Hyaloring Pantheon
Hyalor
Hyalor Change-Maker
When Hyalor gave us the blank gold tablets, he said, “Let this be your only emperor.”
A human who became a god, partly because he invented riding.
- Deity of Human Origin: Started out human.
- Divine Parentage: His father was Yamsur, a minor member of the solar pantheon. And he in turn is the ancestor of the Riders.
- Ethnic God: He's the namesake god of the Hyaloring people, and the origin of their basic philosophy: "There is no rule that can't be changed, when survival is at stake."
- Heroic Bastard: It is, at least, strongly implied that he was the product of a one-night stand.
- Know When to Fold 'Em: Hyalor realizes that Nivorah is doomed and sets an organized retreat while his rival Samnal is still trying to fight to save it.
- Mayfly–December Romance: He lived a very long life, and outlived eight wives (sequentially) as well as many of their children together. By the end, the knowledge that he would outlive everyone he loved had caused him to keep other humans at a distance.
- Parental Neglect: He was a bastard son of the minor sun god Yamsur, but Yamsur figured into his life so little that this is completely unknown to the modern Hyalorings.
- Semi-Divine: These days he's all divine, but before his death and ascension Hyalor was "merely" an immortal hero with secret divine heritage.
Gamari
Gamari Horse Mother
Click to see her as Hippogriff.
When Gamari lost her wings, Hyalor adopted her into his clan.
The first horse, and the goddess of horses. Originally called Hippogriff.
- Composite Character: She combines aspects of the deities known to later Gloranthans as Gamara, Hippoi, and King Hippogriff.
- Cool Horse: She fought demons, trolls, and a goddess of earthquakes. She can also supply your clan with kumis- a type of booze.
- Inspirationally Disadvantaged: Invokes this trope. She was initially distraught by her mutilation, but came to see it as a "necessity", a shedding of the the unnecessary parts of her body. After all, who needs wings when you can ride like the wind?
- Fantastic Racism: In a non-canonical variant of Busenari's myth, Gamari will scoff that if cows were meant to be brave they would've been born horses.
- Flaming Hair: Her mane and tail are flames, appropriately so for the steed of sun gods.
- That Man Is Dead: She started calling herself "Gamari" when she became a horse.
- Undying Loyalty: Hippogriff was often hurt because she was loyal to a friend who didn't deserve it and often abandoned her in the midst of battle. Gamari's later partnership with Hyalor formed many legends and became the Rider ideal of friendship.
Elmal
The Guardian Sun
When Yelm fell from the sky, Elmal took his place on the Sunpath.
A god of the sun. After his father, Emperor Yelm, died at Orlanth's hands, he reluctantly took on his divine role.
For tropes related to his depiction in King of Dragon Pass, see here.
- Brutal Honesty: When Verlaro complained that his herd animals were following Osara instead, Elmal replied that "You should shine brighter." Which is cruel, but given how lazy and thoughtless Verlaro was, not untrue.
- Cargo Ship: Invoked. He was apparently married to Nivorah, as in, the city. That was when she was still alive.
- Closest Thing We Got: The empire is vastly and irreparably reduced, Elmal couldn't stop that, but it's only because of him there is still an empire at all. All of his brothers were too cowardly, evil or hidebound to care about protecting the people.
- Comes Great Responsibility: He becomes the (not "a") sun not when the previous sun died, or even when he fought to protect his inheritance, but when he sacrificed some of it to save his people.
- The Creon: He started calling himself a king only when he realized that the Riders needed one to be safe from Yonesh.[Elmal] said what needed to be said to power his strike.
- Dramatic Irony: He was the only "small sun" to remain loyal to the empire after Yelm's death (the others tried to destroy it so they could get power), and he vowed to every one of them that he would somehow rescue Yelm from the underworld. In the end, however, Elmal's role was not to save Yelm, but to hold down the fort for the Lightbringers who did, and to sustain humanity while they quested.
- Foil: To Orlanth, whose basic story is him going out and starting fights for/over something. Elmal's story is him just staying at home, doing his duty, and repeatedly getting threatened by asshole outsiders...but invariably surviving every calamity they throw at him.
- Hope Bringer: He couldn't maintain all of his father's sunpath, but he could preserve enough of it that the Riders wouldn't freeze to death as they migrated to the mortal world.
