The Mahdoubt
Moderator: dlbpharmd
I wonder if SRD is going to throw us a total curveball, like having the Mahdoubt be Jeremiah's biological mother, a werewolf, or the lovechild of Lady Alif's second cousin and a time-travelled Amok, or all three at once.
It may also be that SRD has given danlo a misleading answer. For example, if SRD revealed the Mahdoubt is "Creator's daughter", that could just mean that she is an Elohim, one of the more sensible theories discussed here, and Elohim are the children of the Creator from the Wounded Rainbow myth as also has been discussed.
It may also be that SRD has given danlo a misleading answer. For example, if SRD revealed the Mahdoubt is "Creator's daughter", that could just mean that she is an Elohim, one of the more sensible theories discussed here, and Elohim are the children of the Creator from the Wounded Rainbow myth as also has been discussed.
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ur-bane
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danlo's just playin'
I'll give him $100 dollars US if he PM's me the answer by tomorrow that turns out to be correct. He'll get paid after SRD reveals the Mahdoubt's identity in the Final Chronicles, if he has PM'd me the truth about who the Mahdoubt is, that is. And yes, I'll be around to pay the bet if he wins.
So, waddya say, danlo? You've got nothing to lose.
I'll give him $100 dollars US if he PM's me the answer by tomorrow that turns out to be correct. He'll get paid after SRD reveals the Mahdoubt's identity in the Final Chronicles, if he has PM'd me the truth about who the Mahdoubt is, that is. And yes, I'll be around to pay the bet if he wins.
So, waddya say, danlo? You've got nothing to lose.
Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want
to test a man's character, give him power.
--Abraham Lincoln
Excerpt from Animal Songs Never Written
"Hey, dad," croaked the vulture, "what are you eating?"
"Carrion, my wayward son."
"Will there be pieces when you are done?"
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ur-bane
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Exactly. He can't lose.
Tick.Tock...tick.tock...tick.tock...
Tick.Tock...tick.tock...tick.tock...
Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want
to test a man's character, give him power.
--Abraham Lincoln
Excerpt from Animal Songs Never Written
"Hey, dad," croaked the vulture, "what are you eating?"
"Carrion, my wayward son."
"Will there be pieces when you are done?"
Wow, this topic has gotten huge. 24 pages! I never thought much about her while reading the book. I gotten the impression that she and Jeremiah were connected and that the connection would be revealed . With all the possibilites that have been mentioned, SRD must have come up with something crazy for noone to have any clue what she is.
I got it! She is TC's father's brother's nephew's cousin's uncle's former roomate. In other words, she is Jeremiah's 23rd cousin thrice removed on his friend's uncle's side.
Spoiler
when TC and Jeremiah entered Revelstone
I got it! She is TC's father's brother's nephew's cousin's uncle's former roomate. In other words, she is Jeremiah's 23rd cousin thrice removed on his friend's uncle's side.
"Tragedy is when I cut my finger. Comedy is when you walk into an open sewer and die."~Mel Brooks
While I was making preparatory work for my treatise on possible explanations for the Mahdoubt's identity I came up with an all-new idea. I'm consigning this one into the crackpot bin for now, but it's one of the more sensible ideas in the category which also includes such stellar ideas as "mushroom" and "space alien".
Children figure a lot into the Last Chronicles. Several of the most important characters have children. Why not Lord Foul? He is consistently described described as male and there is intimation that he was getting it on with dead Elena. She wouldn't have been calling herself Elena Foul-wife for no reason.
The Mahdoubt could be Lord Foul's daughter. I'm not saying Elena would be her mother, but it would be quite an interesting twist if she was. After all, the Law of Life has now been broken in addition to the Law of Death so it shouldn't be impossible, and Elena as a dead person can be commanded by anyone, and that most definitely includes Lord Foul.
(I think it could be quite a nice use for EarthBlood to break the Law that forces the dead obey the living - I wonder if Elena created that Law when she summoned Kevin to do her bidding and broke the Law of Death.)
In the case the Mahdoubt was Elena's daughter, the Mahdoubt would also be Thomas Covenant's grand-daughter which would add further soap opera to the grand family tree. (Try to draw a chart of it sometimes.) The Mahdoubt's unusual powers would also have a natural explanation.
Children figure a lot into the Last Chronicles. Several of the most important characters have children. Why not Lord Foul? He is consistently described described as male and there is intimation that he was getting it on with dead Elena. She wouldn't have been calling herself Elena Foul-wife for no reason.
