With the loss of Honninscrave, the absence of Mistweave and especially the absence of the Haruchai, it seems a woefully inadequate party that goes to challenge the Despiser. From the end of TWL, through TOT, and for half of WGW, the Haruchai have been dogged, faithful companions. Now it feels strange to be entirely without them in the story.
Upon leaving the protection of Revelstone, Linden is hit hard by the desert sun. In spite of her growing sense of belief in her own abilities, Linden still has no answer to the way the Sunbane intimately torments her.
It works its way into her, confusing her, making her feel as though its corruption and her own eagerness for power are one and the same. The life-affirming attitude she had found for herself during the One Tree voyage seems superficial, inconsequential in the face of the Sunbane.
Covenant's plan to reach Lord Foul at Mt.Thunder is to save time by riding during a sun of rain, along what was once known as the White River. This will also bring them into Andelain: a last chance for Covenant to see the heart of the Land--see what they're fighting for--before his confrontation with the Despiser.
As they walk on the riverbed, Pitchwife expresses admiration for his wife's iron determination and joins her ahead of the company. The Stonedownors gaze on the Giants with appreciation, and Sunder communicates his sense of wonder:
His words remind us of the depth of the Land’s amnesia; that so much, including Giants, could be so forgotten.We are fortunate in these Giants. Had Nassic my father spoken to me of such beings, mayhap I would have laughed-or mayhap wept. But I would not have believed.
Covenant also re-emphasizes how much the Giants mean to him:
The walk is routine, until the heat and fatigue of two days without sleep catches up to Linden, and she collapses. Good ol' Covenant, always pushing the pace. He curses himself for her predicament, but Linden is embarrassed by everyone's concern for her.Mhoram was my friend. Bannor saved my life. Lena loved me. But Foamfollower made the difference.
While camping overnight, Linden has a nightmare in which she takes Covenant's power and rips the Sunbane out of the Earth. Her violence fills her "with glee and horror" while her father laughs darkness at her. Her act kills Covenant, leaving him "as betrayed as her mother." She is again haunted by Gibbon-Raver's words of doom:
She asserts her own litany to deny the Raver's prophecy. Linden in her nightmare is acting out what she said to Covenant about some infections needing to be cut out. She wakes up momentarily, enfolded in Covenant's arms. Eventually she goes back to sleep, untroubled by further dreams. Sun-Sage and ring-wielder may be physically separate, but emotionally at least, they are bonding.You have committed murder. Are you not evil?
No. Yes. Not unless I choose to be. I can't help it.
This has got to be stopped. Got to be stopped. You are being forged as iron is forged. Got to be stopped.
At dawn, Linden confronts a sun of pestilence:
The Sunbane in a nutshell. Great imagery in that last line! From the Gradual Interview at his site, SRD had these comments on the Sunbane:But she knew its ill did not in fact arise from the sun. Sunlight acted as a catalyst for it, a source of energy, but did not cause the Sunbane. Rather, it was an emanation from the ground, corrupted Earthpower radiating into the heavens. And that corruption sank deeper every day, working its way into the marrow of the Earth's bones.
The line about corruption sinking deeper into the marrow of the Earth's bones could certainly be another way of describing radioactive waste contaminating the ground....one of the things I happen to have is a visceral sensitivity to environmental issues. (I cannot begin to tell you how galled I feel by the knowledge that there is no place in this country so remote that a beer can hasn't already been there.) So it's not surprising that such themes crop up in my work from time to time. For example, I don't think it would be a stretch to view the Sunbane as analogous to toxic dumping.
During the morning’s walk, we get a sense of the comfort Hollian and Sunder have in each other as they argue amiably over a name for their son. They won’t allow a sun of pestilence to ruin their day.
We see that Hollian is an active member of the group, not just sitting around making weather forecasts. She was the one who procured voure from Revelstone, she helps Pitchwife cook meals for the company, and she is really the only woman friend Linden has in that world. Aside from her talent as eh-Brand, Hollian is also important because she carries the future of the Land in her womb.
As they're walking, Linden surprises Covenant by asking him what Joan was like. Covenant's complex, conflicted feelings about Joan--and about the Stonedownors' child--comes to the surface in his answer:
The rest of the day is an uneventful trek, though the company is kept wary by overgrown scorpions and other mutant creepy crawlies. They must have keenly missed the guardianship the Haruchai would have provided.When Roger was born, she didn't ask me what I thought. She just named him after her father. And her grandfather. A whole series of Rogers on her side of the family. When he grows up, he probably won't even know who I am.
As the company settles in for the night, Hollian foretells a second day of pestilence. But now she extends herself. She tests the limits of her power by trying to reach into the third day's sun, and succeeds: her vision sees a sun of rain. Just the kind of news Covenant wants to hear: he's eager for Andelain, and two days of rain will speed the journey there.
