The real reason for Moenghus leaving Ishual due to the apparent contradiction between Kellhus seeming to not know about Sranc during the Leweth episode (though there was a little wiggle room to argue that he did in fact know of them), but citing Sranc as the reason Moenghus left.
What the hell is going on in the rest of Earwa? This is only one continent or even just part of a continent. Was it mentioned anywhere this is the only land mass on the planet? Me thinks it would be wild to have a completely different story line for "everywhere else", so see isolated groups of life evolving separably, could really show off some of Bakker's muscle. The Non-men seemed pretty powerful, intelligent and advanced - no explorers among them? Or did they all think the world was flat ...
What the hell is going on in the rest of Earwa? This is only one continent or even just part of a continent. Was it mentioned anywhere this is the only land mass on the planet? Me thinks it would be wild to have a completely different story line for "everywhere else", so see isolated groups of life evolving separably, could really show off some of Bakker's muscle. The Non-men seemed pretty powerful, intelligent and advanced - no explorers among them? Or did they all think the world was flat ...
What the hell is going on in the rest of Earwa? This is only one continent or even just part of a continent. Was it mentioned anywhere this is the only land mass on the planet? Me thinks it would be wild to have a completely different story line for "everywhere else", so see isolated groups of life evolving separably, could really show off some of Bakker's muscle. The Non-men seemed pretty powerful, intelligent and advanced - no explorers among them? Or did they all think the world was flat ...
More simply, Earwa is Europe somewhere between Ancient Greece and the Crusades, during which time exploring for exploration's sake really didn't happen, and it took 2,000 years from making the first reliable maps of the North Africa coast and finally founding the far southern tip.
Interesting (map of Rior). I see 'scalding' rings....but no Golgotterath?
Other things we don't really know about:
How did the Dunyain find Ishuäl? (Was it really an accident?) ... good point, it did seem they were just kinda walking down the road looking for a dungeon ( since it was brought up, D&D reference )
What the hell is the Worldhorn, really? (And what did it actually do?) Since everything on the internet is true, according to PON Wiki: Worldhorn is a ceremonial sorcerous artifact belonging to the Aörsic House of the Anasûrimbor and lost in the destruction of Shiarau in 2136. Reference: Encyclopedic Glossary, ‘Worldhorn’ ... I'm thinking it was nabbed by the Shriekers when the Inchoroi ransacked Ishual
Where did the Heron Spear go to? (Was it even real in the first place?) Seemed like it got pass around and then "lost" ... either someone hid it and died leaving no evidence or word behind where they put it or it's broke, hanging in a non-mansion as a wall hanging. I don't see it making a return, or in Bakker fashion, there will be a "quest" to find it only to discover it's now useless ( even better, it still works, but the new and improved Mog can defend against it )
What are Wracu even, really? Why do Chorae affect them? Where are the rest of them (post-TFA)? Which one was at the bottom of Cil-Aujas? ... From my personal deduction: they were "dragons" manufactured to use sorcery, so they have the stain. Some killed off, some flew away hiding, some appear to be un-dead ...
What is the Nail of Heaven actually? ... I simply thought it was the brightest start in the heavens ( like the North star ),
but it does get mentioned/referenced a lot and apparently the Ark "came" from it with it getting bright, etc ... could be the Inchoroi created a worm hole inside a star to travel from system to system ... or a black hole that obscured a star.
Who was it that caused the "Burning of the White Ships" during TFA? Was it skin spies? ... I don't know
What's up with anarcane ground?
Doing a re-read of TTT right now and the three questions I have off the top of my head so far (that haven't been mentioned yet):
3) What's up with this "Head on a pole" thing from TGO? ... man, I had no clue what the deal was with all that, and I reread it like 5 times ... appears from chatter elsewhere in this forum he was "visiting" hell ... even knowing that, I fail to make sense of the text
Off the top of my head :
What's up with HITB? … Who?
How did cnaiur get through kellhus defenses when they first dueled? … Kell hasn’t fully “formed” or a manipulation to reduce his “threat” to Cnaiur.
