From: David Cake (davidc@cs.uwa.edu.au)
Date: Tue 09 Jul 1996 - 20:55:04 EEST
I am in the process of creating that Pelorian Prosodaedia that some
people expressed an interest in. Its not quite ready yet, but in the
process I have come up with a few theories to float here. Anyone with
suggestions, please let me know.
I think Yamsur was originally Pentan, rather than Praxian or
The Yelorna cult. This might originate from Jarst or nearby. They
Polaris - most mentions of this god seem to be from Raibanth, but
Pelorian. Yamsur is allegedly the father of Hyalor Horsebreaker. Yamsur
does not appear to be part of the mainstream Yelmic beliefs, but
nevertheless is persistently mentioned as being part of the Yelm pantheon.
If Yamsur was originally Pelorian, some clues to this would remain in the
original Pelorian myths, and if Yamsur was originally Praxian, they would
not be likely to try and fit him into Yelmic myth. I think Yamsurs being
mentioned as a son of Yelm might possibly be the invention of someone like
Jenarong to explain how the horse nomad nobility qualify for Emperor.
Yamsur being Pentan can still fit in with his showing up at the battle with
Genert. And the Pentans and Praxians have had enough contact that the name
Yamsur might well be known to the Praxian sun worshipping tribes. Yamsur
being dead also seems to fit in with the general battering that Kargzant
and associated cults takes at this time. Perhaps Yamsur was originally a
son of Kargzant?
supposedly have unicorn riding deities. Yelorna may originally have been
one of the Starlight Ancestors, and then Dara Happanised in the second age
(adding the Shield Maiden tradition). Its presence in Prax may well date
from the EWF times, hence its temple in the Big Rubble - they may have come
to Pavis to investigate the other unicorn riding tribes there, or even to
get access to a new source of unicorns if their own were dwindling.
surely it seems more likely to have originated in Yuthuppa? Yuthuppa
otherwise does not have a war god of any kind. Also, Polaris is grouped
with Ourania on the Gods Wall, and is a star god. I think there are still
many Polaris worshipping Raibanth residents, though - Yelm can occupy a
similar position, but has the twin disadvantages of not being open to
anyone outside the noble families and even for those in the noble families
giving pretty poor access to magic until you reach Imperator or Elder
status (which, requiring as it does getting to Sun Lord first, is pretty
hard).
Creating a modern Pelorian Prosopaedia is somewhat complicated,
because almost all the current source material is way out of date. Does
anyone have any info on what cults are worshipped currently? Some things I
am unsure about include the Rinliddi bird cults, such as Avarnia, the other
parts of Yelm, the other Jernotian deities, and the Naverian goddesses.
And last and probably least, its interesting to compare the
original (GRoY) Celestial Court (Glorantay) with the more modern (God
Learner?) version. A rough correspondence goes something like
Celestial Court (GRoY/Glorantay - modern deity)
Harmony - Harana Ilor,
Love - Uleria,
Beauty - Tylenea,
Joy - Acos,
Truth - Orenoar,
Growth - Larnste,
Entertainment - Ratslaff?
Athletics - Kargan Tor,
Art - Ratslaff?
and Aether Primolt
From which we can conclude a few things about Dara Happan culture,
though it would be unwise to read very much into this. For a start,
fighting is thought of as sport, which we already knew (hence their
gladiatoral tradition). For another, Joy comes when everything is going
according to the Law, hence the tradition of Justice. Beauty is not to be
taken to seriously (its connected to illusion). And my favourite, Art and
Entertainment are considered to be tricksterish and disruptive, hence the
classical Yelmic dislike of the artistic temperament (they don't mind
looking at it, but they think its a lower class perverse thing to actually
create art and enjoy it).
May the light of the reaching moon shine upon you,
David
PS anyone got a theory on what the Pelorian word 'Enslib', as in
SurEnslib and BiselEnslib, means? Same on 'Lotralas'?
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