The Mahdoubt could be Lord Foul's daughter. I'm not saying Elena would be her mother, but it would be quite an interesting twist if she was. After all, the Law of Life has now been broken in addition to the Law of Death so it shouldn't be impossible, and Elena as a dead person can be commanded by anyone, and that most definitely includes Lord Foul.
(I think it could be quite a nice use for EarthBlood to break the Law that forces the dead obey the living - I wonder if Elena created that Law when she summoned Kevin to do her bidding and broke the Law of Death.)
In the case the Mahdoubt was Elena's daughter, the Mahdoubt would also be Thomas Covenant's grand-daughter which would add further soap opera to the grand family tree. (Try to draw a chart of it sometimes.) The Mahdoubt's unusual powers would also have a natural explanation.
Seeing despite Kevin's Dirt, Mystical Wisps of Darkness (Demondim style, really), charm and illusion (this would be merewives style, but without a song). There is nothing that points to Lord Foul in particular, otherwise Lord Foul's daughter would not be the crackpot theory it is. But well, I like to get a lot of shots at the correct answer so that in the future you will admire my prescience or at least my thorough thinking.Avatar wrote:What unusual powers would those be?
Seeing the future is something the Mahdoubt may or may not be capable of based on her warning to Linden. I think we know that Lord Foul can look into the future. I think the visions Linden saw when she fell into the Land that prompted the comment "I am content" were actually going on in Lord Foul's mind. Linden had fallen from Joan right into Lord Foul and he never noticed! Later Lord Foul told Linden that he would not speak of his deeper purposes, but Linden knows a lot about them anyway without realizing that she does!
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Sorry, I'm just picking at this for the fun of it, it doesn't mean I think you're wrong (or right 
).
Like I said, this is just for fun...I certainly admire the amount of thought you put into this...and look forward to seeing how close you are.
--A
).Like the Haruchai do? A power I suppose, though not an unusual one.Nerdanel wrote:Seeing despite Kevin's Dirt
Fair enough, could well be a sign of some power.Nerdanel wrote:Mystical Wisps of Darkness (Demondim style, really),
Charm I'll give you, but what evidence for a "power of illusion"?Nerdanel wrote:charm and illusion (this would be merewives style, but without a song).
Agree with the may or may not part, certainly. Seems a straightforward enough warning, never been sure of why Linden found it confusing. Whether or not it's based on seeing the future, well, we'll have to read and find out.Nerdanel wrote:Seeing the future is something the Mahdoubt may or may not be capable of based on her warning to Linden.
Like I said, this is just for fun...I certainly admire the amount of thought you put into this...and look forward to seeing how close you are. --A
Well, maybe illusion is the wrong word...
I think I'll change the point into "charm and making others not notice things in addition to what sounds like faking her aura but could just be a particularly insidious part of her charm ability".
A telling point is how many pages Linden takes to notice the Mahdoubt's burning orange eye. It could be that SRD was just making a mistake with him not being a visual person and all, but I strongly doubt that. Eyes are the kind of things people notice when they look someone in the face, and the Mahdoubt's eyes are highly conspicious.
Later the Mahdoubt makes the wisps of darkness disappear from Linden's perception and when she departs she vanishes into the shadows (which might be made of the aforementioned wisps) so suddenly and unnaturally that even the charmed Linden notices it.
The we have the problem of what Mahrtiir saw in the Mahdoubt's aura that made him want to protect Linden from her, until the Mahdoubt had the time to charm him, anyway.
I think I'll change the point into "charm and making others not notice things in addition to what sounds like faking her aura but could just be a particularly insidious part of her charm ability".
A telling point is how many pages Linden takes to notice the Mahdoubt's burning orange eye. It could be that SRD was just making a mistake with him not being a visual person and all, but I strongly doubt that. Eyes are the kind of things people notice when they look someone in the face, and the Mahdoubt's eyes are highly conspicious.
Later the Mahdoubt makes the wisps of darkness disappear from Linden's perception and when she departs she vanishes into the shadows (which might be made of the aforementioned wisps) so suddenly and unnaturally that even the charmed Linden notices it.
The we have the problem of what Mahrtiir saw in the Mahdoubt's aura that made him want to protect Linden from her, until the Mahdoubt had the time to charm him, anyway.
Here follows my mammoth epic about the Mahdoubt's identity.
