The Wounded Land chap 19 - "Soothtell"

[Earthblood]

The end of Chapter 18 gives a perfect lead-in to this one:

"Halfhand," the na-Mhoram said. For the first time, Covenant heard excitement in Gibbon's tone. "The soothtell is prepared. All your questions will be answered now."

For crying out loud SRD, I'd go through the soothtell to find out what you have happen to the beloved Land!!!!!

TC in his own, special way answers:

"What the bloody hell have you done with my friends?"

I can almost see the smirk on Gibbon's face.....

"The soothtell will answer." Gibbon was eager, hungry. "Do you choose to risk the truth?"

An interesting choice of words, asking if he CHOOSES to do this thing.

His newfound 'friend', Melma and Brinn both try to warn him, try to stop him from going through with this "soothtell", but he has no choice - he must find out the truth about Linden , Sunder & Hollian and maybe more importantly, what happened to the Land itself.

Gibbon dismisses Melma and turns to TC

"There is no power without blood"

He informs TC that Brinn's blood will be shed to provide the power to answer his questions.

Of course this infuriates TC, and he will have no more Haruchai blood spilled.

"I don't give a good goddamn what you do! Just leave the Haruchai alone!"

Ahhh TC, the master of diplomacy & tact.....

"As you wish."

As he backs away, 2 riders grab him & quickly slit his wrists, pouring the blood required for the soothtell. Gibbon chants the beginning of the ritual & traces a triangle of blood around him - just like Joan.

TC "exploded into vision" as the soothtell begins....

He sees first where Linden, Sunder & Hollian are, in cells inside Revelstone. Next SRD takes Covenant (and we readers) on a wild crash course of the last 4000 or so years of history of the land...
He sees things he already knew - the Staff of Law & its demise;
things he knew, but didn't witness, like Lord Mhoram's victory & the krill going into Glimmermere.
He sees the Council of Lords prosper for centuries, under first Mhoram, then others by turning away from Kevin's lore & using new ways to serve Earthpower.

And they did!!!

They healed old wounds & sick, diseased areas - Trothguard, Sarangrave Flat, even the old woods had been brought so back to health, that Caerroil Wildwood passed on, seeing his work complete.
They believed Lord Foul finally & utterly defeated - gone from existence:

Paradise seemed to be within thier grasp.

They change the title of High Lord to na-Mhoram, in honor of Mhoram, and the council was re-named the Clave.

Life was good - or so they thought.

TC sees that Foul had not died, although he had been defeated like never before. He had been so reduced that the only thing that could save him was Earthpower itself!! SRD, where did you come up with this!!!!

He sees samadhi Sheol raver slowly take over each succesive na-Mhoram, bringing the council under LF's influence, and (This one is galling to me) as the work of the flourished and became easier, the Earthpower was slowly healing Foul and being diseased by the very actions of the Council/Clave!

He sees that the Sunbane and the Banefire were NOT defenses, but rather, the means by which Foul was gaining strength & mastery over the land once again - Foul, you bastard!!!!!! (sorry, that just slipped out heh)

He sees the destruction of the forests, the isolation of Caer-Caveral and the flight of the Ranyhyn and Raemen and he sees the blank spots, NOT telling him of Vain's purpose and why Linden was chosen.

he sees all these things and the weight of the land falls on his shoulders - it's all his fault - and he deserves to die "Or I Will Sell My Soul for Guilt"

But a voice spoke in his mind. Ur-Lord

Brinn tries to reach him as his life slowly slips away - and then the old leper instincts kick in & he decides to not give up, but to fight.

Luckily, we are dealing with a Raver here and Gibbon decides that maybe he ought to have the white gold for himself and Brinn continues to try to reach TC.

Finally, TC reaches his breaking point - there are other answers to guilt (how about service, fidelity, trust, sacrifice, & love to name a few...)
He explodes into "wild argent" from his ring and proceeds to disarm all riders, heal himself and rages toward a level that "shocked the very gutrock of Revelstone"

Again, luckily, we have one our beloved Haruchai - staunch, resourceful beyond description, ever aware of there surroundings, in tune with the earth. Brinn brings TC back just enough to head down to the dungeons.
Brinn tries to manually unlock all the cells, but TC, being resourceful in his own right, BLASTS all the cells at once, freeing scores of Haruchai.

