This page hosted by

Get your own Free Home Page

This Page Visited Times

# Part of Simon Phipp's RuneQuest/Glorantha Site

Glorantha is Copyright Issaries Inc, RuneQuest is Copyright Hasbro Inc
Back to Home page

Send comments and/or criticism to
  Simon E. Phipp(Geo Cities)
  Simon E. Phipp(Work - Birmingham)
Last Updated On 6 June 1999

See Also
  Elven Deities
  Elven Warfare
  Elven Culture

# Elven Deities

There are many deities of the Aldryami, all related to the Forests in some way. many of the deities are local, being of importance only in a particular forest or region. Those which are general relate to the most primal myths of the Elves. Only the most important of these deities have been hitherto described as being part of the Elven Pantheon. Here, I will try to sketch out the other deities, where they fit into the Forest and what powers/benefits they bestow on their worshippers.

The Elven Pantheon can be broadly categorised according to the general function of the deities, whether as Nurturers, Defenders, Destroyers, Eaters and so on.

Some members of the Elven Pantheon may be seen as enemies, although Elven Mystics say they are as much part of the Forest as Aldrya herself and must be considered part of the Pantheon. However, they are not generally worshipped by Elves, only perhaps by a few Shamans who can summon the enemies for their own purposes.

## Nurturers

Flamal, Aldrya, Elder Sister, Yelm, Forest Shade, Aurelion

## Defenders

High King Elf, Yelmalio, Babeester Gor, Yelorna, Yelm, Arroin, Raful the Hunter

## Workers

Raful the Hunter, Gorakiki, Mee Vorala, Vrimak

## Eaters

Gorakiki, Dinosaurs

## Destroyers

Oakfed, Zorak Zoran, Maran Gor, Mee Vorala, Mallia

## Local Spirits

## Nurturers

### Flamal

God of Plants, father of Aldrya and many of the plants of the Forest, he is the source and is still highly revered.

### Aldrya

The First Tree and the first Forest, she is the Prime Goddess of the Aldryami. She is worshipped by all Aldryami, normally through the medium of the Dryads who take her place in mundane matters.

### Elder Sister

This is the personification of Aldrya as a Tree Spirit. Whereas the Great Tree of a Forest is male, its dryad is female and is the Great Sister. She takes the place of Aldrya in the Great Forests and helps run the Forest. Elder Sister and the Great Tree take the place of Aldrya and Flamal in many of the elven rituals.

### Yelm

The Fiery Father, The Sun, father of the flowering plants and giver of energy, provider of warmth. Yelm is worshipped as the father of many elven dynasties and is a prime Ruler God in many Forests.

### Forest Shade

When Yelm appeared in the Sky he made many flowering plants and blessed many other plants with life and energy. However, his heat scorched many delicate plants, hurting and burning them, and they cried out to Aldrya for help. Aldrya, whose roots reached into the Underworld, reached out her mighty arms and blocked out Yelm's rays. Her arms provided Shade which lived on the ground, the Forest Floor. Many plants thrived in the cool shade, away from the Sun's glare. Forest Shade is the sister of Yelmalio and they came to an agreement whereby Yelmalio would allow his worshippers to see in her Darkness.

### Aurelion

This son of the Earth is a friend of the Forests as he can renew the barren or blasted earth. He is especially favoured around Caladraland but his worship is found in a more widespread area, particularly on the Southern Coasts of Genertela and in the Jrustelan Archipelago.

## Defenders

### High King Elf

This son of Aldrya led the defence of the forests in the Great Darkness. His worshippers make up the bulk of the Aldryami army and the Travelling Aldryami.

### Yelmalio

Aldrya, the First Tree, had her roots in the Earth and her Canopy was the Sky. This canopy was called Yelmalio the Forest Sun. He was the god of Light for the Elves, the head of their soldiers and a Defender against the darkness.

### Babeester Gor

This daughter of Ernalda was Aldrya's sister and a fierce foe of Zorak Zoran, one of Aldrya's enemies. She was a defender of the Earth and helped the Aldryami in the Great Darkness after Aldrya had gone to sleep. Now she helps guard the forests during Winter.

### Yelorna

Sister to both Yelmalio and Aldrya, Yelorna was one of the Defenders of the Forests during the Darkness. Now, she allows female elves to defend the forests and to become adventurers.

### Yelm

Father of Yelmalio and Yelorna, Yelm did not defend the Forests during the Darkness for he was already dead. However, he sent his children to help his lover and when he rose again he placed the Forests under his protection once more. Yelm now provides some troops to help guard the forests but usually offers leadership. In Pamaltela, Yelm is the Ruling God of some of the Forests, but he is worshipped there by Dryads, his female descendants.

