Minor Gripe about Runes

Book 1 of the Last Chronicles of Thomas Covenant

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Alynna Lis Eachann
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Minor Gripe about Runes

Post by Alynna Lis Eachann »

:roll: Of all the things to talk about after finally finishing Runes, I choose this: Why was Mahrtiir's Ranyhyn the only one without a name? SRD bothered to name the Cord's Ranyhyn, so why not the Manethrall's? In fact, it seems to me that he goes out of his way to not refer to that Ranyhyn by a name. And yet I don't get the impression that this is in any way important. He's done this sort of minor omission thing before, in the other Chronicles and in the Gap, and it drives me nuts.

Just thought I'd vent. Been doing that a lot lately.

On another note, regarding the Haruchai: When they declare that they will refuse Earthpower even though they do not suffice to defeat the Demondim, does anyone else see this as an act of Despair in and of itself? They would let the Land die rather than use Earthpower to save it...
If anyone's addressed this before, be a dear and post a link to the thread. :grinlove:
"We probably could have saved ourselves, but we were too damned lazy to try very hard... and too damn cheap." - Kurt Vonnegut

"Now if you remember all great paintings have an element of tragedy to them. Uh, for instance if you remember from last week, the unicorn was stuck on the aircraft carrier and couldn't get off. That was very sad. " - Kids in the Hall
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Re: Minor Gripe about Runes

Post by Lucky Jim »

Alynna Lis Eachann wrote: On another note, regarding the Haruchai: When they declare that they will refuse Earthpower even though they do not suffice to defeat the Demondim, does anyone else see this as an act of Despair in and of itself? They would let the Land die rather than use Earthpower to save it...
If anyone's addressed this before, be a dear and post a link to the thread. :grinlove:
Depends, would Kevin have been guilty of an act of despair had he not attempted the ritual of desecration? Surely he was convinced that not doing so would lead to the triumph of Foul and the despoiling of the land.

In a sense, any other reply other then the ritual, given his access to the lore/passion necessary to enact it, would have been despair. He was in an impossible position.

The haruchai's answer to this dilemna is to accept that they might not suffice, but that the effort of resistance to the degree capable is enough. It is, curiously, an answer to the depair that Kevin felt, deliberately devoid of the temptation of the ritual. It is a different solution, then, to a similar question.

And, to my mind, it's a sensible answer. Outside of the wild card of wild magic, which the Haruchai still respect, no power, including earth power, has been enough to combat despite. Vows, lore, earth power, have failed again and again in the face of Foul. If you want an ethical answer to despair - why not simply struggle to the degree you're able, content in the knowledge that that's enough.
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Post by Romeo »

I didn't notice the lack of a name for his Ranyhyn until recently myself. I didn't get the sense that he was avoiding a name, though.

Hey - another MD Watcher! Are you close enough to DC to make it to one of our Elohimbrunches? :-)
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Post by Insanity Falls »

What with both "Hyn" and "Hynyn", and the nameless horse, I got the sense that he was scraping the bottom of the barrel!! :)
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Post by Alynna Lis Eachann »

Romeo wrote:Hey - another MD Watcher! Are you close enough to DC to make it to one of our Elohimbrunches? :-)
Yup. I'm up in Gaithersburg. LOL, If I'd signed on a week earlier, I'd have made it to the last one you guys had. Day late and a dollar short, story of my life. :roll:
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"Now if you remember all great paintings have an element of tragedy to them. Uh, for instance if you remember from last week, the unicorn was stuck on the aircraft carrier and couldn't get off. That was very sad. " - Kids in the Hall
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We'll remember you next time!!!
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Post by Romeo »

Alynna Lis Eachann wrote:Yup. I'm up in Gaithersburg. LOL, If I'd signed on a week earlier, I'd have made it to the last one you guys had. Day late and a dollar short, story of my life. :roll:
Hey, neighbor! I'm just down the road in Potomac. :-)
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Post by aliantha »

Oh, goody! A virtual Elohimbrunch! <waves at Alynna>

But anyhow...um, what was the topic? Oh, yeah, the lack of a name for Mahrtirr's Ranyhyn. I was more intrigued with the Ranyhyn names themselves. Most are one syllable, but Hynyn is two. And I think at least one Ranyhyn in the 1st Chrons had a two-syllable name, too. I don't think there's anything significant about it -- just a little quirk I noticed.

