Skip to content
The Well of Daliath
Menu
Menu

Why The Lightbringers

Posted on August 31, 2023

Orlanth is one of the great transformative forces in Glorantha. He’s why we have Night and Day, he’s why storms brings forth new growth from the Earth, and most importantly, he (and his six companions) is why the cosmos exists within Time.

That last one is why the book is called The Lightbringers. The Lightbringers Myth is THE defining myth for the Theyalans. The Lightbringers Quest moved through the realms, tying them together and loosening them. They remade the channels through which the energies of life flow.

Even cults that hate Orlanth begrudgingly acknowledge this. And the cults of Chalana Arroy, Eurmal, Issaries, and Lhankor Mhy all have huge parts to play in this – and these deities are among the most important in Glorantha. We often understandably focus on the elemental deities, and forget just how widespread and important these four are.

And Flesh Man – us poor, suffering, mad mortals – played a part in this as well. Mortal Man was involved in the greatest of Gods Age events and ranked among the great gods. Think of that – Mortal Man helped recreate the cosmos! Thank your ancestors that you exist!

Finally, Ginna Jar, the ghost of Glorantha, the feminine One, was there as well. The spirit of Shakti is there and she helped guide and bless the Lightbringers on their journey.

The Lightbringers task was impossible. They suffered, failed, and lost – until they somehow succeeded and revived the cosmos. They brought forth the Dawn and their secrets spread quickly across Genertela and beyond. Not as the “Storm Tribe” or the “Gods of Air” but as the Lightbringers. Of course their kin and friends came with them too – Humakt, Daka Fal, Storm Bull, etc. But it was also the Lightbringers that were the vanguard.

And that’s why the book is called The Lightbringers.

Lightbringers, page 7

And even the Lunar Empire, the new rulers of much of central Genertela, normally act surprisingly gingerly around the Lightbringers, even if Orlanth is an avowed enemy of the Red Goddess. In the Lunar Provinces, about 25% of the population are initiated to the Lightbringers, with other 25% initiated to the Earth goddesses. About 28% follow the Lunar Way, with the rest mostly being Solar cultists.

Jeff Richard

Next
Previous
100 ST, 115 ST, 130 ST, 132 ST, 1586 ST, 204 ST, 238 ST, 317 ST, 35 ST, 78 ST, 98 ST, CoR-LB, Cult demographics, Map

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