trace the ways in which the various acts of resistance of Covenant, Triock, Whane and Lal, the Forestal, etc., in one location, and of Mhoram, the Waynhim, Borillar, Drinny, etc., at the other, synergised to bring about two significant breakthroughs for the defenders of the Land at a crucial moment...

Good topic. I think we have to surmise that some Lords may have passed the Sword training with a D and not an A. Or that they passed with a lot of extra help. It would be in the character of the Lords to be a bit forgiving on the "scoring" if they recognize the worth of a person. Kind of ...

Someone like Baradakas for example, who being a Woodhelven Elder and able to draw magical power from a staff, might not know the deeper lore of the Land making his skills too limited for Lord's work. We know that the lillianrill practiced and delved into areas differing from those of the Lords. For...

I recall thinking that the rite of Soothtell was in many ways reminiscent, in structure if not in purpose, to the Lords' attempt to exorcise dukkha-waynhim of the Illearth-taint. The rukh is obviously a cognate to a Lord's staff. Really, there are more similarities than one would first think. I beli...

Even the coercion employed by Riders has a forerunner in the days before the Sunbane. Elena attempted some form of Coercion upon Amok--albeit with no effect--to learn the name of the Seventh, if you recall.

Also, "The Sword", I feel, encompasses more than sword-slinging. I think it's also about tactics and strategy and leadership in battle. An academically-inclined person might not be out of their depth in these things. [/quote] Totally agreed. It should go without saying that 'The Sword' enc...

We know that all the New Lords have mastered the trials of both Sword and Staff at the Loresraat before they were able to assume the mantle of Lordship. Recall the scene at Revelwood in TIW where adepts of the Sword perform various martial and gymnastic feats for the entertainment of the company fro...

Upon yet another reread of TIW, something I remember noticing years ago but not giving thought to jumped out at me. On at least two occasions when Hile Troy is donning or maintaining his sword, Donaldson describes it as an 'ebony sword', or the 'traditional ebony sword of the Warmark'. Not that this...

Yes, she was referred to as Elena Foul-Wife at the Colossus. No one else was given such an 'honorific'. Myself, I assume that Triock was made to say this to TC due to Raver-influence. In fact, it was possibly even something off-the-cuff to unbalance and befoul TC that his very own Land-born daughte...

Strike 'crown' from that last post. Insert 'coronet'. More in keeping with the erudition divulged herein.

This IS a benison of a thread! Most condign, indeed.

Just looking at my screen name should tell you which two of SRD's words made the most lasting impression with me, although 'roynish' held that crown for years.

Thanks, all. By the way, I should say that I am one of those Linden-supporters that are rumored to exist...and I'm not even sorry about it! Seriously, this forum is great. I have literally no one IRL to discuss SRD with anymore, and judging by the eloquence and lore I have read through so far, I'll ...

Frostheart, this deserves a long, well-reasoned, congratulatory response. Alas, I have not time to post one, but Joy is in the Eyes that Read, and your response made me very happy. I should learn more about Finnish myth. Aside from a long-ago read of the Kalevala, I'm shamefully ignorant on this sub...

I agree that the Rede is essentially just a how-to/propaganda gathering of knowledge. (I always wondered if the Riders had a written copy somewhere, like a Sunbane-apt set of Wards) but I assume it is chiefly orally learned. Sunder and Hollian, as well as others (Stonemight WH's Graveler) mention as...

For the record, I'm very glad SRD's Giants don't behave like the Jotuns! I'm fairly certain Nidhogg and Jormy derive from the same archetypal source, though it has been quite some time I read into such matters. In any case, your recount of Jormy's behavior and effects upon the sky and earth do indee...

In TLD, Brinn tells Covenant "As the Worm of Death rises, the Tree of Life withers, etc." Has anyone ever made a connection between the Worm and the Scandinavian serpent Nidhogg, which coiled at the roots of Yggdrasil and chew through the root on Ragnarok? I realize the Worm did not chew u...

the song has it they play cards, which I'm not sure of, but ,worms are nature's recyclers. In that sense death and rebirth become one , with the Worm. As nightmarish as the Worm was portrayed, bringer of tsunami, devourer of stars and consumer of vast quantities of Earth Power...the destruction of ...

Also, the krill was designed by Loric to be a kind of simulated white gold--or to echo as nearly as possible the possibilities thereof. Wild magic was present in the Land; the blade was responding to that. Maybe a white-gold resonant krill being wielded with extreme passion on a willing Raver-vessel...

Although, it seems Forestals could command animals at will: Caer-Caveral sent that horde of spiders to 'bandage' Covenant in Morinmoss, after all.

That is pretty much what I figured, also. I'm sure could Wildwood have annihilated a Raver, he never would have let one escape his grasp, after all. I think, as far as animals went, they just lived in the Forest, but took no part in its essential 'tree-soul'. Recall how utterly dismissive Wildwood w...