From: rowe@soda.berkeley.edu (Eric Rowe)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
Subject: RQ: Elmal/Yelmalio
Date: 8 Jan 93 03:00:39
Organization: UCB Integrative Biology
Distribution: world
NNTP-Posting-Host: soda.berkeley.edu

Time to chime in with my theory of the Elmal/Yelmalio situation.  I think my
position is quite strong, but I would like to still hear other opinions on
this topic, especially those saying I'm wrong.

My basic stand is that Elmal and Yelmalio are one and the same.  The
differences that arise I feel were the result of both activities of the
gods themselves during godtime, and the religious/cultural seperation that
occurred between the storm and sun pantheons.

First, this is what I think actually occurred is in godtime the two gods
met at the hill of gold and fought.  Neither was able to overcome the other.
At some future point Orlanth came to the aid of Yelmalio and rescued him 
(Perhaps driving away Zorak Zoran).  Yelmalio then swore to aid Orlanth in
return.  Anything told differently is due to the friction between the
competing storm and sun pantheons.

The storm pantheon opinion is that given in KoS.  In it Elmal is a sun god
who meets Orlanth on a precarious bridge and they fight.  Both fall into
the raging waters below and Orlanth rescues Elmal who swears fealty and
becomes the loyal thane of the Orlanthi Mythos.

The sun pantheon differs in that Orlanth and Yelmalio meet at the Hill of Gold
and Orlanth disarms Yelmalio leaving him to the ravages of Zorak Zoran.
Yelmalio continues despite the injury and earns the respect of the storm
gods for his chaos fighting abilities.

It is my supposition that the differences in these two versions of the
meeting stem from the antagonism of the two pantheons striving to make
mythology reflect their side in the most beneficial terms.  If my version
of what really occurred is correct it should be clear that both the storm
and solar versions can be derived easily from the same events.  The storm
pantheon reducing as much as possible the connection of Elmal and the solar
pantheon, as well as de-emphasising any possible fault by Orlanth.  Whereas
the solar pantheon emphasises the harm done by Orlanth while simultaneously
ignoring his aid and the conversion of Yelmalio to Orlanth's follower.

How does this fit with the history of the religions given in KoS and elsewhere?
I think it fits fine.  When the dawn age brought the clash of storm cultures
from Dragon Pass and the sun culture of the Dara Happans it is clear the Elmali
clans were confused by the presence of Yelmalio in the solar pantheon.  Many
cultural and eventually religious practices began to filter into the region
from the lowlands.  Many Elmali clans adopted more solar ways as exemplified
by the Eyetooth clan which switched clearly to Yelmalio in revolt against their
king.  The first of two major conversions from Elmal to Yelmalio was when
Tarkalor promised many disaffected Elmalis land in return for aid.  Thus began
the Volsaxi tribe and the Sun Dome Temple.  The first lord of these Sun Domers
was Monrogh.  He visited the sun to seek the truth of the nature of their
god.  The name he brought back was Yelmalio.

Note that this account is given by the Orlanthi side and describes Yelmalio
possibly as the wounded body of the sun limping across the sky, perhaps the
immortal part of him.  Clearly this could also be viewed from the solar
perspective as being the fact that Yelmalio was greatly wounded and also that
he never died and went to hell.  After the relevation of this truth most of
the remaining Elmali became Yelmalio worshippers, recognising their god for
who he really was.

Here we see how the Aldryami and the northern solar worshipping people could
worship Yelmalio, the son of the sun, at the same time that storm followers
worshipped the same god in the guise of Elmal.  That the two were not
immediately recognised as one was due to the heavy emphasis upon different
times in godtime that Yelmalio acted.  The solar people emphasise early
actions and choose to ignore his conversion to the storm.  They show his
chaos fighting as guarding the world for the return of his father.  The
storm story ignores all of Elmal's early history, beginning with his meeting
of Orlanth.  His chaos fighting then is show as guarding the world for his
lord, Orlanth.

To get very metaphysical about this (Don't take me seriously on anything in
this section.) I think that some of the stories in KoS support this position.
For instance, in the Lightbringer's Quest Elmal is placed in charge of the
homestead.  I believe this to be the mythological equivalent to Orlanth
passing control of the fight against chaos to Yelmalio who was perhaps the
greatest leader in the chaos wars once the Quest began. (Not to belittle
Storm Bull's part, but he was no leader as was Yelmalio.) Since it was clear
Yelmalio led the fight it can be seen how both sides might tell the story to
best reflect their pantheons.  To go even a little farther the story of the
bridge fight between Orlanth and Yelmalio might simply be metaphorical.  They
may have struggled for power against each other over a long period of time,
each considering the other a worthy foe.  At some point (near the hill of
gold?) Yelmalio may have been leaving such an unresolved contest when he
was beset upon by Zorak Zoran, who was the raging waters beneath the bridge.
Orlanth came to the rescue and drove off Zorak Zoran, saving the wounded
Yelmalio from drowning.  There are other such possible connections, but I have
some more points to make and am rambling a bit.

What is the current state of the religions today then?  I believe that Yelmalio
is still worshipped as Elmal by some conservative Grazers who retain the
rites and stories of Yelmalio from the time of his meeting with Orlanth.  All
coated liberally with storm pantheon biases.  The worship of Yelmalio in the
Dragon Pass/Prax area is that brought by Monrogh.  It realizes Yelmalio for
who he is and places him correctly in the solar pantheon.  However, unlike
the purer Yelmalio worship in the north it is shaded by knowledge of Yelmalio's
friendship/loyalty to Orlanth.  The Yelmalio worship of the north is clear
of this storm bias and ignores the role of Orlanth in Yelmalio's existance.

Well?

eric

ps If Stafford only wrote a few notes and the conclusion, why did it take KoS
so long to come out?

pps Seriously, although supposedly a novel, this is the kind of Game Supplement
I have dreamed of for years.  Only Chaosium could be this cool.

pps Glad to have finally reached that 10% in Orlanth lore.
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