Basic points:
- The Mahdoubt has unnatural, mismatched eyes (violet/orange)
- The Mahdoubt wears a patchwork robe of astonishing ugliness
- The Mahdoubt appears to use charm magic on everyone
- The Mahdoubt is not hampered by Kevin's Dirt
- The Mahdoubt sometimes has wisps of pure dark floating about her
- The Mahdoubt's true aura is powerful and scary
- The Mahdoubt refers to herself in the third person and has an overall bizarre way of talking
- The Mahdoubt appears as an old female servant of Revelstone
- The Mahdoubt gives Linden a cryptic warning about love
Merewife
In all the Chronicles the merewives are the entities most known for their charming abilities. The Mahdoubt does not sing, but perhaps the merewives have improved in their craft over the millennia. In addition, we know from the Elohim's warning that the merewives are up to some sort of trouble.
The biggest problem is that we don't know if the merewives are capable of living on dry land. We have no idea of the merewife physiology and it is uncertain if we have ever truly seen one in their non-illusory form. However, if we have seen a merewife, then it is certain that they are water creatures only. The merewives are also called the Dancers of the Sea, and in the merewife scene in The One Tree the only things that looked like dancing were the spouts of water. Perhaps the merewifes are some sort of water elementals. It could also be that the merewifes are not separate creatures, but one huge Leviathan like thing. In the merewife scene there was something inside the moving circle of spouts that coral grew on. That could have been the back of the merewife creature. This could also be supported by Esmer being the son of the merewives instead of a merewife.
The merewives would be experts to warn about love.
Kastenessen's lover
Kastenessen possessed Anele and had a little discussion with the Demondim. What they talked of we cannot know, but it could be that Kastenessen suggested that the Demondim delay because he wanted to try something else first. The instrument of that something could be the Mahdoubt. Merewives could be working for Kastenessen, but so could his lover of old, if she is still alive.
Back in The One Tree most readers would have been left with the impression that the Elohim thought Kastenessen used charm magic on his human lover because the Elohim didn't understand love. However, Kastenessen was also an Elohim. Perhaps he really did charm her into loving him. Later she could have learned that magic from him, which would have been how the merewives got their song. But if the mother of the merewives is still alive, she would know about charm too.
The Mahdoubt's weird appearence could be explainable as Kastenessen having wanted to make her more pretty according to his Elohim sensibilities.
Esmer's sister
Instead of the mother, the Mahdoubt could be a daughter of the merewives. We don't know that Esmer was an only child. It could be that the Mahdoubt is messed up on the outside like Esmer is on the inside, and a coherent merewife/Haruchai alloy on the inside like Esmer is on the outside. She could also have learned magic from her mothers.
Elohim
We know the Elohim are have an interest in what is starting to happen in the Land. As the Elohim are shapeshifters, they could easily make themselves look like the Mahdoubt. They may also know how to cast charm spells. The Mahdoubt might be an Elohim Appointed to play some role in the coming things.
The biggest strike against the Elohim theory is that the frivolous and arrogant Elohim are not known as masters of subterfuge. From what I have seen they prefer quick solutions and relying on their innate might. Their warnings to the villages of the Land are examples of that. When a more permanent solution is needed, they force someone into an object. The Mahdoubt acts very un-Elohim-like in her being a servant. Findail scarcely lifted a finger when accompaying Linden and Covenant and spent a lot of time hiding inside things.
Kastenessen is also an Elohim, but the Mahdoubt's orange eye is the only fiery thing about her, while the entity possessing Anele was very fiery indeed.
Demondim
The biggest clue supporting the Demondim option is that wisps of darkness are seen trailing both the Demondim and the Mahdoubt. Also the Demondim with their famous extent of lore could know something about charm and misdirection. That would have been handy if they wanted to deal with humans who would be disconcerted by rotting corpses. As an additional motivation, the Demondim also loathed their own forms.
The Mahdoubt may be incapable of perceiving color. This is consistent with her true form being an eyeless creature, such as a Demondim. The Demondim are capable of perceiving their surroundings, but the method is likely to be quite different from human sight.
The timing is tricky, but I think the Demondim could have sent one of their number to the past in order to help with the coming siege as a spy. This would not have broken the Arch of Time, since the Demondim did not know what was inside Revelstone when they arrived. It is important to remember that the Demondim are intelligent and lore-wise creatures, even though their appearance in the Runes was heavily weighed to the direction of straightforward havoc. Even though none of the Demondim was seen wearing a patchwork robe, it is know that the Demondim-spawn use some sort of dimensional compartment to carry things and that the Demondim are much better in lore than their descendants. It could also be that the Mahdoubt was a Demondim who survived the Ritual of Desecration or was in fact the thing that Thomas Covenant awoke from the bone pile in White God Wielder.
