The fierce winds which accompany Gagarth sting like red hot hail. He rides a demon steed which gallops upon air, land, or sea, and he is armed with a long-reaching barbed spear. His companions include slavering spirit wolves and a howling crowd of dead followers.
He is usually shown as a skull-headed man with glowing eyes. He rides an eight-legged steed like a horse with an eagle's beak.
Gark is rendered in whatever form is most pleasant to potential worshipers.
She is not usually pictured, but a simple clod of earth, sometimes blood-drenched, is used to represent her in ceremonies.
Gbaji brought about the end of the Dawn Age and destroyed Genertelan civilization. His subtle chaos infected all cults and peoples from Peloria to Seshnela. At the peak of Gbaji's evil empire vampires walked openly, disease masters of Malia were as highly esteemed as healers, and the populace of entire cities sprouted chaos features.
Arkat the Liberator destroyed Gbaji and destroyed his empire. To this day, Gbaji's homeland, Dorastor, is infested by vile monsters.
No images of the living god survive. He is shown in western manuscripts as a demonic figure -- an evil parody of the human form. Pelorian manuscripts reveal an elegant radiant man-like being, almost always shown suspended off the ground and glowing from within. His handsome face is usually twisted with a snarl. He is usually also shown with leathery wings.
Genert was not resurrected by the Dawn because when he was slain his body and soul were eaten by chaos monsters. Anything so destroyed leaves the energy cycles of Glorantha forever. A great patch of land on the northern continent is harsh and barren because it used to be connected with Genert's personal life forces, which can never be recovered.
No images of Genert are known. Some cliff carvings reported in the wastelands beyond Prax show a giant before whom bow figures who are similar to known nomad deities.
He is pictured in manuscripts as a bearded king with black hair wielding his famous flaming sword. His arms consist of a flaming red sword upon a white background. A variant of this became the hated symbol of the God-learners.
Gloomshark's human enemies show it as a gigantic armored monster-fish with multiple fins and tentacles ringing its mouth.
Glorantha is impossible to reach through worship. Most scholars claim she died with the rest of the Celestial Court. Others argue that she only changed her form. A few believe that she was the First Woman, or that she still lives, wandering the world.
In his rare public appearances, the Emperor has revealed himself as a smallish man. For the last hundred and sixty years his skin has acquired an increasingly golden hue until now he appears to be carved out of gold. According to his subjects this is a sign of approaching enlightenment. He is garbed in hundreds of yards of cloth-of-gold, satin, and glorious silken robes, and is attended by a train of special half-human servants. He wears no metal ornament.
Among the Pentans he is rendered as a gigantic, radiant warrior. Across his chest, arms, and legs are painted all the warrior runes. He carries a bow of gold and a quiver of arrows, but no other weapons. His riding horse is winged.
Long ago, Golod sought the love of an earth spirit, but Ernalda forbade her daughter to wed such an ugly god anywhere on earth. The young goddess tore away a tract of land and floated it upon the sea, thus creating Kylerela, the Floating Land. Born there was one of the incarnations of Eurmal.
Golod is pictured by human fishers as a huge grotesque fish.
Humans depict Gorakiki as an enormous and terrifying version of whatever insect wreaks the most havoc in their native land. Troll images of her are made of mud in whatever shape is appropriate for the favored species, and these troll images change through the year. In summer egg-like spheres are used. These are broken in autumn and remade into grubs, which are then wrapped each winter and unwrapped and revealed as adult insect shapes in the spring.
She is depicted as a wrinkled, deformed, fat old hag who squats to reveal wicked teeth in both mouth and vagina. Her hands are set in gestures of rending or curse-sending.
They are illustrated as young women clutching bundles of their sacred grasses. Alternatively, they are pictured as the ripe plant itself.
The first man was made through the cooperation of the gods as a creature to serve them all. Thus, humans have a touch of all the gods in them. But the whole was greater than the sum of the parts, and the gods found that they had wrought something new which they could not completely understand: the nature of humanity. Humans are still independent of the gods in many special ways.
The first man is called Grandfather Mortal and, at first, he was much like other gods. One day Humakt came to him and asked if he wished to test a newly discovered power. Grandfather Mortal agreed and so became the first creature to die -- to have spirit and body separated. Due to this event all descendants of Grandfather Mortal now die. His spirit went to the Underworld, and all newly dead spirits go there still.
Grandfather Mortal has many descendants, for he was a popular plaything among the deities. Most intelligent humanoid species trace their descent from him, including humans, elves, trolls, and mermen.
He is pictured as a middle-aged or old man, dressed in whatever fashion local custom accepts as ancient clothing.
When illustrated, she is carved as a stylized pregnant woman in stone, bone, or wood. The image is hollowed, filled with earth, and covered with various runes.
Grower is sometimes rendered as a titanic woman from whose hands pour all the life of the universe.
Gustbran was born during the crisis of the world when all hope seemed dimmest. Until then he had lived within the folds of Mahome's cloak, and he can still be summoned from her in need. He is called the Source of Many Torches and his holy day lies within the deepest part of winter. He is also the fire god of smiths.
