The Kemper Revisited...

Post by **Skyweir** » Tue May 20, 2003 3:31 am

"Mhoram's eyes crackled with sudden visionary fire"

cool!! :b

Post by **Damelon** » Tue May 20, 2003 7:01 am

If you got to run to someone, Lady Alif isn't a bad choice.

Post by **Lord Mhoram** » Tue May 20, 2003 7:35 pm

You dog, Danlo!

Post by **Skyweir** » Wed May 21, 2003 5:01 am

yeah .. woof woof

Post by **Lord Mhoram** » Wed May 21, 2003 7:45 pm

Post by **danlo** » Thu May 22, 2003 5:09 am

I am just beginning 2 get really deep in2 "Don't touch me" in TOT. This is where the Kemper finally straps TC 2 his chair, attaches his apparti and focuses all his lenses. He has already mezmerized Linden w/his "ocular" and geas, but not our hero Brinn, of course, who xplains,

"He spoke to me with his gaze. I heard, but did not choose to listen"

This is a very pivotal part of the story where the Haruchai's trust in Linden is going down the toilet, the Giants are holding on 2 the last second for Pitch and Sevinhand 2 complete Starfare's Gem's repairs and Kasreyn begins his depraved machinations on Covenant.

But what about the Kemper's arts in general--all these circles, that must have a single flaw left in them, the Doom, the Gyre, the ocular, the lenses, the Sandhold and his thaumaturge in general. A ring--especially of white-gold must have sated his every aspect and driven him wild. Help me dissect this strange art...How did the Haruchai resist? Dis-passion, mindmeld, purpose?

Post by **Fist and Faith** » Thu May 22, 2003 10:54 am

So many possibilities. Most people would be entirely surprised if someone spoke to them telepathically. The shock of it might make them powerless to resist. Since the Haruchai speak to each other with their minds all the time, it might have been just another conversation.

Maybe the Haruchai are simply immune to this, as they're simply immune to the Sunbane, possession by Raver, Morinmoss' energy-draining that leaves even Giants exhausted, etc. Just one more thing.

Maybe the Bloodguard experience with the Illearth Stone helped them, too. They knew what it was to be possessed, and now knew how to resist it.

Post by **danlo** » Thu May 22, 2003 12:20 pm

How was it they were immune 2 the Sunbane? Because it was never directed @ the Westrons? Physical toughness, something else? They could not be posessed by a Raver, but they could b captured by the Clave? Overwhelming force? The power of the rukhs? And apparently they aren't immune 2 the chemicals in the powder Lady Alif blew in2 their faces...

Post by **caamora** » Thu May 22, 2003 11:08 pm

The Bloodguard, with the strength of their Vow, were able to deny death itself. It would be my belief that the Haruchai were able to resist this magic simply by the strength of their will.

Post by **Lord Mhoram** » Fri May 23, 2003 12:39 am

Pure will power. They are the Haruchai. Your suggestion, Danlo, of a mind-meld strikes me as interesting..

The Kemper strikes me as an alchemist. Would his more 'modern' powers be any good in the Land? Truly, they would spoil the rustic nature of the Land...another danger that the Land faces in the Third Chrons?

Post by **Fist and Faith** » Fri May 23, 2003 1:13 am

I already gave my opinion of this in the Haruchai/Zen Master thread that I just bumped. Not that there isn't validity to lots of stuff being discussed here, but I like the Zen idea.

Post by **Damelon** » Fri May 23, 2003 3:52 pm

Their telepathic form of communication would seem to leave them immune to the ravers, since that seems to be the way the ravers gain possession. When Nom rent samhadi raver he was able to speak in the fashion of the Haruchai. The Haruchai are familiar with how the ravers operate then.

Actually, the Giants also, since Honniscrave knew that he would trap the raver if he was killed with the raver in him. The ravers were only able to enslave the Giant brothers with the might of the Illearth stone. samhadi had to be desperate in order to attempt to gain possession of a Giant without possession of the stone.

Post by **Ryzel** » Fri May 23, 2003 11:05 pm

Damelon wrote:samhadi had to be desperate in order to attempt to gain possession of a Giant without possession of the stone.

He did have the Banefire though, possibly he thought it sufficient. And maybe it would have been but for the giants immunity to fire.

Post by **Damelon** » Sat May 24, 2003 12:15 am

Good point! I hadn't thought of the Banefire.

Post by **Fist and Faith** » Sat May 24, 2003 2:28 am

I don't have the book in front of me, but is it possible that samadhi went for the closest being, not checking first to see who it was, and Honninscrave allowed the Raver to get in, somehow sensing that he would be able to trap it?

Post by **Damelon** » Sat May 24, 2003 8:15 am

That could be. samahdi, I would have thought, would have known that a Giant was a tough being to possess. Honniscrave had no knowledge of ravers before, so probably as soon as samahdi tried to enter him Honniscrave knew that he could trap him. A big mistake on the raver's part.

Post by **Treble** » Sat Jun 07, 2003 10:47 pm

One thing I got very clearly from the books is that, although the people of the land, and all of its defenders, are lovely...they're pretty dumb

There seems to be a great deal of information lying around, untouched and unused. The Lords were unable to decipher all of Kevin's Law, yet many were in possession of knowledge and power greater than the Lords', but failed to use it effectively themselves merely because they followed their own personal agenda.

The Kemper is a case in point: although a Thermatauge (sp?) of great power and vision, he appeared content to consolidate power in his castle, making flawed, powerful works and pursuing a pestilent and vicarious existence. Maybe the power directed toward him from the greater evil (i.e. Foul) would have been his destruction, had he pursued bolder plans, but one does feel that he wasn't pure evil, even though he was wicked and corrupt.

Sorry for all this extemporising

I think all I'm trying to say is that the Kemper found a niche where he could prosper, and was content to exercise his powers in seclusion as long as they were unhampered and allowed their own measure of perfection. He seemed to provide a worthy counter-point to TC's fractured idealism, and was an interesting and deep individual....

Post by **Fist and Faith** » Sun Jun 08, 2003 1:15 am

Yeah, it could be that he preferred the more-or-less absolute power he enjoyed in that limited area to the risk of trying to expand, and possibly running into a bigger baddie.

Post by **Damelon** » Sun Jun 08, 2003 7:38 am

I always thought of Kaseryn as a free lance bad guy myself. Not tied with Foul.

Post by **Fist and Faith** » Sun Jun 08, 2003 3:08 pm

No, I've never imaginced any ties between the two either.

Kevin's Watch

Kevin's Watch

The Kemper Revisited...