Cults Carmania/Pelenda – Bisos

[Sean Foster]

In Worian, Bisos & Eses are major Cults. Other sources suggest the Bull-god Bisos is a variant of Storm Bull. GtG mentions that Charg (just next door) used to have significant levels of Storm bull worshippers and will do in the future… Is Bisos linked to Stormbull/Urox. Does Bisos have any anti-chaos, Berserk or Wind affinities or is it a complete reimagining of Stormbull/Urox into affinities of Agriculture, Bull, Farming, Bull, Combat, Survival (ILH1). Worian has a population of 200k whilst Sartar 180k, so I could imagine Bisos/Eses // Urox/Eiritha matching the multiple cults of Orlanth in Thunder Rebels in Sartar. Is this all a fair interpretation?

[David Scott]

Have you a copy of the Entekosiad? It contains much on Bisos. Bisos is a Bull God and Storm Bull is a Bull God. Looking at this as a Godlearner might, the conclusion is simple – yes they are related. But which one is a mask of which, or are they both masks of another older God. Both are Bulls – Air creatures.

Bisos’s runes (Pavis – GtA p15) – Air and Fertility.
Storm Bull’s are Air and Anti-chaos.

[Christoph Kohring]

The Orlanthi god Urox has nothing to do with the Praxian great spirit Eiritha. Storm Bull on the other end…

Hey, any link between Uralda & Eiritha, anyone?!?

[David Scott]

Urox is Storm Bull. Sartarites and Praxinas band together in his cult to kill chaos. Eiritha is his wife and one of the Ernaldan Animal Mothers. Sartarites and Praxians would see no distinction.

[Peter Metcalfe]

The ILH information on Bisos didn’t make much sense and had the feel of being padding rather than a serious treatment of Bisos.

The Entekosiad is, as already mentioned, the best information on him.

“Bisos, the Divine Mediator, intercededs for Idovanus into the affairs of men and bears the prayers, praise and curses of mankind to the High God.” p57

p82 describes his battle against the wicked YarGan, the mythical King of the Blue People. YarGan slashes his throat but Bisos rises from the dead and kills him. He then turns the dead god into a God of Abundance and gives him worship.

In p83, he is summoned in the form of a sacred bull who leads his people to Vanstal.

So far, he’s just another Bull God.

However, according to p90-91, Carmanos to defeat the evil Spolite Empire uses the Dethronement of the Unjust in order to kill the Spolite Emperor. But because the Dethronement of the Unjust was the myth of Bisos’ battle against King Blue, he brought Bisos back to life (he had already slain him before to prove the superiority of Idovanus) and made him a servant of Idovanus giving him special blessings.

So Bisos is a Bull God who also has some special relationship to Idovanus, the Invisible God of Carmania. IMO I would give Bisos worshippers in HQ2 (or HQ:G) access to spells as well as Rune Magic. The way in which he can be killed and rise again in battle can be handled by a feat.

The Uroxi of nearby Charg may be fixated on the Bleakland which is barely visible beneath the shading in the Argan Argar Atlas.

[Sean Foster]

Entekosiad seems to spin similarities with the Praxian Stormbull. ie SB is ‘defeated’ lying on the ground and draws power from the earth to call the block <If my Glorantham Myth Memory serves [Earthpower Runespell from CoP]> vs Peter M’s “…he can be killed and rise again in battle…”.

In GtG it states that “…but before the Ban, Charg was a war-like Orlanthi kingdom famed for its berserker Urox cult.” thence “…After the Dragonkill had destroyed the assembled armies of Peloria, a _usurping_dynasty_ of barbaric Bull Shahs _originally_from_Charg_ seized power in Carmania and then cruelly occupied Dara Happa, before being overthrown in their turn by the upstart Lunar rebels.”

It would seem Bisos was around before the Carmanians so a Bull god became ‘linked’ to Indovanus after the Carmanians arrived (and defeated the Spolites). The Bull God is a evolution? of SB/Uroxi or something similar. I would say Bisos/Urox/SB are one in the same. Bisos still has a rough and tough side (Eternal Battle Rune, the SB we all know and love) but has lost or has nearly lost the anti-chaos vibe over the years <Lunar Empire pruning? aggressives out of native cults>. I wonder if Charg and the future Worian/Oronin area (Pelanda) cica 500, was particularly anti-chaos against the Bright Empire. SB/Urox could have been imported, tied to the native Pelendan Bull God, to enhance his abilities against the Dorastor. Or obviously the Bisos Cult could have drawn out Urox/SB from Bisos via “worship evolution” (a type of Darwinian Cult Evolution)

Bisos seems pretty common on the southern side of Carmania and runs across Pelanda to the Mount Jernotius area. Moralatap of the Anger sounds a fine example of a angry Uroxi, now male again but now knows the PMS feat – nothings going to get in his way. I wonder if he will join or fight against Charg GtG “…Ferocious barbarian tribes ruled by Bull Lords, worshiping terrible gods, such as Humakt, Storm Bull, and worse…”

Its to late and I am too tired to redo do this in a clearer format…

[David Dunham]

My recollection is that before the development of King of Dragon Pass, the Orlanthi were said to worship Eiritha the Herd Mother.

My recollection is a bit shakier, but Esus may be the analog in Bisos lands.

[David Dunham]

BusEnari is another cow goddess in Peloria.

[Christoph Kohring]

After the development of King of Dragon Pass, do the Orlanthi worship Uralda the Cow Mother as the wife of Urox or do they worship Eiritha as David says?

[Peter Metcalfe]

Uralda is mentioned in the Book of Heortling Mythology and Sartar: Kingdom of Heroes.

[David Scott]

Both Uralda and Eiritha are worshipped as part of the Animal Mothers subcult (Ernalda is Eiritha’s mother after all). Praxian herd beasts (bison, high Llama and sable) are common mounts and beasts of burden in Sartar and beyond. Uralda is the Mother of cattle, but Eiritha is the mother of the Praxian Herd beasts. She’s the one who will look after them. As to who her husband is, that’s not so important to Sartarites, but is to Praxians. I would imagine the occasional Sartarite Eiritha priestess would be married to a Storm Bull (if not, it’s a good story seed).

[Jeff Richard]

Uralda is likely just a Heortling name for Eiritha.

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