- Humble Hero: Much of Elmal's refusal to bend before false suns comes from his humility: as a loyal servant of Yelm, he sees just how fake his would-be usurpers are, and won't recognize anyone lesser as having the right to rule.
- Mars and Venus Gender Contrast: Elmal's sunlight is contrasted by the rain of Shella, a goddess.
- Papa Wolf: He was not happy when he found that a Wheel clan had bullied the son he'd left them with. So he gave them two years of drought. note
- Reluctant Ruler: Elmal is reluctant to lay claim to his father's authority, but in the end he must.
- Shut Up, Hannibal!: To Shargash as he destroyed the sunpath."I am not the sun, and neither are you."
- Start X to Stop X: He hates change as much as anybody, but he also acknowledges that it's suicidal to pretend the empire hasn't fallen and the old ways will still work. For this reason he took charge of the empire's remnants; since Yelm wasn't coming back no matter how they acted, it was better to be slightly disobedient (and manage to preserve some lives) than totally obedient (and watch passively as his subordinates were killed or corrupted into being really disobedient).
- Suddenly Suitable Suitor: An example unrelated to bloodline. Elmal came last of all Nyalda's suitors to court her. When Nyalda asked why, Elmal replied that he had been unworthy of her until he became the sun. This is in contrast with the other suitors, who were arrogant, sexist assholes that Nyalda summarily rejected.
- Survivor's Guilt: In Elmal's myth, the plot pauses briefly so the narrator can emphasize that if Elmal had been with his dad when Orlanth struck the fatal blow, he would've been able to shield Yelm with his body. Once this period of wishful thinking is over, the story resumes its natural flow.
- Talking the Monster to Death: Most of the thieving "small suns" Elmal had to fight off...but when he found Little Yelm stealing, he simply looked into his eyes and said "This is unworthy of you." Little Yelm fled.
- Top God: In Yelm's absence, he is the king of the gods.
- War God: More so than in King of Dragon Pass. Here, all Elmal's blessings are related to war.
- You Are in Command Now: He was given sovereignty after Yelm's death, and he gave it to Hyalor and to every Rider clan since the Exodus.
Nyalda
Nyalda Earth Mother
When Hyalor asked Nyalda to join us in the exodus, she told him, “We must no longer be below you, but rather beside you.”
The earth mother of the Hyaloring pantheon, and Elmal's wife.
- Batman Gambit: She never told Elmal that she wanted him to court her because there was never any need to; he decided to court her on his own, just as Nyalda had anticipated (although she didn't predict how slow he would be in doing so, so she had to fend off several unwanted suitors while waiting).
- Divine Delegation: While not the Top God, Nyalda is the top earth goddess and delegates most of the physically earthy stuff to her daughters, a bevy of crop, animal, and food-related goddesses.
- Love Makes You Stupid: Narrowly averted. She was so interested in Elmal's proposal that she almost broke protocol to talk to him directly, instead of through intermediaries as proper Hyaloring women do.
- Single Woman Seeks Good Man: She likes Elmal because he didn't try to force her into marrying him and he offered a thoughtfully-chosen marriage gift.
- Summon Bigger Fish: She doesn't fight, but she has no shortage of followers, kin, suitors, etc, who do, and are more than willing to help her fend off unwanted attention.
- Soapbox Sadie: Her myths indirectly but noticeably teach listeners how women should be treated."A wife is not a slave."
- Suspiciously Similar Substitute: She bears a very strong resemblance to the Orlanthi goddess Ernalda (see below under the Vingkotling pantheon). They have similar personalities, blessings (although Ernalda is more involved with farming), and daughters—they even share the same holy objects. A circle member can even comment that they might be the same goddess under different names...
Busenari
Busenari Cow Mother
When the exodus came, Busenari followed the sunpath to Elmal's side.
Goddess of cattle.
- Action Survivor: She's no fighter (except in non-canon heroquest routes), but she was calm enough to escape and endure the darkening, monster-filled ruins of Yelm's court. And to help her daughters do the same.
- Food God: As the goddess of cows, she provides milk, cheese, and meat. (One origin story variant indicates that long ago, she blessed the Riders with lactose tolerance after a brave priestess quested to her.)
- The Heart: She convinced her daughters- all the cows in the world- to venture out and find a new pasture as predators and frost were devouring the heavens. And when they were tired or scared or grieving, she convinced them again.
