - he's a god of storm-darkness and fear-frenzy (sky bear as terror bringer) -in my prototype, so as he coalesces in the post-Dawn he takes over much of Valind's 'cruel god' role.

The shape of the Hill of Gold is discernible as a volcanic or basalt plug in the picture of it in the Glorantha Sourcebook.

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8 hours ago, jeffjerwin said:

While it is reasonable to say that a Wind/Storm god is a fundamental part of the story, clearly that would be Valind, not so much Orlanth/Orlantio, as the main antagonist. Has anyone else noticed that there are places named for Lightfore's enemies just north of Vanch? Orlentos and Zeranos...? Perhaps there is where those gods were worshipped..

The gods wall contains gods which at least by Plentonius in the First Age was believed to be representation of "Erlandus" and "Erlanda" - arguably Orlanth and Ernalda. If memory serves, their characteristics as described by Plentonius was more about their unbridled sexuality and promiscuity than anything else - setting them apart from civilized Dara Happan restraint, of course.

We also have Orlanatus as an alternate title for Rebellus Terminus, but this again is probably a First Age construct. (And it is equated with Umathum, ie. Umath).

Then we have the mention of "The Ram God" of the Ram people who invaded Peloria during the Storm Age. Of all the Storm deities, Orlanth is the one most commonly associated with the Ram (also via his son/younger form, Voriof). There are other Storm Hordes as well, but they're associated with different animal imagery.

So, from what I can tell, it's a bit vague to what degree Orlanth as we know him today was known to the Dara Happans, or Pelorians at large in the God Time. Sometimes these name-similarities seem to be a product of the synthesis of the Second Council - other times it might go back to the God Time - I dunno.

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6 hours ago, Sir_Godspeed said:

The gods wall contains gods which at least by Plentonius in the First Age was believed to be representation of "Erlandus" and "Erlanda" - arguably Orlanth and Ernalda. If memory serves, their characteristics as described by Plentonius was more about their unbridled sexuality and promiscuity than anything else - setting them apart from civilized Dara Happan restraint, of course.

We also have Orlanatus as an alternate title for Rebellus Terminus, but this again is probably a First Age construct. (And it is equated with Umathum, ie. Umath).

Then we have the mention of "The Ram God" of the Ram people who invaded Peloria during the Storm Age. Of all the Storm deities, Orlanth is the one most commonly associated with the Ram (also via his son/younger form, Voriof). There are other Storm Hordes as well, but they're associated with different animal imagery.

So, from what I can tell, it's a bit vague to what degree Orlanth as we know him today was known to the Dara Happans, or Pelorians at large in the God Time. Sometimes these name-similarities seem to be a product of the synthesis of the Second Council - other times it might go back to the God Time - I dunno.

Of course there are a plentitude of names for the god we call Orlanth in the Dragon Pass region. (kind of like the Olympian Zeus in our world)

The standard form has become Orlanth, but possibly if Erlandus is older, it suggests a form indicating (ambiguously) the consort of Ernalda. Certainly during the First Age the Nysaloreans would have amalgamated the Rebel God concept with him, and we know there are significant problems with the Umath story as it now exists. 'Tarumath' (High Umath) seems linked to this: to subordinate the God of Kero Fin they naturally gravitate toward resurrecting his faceless father (note that Orlanth never really knew him: I suspect the old Manirian version was 'he was the son of the Wind and the World Mountain'). Now the King of the Gods is indubitably connected to Anatyr-Elmal; and the whole importance of that myth was the reconciliation of Storm and Sky. But the friendship between them (historically created by the Beren-Redalda marriage) required a plausible and resonant story of how they were enemies before. Thus the Hyalorians 'realize' that the minion of Valind at the Hill of Gold was his rival, later to become his friend.

Note that in Six Ages there is no Orlanth at the Hill of Gold, only a nameless troll god, possibly the maimer of Hippoi/Gamari. The combat at the Hill is both not yet happened and already and  presently occurring, making it still undefined.

Also in Six Ages the solar god at the Hill of God is not Elmal. He may be another son of the Sun.

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All I know about the Six Ages background as an android user rather than Apple customer is the Six Ages wiki and some of the discussion here, so I cannot even speculate on the canonicity of the material without having seen it.

I agree that the Theyalan syncretism and the subsequent suppression by Lokamayadon, then revival by Harmast collecting bits of myths from the Hendriki, Esrolians and (after returning Arkat) also the Ralian Orlanthi who may have been less suppressed by Tarumath than their Dragon Pass fellow worshippers, may have overwritten what used to be distinct identities or at least aspects earlier on. With my understanding of cyclical time in the Godtime, local events can be seen as reflections of universal events separated from other such reflections by both time and space, with true different names for the instances of the universal actors which we have come to identify as Orlanth and Yelm.

Esrolian Orlanth might still have been identified as Kodig when Harmast visited draught-plagued Esrolia during the events of Ten (12?) Women Well Loved (which really should be published as Gloranthan fiction soonish, if only in a way similar to the later Middle Earth releases of the Tolkien estate, now that Greg cannot finish the manuscript any more).

(If you wonder what this is about, this was another instance of Gloranthan fandom pre-empting internet crowd financing. In this case it was a Patreon-like initiative by Fabian Küchler to pay Greg for writing the Harmast novel during a period of financial hardship. The manuscript was made available to all the sponsors of the project, and well worth the money.)

 

In the Antirius Hill of Gold myth, the enemies include the cruel god (who might be ZZ, or Shargash/Shadzor) and the Selfish God (who might be the Storm King). It stays silent about the cold woman. Assigning these epithets rather than distinct names might be the better praxis. Shargash and Jagrekriand both describe the dismemberer of Umath, but might be hard to identify by third party worshippers as the same entity that I prefer to call Tolat rather than Vorthan.

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Telling how it is excessive verbis

 

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1 hour ago, Joerg said:

now that Greg cannot finish the manuscript any more).

This is a fantastic strategic point. "Unfinished" has different connotations now for the fiction in particular.

1 hour ago, Joerg said:

In the Antirius Hill of Gold myth, the enemies include the cruel god (who might be ZZ, or Shargash/Shadzor) and the Selfish God (who might be the Storm King). It stays silent about the cold woman. Assigning these epithets rather than distinct names might be the better praxis. Shargash and Jagrekriand both describe the dismemberer of Umath, but might be hard to identify by third party worshippers as the same entity that I prefer to call Tolat rather than Vorthan.

It might be the medications talking but your insight into current lord of the red planet as an underworld entity who traverses the sky got me wondering whether the Shargash rune is more accurately an upside-down inversion of Truth and Alkoth is a city where the bijiif still rules, "Dara Happa After Dark." No idea where that ends up though.

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singer sing me a given

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