(I think a Demondim is still my favorite option for the Mahdoubt's identity.)
Someone dead
Many of the Dead would certainly like to help in the fight against Lord Foul. They would have to do it cautiously though, since they can be commanded by anyone who knows that they can. A disguise would be a very good idea for their part.
When talking about who of the Dead the Mahdoubt could be, my top suspect would be High Lord Kevin. Kevin has unfinished business with Lord Foul and in White Gold Wielder he expressed significant interest in opposing the Despiser. Kevin is not at peace like many other Dead, and he is probably the most powerful white-gold-less human who has ever lived. He is also known to know some Demondim lore which could explain the wisps.
In the Gradual Interview SRD says that Elena's breaking of the Law of Death was a localized phenomenon. Since she summoned Kevin specifically, he would have been at the ground zero of the broken Law and potentially the most free of all the Dead.
The Mahdoubt is Kevin's opposite in many ways, which would be an excellent cover for him. However it would also necessitate him being a rather good actor.
Thomas Covenant
Much of the previous section also applies to Thomas Covenant, since he is also dead, as well as a seer and a prophet.
I personally have trouble seeing the Mahdoubt as Covenant. I can imagine Kevin slipping on the side of ends justifying the means (after all, the Ritual of Desecration was a giant example of this), and Thomas Covenant could also do the same (his possessing Anele could count as that), but the Mahdoubt is just a little too completely diffferent from the Covenant we know. (We don't really know Kevin that well, so there is more leeway for him.) The Mahdoubt's manner and speech are radically different from Covenant, while the Covenant Linden hears in her dreams and speaking through Anele sounds much like the familiar Covenant.
It has been suggested that Thomas Covenant has been split into many parts. This would be necessary for the person seen riding with Jeremiah and the Mahdoubt both be Covenant. The Arch of Time is know to have cracks and Covenant is nowadays identified with the Arch of Time, but it gets really esoteric to figure out how that would lead to multiple Covenants. The cracks in the Arch of Time were caused by the broken Laws of Death and Life, but this happened before Covenant died and become the Arch. The dead Covenant at the end of White Gold Wielder has no dialogue to the effect of "Ooops, there are many of me!" Later came the caesures, but I have written elsewhere how the caesures should only be making holes in the Arch of Time, not fragmenting it until before there was be more hole than Arch.
Construct
Suprisingly many people may have been capable of making an artificial Mahdoubt. This includes (but is not necessarily limited to) everyone descended from Viles (and the Viles themselves), some of the latter Old Lords including Loric and Kevin, and Lord Foul who seems to be familiar with about every lore. The potential motives are as numerous as the people.
Lord Foul
Lord Foul has according to his own words just whispered some words here and there. If he was disguised as the Mahdoubt he could have planted ideas into the Masters and almost ruled the Land himself! The Masters certainly appeared easily charmed and suggestible.
Lord Foul has a similar stout bodyplan as the Mahdoubt, although he has muscle and the Mahdoubt has fat. (I don't think Lord Foul was described as short though, but perhaps he is, or capable of changing that.) The Mahdoubt's bizarre eyes could be interpreted as a clever distraction; if someone sees through the distraction spell hiding the Mahdoubt's eyes, they wouldn't think that hidden eyes were actually an illusion over very distinctive eyes that looked like carious fangs. Also, both the Mahdoubt and Lord Foul are known to be capable of faking their auras somehow. Perhaps the situation is similar to the Test of Truth and the Mahdoubt can hide her true aura from Linden because the Mahdoubt is stronger than her. This would point to Lord Foul, although some others could also qualify, like Kevin, a Demondim, or an Elohim.
Raver
A Raver (specifically, Jehannum) could be useful for Lord Foul to influence things in Revelstone. Since the Masters are Haruchai, a Raver wouldn't be able to possess them, but it could do its work by possessing a servant and casting charm spells like candy to avoid being noticed.
Modern Lord
It could also be that the Mahdoubt is a woman of the Land who can use Earthpower and uses sneaky magic to avoid detection by the Masters. There could be a group of undercover magic users in Revelstone who have kept alive the skill teached to their ancestors by Sunder and Hollian. This could be a very nice option for Linden, even if the reason for the Mahdoubt's eccentricity was that she was a little off her rocker.
