Skip to content
The Well of Daliath
Menu
Menu

2 – The Uncles

1 – The Flame of Sartar3 – The Underworld

Characters: Argrath

Orlanthi children become adults after a formal initiation ceremony, parts of which are the most closely held secrets of the clan. The adulthood initiation rites are offered to not‑adults between the ages of 15 and 19, depending upon local custom, the availability of initiators, and other on‑going circumstances. On the average, initiations occur every five years. The process includes a preparatory period of guidance and education, a period of time spent with only the initiators, a solemn test of the individual, and a final ceremony which transforms the not‑adult into a full member of society. In the old days, failure at a fierce wilderness initiation test resulted in the death of the youths who failed. Among the Sartarites of Argrath’s time, failure results only in the expulsion and outlawry of the child.

Adulthood confers full privileges and responsibilities. The welcoming of the reborn child is a true “initiation,” for it initiates a person’s life as a member of society.

The Initiation of Orlanth

When Orlanth and his brothers were young, just godlings without a hint of their natural powers, they were left alone in a spruce grove. Their father and mothers were elsewhere, busy with chores.

At that time some giants came upon them. They were all enemies of the children because their father had offended them. The giants did not waste a moment, but snatched them up and took them into the Mutable Forest. This woods, sometimes called the Marching Woods, did not have roots, and the plants roamed about. Sometimes, in those days, even the mountains moved, and so there were no known trails or paths there.

The giants were Genert, Lord of the Earth; Kalt, the Renewing God; Lodril, lord of Fire; Magasta, the Sea giant; Dehore, Darkness‑keeper; and some others whose names are not known now. These were all uncles of the children gods, so although they hated them they could not kill them. Instead, they decided to destroy them without having to take responsibility for the deed.

They lied to the children, and said that they had prepared tests for each of them, and that afterwards they would be gods. In truth, they took the children to various wicked places which they could not understand, and they put a child in each. They hoped that one would destroy the other, and thereby lessen the number of foes.

They took Vadrus and dropped him into the Deep Well, and then clapped the lid on. They were sure that he would be drowned by Water, an element which had no connection to air.

They took Urox, and threw him among the Animal Corral. They were sure he would be devoured by the hungry creatures.

They took the other one, and cast him into the Sex Pit. They hoped he would be driven mad by the demons.

They took Humakt, and threw him into the Fighting Pit. They were sure he would be destroyed by this frightening activity.

They took Orlanth, and put him among the Strange Gods. The giants were sure that the nest of alien powers would destroy the youngest child.

The uncles went to their hall, and prepared a great feast for their victory.

Art Direction

Panel 1.
DESCRIPTION: Argrath is asleep in the stead. He is sleeping on a blanket draped over a low wooden bench. An alynx, a big cat domesticated by the Orlanthi, sleeps by his side. His spear and sword are leaned against a nearby wall. There is a fire pit in the foreground, its fire burnt down to embers. His other possessions are few and meagre. A curtain separates this room from the rest of the house.

Panel 2.
DESCRIPTION: Five men silently enter Argrath’s room. They are dressed as the Giant Uncles from the myth of the Initiation of Orlanth. One of them is Argrath’s actual uncle.

Panel 3.
DESCRIPTION: The procession of Uncles. Argrath’s uncle is dressed as Magasta the Sea Giant; his costume consists of a giant fish helmet and a cloak made to resemble blue scales. He watches the proceedings with a concerned look on his face. Before him are the rest of the uncles:

There is Genert, Lord of the Earth; his costume is a heavy fur cloak with a monstrous wooden face. His is the tallest costume. We can see the wearer’s eyes through a slit in the cloak.

There is Lodril, Lord of Fire; his costume is a mask with a lolling tongue and fiery orange hair. His body is painted black, and he carries a long spear.

There is Kalt, the Renewing God; his costume is a shambling mass of green and yellow grasses that totally obscures his features. He wears a crown of leaves and carries a wooden staff that resembles a tree with small branches.

There is Dehore, Darkness-Keeper; his costume resembles nothing less than a huge black cloak, devoid of any features or decorations. He is pulling a black sack over the sleeping Argrath.

Panel 4.
DESCRIPTION: Total darkness.
DIALOGUE:
Argrath: Help!