He is usually depicted as a large fire, sometimes with eyes peering from the midst of the flames. Smiths portray him as a burly red man with hammer, bellows, and other appropriate tools.
Gark the Calm [GARK]
Chaos pantheon -- chaos god of eternal peace, eternal life, and zombies
Gark's priests travel the world in many guises, promising the seemingly-impossible to the impoverished people of all civilizations: peace and solace from the miserable world. Gark's worshipers call him by many names, but every crowd of hopeful pilgrims disappears into ancient ruins or forbidden places. No one knows the fate of the souls, though a terrible odor rises from the zombie populations of those places.Gata [GAH-tah]
Elf and Pamalt pantheon -- the primal earth
Behind the grandiose mythologies and powers of many deities looms a forbidding and formless entity: the primal earth. Myths reveal that the goddesses of old called upon her in their prayers. No human today is capable of reaching this being. She is variously called the Three, Six, Nine, or One Hundred Twenty Four Earths.Gbaji [g'BAH-jee]
Chaos pantheon -- the deceiver
see also Arkat, NysalorGenert [GEN-ert]
Praxian pantheon -- the dead god
Genert once ruled the northern continent. During his life peace and plenty abounded. Since his death by the agents of chaos, the world has been worse off.Gerlant Flamesword [GER-lant]
Malkioni pantheon -- warlord, saint of honor and right action
Gerlant Flamesword was a king of Seshnela during the most important war fought by the Malkioni. He was Arkat's liege during the Gbaji wars and he used Arkat to save his land. When Arkat betrayed his principles Gerlant turned against him. This forced treachery has been a favored subject for tragic epics for centuries. Sometimes Gerlant is declared to be Arkat's son. Gerlant's prowess and honor became so legendary that even before his death, he was worshiped as a saint.Gloomshark
Chaos pantheon -- chaos god of hunger
The gloomshark is a mighty fish that was trapped, blighted, and blasted by chaos during the Gods War. Nothing it devours is ever seen again, in any form. Some benighted wretches attempt to appease this monster through sacrifice and worship, but it is as likely to consume its followers as it is the proffered gifts.Glorantha [Glor-AN-thuh]
Dwarf, Elf, and Yelm pantheons -- goddess of life, mother of the Celestial Court, an Elder God
Glorantha was born of a union between Maker and Grower and was the first life in the world. Scholars often claim that Glorantha is the mother of both the powers and the elements of the Celestial Court.Godunya [goe-DOON-yah]
Eastern pantheon -- the living god
Godunya is presently the Dragon Emperor of Kralorela. As such he epitomizes his citizens' life and salvation, and has reigned for almost five centuries.Golden Bow
Yelm pantheon -- patron of archery
Golden Bow is a son of Yelm who confers upon his worshipers archery skill and powers in his father's name. He is a great hero among the Pent nomads because he preserved them from trolls and established many noble families.Golod [GOE-lod]
Merman pantheon -- fish-father and god of ugliness
Golod is the favored husband of Triolina, the goddess of sea life. He is a huge fish which can take several shapes.Gorakiki [GOR-ah-KEE-kee]
Troll pantheon -- mother of insects
Gorakiki's progeny are spread over all the world. The cult allows the domestication of insects by its members and flourishes especially among trolls. There are two dozen exclusive subcults, each specializing in the breeding and study of a single type of insect. The timinits of Jrustela also worship this goddess.For more information on Gorakiki, see the Cult of Gorakiki.
Gorgorma [gor-GOR-mah]
Eastern and Yelm pantheons -- keeper of secrets, terror and eater
Gorgorma of the Two Mouths is a huge and wrinkled female horror, the awful sister of Dendara. Every evening after dinner, Gorgorma silently comes to the gates of Yelm's celestial palace and is always admitted. She lurches through the glowing halls until she reaches the tapestried chambers of Dendara, the Good Goddess. There, Gorgorma and Dendara sit together and play chess.Grain Goddesses
Eastern, Elf, Orlanth, Pamalt, and Yelm pantheons -- queens of the land
Each region of the world has its own special grain or land goddess. All are similar and each has given birth to their own special grain.For an example of a Grain Goddess, see the Cult of Dorasta.
Grandfather Mortal
Orlanth pantheon -- Old Man, father of all mortals
see also Old Man, Wild ManGrandmother Earth
Hsunchen pantheon -- mother of life
Grandmother Earth's body is the world itself. Orlanthi philosophers theorize that she may be Gata or Ernalda masquerading under a different name.Great Spirit
Hsunchen pantheon
see EarthmakerGrower
Dwarf and Elf pantheons -- an Elder God
Grower is a primal elf concept, sometimes confused by humans with Aldrya. Grower took the raw stuff from which the world was to be made and quickened it, allowing it to grow into life. Cooperating with Maker, Grower caused all the world to be.Gustbran [GUST-bran]
Orlanth, Pamalt, and Yelm pantheons -- the bonfire, one of the Lowfires
see also Mahome, Oakfed
Next Letter