Embodiment of something
If the Mahdoubt is an embodiment of something abstract or something not conventionally alive, I think that which she is an embodiment of wouldn't be something nice and innocent. I have a hard time thinking what exactly she could be, as she is quite a character. She seems a little too deceitful to be an embodiment of Service, for example.
If the Mahdoubt is an embodiment of Earthpower, she almost has to be an Elohim.
Something else
The following ideas range from the unsupported to the ludicrous, but I want to note their existence anyway:
Anele's sister/daughter
animal
arghuleh
Cavewight
corrupted human
Courser
Creator
crossover character
Diassomer Mininderain
Esmer
fire-lion
Forestal
Giant
Griffin
groupmind of somethings
kresh
Linden's dream
Linden's psychotic delusion
Lord Foul's daughter
magical illusion
mushroom
Nicor
ordinary human
plant
Ranyhyn
Sandgorgon
skest
skurj
someone from the future
someone from the "real world"
someone with a croyel
space alien
(sur-)jhejerrin
Thomas Covenant's other daughter
ur-vile
Vile
Waynhim
Worm at the World's End
Wraith of Andelain
Basic points:
- The Mahdoubt has unnatural, mismatched eyes (violet/orange)
- The Mahdoubt wears a patchwork robe of astonishing ugliness
- The Mahdoubt appears to use charm magic on everyone
- The Mahdoubt is not hampered by Kevin's Dirt
- The Mahdoubt sometimes has wisps of pure dark floating about her
- The Mahdoubt's true aura is powerful and scary
- The Mahdoubt refers to herself in the third person and has an overall bizarre way of talking
- The Mahdoubt appears as an old female servant of Revelstone
- The Mahdoubt gives Linden a cryptic warning about love
Merewife
In all the Chronicles the merewives are the entities most known for their charming abilities. The Mahdoubt does not sing, but perhaps the merewives have improved in their craft over the millennia. In addition, we know from the Elohim's warning that the merewives are up to some sort of trouble.
The biggest problem is that we don't know if the merewives are capable of living on dry land. We have no idea of the merewife physiology and it is uncertain if we have ever truly seen one in their non-illusory form. However, if we have seen a merewife, then it is certain that they are water creatures only. The merewives are also called the Dancers of the Sea, and in the merewife scene in The One Tree the only things that looked like dancing were the spouts of water. Perhaps the merewifes are some sort of water elementals. It could also be that the merewifes are not separate creatures, but one huge Leviathan like thing. In the merewife scene there was something inside the moving circle of spouts that coral grew on. That could have been the back of the merewife creature. This could also be supported by Esmer being the son of the merewives instead of a merewife.
The merewives would be experts to warn about love.
Kastenessen's lover
Kastenessen possessed Anele and had a little discussion with the Demondim. What they talked of we cannot know, but it could be that Kastenessen suggested that the Demondim delay because he wanted to try something else first. The instrument of that something could be the Mahdoubt. Merewives could be working for Kastenessen, but so could his lover of old, if she is still alive.
Back in The One Tree most readers would have been left with the impression that the Elohim thought Kastenessen used charm magic on his human lover because the Elohim didn't understand love. However, Kastenessen was also an Elohim. Perhaps he really did charm her into loving him. Later she could have learned that magic from him, which would have been how the merewives got their song. But if the mother of the merewives is still alive, she would know about charm too.
The Mahdoubt's weird appearence could be explainable as Kastenessen having wanted to make her more pretty according to his Elohim sensibilities.
Esmer's sister
Instead of the mother, the Mahdoubt could be a daughter of the merewives. We don't know that Esmer was an only child. It could be that the Mahdoubt is messed up on the outside like Esmer is on the inside, and a coherent merewife/Haruchai alloy on the inside like Esmer is on the outside. She could also have learned magic from her mothers.
Elohim
We know the Elohim are have an interest in what is starting to happen in the Land. As the Elohim are shapeshifters, they could easily make themselves look like the Mahdoubt. They may also know how to cast charm spells. The Mahdoubt might be an Elohim Appointed to play some role in the coming things.
