The Second Apocalypse
Earwa => The Aspect-Emperor => The Great Ordeal => Topic started by: mrganondorf on August 07, 2016, 04:53:09 am
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I was wondering about all the stuff Bakker deliberately left out of TGO and what it might mean. Of course Golgotterath isn't in TGO, but some of the interesting missing bits:
- Atrithau
- Chorae (wherever the mother load is)
- Sarl
- Skin-spies (except for right at the end)
- Wutteat
- The nonman from the embassy in WLW
- Iyokus
- Ships
I gotta think that last bit is because they are going to be showing up like the Black Fleet in TUC.
Skin-spies will have to be an important part of TUC since Bakker foreshadowed that Kelmomas wants to see one without revealing it, he's the last potential face reader left for Esmi to use whenever Kellhus takes off again. Though I have to wonder if Kellhus has endeavored to train world-born people, like Esmi's spy-master, to ID skin-spies.
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Chorae:
I was surprised we didn't get more about whatever Mimara did to banish The Wight In The Mountain. That was presented as something special and important in TJE (and WLW I think), but it seems to have been abandoned. Particularly, she makes a Chorae/Tear of God distinction after she "inverts" it which seems like a really obvious hint. If only I could figure out what it means.
We do get a couple of bits. Crab-boy uses a Chorae on Chipmunk, and one gets thrown around in the climax in Ishterebinth.
I do wonder if there's some role for the Chorae horde. It was mentioned a couple of times, but nothing seems obvious.
Wutteat:
He's pretty clearly done with whatever role he played in Akka's story. The interesting question is how involved he is with the Consult. It seemed like he basically doesn't care and just wants them to get on with ending the world already.
Iyokus:
I expect we'll see more of him (and the Daimos) in future, particularly with Ciphrang!Malowebi running around. I wonder why the Scarlet Spires haven't let loose with the Daimos yet. Maybe Kellhus is holding it in reserve for something? Also, have other schools been taught the Daimos?
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A fairly minor thing that I noted in another thread, but Zsoronga doesn't get so much as a mention in this book. Now that the Malo-Chiphrang is on the loose trying to kill his entire line he might come back into focus, though a mention would have been nice.
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- Chorae (wherever the mother load is)
Well, we've always known that Sakarpus has the second greatest horde of Chorae, now in the Great Ordeal's possession, next to the horde at Golgotterath.
Chorae:
I was surprised we didn't get more about whatever Mimara did to banish The Wight In The Mountain. That was presented as something special and important in TJE (and WLW I think), but it seems to have been abandoned. Particularly, she makes a Chorae/Tear of God distinction after she "inverts" it which seems like a really obvious hint. If only I could figure out what it means.
We do get a couple of bits. Crab-boy uses a Chorae on Chipmunk, and one gets thrown around in the climax in Ishterebinth.
I always try and guess Bakker's narrative by imagining the arcs as he sees them across single stories. In this case, I imagine these pieces are important in regards to The Aspect-Emperor narrative across the tetralogy and so likely have some role to play in the conclusion to come.
No real ideas, therein - this kind of speculation has always fallen a bit outside of my ken.
I do wonder if there's some role for the Chorae horde. It was mentioned a couple of times, but nothing seems obvious.
If nothing else (and I imagine there's more too it, as mentioned), it matters in the algebra of war to come. The Consult has Ursranc, Sranc, Skin-Spies, and Bashrag that it can equip with Chorae - not to mention any new creatures of the Tekne (and I'm still really hoping for Battle-Synthese!). At this point, depending on how many the Sakarpus horde constitutes, the Ordeal can probably equip every non-Few combatant that remains alive. While an epic conflagration in the truest sense is no doubt impending between the Consult, their Quya and Mangaecca, Ishterebinth's Quya, and the Schools of the Great Ordeal, the Chorae-wielding Ordealmen are still going to have to hack or so be hacked to their bloody demise.
Wutteat:
He's pretty clearly done with whatever role he played in Akka's story. The interesting question is how involved he is with the Consult. It seemed like he basically doesn't care and just wants them to get on with ending the world already.
It seemed to me that he was surprised to learn that his masters hadn't succeeded or failed either way. I want to imagine we'll see the Father of Dragons and all the lesser surviving Wracu at Golgotterath.
A fairly minor thing that I noted in another thread, but Zsoronga doesn't get so much as a mention in this book. Now that the Malo-Chiphrang is on the loose trying to kill his entire line he might come back into focus, though a mention would have been nice.
Yeah, I missed his presence and as MG mentioned above, Sarl and Captain-Beard, as well. I have a feeling we'll see a much more depraved Zsoronga in TUC and Sarl and Captain-Beard seem the obvious Gollum analogue, thus far.
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"Tell my brother..."
What the fuck was Maithanet's final message going to be? Does Bakker toy with the trope by never adressing this again?
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Maybe something about the Dunyain mission being bullshit, similar to what Koringhus finally figured out?
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@ Cosi - Oh I really like the idea of Iyokus teaching the Daimos to the others! Bring lots of Ciphrangs or a few big ones into Earwa! Maybe he won't need to teach them, maybe they will (under Kellhus' orders) submit to some kind of compulsion that will allow Kellhus or Iyokus to perform a mass Daimos spell through them.
@ Onrack - Oh yeah! Where is Z??? With that pouch, I'm still betting he's the REAL assassin for Kellhus.
@ Madness - Yeah, I wonder what it was. If it's just that Maitha was killed, wouldn't Kellhus get that from whatever his Momemn connections he still has? It would have to be something like Maitha is seeing the implication of being struck by the WLW. It could even be something positive like, "Tell my brother that this confirms he walks the shortest path." It might be nothing more than a way for Bakker to mark Maitha, powerful as we is, as just another helpless human, finite, powerless, and pathetic. I wonder, maybe Maitha had another brother out there somewhere.
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"Tell my brother..."
What the fuck was Maithanet's final message going to be?
"... -- he's my son from now on". An insult.
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Iyokus - I was definitely wanting to see what he's transformed into. I want him to unleash the Daimos. Also,/I think he's a great character.
The Consult - it's about time that we get some.more Consult. I love Aurang, truly. What the hell has happened to Aurax, why is he being held back. One thing I noticed and haven't seen commentednon is the King of Tribes Akka and Mim first meet at the Sranc fire. SS Serwe take the name Maurax something or other. Maurax-M=Aurax. Just something I caught, don't know if it holds any significance.