Creator, Romeo, Alynna and Jay: Don't forget to stop for bread, milk and toilet paper on your way home tonight! (Everybody else: It's a mid-Atlantic tradition when there's snow in the forecast!)
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Post by Encryptic »

aliantha wrote:Oh, goody! A virtual Elohimbrunch! <waves at Alynna>

But anyhow...um, what was the topic? Oh, yeah, the lack of a name for Mahrtirr's Ranyhyn. I was more intrigued with the Ranyhyn names themselves. Most are one syllable, but Hynyn is two. And I think at least one Ranyhyn in the 1st Chrons had a two-syllable name, too. I don't think there's anything significant about it -- just a little quirk I noticed.
Weren't Myrha and Drinny both Ranyhyn in the First Chronicles? I believe Myrha was the one whose bones Elena crafted into a statue of Covenant.
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Post by Cail »

Romeo wrote:Hey, neighbor! I'm just down the road in Potomac. :-)
...and I'm to the east in Pasadena....Ready for the snow?
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Post by MrKABC »

Insanity Falls wrote:What with both "Hyn" and "Hynyn", and the nameless horse, I got the sense that he was scraping the bottom of the barrel!! :)
I guess the last horse's real name, "Hynynhyn" was dropped in last-minute editing before the book was released... sorry about that folks..

Sincerely,

SRD
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Post by Creator »

Cail wrote:
Romeo wrote:Hey, neighbor! I'm just down the road in Potomac. :-)
...and I'm to the east in Pasadena....Ready for the snow?
I lived in Pasadena MD about 18 yrs ago!
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Post by Cail »

Creator wrote:I lived in Pasadena MD about 18 yrs ago!
You wouldn't recognize it now. My house sits on top of where the concession stand was at the Shore Drive-in. Houses in Greenhaven are selling for $300,000+.
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Post by Alynna Lis Eachann »

Yeah, all ready for the snow... ready to go to class, that is. Our instructor drove up from Blacksburg VA for the weekend (the class only meets four times a semester), and she's determined to have this class no matter what. So I'll be in the neighborhood on Saturday, aliantha! 1021 Prince Street... one of the VTech satellite campuses. I just hope the Metro stays open for the afternoon, or I'll be stuck in Alexandria for the weekend.

:wave: Always cool to see local SRD fans... for the longest time it seemed to me that it was only Jay and I around here.
"We probably could have saved ourselves, but we were too damned lazy to try very hard... and too damn cheap." - Kurt Vonnegut

"Now if you remember all great paintings have an element of tragedy to them. Uh, for instance if you remember from last week, the unicorn was stuck on the aircraft carrier and couldn't get off. That was very sad. " - Kids in the Hall
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Post by MrKABC »

:highjacked:
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Post by Alynna Lis Eachann »

MrKABC wrote: I guess the last horse's real name, "Hynynhyn" was dropped in last-minute editing before the book was released... sorry about that folks..

Sincerely,

SRD
ROTFL! :lol:
MrKABC wrote: :highjacked:
LOL, going back to the topic... In the long run, I think that in writing on the scale that SRD does, some things just go by the wayside. How important is this Ranyhyn's name in the scheme of things, anyway? I just always latch on to the inconsequential details rather than the necessary ones.
"We probably could have saved ourselves, but we were too damned lazy to try very hard... and too damn cheap." - Kurt Vonnegut

"Now if you remember all great paintings have an element of tragedy to them. Uh, for instance if you remember from last week, the unicorn was stuck on the aircraft carrier and couldn't get off. That was very sad. " - Kids in the Hall
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Post by danlo »

It's not the first time it's happened. We've challenged folks here and at Ahira's Hangar to come up with the name of Bannor's Ranyhyn...and, so far, no one can... :?
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Post by Creator »

Alynna Lis Eachann wrote: ... How important is this Ranyhyn's name in the scheme of things, anyway? ....
8O 8O

Watch out! The RAMEN will attack such heresy!! And your Ranyhyn will leave you!!!
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Post by danlo »

**envisons angry noodles surrounding Alynna :P **
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Post by Cail »

"...slowly stir in flavor packet..."
"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." - PJ O'Rourke
_____________
"Men and women range themselves into three classes or orders of intelligence; you can tell the lowest class by their habit of always talking about persons; the next by the fact that their habit is always to converse about things; the highest by their preference for the discussion of ideas." - Charles Stewart
_____________
"I believe there are more instances of the abridgment of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations." - James Madison
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