It's no secret that the most prominent Storm Peoples out there are closely associated with pastoralism, and with ungulate herd mammals. They're obviously not the only ones associated with it, but there seems to be some kind of special connection there. We sometimes also see carnivores associated with Storm people (ie. Yinkin), but this association seem a lot less universal and a lot less characteristic.
Secondly, it's also said that mammals appear to be a more recent addition to Glorantha, with the fauna prior to them, in the Green and Golden Age mostly being made up of reptilian and feathered animals, which are more or less associated with Earth and Sky, respectively (kinda, it's more complicated than that).
So, I guess what I'm wondering is: what role did Umath's separation of Earth and Sky play in the emergence of mammals. Where they contemporary? Was there a direct causal link? Why do mammals appear to be on the Gods Wall then? Do the Storm People and Mammals share ancestry? Is there a particular reason why Storm People tend to overwhelmingly tend toward herding rather than hunter-gatherer cultures, for example, even pre-Time? (or is this a false impression caused by potential Storm hunter-gatherers being overshadowed by their more famous "horde" relatives?)
Is there a more fundamental connection going on here? I know I've brought this up earlier, but that was a part of a larger, wider look into Storm People in general. What I'm looking into here is hopefully specific enough to be different.
Urox is a bull. Orlanth is often a Ram. Ragnaglar possibly a Billy Goat. Vadrus may have been a horned animal that's no longer extant (perhaps an Ordeed or something even fiercer?). In each case, of course, the relevant deities are often not just the animal itself, but also the tamer of them, the keeper and herder of them. Such dual roles are common. And this is not bringing in the Animal Mothers. Once again the themes of Air-Earth combination is brought out.
Anyway, I'll stop before I keep rambling on too much.
