Hile Troy has a bad feeling about this one. Damn right! So do I!Troy's heart lurched, and began to labor heavily.
Things have begun to go against Troy ever since Covenant came into the Land, and to believe Tull would be bringing good news was too much to hope for.
Yeah, damn right his heart lurched, because he was about to hear a tale of horror and loss so intense that
Spoiler
it would cause raw pain 3 thousand years later
Troy knew in his heart that the Giants weren't showing up to help in this war, but his brain simply denied it.
My God! A tale so horrible a Bloodguard is overcome with grief, unable to articulate himself."How far behind are they?"
"They?" said the bloodguard.
"The Giants! How far behind are they?"
"Lord- they- we could not- the Giants-" Suddenly the habitual flatness of Tull's voice was gone. "Lord!"
Loss of life has always been felt keenly in the Land-- But this is a story far worse, this is about a loss of hope.
Tull's tale picks up where Runnik's leaves off, The mission to Seareach mired down in the Sarangrave. Lord Hyrim is feverish from swallowing the water,and thus the company enters Lifeswallower, the great Swamp.
And without him- without the power of his staff- the mission could not escape Lifeswallower.
The trees were interesting to me for to reasons. 1, simply to read about the unusual flora of the swamp, and 2--Even in the center of the channel, their progress was threatened by the peculiar trees of Lifeswallower. These trees the Giants named Marshwaders, Despite their height, and the wide stretch of their limbs,their roots were not anchored in solid ground. Rather they held themselves erect in the mud, and they seemed to move with the submerged, subtle currents of the swamp
It's hard to imagine the Bloodguard unable to go about their task with anything but their characteristic ease! But such is the aptly named Lifeswallower, That even Giants skirted to the north as much as possible in their travels. They had a healthy respect for it.The Bloodguard could find no escape. Lifeswallower allowed them no opportunity to work their way northward to solid ground.
And here in the great swamp,with all speed needed to get to Seareach,
...the current eddied,turned back on itself, formed a slow whirlpool just broad enough to catch all four sides of the raft and start sucking it down.
And the Bloodguard could do nothing.Here all strength and fidelity lost their worth;here no vow had meaning. The mission was in Lord Hyrim's hands, and he was weak.
Hyrim is one cool dude. It's a little hard to imagine him as a Lord sometimes, he is such a lover of the simple pleasures of life. Laughter and food and wine and song.
Korik was unsure what to make of him in GF, but figured hey, the Rahynyn selected him. Good enough.
And lord Hyrim, though sick and weak, saw the mission's need and with the help of aliantha and the Bloodguard, lit his staff, and sang a song of power and
Thus a weakened Lord Hyrim and the Bloodguard escape the great swamp, and approach Seareach.With a loud sucking noise, the raft pulled free of the eddy,lumbered away. Swinging around the whirlpool, it started northward.
For a long time, Lord hyrim kept the raft moving. Then he reached the marshwaders on the north side of the eddy. There the Bloodguard threw out clingor lines to the trees ahead, used the ropes to pull the raft along. At once Hyrim dropped his power, and slumped forward.
Ahh, Seareach! The temporary abode of the Unhomed!
Stone and Sea! This is a hard tale to tell! Rockbrothers! Could you see no other way?
To see your greatest hope so easily by Soulcrusher turned into your most profound dread!
'Joy is in the ears that hear'
They came across the vineyards, where the hoes and other implements were just strewn about, as though they were dropped and forgotten, something of great import drawing the Giants toward home.Looking out over the land of the Giants, Lord Hyrim gave a low cry. "Korik! Pray that Hoerkin lied! Pray that his message was a lie! Ah, my heart!" He clutched at his heart with both hands, and started down the soft slope into Seareach at a run.
Korik and Sill caught him swiftly, placed a hand under each of his arms. They bore him up between them so that he could move more easily. Thus the mission began it's journey towards the Grieve.
Food packs dropped and abandoned.
Now the mission did not hasten. It moved cautiously toward the Sea, warding against an ambush. Yet the morning passed swiftly. Before noon, the Bloodguard and the Lord reached the high lighthouse of the Grieve.
They found blood on the steps of the lighthouse.
Then Vale came out of the lighthouse. He spoke directly to Lord Hyrim."One Giant is there. She is dead." After a moment, he said, "She was killed. Her face and the top of her head are gone. Her brain is gone. Consumed."
A Giant? Murdered? Murder? A crime of murder at Seareach is something inconceivable!
What manner of Creature could be possible?
I wish it didn't get worse.
Korik split the Bloodguard at this point. Five he had remain at the lighthouse.
Three he sent northward to explore Coercri from that end.
Korik, Tull, Sill and Lord Hyrim approached the city from the South.
Except for the noise of the sea, the City was still.
Every time I read this part, for the last 20 years--no matter if I'm home alone,or someone else is watching TV,whatever--everything gets utterly quiet. Probably not really, but I sure cease to hear anything.
As they make their way to the center of the City, they come upon horror after horror--murdered Giants. With their heads demolished. All of them. One here, three there, a family here.
But they have not been dead long. If only they had not been so delayed in Lifeswallower!
The Bloodguard had no answer. I love that line.When the searchers entered one round meeting hall, they discovered that it was empty. The stove fires had fallen into ash, but the cooks had not been killed there.
The sight dismayed Lord Hyrim. Groaning, he said,"They went to there homes to die! They knew there danger- and went to their homes to await it. They did not fight or flee, or send for help. Melenkurion abatha! Only the children-- What horror came upon them?"