### Arroin

Son of Chalana Arroy, this Healer befriended High King Elf and Yelmalio, giving his life blood to support them and help defend the forest. Arroin is now the God of Healers for the Elves, especially where magic is not involved. He is the father of many of the Healing Plants of the Forests.

Raful the Hunter This was a son of High King Elf who fought against those who would harm the Forest. He learnt how to follow tracks and navigate by star-light from Yelorna, how to use the bow from his father and how to see in the dark from Yelmalio. He travelled beyond the forests learned from the hunter deities how to shoot well and how to command the animals that harmed the forests. He hunted dinosaurs, deer, things of Chaos and insects. Now, his followers hunt harmful beast and protect the ecology of the Forests.

## Workers

### Gorakiki

The insect Goddess had many children, many of which helped Aldrya. Some children of Aldrya had pollen that was spread by the wind, others had to be spread by insects such as bees, wasps and beetles. These were friends of Aldrya and their worship has continued. Elves who worship these can learn Keep (Insect) and Command (Insect) Swarm from Gorakiki. They ensure that there are trees available for bees and wasps to nest in, that flowers are available to eat from and that their enemies are kept down.

### Mee Vorala

The Goddess of Fungi was befriended by the Forest Shade in the darkness. She carried the souls of the dead Aldryami to the Underworld and her children devour the corpses of dead Aldryami, returning their nutrients to the forest. Fungi live on the trunks of trees and on the dark Forest floor, they provide good food in turn for Aldryami who always use Food Song when harvesting them.

### Vrimak

Son of Yelm, brother to Yelmalio and Yelorna, Vrimak spends much of his time in the Forest Canopy where his children spread pollen, devour insects and eat fruit and spread seeds around. They are generally helpers of the Forests and are encouraged and protected by the Aldryami.

## Eaters

### Gorakiki

Many of the Insect Mother's children eat the plants of the Forest. Some are beneficial, such as termites who eat dead plants, others are destructive such as a plague of locusts or a swarm of devouring ants. Elves can control these with the Command (Insect) Swarm spell. Many elves use insects to wage war on rival forests or trees.

### Dinosaurs

These immense beasts are often eaters of the Forest. generally, Aldryami control them by keeping them in certain areas of the forests and killing them if they become too voracious. However, they are prized as defenders of the Forests and are sometimes tamed as mounts and beasts of burden.

## Devourers

### Oakfed

This is the Burner, the Devourer of Prax, the dreaded Wildfire. Oakfed was fed the forests of Prax to give the people of Prax light in the Darkness and is hated by Elves for this act. Now, Oakfed is the Wild Fire who appears suddenly, destroys part of the forest and dies away. Elves know how to contain the Wild Fire and how to restrict the damage that he does. They also know how to summon Oakfed against other Forests if necessary. Firshala did similar deeds in Balazar and the Elder Wilds until she was imprisoned by Nysalor. Elven mystics point out that Wildfire helps regenerate a decaying forest by destroying the dying trees and encouraging new growth, pointing to the success of the Forests of Caladraland where slash and burn techniques are used to keep the Forests healthy.

### Zorak Zoran

Killer of Flamal, Zorak Zoran is the worst of the enemies of the Forest. He is a prime enemy of many of the Defenders of the Forest. Now, he leads trolls against the Forests.

### Maran Gor

The barren Earth, Aldrya's Aunt is a fearsome Goddess who can make the Earth itself bare and barren. No Elf likes to invoke this goddess, but she is useful in inter-forest warfare.

### Mee Vorala1

This Goddess of Fungi is also the Goddess of Rusts and Moulds. She was used by the trolls to send Rusts and Moulds against the Aldryami Forests and destroy plants. Now, Elven Shamans in particular can use these against other forests or their personal rivals.

### Mallia

This Goddess of Disease found that her diseases against the descendants of Grandfather Mortal also worked against the elves. She also set other Diseases against the plants of Aldrya. Once again, Aldryami may use the powers of Mallia against other elves or rival forests.

## Local Spirits

There are many local spirits important to Aldryami Forests and who form part of the local pantheons. Thus, local rivers, mountains, heroes and other deities form part of the pantheons of any Aldryami Forest. For instance, the Torch forms part of the Redwood Pantheon but of nowhere else, Firshala is an enemy of the Elves of the Elder Wilds and Balazar and Bear is their friend, Krjalk is a Lord of the Forests of Dorastor and husband of the Elder Sister.

It is a good idea if you intend to use Aldryami Forests in your campaign to work out the pantheons of the local forest, especially those deities who are friends or enemies of the forest. This adds a great deal of local colour to any campaign and also means that PCs travelling between forests may encounter problems due to the differences in pantheons.

[End]