Good Dogs

[Jeesus Kristus]

I know that Yinkin hates the ‘Bad Dogs’ but are there any know Good Dogs (in a sense that they were friends to Yinkin) in Orlanthi mythology? If there are would their mortal descendants be acceptable pets for a good Orlanthi or even a Yinkin cultist to have?

[Charles]

I understand that there is a cultural divide between the Orlanthi of Dragon Pass (Yinkin is revered, Lankhor Mhy primarily uses the Cat Scratching script ) and the Orlanthi of the (greater) Pelorian basin (dogs not hated, Lankhor Mhy primarily uses the Dog Scratching script).

Of course this is a simplification, there has been a lot of two way mixing – one example might be the Grey Dog clan of the Lismelder tribe. And of course, there are many Orlanthi to the west, in Ralios, Fronela, Charg etc. and I have no idea on which side of this divide they fall.

[Harald Smith]

The Orlanthi of Saird, particularly those allied to Alakoring and Verenmars, had ties to dogs. These may just have been mythic or historical alliances, perhaps quite localized. The Jajalaring Dog Folk of Saird were key in the campaigns of Verenmars and his dynasty against the EWF and the dragons. To the Orlanthi of Dragon Pass, supporting the EWF, these may still have been seen mythically as the Bad Dogs. To the Orlanthi of Saird, the dogs were more ambiguous. Some may have been Good Dogs (my old story of the Imtherian Hunter and the Fine-toothed Hound highlighted a positive relation with dogs dating from the Great Darkness). Some may have been necessary ‘evils’ or ‘allies’ – probably always with the dogs in a role as guardians of the passages to the Underworld (think Cerberus and the like).

[Author]

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