So in every cult description, there’s an entry called Otherworld Home. That is where the cult members experience the god during holy day ceremonies and other important rituals. From there, there may be paths to different places in the God Time, including different ages (as the God Time is simultaneous).
So the Orlanth cult knows a network of these – most important is Orlanth’s home, but also Ernalda’s home (as an associated cult), and those of the other Lightbringers. And so on. Some of these associated cults have links to places the Orlanth cult does not go. So the Orlanthi know of a little network of places in the Hero Plane, and no doubt have familiar paths around some of these places.
Yelm has his own network, largely centered on the Solar City in the Sky. There is some overlap with Orlanth’s network, but not a lot. Same thing is true for the Earth, Darkness, and Sea deities.
IF we could see all these networks simultaneously, we have the basis of a map of the Hero Plane, and could use that map to navigate. But of course, we can’t see them all simultaneously – we can only see what our cults are aware of, and what little else they have explored.
Which brings us to the three big exceptions:
Arkat. Arkat explored from lots of different starting points. He found links between places unknown to the individual cults. He experienced more of this network than any mortal. Again, just a fraction of the whole, but more than anyone else ever experienced.
Harmast. Harmast explored around Orlanth’s network and found hidden paths never before taken. He got completely lost several times and had to find new paths previously unknown. And then he did the deep dive into the Underworld and participated in the Compromise. And did it twice. Although he saw less of the total Hero Plane than Arkat, he explored Orlanth’s path more than anyone else. And given how active Orlanth is on the Hero Plane, that is a big deal.
The God Learners. Individual God Learners didn’t explore anywhere near as much as Arkat or Harmast. But they stole secrets from cults and recorded those secrets. After doing that many times, they built up a written record of the Hero Plane that was more extensive than either Arkat or Harmast’s, although it lacked the deep connections that their experiences enabled.
But what about the Red Goddess, you ask? Let that be another post.
