| Q: |
Zorak Zoran certainly gets around. He appears, usually as a villain,
in the myth-cycles of the Orlanthi, Yelm, Praxians, and Aldryami. How
does such a god no one seems to worship, except for a few Trolls, have so
much power? And what are the goals of his cult in the coming age? |
| A: |
Zorak Zoran is a good example to illustrate the phenomena of enemy
gods in a pantheon.
In pantheistic worship, all of the deities in a particular pantheon are
"fed" by the sacrifices to anyone in the pantheon, even when the
sacrificer is a devotee or priest of a particular deity. Thus, a
worshipper of the Celestial pantheon may sacrifice only to Lodril, but
Lodril in effect "shares his worship" with everyone that he is associated
with, such as Oria, his sons and daughters and even his enemies. This is
the nature of pantheism. Zorak Zoran thus receives worship whenever any
of the trolls engage in communal worship.
Furthermore, he gets plenty of propitiatory worship in his own right.
Everyone who is afraid of him makes some sacrifices to keep him away,
essentially by "buying him off." [This includes not just trolls, but
anyone else who lives near where he or his worshippers are active.]
Finally, he even gets power when he is defeated by his enemies. He is
necessary to the nature of the world, and thus gets some sacrifice for
it.
His goals are the same as they have always been: to destroy his foes,
avenge his friends, and protect Kyger Litor. |