Then Hollian asks Covenant if he truly intends to enter Andelain again. For a moment, he thinks Hollian is still afraid to go there, but she moves Covenant by reaffirming her commitment to him:
She has shrugged off her own kind of "unbelief" and is ready to see Andelain as a place of beauty, not of horror.No man or woman known to us entered that land where the Sunbane does not reign and returned whole of mind. Yet you have entered and emerged, defying that truth as you defy all others. Thus the truth is altered. The life of the Land is not what it was. And in my turn I am changed. I have conceived a desire to do that which I have not done--to sojourn among my fears and strengths and learn the new truth of them.
The second day of pestilence brutalizes Linden even more than the first. It’s all she can do to avoid another breakdown:
Poor Linden's ever-sharpening sensitivity to the Sunbane is matched only by her powerlessness to fight it, and possessing Covenant’s power is out of the question. The separation of Sun-Sage and ring-wielder is becoming a more conspicuous and awkward situation as the days go by...and Findail the Appointed knows it. Back in Elemesnedene, Daphin of the Elohim had said: Perhaps our vision has been incomplete. Perhaps there is a merging to come. Or a death. So Findail keeps his eye on Linden, and waits.But the Sunbane shone full upon her. It soaked into her as if she had become a sponge for the world’s ill. The stink of pestilence ran through her blood. Hidden among the secrets of her bones was a madwoman who believed that she deserved such desecration. She wanted power in order to extirpate the evil from herself.
Suddenly, the First and Pitchwife stop the company. They’ve come back to report that the way ahead is blocked. The Giants seem very distressed by what they have seen.
The rest of the company sneak a look: their way has been cut off...by Sunbane-warped ur-viles!
The Giants are disturbed by the sight of them because this is the first time they have ever seen creatures corrupted by the Sunbane. Hundreds of the deformed ur-viles are moving toward the company along the watercourse.
As Covenant debates his options, all of a sudden Vain walks out alone to face the ur-viles! And for the first time, Linden feels emotion from Vain: he is radiating ANGER.
The ur-viles react to Vain’s presence (his anger?) and converge on him. They also bark a word at him-- “Nekhrimah!” -- the one-time command already used (some would say wasted) by Covenant.
Vain completely ignores his makers' attempts to command him. In the same way that he slaughtered Covenant’s pursuers from Stonemight Woodhelven, Vain now uses his power to methodically kill the warped ur-viles. In a perverse sense, Vain is continuing where he left off at Stonemight, as a killing machine still fulfilling Covenant’s command. Vain is “saving” Covenant in a way here, as he draws all the attention of the ur-viles away from the company.
-A question: to whom do you think Vain’s anger was directed? At the ur-viles for destroying their fellow kin the Waynhim? Or at Lord Foul for warping the ur-viles like this?
-Also: I wonder what the ur-viles had intended to do with the Nekhrimah command. Were they possibly going to order Vain to self-destruct?
(For more discussion on this scene with Vain & the ur-viles, check out these threads in the TC forum: On Vain and Vain in WGW.)
The First urges her companions to escape while the ur-viles are distracted, but Linden insists they make Vain stop what he's doing, out of fear the ur-viles will be able to "unmake" him once they remember their lore. Covenant says to her: "You stop him. He doesn't listen to me." Covenant had made a promise not to use any more power after his trial in the Banefire.
Findail also watches Vain's rampage "with a particular hunger or hope in his eyes." The Elohim in Elemesnedene had tried once before to prevent Vain from his purpose. Now Findail sees another chance for Vain's purpose to be derailed. Linden realizes the only way to make Vain stop is to flee from from the ur-viles, forcing Vain to follow...but the company can't outrun the ur-viles.
Then Hollian comes to the rescue. She proposes an audacious and dangerous gamble: reach into the Sunbane to bring forward the sun of rain, so that the company can ride the river for escape. Sunder protests, but Hollian stands firm:
The strength required of the Stonedownors for changing the Sunbane's course is enormous, and Hollian is doubly vulnerable because of her pregnancy. But there is no other way, and precious time is running out for the company, as Linden senses power emanating from the ur-viles. Vain has been killing fewer and fewer of them: the ur-viles are rallying against him as their lore comes back to them despite their Sunbane-ravaged minds."The need is absolute. Do you wish to lose the lives of the ur-Lord and the Chosen--the hope of the Land--because we dare not hazard our own?" He started to expostulate. Suddenly, her voice rose like flame. "Sunder, I have not been tested! I am unknown to myself. No measure has been taken of that which I may accomplish." Then she grew gentle again. "But your strength is known to me. I have no doubt of it. I have given my heart into your hands, and I say to you, it is possible. It may be done."
Covenant appeals to Sunder:
The risk being asked of him and Hollian tests Sunder's courage, but he refuses to be daunted. He becomes once again a figure of steadfast determination, like he was when he defied Gibbon-Raver:His eyes were gaunt with the helplessness of his alloyed puissance. Thoughts of warped black flesh and bloodshed tormented him. "Try it," he whispered. "Please."