I'm not a big "quoter" but I think there is no better way to finish this than in SRD's own words:

Vain left his cell slowly. When he saw Covenant, saw Covenant's passionate fire, his face streched into a black grin, The grin of a man who recognized what covenant was doing. The grin of a fiend.
Two Haruchai supported Sunder. The Graveler had a raw weal around his neck, as if he had been rescued from a gibbet, and he looked weak. He gaped at Covenant.
Hollian came, wan and frightened, from her cell. Her eyes flinched from Covenant as if she feared to know him. When she saw Sunder, she hastened to him and wrapped herself in his arms
Covenant remained still, aching for Linden. Vain grinned like the sound of Lord Foul's laughter.
Then Brinn and another Haruchai bore Linden out into the hall. She lay limp in thier arms, dead or unconcious, in sopor more compulsory than any sleep
When Covenant saw her, he let out a howl which tore chuncks from the ceiling and pulverized them until the air was full of fine powder.
He could not stop himself untill Brinn yelled to him that she was alive.

Wow. I've got to catch my breath.
The truth about the Sunbane.
Scores of Haruchai.
Vain grinning like "a fiend".
Linden near death
TC running out of "fuel.........

[matrixman]

Awesome, Earthblood! I love Soothtell: it's the most explosive chapter we've yet come across in the book, in terms of the action and the amount of information we're given about the Sunbane's origins. It was totally brilliant of SRD to use the destruction of the Staff of Law as the basis for the Sunbane...and, like, the entire Second Chronicles! At the time it happened, I had not thought it all that important. I figured, okay, so the Staff is toast. End of story. Never in my mind could I have imagined that its destruction could have such horrific consequences for The Land! I think SRD makes a profound statement about the way things work in this world here:

For the Staff of Law had been formed by Berek Halfhand as a tool to serve and uphold the Law...And because the Earthpower was the strength of mystery and spirit, the Staff became the thing it served. It was the Law; the Law was incarnate in the Staff. The tool and its purpose were one.

SRD's explanation of events leading to the present is a model of clear writing. In the space of about 4 pages, he succinctly lays down a "Brief History of 4000 Years In The Land".

He's also succinct and powerful in his words when portraying great action. In this case, the way SRD pits Covenant's incandescent power against Gibbon and the Clave is, mmm, extremely satisfying:

Gibbon stood before him. The Raver wielded a crozier so fraught with heat and might that the iron screamed. A shaft of red malice howled at Covenant's heart. Covenant quenched it with a shrug. One of the Riders hurled a coruscating rukh at his back. Wild magic evaporated the metal in mid-flight.

This was also pretty satisfying:

Only one Rider was left standing. The man's hood had been blown back, revealing contorted features and frantic eyes. Intuitively, Covenant guessed that this was Santonin. In his hands, he grasped a flake of stone which steamed like green ice, held it so that it pressed against his rukh. Pure emerald virulence raged outward. The Illearth Stone. Covenant had no limits, no control. A rave of force hurled Santonin against the far wall, scorched his raiment to ashes, blackened his bones.

That's right, Santonin, it's payback time! Can't hide behind your precious little stone anymore!

Deep thoughts are good, but on this occasion, it's nice to see Thomas Covenant in full fury as the white gold wielder, kicking Clave butt.

[danlo]

There sure is alot of blood flying around this book! But then again there's a heck of alot of blood on the altar behind Haven Farm too...

[Furls Fire]

Great dissection Earthy!!

GO COVENANT!!! YES!!!

This chapter really got my adrenalin going. My HERO!!

Also, in this chapter we learn the reasons behind Foul's possession of Joan, the elaborate means on which he went about getting Covenant. Not only to cause Covenant despair in the "breaking" of Joan, which mirrors the "breaking" of the Land, but because without the Staff, summoning him became almost impossible...

And all this, Covenant saw as his blood deepened around his knees, had been done in preparation for one thing, the capstone and masterstroke of Lord Foul's mendacity: the summoning of white gold to the Land. Lord Foul desired possession of the wild magic; and he did to the Land what he had done to Joan, so that Covenant would have no final choice except surrender.

The loss of the Staff explained why Covenant's summoning had been so elaborate. In the past, such summons had always been an act of Law, performed by the holder of the Staff Only when he had been close to death from starvation and rattlesnake venom,7 and the Law of Death had been broken, had summoning been possible without the Staff. Therefore this time the Despiser had been forced to go to great lengths to take hold of Covenant. A specific location had been required, specific pain, a triangle of blood, freedom of choice and death. Had any of these conditions failed, the summoning would have failed, and Lord Foul would have been left to harm the Land, the Earth, without hope of achieving his final goal-the destruction of the Arch of Time. Only by destroying the Arch could he escape the prison of Time. Only with wild magic could he gain freedom and power to wage his hatred of the Creator across the absolute heavens of the cosmos.

