The Myth continues – the Storm Gods refuse to be put in place and Yelm is struck down by their leader, Orlanth. The Gods War rampages across Glorantha. Again, part of a huge piece by the amazing Agathe Pitié!
The Thunder Brothers are like the Maruts and accompany Orlanth to war.
Thunder Brothers
The collective offspring of Orlanth are worshiped as the Thunder Brothers (which sometimes include Orlanth’s storm brothers as well). They have immense power and are his aspects, companions, manifestations, and messengers. They are very violent and aggressive, and armed with lightning and thunderbolts, or with terrible swords. They split the clouds so that rain can fall, and are capable of shaking mountains and destroying forests.
The Thunder Brothers are usually shown as a collective of storm gods, numbering between three and sixty. They are often led by Vinga. They are the source of Summon Large Air Elemental.
Vinga is an incarnation of Orlanth. That can be described as Orlanth transformed or Orlanth’s daughter. All the same thing.
Will there be a Credo game version for Glorantha debating the nature of Vinga? No. Gloranthans wouldn’t even consider this a matter for debate. Whether an aspect is referred to as the god or as a child or tool of the god is a matter of poetry, not theological doctrine.And that is one of the huge problems I think we moderns have with mythology. We approach it as dogma and doctrine – or even more painful, as some kind of computer code – and forget that it is poetry.