Why did moenghus really leave Ishual? … to get some descent Chinese takeout
Did moenghus tutor conphas? … yes, sorta
How much of cnaiurs role did moenghus condition deliberately? … Just about all of it
Did moenghus prevent cnaiur from attacking conphas after the battle of kiyuth? … No
Was kellhus supposed to join the holy war or avoid it? (He only joins because they run into serwe, he was going to kill cnaiur and head south before that) … he was in the midst of recalculating “sorcery” into his path to kill his father, thought bringing an army would do the trick
How come the synthese can find the skin spy with mimara but not moenghus imprisoned skin spies in kyudea? … Who says he couldn’t? Maybe he did visit them from time to time, leveraging their imprisonment to leech more information.
Was maithanet killed or a body double? … He was killed
Was theliopas stutter a result of inrilatus' abuses? … Yes, but could have been done on purpose as her way of announcing the violation, constant reminder to her parents
Was kellhus path to leweth conditioned (aka, why no sranc)? … No, while Scranc are numerous, they don’t cover every square inch of the North
Why did mekeritrig let kellhus go? … Good question given all we now know – at the time, I simply bought the explanation that he hauled ass – but given the mad power of that dude, seems like he could have caught up with him
What is going on with Kelmomas and his voice? … Insanity
Is the inverse fire true or false? … Trick question? It’s both and neither.
Is Meppa alive? … Yes
Are wracu machines, organic machines, or organic entirely? … organic machines ( the smell of kerosene, but they are sentient – maybe AI, but the Inchoroi are big on constructing life, so organic “machinery” like the Shranc and Bashrag
Really? Nukes? Are there more? deliberately triggered or a foiled plot? … unclear it was a “nuke” … if it were, Nagliash would be uninhabitable for 1,000+ years … appears it was a “bomb”, but it’s complete nature is unclear given the area of effects ( that and radiation is not catchy, so either the afflicted HAD to be abandoned as contagious which suggest not nuclear or they were abandoned for other reasons – seems culling the herd is in vogue with the story - that or a rouse by Kell to get the unaffected to be able to abandon their brothers so they can continue unencumbered)
Was nau cayuti the no god? … No
What is the no god? … either gone, baby, gone or being reconstructed Ha! I misread this as "Where" at first - will leave my original response, but the No God is a creation of the Inchoroi, a super weapon of sorts
Did the heron spear successfully kill the no god as in legend or misfire (as in Akkas last dream in TTT)? … It did, but unclear if more was done in concert with other attacks to achieve ultimate defeat
Is the zero God a thing or a red herring? … it did exist, unsure if it’s making a return
Can you make qirri from sranc? … No, but it makes one hell of a fondue
Can you make sranc from humans? … No, but could come up with sorta the same thing with a human face – but it would be at least slightly different if not wholesale something way different
Who is the traveler from the TJE prologue? … The White Luck Warrior
Is kellhus guiding Akkas changed dreams? … No
Is Akka right about the judging eye? Will mimara lose it when she gives birth. … would be true, but she won’t be giving birth
Doing a re-read of TTT right now and the three questions I have off the top of my head so far (that haven't been mentioned yet):
1) What's up with the halos on Kellhus' hands? Other characters have seen them, so it's not something Kellhus is imagining
2) What did Kellhus do when he hypnotized Akka in TTT and "spoke with Seswatha"? How did he know he could do it? It mentions that Kellhus "stared at a point between [akka and Kellhus]" before realizing it was Seswatha that was stopping Akka from yielding the Gnosis.
3) What's up with this "Head on a pole" thing from TGO?
Who was theliopa named after?
Why did mekeritrig let kellhus go?
Who was theliopa named after?
Bakker actually said she was named from some actual Latin name he heard and decided that was what he wanted to use. It was in one of the more recent podcast interviews.
Who was theliopa named after?
Bakker actually said she was named from some actual Latin name he heard and decided that was what he wanted to use. It was in one of the more recent podcast interviews.
"Recent podcast" is not necessarily inaccurate? I mean, it was Grim Tidings podcast (http://www.second-apocalypse.com/index.php?topic=1721.msg28910#msg28910), which is the third most recent almost a year ago ;)?