But the summoning had not failed, and Covenant was dying. He understood now why Gibbon had driven Memla from the court. If she had shared this vision of the truth, her outrage might have led her to instigate a revolt among the uncorrupted Riders; for Gibbon, too, was a Raver.

We learn what happened to the Colossus, the Ramen and the Ranyhyn, and the Forests, and how Caer-Cavaral came to Andelain...the last bastion of Law in the Land.

So much revealed!! And as if that wasn't enough, my hero literally erupts!

The tsunami broke. Wrath erupted in him like the madness of venom.

Fire and rage consumed all his pain. The triangle and the will of the Clave splintered and fell away.

A wind of passion blew through him. Wild argent exploded from his ring.

White blazed over his right fist. Acute incandescence covered his hand as if his flesh were power. Conflagration tore the red air.

Fear assailed the Clave. Riders cried out in confusion. Gibbon shouted commands.

For a moment, Covenant remained where he was. His ring flamed like one white torch among the vermeil rukhs. Deliberately, he drew power to his right wrist; shaping the fire with his will, he stopped the flow of blood, closed the knife wound. A flash of ire seared and sealed the cut Then he turned the magic to his left wrist.

His concentration allowed Gibbon time to marshal a defense. Covenant could feel the Riders surging around him, mustering the Banefire to their rukhs. But he did not care. The venom in him counted no opposition, no cost. When his wrists were healed, he rose direly to his feet and stood erect like a man who had lost no blood and could not be touched.

His force staggered the atmosphere of the court. It blasted from his entire body as if his very bones were avid for fire.

Gibbon stood before him. The Raver wielded a crozier so fraught with heat and might that the iron screamed. A shaft of red malice howled at Covenant's heart.

Covenant quenched it with a shrug.

One of the Riders hurled a coruscating rukh at his back.

Wild magic evaporated the metal in mid-flight.

Then Covenant's wrath became ecstasy, savage beyond all
restraint. In an instant of fury which shocked the very gutrock of Revelstone, his wild magic detonated.

Riders screamed, fell. Doors in the coigns above the floor burst from their hinges. The air sizzled like frying flesh.

Gibbon shouted orders Covenant could not hear, threw an arc of emerald across the court, then disappeared.

Under a moil of force, the floor began to shine like silver magma.

Somewhere amid the wreckage of the soothtell, he heard Lord Foul laughing.

The sound only strung his passion tighter.

When he looked about him, bodies lay everywhere. Only one Rider was left standing. The man's hood had been blown back, revealing contorted features and frantic eyes.

Intuitively, Covenant guessed that this was Santonin. In his hands, he grasped a flake of stone which steamed like green ice, held it so that it pressed against his rukh. Pure emerald virulence raged outward.

The Illearth Stone.

Covenant had no limits, no control. A rave of force hurled Santonin against the far wall, scorched his raiment to ashes, blackened his bones.

The Stone rolled free, lay pulsing like a diseased heart on the bright floor.
Reaching out with flames, Covenant drew the Stone to himself. He clenched it in his half-hand. Foamfollower had died so that the Illearth Stone could be destroyed.

Destroyed!

A silent blast stunned the cavity; a green shriek devoured by argent. The Stone-flake vanished in steam and fury.

With a tremendous splitting noise, the floor cracked from wall to wall.

Gods!!! Can it get any better than that???

[Earthblood]

MM - SRD's use of words and language is simply masterful.
These sort of passages are what make me really appreciate his work!

[dlbpharmd]

Great job Earthblood!

Soothtell is my favorite chapter in the entire Chronicles. So many questions answered, so much information. But what I like best is here we see Covenant use wild magic like never before. He requires no trigger, just the extremity of his passion. He is not delusional from venom. He accomplishes everything with a thought. How powerful wild magic must truly be!

And I agree with the comment above - the entire 2nd Chronicles stems from the destruction of the SoL. A true stroke of genius!

[matrixman]

It's a moot point, but I was surprised that Santonin was allowed possession of the Illearth Stone fragment. I had assumed Gibbon would keep it for himself to use. Just a stray thought...

[DukkhaWaynhim]

I was confused by that part as well. Gibbon disappeared in an arc of emerald, which I originally assumed was a usage of the Illearth Stone. But then it turned out that Santonin had the fragment....is it possible that Santonin didn't tell Gibbon about the fragment?

