I’m not quite sure I agree with the distinction, Wayfriend. The Staff of Law was, after all, made from a branch of the One Tree, which was subject to Law itself and just chock-full of Earthpower. So it wasn’t entirely a separate thing, as the gold of the Ring was separate from the body of Sauron.

But it's also fair to say that Earthpower came to rely on the Staff. Either way, Earthpower suffered a blow when it was destroyed. This makes perfect sense in folklore terms. The idea goes all the way back to Ancient Egypt, where there was a story about a sorcerer who removed his heart and hid it i...

If the name of the Insequent means anything, it means that they are out of sequence — not part of the natural causal order under the Law. My guess — and this is no more than a guess — is that they were not meant to exist in the Earth's past; when they do show up in the past they are invaders out of ...

Now, for those of you who have not the patience to hear a Giantish tale, here is a very short gift: an excerpt from Lord Talon's Revenge , in which we meet the title character for the first time. The man in the black metal mask entered Ilberion in the first light of a rain-grey morning, forty-one da...

Hail, Rockbrothers and Rocksisters, and people of the Land! I've been away a long time, but wanted to reconnect with Kevin's Watch as I get ready for the climactic release of THE LAST DARK. I've missed having SRD fans to share the anticipation with. Other than that . . . life happened, depression ha...

I suspect you and those who perceive along the same lines,,have fallen victim to the " misdirection" that seems to becoming more and more obvious in Last Chronicles. Dealing with " Illusions" determining what is True and what is Slight of Mental Hand is Linden's task and trek. S...

Lots of good thoughts! So I guess my impression that Linden did it out for her own selfish need rather than her love of TC was accurate. THOOLAH!!!! :) You call desire to protect your child a selfish need? This confirms my suspicions about you THOOLAH people. The desire to protect your child at all...

If you really want to be helpful, introduce me to a gorgeous blonde. An available one, if you please, and no, golden retrievers don't count. Attractive brunettes and cute redheads accepted at par.

As much as I think it would be cool, I don't think SRD will bring The Creator into the land for a few reasons: Both good reasons, and I think there are more he isn't telling us about. This is the first time that the Creator has not appeared in the 'real' world to speak to either TC or Linden. I sus...

Fist and Faith wrote:It means gorgeous blondes are distracting.

As Lord Foul said to High Lord Kevin when the latter accused him of betraying the Council and trying to destroy the land: 'No duh!'

You seem, like most moral relativists I've encountered, to misunderstand what is meant by moral absolutism. Moral absolutism is not the belief that every act is absolutely right or absolutely wrong. It is the belief that moral values have an objective referent; that the moral quality of an act is di...

Well put, Edelaith. Here's the point where Linden's wilful blindness becomes damningly culpable: If Good cannot be accomplished by evil means, then she would believe that her means were not evil. Linden had been repeatedly warned that her means were evil. She chose, despite all evidence and advice, ...

In Sauron's weakened state, sans the One Ring, I imagine that Gandalf, especially as Gandalf the White, could have mastered him. (Especially, let's say, with a great elf-lord like Glorfindel at his side.) However, getting TO Sauron would have been impossible. There wasn't an army on Middle-earth st...

145, which is pretty much right in line for me. I scored 143 on the Mensa test when I was 17 years old, hadn't slept the night before, and had a gorgeous blonde sitting next to me taking the test. On the other hand, in near-ideal conditions on another test, I scored 151.

Does it mean anything? Meh.

SRD states the father similarities so many times in TWL and TOT its ridiculous. No preconceptions here, just a careful reading ;) ... followed by a logical leap of metaphoric proportions to conclude that she was incapable of loving a man except as a father replacement. Sorry, that's you making the ...

More to the point: There were Maiar and Maiar; some were nearly as powerful as the Valar, some were much lesser beings. And some had dedicated themselves to the pursuit and exercise of power, while others hadn't. At one extreme we have Bombadil (whom JRRT once described as 'a Maia of a sort'), who i...

It wasn't Hile Troy's blindness that made him a Forestal, it was Caerroil Wildwood's direct intervention. There are no Forestals in the 'present' of FR.

That said, it will be interesting to see what SRD makes of Mahrtiir.

'Innominate' appears to have attached itself to SRD's mind like Anna Nicole Smith to an octogenarian billionaire.

And yes, I know both she and the billionaire are dead. Maybe that's part of the point.

I'm pretty sure the Vizard is dead, though I can't find chapter and page at the moment. But remember that Jeremiah's mind has been in the Land much longer than his body, at least from time to time. (And if his 'mind' is just a cheat manufactured by the croyel, that's even more true.) Jeremiah's firs...

Great to hear from my navigator in the Lordsmobile! :D How are you, VF? Yeah, where have you been? I miss your posts! 'Lord, I have been away. I have feasted with the Elohim, and ridden Sandgorgons. I have danced with the Dancers of the Sea, and teased brave Kelenbhrabanal in his grave, and traded ...