Panel 5.
TEXT: I awoke in Hell.
DESCRIPTION: The leering face of a demon. His skin is opaque black. He has a great fiery beard with hair and eyebrows to match. Tusks protrude from his red mouth. He has a third eye in his forehead. His ears have long earlobes. He wears his own heart on a necklace of human skulls. His face is the only thing we can see in a dark void.

Related Pages

  • 1 – The Flame of Sartar
  • 3 – The Underworld
  • 4 – Meeting the Second Son
  • 5 – Argrath Faces Evil
  • 6 – Argrath the Man
  • 7 – Argrath faces the Lunars
  • 8 – The Wrath of Argrath
  • 9 – Exile
  • End of Chapter 1

Art direction

Page Last updated: 2022-09-19 11:23:48

Sections

  • Search Tips
  • Current RuneQuest Glorantha Publications
  • RuneQuest Glorantha Corrections and Q&A
  • Catalogue
  • References for Glorantha
    • Gloranthan Canon
  • Gloranthan Documents
  • RPG Systems & Versions
  • Gallery
  • About This Site
  • Get involved!

Latest Posts

  • The Grasslands of Prax

    Something to keep in mind about Prax. The grasslands of …
  • Praxian Kinship Groups

    Praxian tribes are divided into smaller kinship groups or clans, …
  • Lunar Resettlement of Tarsh after 1460 ST

    After 1460, large sections of Peloria (especially east of the …
  • The Spread of the Lunar Way

    In the Lunar Provinces, about 26% of the total population …
  • Gods of Fire and Sky and the Lunar Way

    The Gods of Fire and Sky co-exist alongside the Lunar …
  • How Much Land is a Hide?

    So in RQ, a “hide” is a unit of accounting …
  • Agricultural Data for RuneQuest

    Back in the late 70s and early 80s, Greg‘s only …
  • Farming in Dara Happa

    In anticipation of the Fire/Sky Book, here’s a few notes …
  • Farming in the Big Rubble

    There are some 1600 humans in the Big Rubble, with …

Links

  • Chaosium
  • Chaosium’s RuneQuest RPG Wiki
  • Glorantha on BRP Central
  • RuneQuest on BRP Central
  • RuneQuest on Discord
  • Prince of Sartar Webcomic
  • Glorantha G+ Archives on Tapatalk
  • Search mailing list archive

Latest from BRP Central

  • creating a spirit cult of Fralar
  • Thoughts on running an Animal Nomad/Praxian game
  • Fillable excel RQG character sheets?
  • Where is there a list of temples in Dragon Pass?
  • New on the Jonstown Compendium: Many Suns
  • Subcults vs Associated Cults
  • Gorgorma and Dendara's Chess Game
  • Merged deities
  • Elf plant ships and dwarf stone ships
  • Do Dwarves have souls?

Popular Tags

Boldhome (large city) Chaosium Colymar (Sartar tribe) Contents Cult demographics Cults of Runequest (preview) Ernalda Esrolia (homeland) FRA Furthest (large city) G+ post Gods Wall Greg Stafford Guide to Glorantha (preview) Humakt Jar-eel Lunar Empire Lunar Pantheon Magazine Malkioni pantheon Map Michael O’Brien Mongoose MRQ1 New Pavis (small city) Old Glorantha Q&A Orlanth Orlanthi pantheon Photo reference Population demographics Prax (homeland) RQ3 RQG Sandy Petersen Sartar (homeland) Spirit Cult Star Subcult Tapatalk post Tarsh (homeland & Lunar province) Troll Pantheon Yelm Yelmalio Yelm Pantheon Youtube

Recently added or updated

  • Spirit Magic by Cult and Associate Cult

  • ISS1102 Glorantha: Introduction to the Hero Wars (2000)

  • Dragon Pass – A brief outline (2013)

  • Some Fronelan Population And Cultural Details

  • Notes on Fronela III

  • Notes on Fronela II

  • Notes on Fronela I

  • Hon-eel Temples and Shrine

  • Seven Mothers Temples and Shrines

  • Ernalda Temples and Shrines

  • Barntar Temples and Shrines

  • Babeester Gor Temple and Shrines

  • Voria Shrines

  • Ty Kora Tek Temples and Shrines

  • Asrelia Temples and Shrines

  • Maran Gor Temple, Shrines and Site

  • Odayla Shrines

  • Humakt Temples, Shrines and Sites

  • Orlanth Rex Temples, Shrines and Sites

  • Hippoi Shrines

©2025 The Well of Daliath | Design: Newspaperly WordPress Theme