The First has been keeping her cool all this time, but now she explodes into action to help Vain. Pitchwife soon joins her in battle against the ur-viles.Through his teeth, he gritted, "We will do it. If it can be done."
With Linden monitoring them, Sunder and Hollian perform a precisely laid out ritual. With lianar, orcrest and krill, the two Stonedownors open a channel to the Sunbane:
A beam of argence from Sunder's krill appears in the core of the Sunbane shaft. Within his beam appears glimmers of blue as Hollian begins her purpose, trying to change the sun's aura to one of rain.And hot force stung through Linden as a vermeil shaft sprung from the Sunstone. It encompassed the hands of the Stonedownors, the blade and the wand, and shot away into the heart of the sun.
Power as savage as lightning: the keen might of the Sunbane. Sunder's lips pulled back from his teeth. Hollian's eyes widened as if the sheer size of what she was attempting suddenly appalled her. But neither she nor the Graveler withdrew.
However, the aura is stubborn, making the Stonedownors desperate as they push themselves to their limits. Blue light blazes from the krill as Hollian drives her will into the sun. The amount of sheer force surrounding the Stonedownors overwhelms Linden's percipience.
Then Hollian's lianar fails her: unlike the krill--a weapon of the Old Lords designed to handle extreme levels of power--the lianar is mere fragile wood. It can't contain the might pouring through it, and explodes in fire, severely burning Hollian's hands. But the eh-Brand is committed to her purpose and does not back down. Careless of cost, she grabs the burning krill with her bare hands:
When Linden looks up, she sees huge thunderheads gathering, heralding a sun of rain.At her touch, the shaft erupted, shattering the Sunstone, shattering the heavens. The ground wrenched itself aside in a convulsion of pain, sent Linden and Covenant sprawling. She landed on him while the hills reeled. The air was driven from his lungs. She rolled off him, fought to get her feet under her. The earth quivered like outraged flesh.
Another concussion seemed to wipe everything else out of the world. It rent the sky as if the sun had exploded. Linden fell again, writhed on the heaving dirt. Before her face, the dust danced like shocked water, leaving fine whorls in the wake of the blast. The light faded as if the fist of the heavens had begun to close.
Her percipience picks out the Stonedownors: Sunder is dazed, but his life is in no danger. Then Linden sees Hollian:
Linden plunges her health-sense into Hollian in a frantic effort to keep her alive. However, the internal damage is too great...and Hollian sadly dies in Linden's arms. The eh-Brand has purchased escape for her friends, but the price is her life--and the life of her son.But Hollian lay twisted on her back, her cut and heat-mangled palms open to the mounting dark. Her black hair framed the pale vulnerability of her face, pillowed her head like the cupped hand of death. Between her lost lips trickled a delicate trail of blood.
Eh-Brand & Sun-Sage: two women of rare and extraordinary talent in the Land. Now one is gone. As a physician sworn to preserve life (or deny death), Linden sees Hollian's fate as further proof of her inadequacy or falseness:
Linden needs power to perform miracles like saving lives, but the one power she has used before--Covenant's wild magic--is now closed to her:She was just an ordinary woman, incapable of miracles--able to see nothing clearly except the extent of her failure.
As for Covenant, he sees himself responsible for Hollian's death, and as such can only helplessly accost Linden:At times in the past, she had tapped wild magic from him without his volition; but that ws no longer possible. He was a new being, an alloy of fire and person. His might was inaccessible without possession.
Sunder recovers from his exertions and wraps up the krill, unaware of what has happened. Then he notices the rain, notices Hollian...and goes to her. Linden tries to bar his way, but Sunder slaps her down:Drops of water splashed around her as Covenant took hold of her, yanked her toward him. Unwillingly, she felt the feral thrust of his pain. "I told you to watch!" he raged, yelling at her because he had asked the Stonedownors to take this risk in spite of his inability to protect them from the consequences. "I told you to watch!"
Returning from battle and oblivious to Hollian, a wounded First reports that Vain is still keeping the ur-viles at bay, and again urges her friends to flee; but everyone is transfixed by the loss of the eh-Brand. In fury and frustration, the First drags her friends into motion with Pitchwife's help.A blood-ridden intensity glared from his orbs. He had lost one wife and son before he had met Linden and Covenant. Now they had cost him another. He bent over Hollian for a moment as if he feared to touch her. His arms hugged the anguish in his chest. Then, fiercely, he stooped to her and rose again, lifting her out of the new mud, cradling her like a child. His howl rang through the rain, transforming the downpour to grief:
"Hollian!"
The chapter ends with the company gaining the riverbed and being carried away by the rising water. As they ride the current, Linden glimpses Sunder through flashes of lightning:
He still bore Hollian in his arms. Carefully, he kept her head above water as if she were alive.
At intervals through the loud rain and the thunder, Linden heard him keening.