- Stay in the Kitchen: An example specific to species, not gender. When Busenari's daughters were worrying uselessly about the state of the world, she told them, "Let Elmal worry about what lies beyond the fields". This was wise because cows- being cows- couldn't do anything to help even if they tried. All that mattered then was surviving.
- You Are in Command Now: She and her herd used to be led between meadows by the Emperor, but when he died, she had to do the leading. She turned out to be pretty good at it.
Ekarna
Ekarna Four Trader
Busenari said, "All the cows are my daughters." Ekarna replied, "And the gold they fetch will arm our sons."
Goddess of trade and diplomacy.
- The Almighty Dollar: As the goddess of trade, she's also strongly associated with wealth and prosperity.
- Blue-and-Orange Morality: A downplayed example: she's clearly good, but like all deities her nature is limited. For example, she can't "reward" heroquesters, because trade is incompatible with giving people something for nothing. So she works around this limitation by offering them extremely generous deals that are lopsided in their favour.
- Boyish Short Hair: To fit her 'fearless adventurer' aesthetic.
- Chain of Deals: The Ekarna-centric myth is about her making trades with various foreigners, all to eventually get the stuff her clan actually needs. She has to walk pretty far.
- Friend to All Living Things: She did business with geese, Orlanthi and even ghosts.
- Guile Hero: She succeeds by bringing people together, but also by using a rival god's sexism against him.
- Hope Bringer: When the refugee Riders ran low on supplies, she showed them how to procure more goods from the Sky (mortal) World's inhabitants.
- I Am Who?: She did not know at first she was the goddess of trade, because the perfect city Nivorah had never needed trade. It was only during the exodus that she realized her identity.
- Pragmatic Hero: According to your advisors, "Busenari said, 'All cows are my daughters.' Ekarna said, 'And the gold they fetch will arm our sons.'"
- The Storyteller: She is so good at telling stories that she can trade them for actual tangible items.
Relandar
Relandar Role Sorter
Relandar said, "The law is clear. People are not."
God of wisdom.
- Good Old Ways: While Relandar is willing to accept change if need be, he and his worshippers still stand for tradition and continuity.
- Me's a Crowd: In his myth, he divides himself into many Relandars in order to teach the Riders an object lesson about the value of hierarchy.
Erissa
The gentle goddess of healing.
Erissa embodies mercy.
Goddess of healing.
- Actual Pacifist: Erissa will never hurt anyone, period. Of course, healing Death is such a contradiction that it throws him halfway across the world.
- All-Loving Hero: Erissa loves and heals all people. In Rider stories, she favors them, of course.
- Celibate Hero: In Rider myths, Erissa abstains from romance to make herself value all lives equally. (This is not the case in Wheel myths, in which she has a son.)
- Color Motif: Erissa (and her followers) wear white with green accents, indicating purity and life. It also contrasts with her suitor Death, who wears solid black aside from a belt of white skulls.
- Cultural Rebel: Erissa defies a male god, which is notable because she used to belong to Yelm's court- a very patriarchal pantheon.
- Deliberate Values Dissonance: Her enemy is death itself- not a race, or a clan, or a species. Battles that involve killing may be necessary, but they're Pyrrhic Victories at best, not something to be celebrated.
- Don't You Like It?: Death spread himself through the world partly so he could show everyone how wonderful Erissa was. Erissa knew he was well-intentioned, but was still horrified by the misery and fear he'd caused. Death didn't listen.''When the Rebel killed the Emperor and darkened the sky, Death sought her again. "See what I put into motion? Now all the mortals will wish to worship you. Because much more of my gift is coming."
- Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: She has golden hair and is the kindest and gentlest of the gods.
- Healer God: Her role in the pantheon. Her blessings cure your sick and heal your wounded.
- Hope Bringer: As first Pain and then Death came into the world, Erissa helped people deal with them.
- Star-Crossed Lovers: She and Death strengthen each other just by existing, but their nature as opposites means they will always be working against each other.
- Technical Pacifist: Erissa's devotees do not kill, but they are just as capable of becoming clan chiefs as anyone else- thereby tacitly permitting its soldiers and tricksters to do things the devotees personally would never do.
- Magic Music: She sang the first Bone-Mending Ballad.
- Opposites Attract: Death has been in love with her since before he properly existed, and while Erissa will never accept his offer, she does return the attraction.