Doing a re-read of TTT right now and the three questions I have off the top of my head so far (that haven't been mentioned yet):
1) What's up with the halos on Kellhus' hands? Other characters have seen them, so it's not something Kellhus is imagining
2) What did Kellhus do when he hypnotized Akka in TTT and "spoke with Seswatha"? How did he know he could do it? It mentions that Kellhus "stared at a point between [akka and Kellhus]" before realizing it was Seswatha that was stopping Akka from yielding the Gnosis.
3) What's up with this "Head on a pole" thing from TGO?
Regarding 1, the halos start already being seen by other characters in TWP, starting with Serwë. At that time I thought, illusion from someone who is not quite 100% mentally coherent. Yet later on, the halos are seen or glimpsed by others as well. I dunno...
Doing a re-read of TTT right now and the three questions I have off the top of my head so far (that haven't been mentioned yet):
1) What's up with the halos on Kellhus' hands? Other characters have seen them, so it's not something Kellhus is imagining
2) What did Kellhus do when he hypnotized Akka in TTT and "spoke with Seswatha"? How did he know he could do it? It mentions that Kellhus "stared at a point between [akka and Kellhus]" before realizing it was Seswatha that was stopping Akka from yielding the Gnosis.
3) What's up with this "Head on a pole" thing from TGO?
Regarding 1, the halos start already being seen by other characters in TWP, starting with Serwë. At that time I thought, illusion from someone who is not quite 100% mentally coherent. Yet later on, the halos are seen or glimpsed by others as well. I dunno...
That could alternatively mean that by the time of TAE everybody is "not quite mentally coherent"... which is plausible as well.
Who was theliopa named after?
Bakker actually said she was named from some actual Latin name he heard and decided that was what he wanted to use. It was in one of the more recent podcast interviews.
Thel – The word in Greek (θέλ) means “will” or “wish” or “desire.”[5] The name is often viewed as a reflection of the poem’s allegory of desire. Others have attempted to connect Thel's name with the word “female”.[5] Various interpretations of the character have been proposed, including the idea that she is an unborn soul who refuses to live as a mortal in the material world[6] or that Thel is an immature human virgin who shies away from the life of mature sexuality.[6] Another popular interpretation sees Thel as emblematic not only of the surface of female frailty, but of the feminine frailty of humankind in general.[7]
Who was that person who visited Kosoter in the TJE prologue...?
Who was that person who visited Kosoter in the TJE prologue...?
I have seen convincing argument from HP here somewhere that it was Sarl. By use of phrases he uses throughout.
Who was that person who visited Kosoter in the TJE prologue...?
I have seen convincing argument from HP here somewhere that it was Sarl. By use of phrases he uses throughout.
Really? I would like to see that argument. I looked back at that scene, and the text is quite clear that the traveler is new to the Skin Eaters. He speaks as 'we', and knows about the nickname, - Ironsoul -, Kellhus gave Kosoter during the Unification Wars. He says he's looking for the one who is called 'Ironsoul'. Sarl was there, or at least he says so to Akka, when Kellhus named Kosoter Ironsoul. That does not seem to be the same person.
The 'we' implies that the traveller is an agent from one institution or another. I guess the Empire. And I furthermore think now, as others have suggested as well, that it is indeed Akka's slave, Geraus. As we later learn that he has prepared Akka's meeting the Skin Eaters. Geraus could very well be an agent from the Empire, keeping a close eye to Akka.
Who was that person who visited Kosoter in the TJE prologue...?
I have seen convincing argument from HP here somewhere that it was Sarl. By use of phrases he uses throughout.
Really? I would like to see that argument. I looked back at that scene, and the text is quite clear that the traveler is new to the Skin Eaters. He speaks as 'we', and knows about the nickname, - Ironsoul -, Kellhus gave Kosoter during the Unification Wars. He says he's looking for the one who is called 'Ironsoul'. Sarl was there, or at least he says so to Akka, when Kellhus named Kosoter Ironsoul. That does not seem to be the same person.
