Earwa > The Almanac: TAE Edition
The Slog TJE - Chapters 1-3 [Spoilers]
H:
Prologue:
--- Quote ---"Scalper!" the lone traveller cried out. His voice possessed the gravel of an old officer's bawl.
--- End quote ---
A clue as to the identity of the traveler perhaps?
--- Quote ---The one the secret voice had told him to drive away.
--- End quote ---
--- Quote ---If he fails, the secret voice said, he will die.
Anasûrimbor Kelmomas smiled what seemed his first true smile of the day.
--- End quote ---
The voice is probably one of the biggest mysteries that I honestly don't have a grasp on. I don't think it is Kellhus, or the Consult. My best guess would be one of the gods, but there is the possibility that is really is Samarmas. I doubt this though, I think that the twin's death simply left Kel open to the influence of the Outside.
Only managed to make it through the prologue, but we've began the true Slog!
Madness:
Lol - it's rewarding to see a thread in the TAE Almanac.
themerchant:
The voice is Moe.
Moe is everything that we cannot explain.
MSJ:
--- Quote ---He suspects, the secret voice whispered. Suspects what? That you are make-believe.
--- End quote ---
Trying to make sense of this just has my mind going in circles. Who or what the voice is? What in the world does this even mean? I have no clue who the voice is truly, I have always leaned towards it being Sammy though...
--- Quote ---The revelation of adultery was significant in its own right—and it stung the old Wizard for reasons he dare not ponder. But the possibility that Seswatha might be Nau-Cayûti’s father? Not all facts are equal. Some hang like leaves from the branching of more substantial truths. Others stand like trunks, shouldering the beliefs of entire nations. And a few—a desperate few—are seeds.
--- End quote ---
As you know, I'm of the opinion that Akka's dream are unfiltered truths straight from Seswatha. I believe Nayu is Ses's son and this is merely Seswatha providing Akka with little truths to get him to follow the dreams. Akka is the direct hand of Seswatha in these events. I also don't see where this makes him at odds with Kellhus.
--- Quote ---I’m no conqueror.” He paused as though to frown at the very notion. “As mad as it sounds, I really have come to save Mankind.”“Lies,” the Prince murmured through his confusion. “Liar."
--- End quote ---
So...... is he a liar? The million dollar question, no? After his exchange with Moe, I truly believe that whatever Kellhus is trying to accomplish, he believes is truly best for Mankind. Now, as Locke has pointed out many times, Kellhus is not always correct in his assumptions. So, what he thinks is best, might not be.
ETA: one reason why I believe Kellhus here. He always talks about controlling the souls of others with Truths.
Odium:
I was not very loquacious throughout the PoN half of the slog. I'll try to put forward more thoughts as we advance through this one.
--- Quote ---Eyes rolling, they stared in lust and apprehension...
Men.
--- End quote ---
Perhaps it's the amount of Michael Haneke's cinema I've been consuming lately, but something about the very beginning of TJE gives me the initial impression that the Sranc are, in many ways, a grotesque distortion of the negative qualities in Men. Afterwards, the anonymous traveler reflects on how the scalpers are like animals. I feel the passage I've quoted and what immediately follows, including the tone throughout the scene with the traveler, do suggest that there are many parallels between the Skin Eaters and their prey. I'll even stick my fingers into the pot of wild speculation and say that afterwards, Bakker might be deliberately mentioning other typical conceits of violent men when he states that Ironsoul is as jealous of his voice as he is of his women and his blood.
(edit: to clean up my thoughts there a bit, what I mean here is that re: the feminism threads, another key concept in the series is Bakker's portrayal of this objectively, metaphysically hypermasculine world and all the terrible shit that involves, which would be the reason behind a juxtaposition of Men and Sranc to begin with)
Regarding the traveler's identity, I don't think he's anything more than the secondary character he appears to be. A red herring if he was intentionally meant to sow the question of who he is. Mostly I think he's just a convenient vehicle for the scene and, authorially, an easy way of introducing us to changes in the setting since the end of TTT.
Regarding Kelmomas' voice, I've reviewed the theories that have been suggested on the forum and the one I like the most is that the voice is Ajokli. I feel like I read another quote somewhere (besides, obviously, the prologue) that really put me behind the idea... besides, I think it fits into the framework of the other ways we've seen the subtle influence of the Hundred: Cnauir, Sorweel, and Psatma.
Regarding MSJ's points:
--- Quote ---As you know, I'm of the opinion that Akka's dream are unfiltered truths straight from Seswatha. I believe Nayu is Ses's son and this is merely Seswatha providing Akka with little truths to get him to follow the dreams. Akka is the direct hand of Seswatha in these events. I also don't see where this makes him at odds with Kellhus.
--- End quote ---
Later on, we receive in-universe confirmation that all of Akka's dreams have secondary interpretations relating to their contexts and other secondary meanings. Here I believe we are glimpsing the suggestion that not only did Seswatha father Nau-Cayuti, but potentially that he created the Dunyain and consequently Kellhus.
This ties deeply into my interpretation of some of the biggest questions in the series, among them the No-God itself. I believe Nau-Cayuti's fate-worse-than-death is suggested in the [ex-TUC] excerpt, and that it was to become the No-God, the first self-moving soul that deconstructs the soul itself by dissolving its 'meaning' on a metaphysical level. I arrived at this conclusion after contemplating the series and what I understand of Bakker's philosophy as written on his blog, so your mileage may vary wildly.
--- Quote ---So...... is he a liar? The million dollar question, no? After his exchange with Moe, I truly believe that whatever Kellhus is trying to accomplish, he believes is truly best for Mankind. Now, as Locke has pointed out many times, Kellhus is not always correct in his assumptions. So, what he thinks is best, might not be.
--- End quote ---
Along the same line as my previous thought, I feel there are multiple Nau-Cayuti / Kellhus parallels. I believe he was unknowingly turned into the No-God, and that Kellhus is on his way to Golgotterath because he truly believes he can harness the power of the No-God in a better way. IMO the narrative definitely indicates that Kellhus believes himself a genuine savior, basically re: everything relating to "The trial has broken you."
Also, per the influence of the gods, it was mentioned here on this very forum that Scott once dropped a comment about the Womb Plague & Yatwer being tied by irony. I believe Wilshire is spot on when he suggests that the irony here is the Womb Plague being an ironic byproduct of immortality and Yatwer ironically trying to murder Kellhus, the only being capable of stopping the rise of the No-God, because the gods are blind to the No-God's existence.
That pretty much sums up my thoughts so far.
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