- Took a Level in Badass: Once, Erissa was just a cupbearer for higher gods. She didn't even know what she was the goddess of! Then physical injuries came into existence, and she knew all too well.
- Tough Leader Façade: Being anything less than totally unbiased and totally committed to duty would endanger the thousands of people who depend on Erissa to survive.
- Undying Loyalty: She will never betray life, no matter what Death offers her.
Osara
Flame Sister
"Freedom is not about pleasure. It requires more discipline, not less."
Goddess of archery and female warriors and leaders. Formerly the Nivorah goddess of daughters, but she took on a more assertive role after the Hyalorings left the city.
- Action Girl: She became one after leaving Nivorah. Her worshippers also qualify.
- Arrows on Fire: Osara is a self-possessed archer. She's pictured firing an arrow, and her blessing is Firearrow.
- Decomposite Character: Osara and her brother Zarlen split the role that Vinga, goddess of female warriors and exploration, played in King of Dragon Pass. Osara shares Vinga's association with warrior women and her close relationship with her father, the head of the pantheon (Osara's worshippers can perform Elmal's ritual as though they were Elmali, just as Vingans could perform Orlanth's heroquests just like Orlanth worshippers).
- Family Honor: One reason she saves Verlaro's bacon so much if that she doesn't, people will think less of the Fire Tribe as a whole.
- Fiery Redhead: Red-haired, a fighter, and associated with fire and the sun.
- Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: Osara is responsible, and her brother Verlaro is foolish. The myth about them (and many stories advisors can tell in the game) boil down to "Verlaro gets in trouble; Osara gets him out of it."
- Horse Archer: She's depicted shooting a bow while riding a horse.
- Suspiciously Similar Substitute: She bears a very strong resemblance to Vinga, the red-haired Orlanthi goddess of female warriors. Her worshippers can even perform Elmal's rituals, just as Vingans could perform Orlanth's heroquests.
- War God: The goddess of female warriors.
Pela
The next emblem [...] depicts when the grain goddess Pela showed how to plant and harvest her golden barley. Our ancestor Sarsadiga was there in the celestial fields, and brought back the seeds and sickle.
Goddess of barley and the local land. She is Nyalda's daughter.
- Composite Character: In most versions of Glorantha, Pela the barley goddess and Peloria the land goddess are different characters. (Peloria is, however, the goddess of wheat.)
- Food God: Responsible for your harvests.
- Satellite Character: You can build a shrine to her, and she's mentioned whenever you prepare new fields. But Pela appears in no myths and is rarely mentioned during the game. Her worshippers don't appear among the nobles you can appoint to the circle that governs the clan. Despite being connected to one of the possible backstory events for your clan, she's the least-mentioned of your gods.
Uryarda
Uryarda Goat Mother and Yanade the Spirit Father bet each other they could make goats more fruitful. The winner was the clan that owned those goats.
Goddess of goats.
- Food God: One of several, responsible for your herds along with Busenari.
- Hero of Another Story: She's the principal goddess of the Ergeshites, a people who keep no livestock other than goats.
- Satellite Character: She plays very little role in the myths and is only occasionally mentioned in dialogue, although you can have her worshippers on the circle or build a temple to her.
Zarlen
Bright-Tailed Wanderer
Zarlen was born from a mixed marriage, which is why he is a wandering star.
God of exploration, son of Elmal with the Wheel Witch.
- All of the Other Reindeer: He left the clan because he had no place there. While wandering, though, he discovered an attack planned by the Rams. He warned the clan of this attack, thereby saving many lives and being accepted as a legitimate son.
- Bold Explorer: As the god of exploration, he almost has to be this. Zarlen braves many dangers with only his horse for company, learning secrets of the land and secrets about the gods' foes.
- Decomposite Character: Zarlen and his sister Osara split the role played by Vinga, goddess of explorers and female warriors, in King of Dragon Pass. Zarlen gets exploration, Vinga's Pathfinder blessing, and shares Vinga's association with the Motion rune (which marks both of their worshippers among your nobles).
- Only Friend: His horse, Wandering Star. She was the first one who realized Zarlen's potential as a god.
- Solid Clouds: He and Wandering Star discovered many secrets unknown to the Riders, including how to walk on clouds.
- The Unfavorite: Being a bastard son of Elmal. He was grudgingly accepted into Nyalda's clan, but disrespected by almost everyone.Busenari made sure he was the last to drink from her bowl. Pela gave him only crusts. When Inilla dropped berries into his hand, she left the stems and worms in.
