Looking at Glorantha from the perspective of Fazzur Wideread and his household.
Fazzur was born during the reign of King Phargentes, to a Lunarized family that served as Phargentes right hand and a pillar of his support. His sister was married to Phargentes’ crown prince Moraides, and is the mother of King Pharandros. Fazzur’s family ruled Dunstop and had rich lands on Kordros Island and in Sylila.
So start from that point. Fazzur became a Rune Lord of Yanafal Tarnils and an illuminated initiate of the Red Goddess. Fantastically well-read, Fazzur mastered the Light of Action (a Lunar battle manual) and is a well-renowned herbalist and horse breeder. The guy has read esoteric documents about the Zero Wane, knows his history, his literature, and his mythology.
Fazzur was in the right place at the right time in 1613, and managed to defeat Starbrow’s Rebellion and restore Lunar dominance in Sartar on a shoe-string budget (relying primarily on his followers plus the rump of the Lunar Army in Sartar). He managed to get himself appointed Governor-General of Dragon Pass and Commander of the Provincial Army. I am not certain any provincial noble ever held such lofty offices.
And in the end, that was his undoing. Unlike Pharandros, Fazzur is a provincial. He’s not descended from the Red Goddess (and not descended from Yelm). He’s a soldier – and no doubt seen as a half-barbarian mercenary by many in Glamour.
At the height of Fazzur’s power, when Whitewall had fallen, Heortland conquered, and Esrolia under the rule of an ally, the Red Emperor dismissed Fazzur from all offices, and replaced him with Tatius the Bright, a kinsman of the Red Emperor and dean of the Lunar Field School of Magic. Fazzur returned to Dunstop, to his books and his horses.
Fazzur’s sons fought for Tarsh, defeating Tusk RIders and other enemies, but openly resented the humiliation of their father. They hoped their cousin Pharandros would come to Fazzur’s aid, but he did not. Although initiates of the Red Goddess themselves, they reached out to the Tarsh Exiles and to leaders of the Orlanth cult in the interest of building up their own power base. Fazzur did little, preferring his books and his horses to imperial politics – but he did not restrain his sons either.
After the Dragonrise, the Lunar Army in Dragon Pass was in shambles. King Pharandros reached out to his uncle for aid and gave him command once again. Fazzur stunned Furthest with his ability to almost immediately raise an army loyal to him. Fazzur secured the Far Point but was defeated by Kallyr Starbrow at the Battle of Dangerford. Fazzur retreated to Alda-Chur to regroup.
Meanwhile King Pharandros had convinced himself of Fazzur’s treachery, and ordered the assassination of key allies and supporters of Fazzur (including I believe Fazzur and his sons). Some of these assassinations were successful, but not enough to cripple Fazzur. Fazzur resigned his position and returned to Dunstop with his followers. That’s where things stand in 1625.
Pharandros’ botched coup made a bad situation worse. He replaced all the Fazzurites with his own followers (the so called Phargentites), and made an attempt to reconquer Sartar the next year. However, Pharandros was defeated at the Battle of Old Top and the opportunity passed. Fazzur’s sons now openly sought revenge, although once again the old man just returned to his books and his horses.
So is it irrational for Onjur and Annstad to ally with the Orlanth cult? Personally, I think it was very rational for them.
Was it irrational for King Pharandros to suspect his uncle of plotting to overthrow him? Again, perfectly irrational – that’s how Dart Wars work after all. Fazzur may have appeared to be a model of the dutiful soldier, but he was obviously ambitious – no one without ambitions becomes ruler of Dragon Pass for eight years!
Fazzur can be played as a man wronged and falsely accused or can be played as a Ieyasu Tokugawa or Wallenstein-like figure, who is exactly as ambitious as his opponents claim. Really makes no difference here.