If Gibbon didn't have the flake of IS, why did he disappear in a flash of emerald? Every other time that emerald was used as a 'power color,' it was signifying the IS. I didn't know that Ravers had those kinds of powers. Alternatively, if Gibbon somehow tapped into the Banefire/Sunbane, why would the flash been emerald colored? I thought the power that invoked the Sunbane was vermeil?

Any thoughts?

DW

[matrixman]

Gibbon must have known about the Stone. It was handed to him by Santonin at the scene in Chap. 15 ("Because you can see") where Santonin presented Linden and the Stonedownors to the Raver. Mind you, SRD never named the Raver as "Gibbon" during that whole scene. But wasn't SRD just playing the scene from the point of view of Linden, who at the time didn't know the Raver-host's name was Gibbon?

As for the flash of emerald we see from Gibbon in Soothtell, I think the answer may be in the sentence itself:

Gibbon shouted orders Covenant could not hear, threw an arc of emerald across the court, then disappeared.

I think that means Gibbon was throwing the Stone itself across the court, and as it arced through the air it flashed its green radiance. And just who happened to be the only Rider left standing at the other side of said court?

Santonin!

Now that I think about it, Gibbon was probably shouting to Santonin to keep the Halfhand occupied, while he went to regroup. Gibbon surely knew that Santonin and the Stonemight had no chance against Covenant's white gold. Basically, Gibbon's attempt to possess the ring for himself had backfired, and he was using Santonin to cover his ass. (Gibbon): Santonin, let's play tag...here's the Stone...ha ha, you're IT, sucker! (Runs like hell.)

[dlbpharmd]

Matrixman is absolutely correct in saying that Gibbon gave Santonin the IS in order to slow TC down. Gibbon was not prepared to face TC and was not about to hazard his life. Santonin, however, was expendable.

Another point to make is that Santonin had to use his rukh to try to attune himself to the IS and access its power - the Ravers were always able to use the IS directly. Perhaps LF taught them how to do this - who knows? Whatever the case, Santonin stood absolutely no chance against TC, and it showed.

[DukkhaWaynhim]

That makes a lot of sense, and gets me thinking about another element of this chapter. At one point when TC is in an ecstasy of venom-enabled wild magic, he hears Foul laughing, which only fuels the 'wind of passion' that blows through him.
Foul's purpose is being served here, because it is his wish that TC use the wild magic in an uncontrollable way, to break the AoT. Placing the IS flake in the hands of one responsible for Linden's abduction (he did not at this point know whether or not she was still alive, right?) only made TC mad enough to kill him without a thought.
Foul is baiting Covenant to make more and more inhuman(e?) choices, because that is the path that would lead him to destroy the Arch, or at least guilt him so far down that it will break him. Either way, the intent is to give him staggering power that he has access to at a whim, and keep him from being Health-Sense-itive or caring enough to know when not to use it.
Does this last bit make any sense?
DW

[danlo]

That's how I've always seen it DW!

[Earthblood]

I agree DW. LF is always trying to get TC to lose control - That seemed like it almost worked:

With a tremendous splitting noise, the floor cracked from wall to wall.

Glad we had an Haruchai on hand to keep TC under control.

[dlbpharmd]

I agree as well, and would add

Spoiler

that wasn't it Findail who finally explained to TC the purpose of the venom - and that was to make TC powerful enough so that he would challenge LF at all?

[kastenessen]

Great Earthblood! Great Lead-in...

Awesome chapter. I always love when TC uses the wild magic, and it doesn't get much better than this...

So beautifully written...

Ware Halfhand, there is malice here.

...and the Soothtell begins...

kasten

[dlbpharmd]

Great job Earthblood!

Soothtell is my favorite chapter in the entire Chronicles. So many questions answered, so much information. But what I like best is here we see Covenant use wild magic like never before. He requires no trigger, just the extremity of his passion. He is not delusional from venom. He accomplishes everything with a thought. How powerful wild magic must truly be!

And I agree with the comment above - the entire 2nd Chronicles stems from the destruction of the SoL. A true stroke of genius!

I just finished listening to this chapter, and while I don't still hold it as my favorite in the entire Chronicles (that would be "Lord Mhoram's Victory,") I do believe it's a Top 5. Amazing chapter, so much going on, so much revealed, and yet so much still hidden. This is SRD at his very best!

[RandomHaruchai]

Thread's been idle a while. Started another reread and in TIW, I'm just past

Spoiler

Fleshharrower's end and TC showing up in Garroting Deep

. So I'm hoping to catch up in a couple weeks.

[SoulBiter]

TIW one of my favorite parts of this series. But man by the time they get to this point in TWL, I am shredded seeing how the Land had been corrupted.