Inilla
Inilla Forage Finder
It was during the exodus that Inilla proved her worth.
Goddess of foraging, and a daughter of Elmal and Nyalda.
- Food God: Goddess of foraging, or finding food in the wild.
- Guile Hero: Inilla's foe, Yatelo, is one that cannot be bested with weapons. So she defeats him with trickery and cleverness, all the while pointing out that if he tries to kill her out of frustration, he will become the kind of enemy her father Elmal knows how to fight.
- Hidden Depths: Although Inilla is emphatically not a fighter, her worshippers tend to have high Combat skill, perhaps reflecting her role as a goddess of survival.
- Hope Bringer: See a pattern? After leaving the Golden City, the gods suffered from hunger for the first time. Inilla showed them how to survive in the wilderness.
Dostal
Dostal Elk Hunter
On our journey into the wildlands, no god taught us more than Dostal.
God of hunting, and husband to Inilla.
- Classical Hunter: As the god of hunting (primarily for survival), Dostal qualifies as this.
- Food God: Yet another of the Riders' many gods of not starving to death.
- The Mentor: Back when the gods lived among their mortal worshippers, Dostal would often take small groups of young men into the wilderness to teach them to hunt. In his in-game ritual and the corresponding myth, he teaches the future leaders of the first four Rider clans, including your ancestor Basikan.
- Spell My Name With An S: He's presumably the same deity of Dastal, who the much later Pure Horse people of the Grazelands worship as god of the hunt and patron of young men entering adulthood.
- The Quiet One: Throughout "Dostal and the Snow Elk", he never speaks.
Buseryan, Narva, Nocheli, Perondeto and Tepekos
When your clan left Nivorah, they took with them one and only one of these five minor gods. Buseryan, as one of Elmal's brothers, is mentioned a couple of times even if you don't choose him.
- Food God: Narva is a beverage goddess.
- Inconsistent Spelling: The Dara Happan god of knowledge is usually spelled Buserian, and was changed to Buseryan make it less similar to Busenari.
- Odd Job God: Each of them has a very specific domain:
- Buseryan is the god of writing.
- Narva is the goddess of beer.
- Nocheli is the goddess of the red dye insect (cochineal
). - Perondeto is the god of glassmaking.
- Tepekos is the god of bronzesmiths.
- Mutually Exclusive Party Members: You can only preserve the secrets of one of these gods.
Raven
Sharp-Beaked Spirit
Hyalor said, "Contain your droppings." Raven said, "I know what you want, and cannot admit to."
The greatest of the spirits you can bargain with, Raven is still not a god.
- Brutal Honesty: Sometimes a Raven shaman will embarrass clan elders by listing their guilty secrets out loud.
- Cold-Blooded Torture: Raven sometimes asks his people to kidnap and torture foreigners. Eye gouging is involved.
- Horror Hunger: Dialogue implies that he drinks the blood of living people.
- Laser-Guided Karma: Raven keeps the Riders honest. A clan that tacitly enables slavery may wake up to find their own children have been sold off.
- Liminal Being: Raven seems to exist on the boundary between spirit and god, although the Riders firmly place him among the former. Raven is too unreliable for a proper god, but more powerful than any other spirit you can encounter—and Raven shamans are considered a different religion than regular ones.
- More than Mind Control: Raven shamans don't want to hurt the clan as in the Laser-Guided Karma example, but Raven doesn't give them a choice.
- Otherworldly and Sexually Ambiguous:: As one Raven shaman points out, you can never be sure whether Raven is male or female at any given time.
- Pet the Dog: Raven shamans often make ice slides or scavenger hunts, so the clan's children can have fun.
- Shadow Archetype: Raven is called Elmal's shadow, and represents the darkness that—because it is Elmal's opposite—Elmal cannot see.
- Token Evil Teammate: At his worst, Raven can be this. One advisor says that his role is to do the things that Hyalor should not, while another quotes Raven as saying "I know what you want, and cannot admit to."
- The Trickster: Raven and her shamans serve this role, similar to the Eurmali of King of Dragon Pass.
- Trickster God: Played with. The Hyalorings are very firm in their belief that Raven is a spirit rather than a god... but your tricksters identify the Vingkotling Trickster God Eurmal as the same being as their patron spirit.