The 'we' implies that the traveller is an agent from one institution or another. I guess the Empire. And I furthermore think now, as others have suggested as well, that it is indeed Akka's slave, Geraus. As we later learn that he has prepared Akka's meeting the Skin Eaters. Geraus could very well be an agent from the Empire, keeping a close eye to Akka.
Ill see if I find it it is very convincing and based off of euphimisms Sarl uses.
Who was that person who visited Kosoter in the TJE prologue...?
I have seen convincing argument from HP here somewhere that it was Sarl. By use of phrases he uses throughout.
Really? I would like to see that argument. I looked back at that scene, and the text is quite clear that the traveler is new to the Skin Eaters. He speaks as 'we', and knows about the nickname, - Ironsoul -, Kellhus gave Kosoter during the Unification Wars. He says he's looking for the one who is called 'Ironsoul'. Sarl was there, or at least he says so to Akka, when Kellhus named Kosoter Ironsoul. That does not seem to be the same person.
The 'we' implies that the traveller is an agent from one institution or another. I guess the Empire. And I furthermore think now, as others have suggested as well, that it is indeed Akka's slave, Geraus. As we later learn that he has prepared Akka's meeting the Skin Eaters. Geraus could very well be an agent from the Empire, keeping a close eye to Akka.
Ill see if I find it it is very convincing and based off of euphimisms Sarl uses.
In WLW Mimara ponders that Sarl has know Kosoter since the Unification Wars, according to Akka.
Regarding possible others, other than Geraus, it could indeed be Soma the Skin-spy. Cleric not, I think, I suspect he and Kosoter go back a while as well, and he seems less lucid than the traveler.
Who was that person who visited Kosoter in the TJE prologue...?
I have seen convincing argument from HP here somewhere that it was Sarl. By use of phrases he uses throughout.
Really? I would like to see that argument. I looked back at that scene, and the text is quite clear that the traveler is new to the Skin Eaters. He speaks as 'we', and knows about the nickname, - Ironsoul -, Kellhus gave Kosoter during the Unification Wars. He says he's looking for the one who is called 'Ironsoul'. Sarl was there, or at least he says so to Akka, when Kellhus named Kosoter Ironsoul. That does not seem to be the same person.
The 'we' implies that the traveller is an agent from one institution or another. I guess the Empire. And I furthermore think now, as others have suggested as well, that it is indeed Akka's slave, Geraus. As we later learn that he has prepared Akka's meeting the Skin Eaters. Geraus could very well be an agent from the Empire, keeping a close eye to Akka.
Ill see if I find it it is very convincing and based off of euphimisms Sarl uses.
In WLW Mimara ponders that Sarl has know Kosoter since the Unification Wars, according to Akka.
Regarding possible others, other than Geraus, it could indeed be Soma the Skin-spy. Cleric not, I think, I suspect he and Kosoter go back a while as well, and he seems less lucid than the traveler.
I know there is plenty of evidence to the contrary, though if "summons Madness the link provider" you seen the evidence compiled for it being Sarl, its does make you think. What's to say Sarl is just lying to Akka about knowing the Captain all those years? Or even if he did, doesn't mean he isn't the traveller.
Let me put it in another way, *why*, that is for what narrative purpose would Sarl be the traveller? Does he warrant a mysterious introduction in the opening of the TAE series?
prologue (http://www.second-apocalypse.com/index.php?topic=420.0)
prologue (http://www.second-apocalypse.com/index.php?topic=420.0)
Thanks, Madness! I knew you wouldn't let me down.
Anyway, it was Alia that proposed that it was Sarl, and she makes a very compelling case
prologue (http://www.second-apocalypse.com/index.php?topic=420.0)
Thanks, Madness! I knew you wouldn't let me down.
Anyway, it was Alia that proposed that it was Sarl, and she makes a very compelling case
Well. I've read through that thread. Thanks for the link, Madness. But compelling case, even a very compelling case, how so?
I've reread the prologue, and come on, the speech and thought pattern that is revealed from the traveler, do you find that to match Sarl in any shape or form? The evidence given is far from overwhelming, I would hesitate to even call it circumstantial. Alia herself qualifies this idea as 'crazy'.