The Bloodguard had no answer. They knew of no wrong potent enough to commit such a slaughter unresisted.
As he left the hall, Lord Hyrim wept openly.
Spoiler
They soon would know of the worst wrong imaginable to them. You gotta admit: Foul is One Bad Sumbitch!
As Hyrim and company moved to the Sea, they came upon more and more slaughtered Giants,Killed more and more recently.
They race down to the lowest level, hoping to find life.
They come across a single room. Inside they find a Giant still alive, but in some form of catatonia.
Lord Hyrim Is able to bring him around by caamora
And he tells them of the murderer.
The three Brothers of one birth-Damelon Giantfriend's omen of the end of the Unhomed, had disappeared. And then one returned.
Whew!! You want to hear a Bloodguard get emotional! And Korik knew Kevin personally!Korik asked, "Why did you not fight?"
"We had become the thing we hate. We are better off dead."
"Nevertheless!" Korik said. "Is this the fealty of the Giants? Does all promised faithfulness come to this? By the Vow,Giant! You destroy yourselves and let the evil live! Even Kevin Landwaster was not so weak."
In his emotion, he forgot caution, and all the Bloodguard were taken unaware. The sudden voice behind them was cold with contempt; it cut through them like a gale of winter. Turning, they found that another Giant stood in the doorway. He was much younger than the Giant within, but he resembled the older Giant.
But now back to :
I can't put into words Sparlimbs pain here.I am turiya Herem. But we have new names now, My brothers and I. There is Fleshharrower, and Satansfist. And I am named Kinslaughterer.
At this, the older Giant groaned heavily. The Raver glanced into the back of the cell, and said in a tone of satisfaction, "Ah, there he is. Little Lord, I see that you have been speaking with Sparlimb Keelsetter. Did he tell you that he is my Father? Father, why do you not welcome your son?"
I wonder how the young Giant that is posessed is doing?
(mega spoiler right here)
Spoiler
We learn from Triock, Honniscrave and Linden that the raver would like you to mentally 'flee' and let him have complete control. And we learn that doesn't always happen. Is he fighting? Or is the pain literally unbearable?
But back to it.
Sparlimb attacks Kinslaughterer, but dies the same death as the others.
Korik attacks,Lord Hyrim(He really shows his mettle in this chapter) fires a bolt from his staff, which meets the green bolt of ill- and everyone but the Raver is knocked unconscious.
WOW!Thus even the Vow could not preserve the Bloodguard from the extremity of their need.
I'm not quite sure what to make of that quote. I'll leave it to our resident
Haruchai for enlightenment.
Korik awakens first-why they are not dead-I don't Know. Perhaps the Raver thought they were dead.
They gather themselves to witness the Raver at the shore, summoning a tsunami, using the Illearth stone to raise a wall of water as high as the cliffs.
I'm really blown away by this! The other Bloodguard were so Furious they would have disobeyed Korik! (Not that he would made a different decision)He had to shout to make himself heard over the roar of waves and wind and thunder."We must stop him! He violates the Sea! If he succeeds- if he bends the Sea to his will- the Law that preserves it will be broken. It will serve the Despiser like another Raver!"
Korik answered, "Yes!" There was a fury in the Bloodguard. They would have disobeyed any other decision.
But this chapter has the Bloodguard wearing their emotions on their proverbial sleeves!
Hyrim says to the Bloodguard "I must strike the first blow!"...Kinslaughterer Labored in an ecstasy of power. Though it was still some distance from the piers, the tsunami towered over him, dwarfed his stolen form. Now he was chanting to it, invoking it. His words cut through the tumult of the storm.
Come,Sea!
Obey me!
Raise high!
crash down!
Break rock!
break stone!
crush heart!
Grind soul:
rend flesh:
crack whole!
Eat dead
for bread!
Come Sea!
Obey me!
And the Seas answered, piled still higher. Now the wave's crest frothed and lashed level with the upper ramparts of Coercri.
Knowing full well it is the death of him, Hyrim attacks quickly enough To Knock loose the Illearth stone .
With his dying breath, Lord Hyrim tries to warn the Bloodguard not to take the Illearth stone,but the effort bursts his heart.At once, the three Bloodguard sprang; together they struck the Raver with all their strength. And in that assault their Vow at last found utterance. The Giant-Raver was dead before his form fell into the water.
Yet still for a long moment the Bloodguard hurled blows at him, driven by the excess of their rage and abomination.
Why do the Bloodguard do this? Could it be that they couldn't sense its ill?Korik went and took up Kinslaughterer's fragment of the Illearth stone. Without a will to drive it, it was dull; it showed only fitful gleams in its core. But it hurt his hand wiyh a deep and fiery cold. He clenched it in his fist.
"We will take it to the High Lord," he said. "Perhaps the other Ravers have such power. The High Lord may use this power to defeat them."
Tull finishes his tale telling of the Rahynyn Taking the dead Bloodguard home, and Korik Taking the Illearth stone.
And then we are back to Troy--Thinking of the dead Giants, then looking over at Mhoram, his eyes bleeding tears- "Is this what you saw last night? Is it?"
"No." Mhorams reply was abrupt. But it was not abrupt with anger; it was abrupt with the exertion of supressing his sobs."I saw Bloodguard fighting in the service of the Despiser."
Tull's Tale Is a heart lurcher, indeed.
The tale of the slaughter of the Gaints, while harrowing, is one which must be retold in such a way as to give them the honour they so richly deserve. 