Let's take one point:
Who's this 'we' then, the traveller is talking about? How does that relate to Sarl? The case made is that 'we' is actually Kosoter and the traveler -- specu-Sarl. How does one infer that from the text? How is that more likely than that the 'we' is referring to a not-the-Skin-Eaters-group or person? This all follows from the idea that the traveler is actually part of the company. Which is an idea *only* brought forward to try to support the traveler = Sarl theory. There is nothing in the text there nor elsewhere to support that reading.
Basically the argument is Sarl is lying and Akka is lying or misled as well. Other characters have more serious ground for misdirection than poor Sarl.
And, what function would Sarl in the prologue as the traveler have? The prologue introduces the Skin-Eaters anyway, no Sarl as the traveler required. It introduces scalping, no Sarl as the traveler required. In that case, there is actually no need for a traveler character at all, is there?
Therefore I claim that the traveler has a different function. Sarl doesn't set anything in motion if he would be the traveler. Others, however:
In that tread there are more interesting and compelling suggestions than Sarl, Kayatus for one. But I stand by Geraus, 'we' refers to the Empire. Or Soma, where 'we' can stand for a few things. As the Skin-Spy is, I am quite sure, originally sent by the Consult to keep track of Cleric. The Erratic King of Ishterebinth.
Those two options for the traveler at least have a narrative payoff. A mystery revealed, albeit indirectly.
prologue (http://www.second-apocalypse.com/index.php?topic=420.0)
Thanks, Madness! I knew you wouldn't let me down.
Anyway, it was Alia that proposed that it was Sarl, and she makes a very compelling case
Well. I've read through that thread. Thanks for the link, Madness. But compelling case, even a very compelling case, how so?
I've reread the prologue, and come on, the speech and thought pattern that is revealed from the traveler, do you find that to match Sarl in any shape or form? The evidence given is far from overwhelming, I would hesitate to even call it circumstantial. Alia herself qualifies this idea as 'crazy'.
Let's take one point:
Who's this 'we' then, the traveller is talking about? How does that relate to Sarl? The case made is that 'we' is actually Kosoter and the traveler -- specu-Sarl. How does one infer that from the text? How is that more likely than that the 'we' is referring to a not-the-Skin-Eaters-group or person? This all follows from the idea that the traveler is actually part of the company. Which is an idea *only* brought forward to try to support the traveler = Sarl theory. There is nothing in the text there nor elsewhere to support that reading.
Basically the argument is Sarl is lying and Akka is lying or misled as well. Other characters have more serious ground for misdirection than poor Sarl.
And, what function would Sarl in the prologue as the traveler have? The prologue introduces the Skin-Eaters anyway, no Sarl as the traveler required. It introduces scalping, no Sarl as the traveler required. In that case, there is actually no need for a traveler character at all, is there?
Therefore I claim that the traveler has a different function. Sarl doesn't set anything in motion if he would be the traveler. Others, however:
In that tread there are more interesting and compelling suggestions than Sarl, Kayatus for one. But I stand by Geraus, 'we' refers to the Empire. Or Soma, where 'we' can stand for a few things. As the Skin-Spy is, I am quite sure, originally sent by the Consult to keep track of Cleric. The Erratic King of Ishterebinth.
Those two options for the traveler at least have a narrative payoff. A mystery revealed, albeit indirectly.
I'd venture to say Sarl is Zaudunyaini. Regardless Hiro, I just found her theory intriguing, with some circumstantial evidence to back it up. More than anyone else has gave, imo. Really, who the traveller is has little to no bearing on the narrative. I think Geraus is another compelling case, tbh. Though, it's not one of the mysteries I'm really concerned with. I really like reading the theories and evidence to back them up, though. Cheers, mate!
So in addition to intellect and motor reflexes, do the Dûnyain breed for insane finger strength? In TWP Kel survives an assassination attempt by reaching behind himself and catching the oncoming blade between his fingers.
Also, the first time he encounters a skin spy he reasons it's face is made of cartilage, "like a shark". How would he know what a shark is?