The biggest strike against the Elohim theory is that the frivolous and arrogant Elohim are not known as masters of subterfuge. From what I have seen they prefer quick solutions and relying on their innate might. Their warnings to the villages of the Land are examples of that. When a more permanent solution is needed, they force someone into an object. The Mahdoubt acts very un-Elohim-like in her being a servant. Findail scarcely lifted a finger when accompaying Linden and Covenant and spent a lot of time hiding inside things.
Kastenessen is also an Elohim, but the Mahdoubt's orange eye is the only fiery thing about her, while the entity possessing Anele was very fiery indeed.
Demondim
The biggest clue supporting the Demondim option is that wisps of darkness are seen trailing both the Demondim and the Mahdoubt. Also the Demondim with their famous extent of lore could know something about charm and misdirection. That would have been handy if they wanted to deal with humans who would be disconcerted by rotting corpses. As an additional motivation, the Demondim also loathed their own forms.
The Mahdoubt may be incapable of perceiving color. This is consistent with her true form being an eyeless creature, such as a Demondim. The Demondim are capable of perceiving their surroundings, but the method is likely to be quite different from human sight.
The timing is tricky, but I think the Demondim could have sent one of their number to the past in order to help with the coming siege as a spy. This would not have broken the Arch of Time, since the Demondim did not know what was inside Revelstone when they arrived. It is important to remember that the Demondim are intelligent and lore-wise creatures, even though their appearance in the Runes was heavily weighed to the direction of straightforward havoc. Even though none of the Demondim was seen wearing a patchwork robe, it is know that the Demondim-spawn use some sort of dimensional compartment to carry things and that the Demondim are much better in lore than their descendants. It could also be that the Mahdoubt was a Demondim who survived the Ritual of Desecration or was in fact the thing that Thomas Covenant awoke from the bone pile in White God Wielder.
(I think a Demondim is still my favorite option for the Mahdoubt's identity.)
Someone dead
Many of the Dead would certainly like to help in the fight against Lord Foul. They would have to do it cautiously though, since they can be commanded by anyone who knows that they can. A disguise would be a very good idea for their part.
When talking about who of the Dead the Mahdoubt could be, my top suspect would be High Lord Kevin. Kevin has unfinished business with Lord Foul and in White Gold Wielder he expressed significant interest in opposing the Despiser. Kevin is not at peace like many other Dead, and he is probably the most powerful white-gold-less human who has ever lived. He is also known to know some Demondim lore which could explain the wisps.
In the Gradual Interview SRD says that Elena's breaking of the Law of Death was a localized phenomenon. Since she summoned Kevin specifically, he would have been at the ground zero of the broken Law and potentially the most free of all the Dead.
Since Kevin is a seer, he would have an above-average idea of what Lord Foul is up to and he could also know why Linden would need to beware of love.SRD wrote:As I've said in a different context, it's a question of *scale*. Violating the laws of weather to summon a tsunami in Seareach is an almost trivial disruption to the weather-patterns of the entire Earth. Unless the core Laws (e.g. gravity and convection) are unmade, they will promptly and naturally efface the effects of any localized disturbance. By its very nature, Law seeks stability; seeks to correct imposed imbalances. In other words, not all unnatural actions inevitably destroy (or even damage) the Laws which they violate.
On the scale of such disruptions, breaking the Law of Death is a far more profound violation. Yet even there Law strives to preserve itself. Raising Kevin's spirit does not automatically mean that every spirit of everyone who has ever died is now free to roam at will among the living. In a completely different sense than the Giant-Raver's tsunami, Elena's violation of Law is also a "local" phenomenon: it pertains to very specific spirits under very specific conditions
The Mahdoubt is Kevin's opposite in many ways, which would be an excellent cover for him. However it would also necessitate him being a rather good actor.
Thomas Covenant
Much of the previous section also applies to Thomas Covenant, since he is also dead, as well as a seer and a prophet.
I personally have trouble seeing the Mahdoubt as Covenant. I can imagine Kevin slipping on the side of ends justifying the means (after all, the Ritual of Desecration was a giant example of this), and Thomas Covenant could also do the same (his possessing Anele could count as that), but the Mahdoubt is just a little too completely diffferent from the Covenant we know. (We don't really know Kevin that well, so there is more leeway for him.) The Mahdoubt's manner and speech are radically different from Covenant, while the Covenant Linden hears in her dreams and speaking through Anele sounds much like the familiar Covenant.
It has been suggested that Thomas Covenant has been split into many parts. This would be necessary for the person seen riding with Jeremiah and the Mahdoubt both be Covenant. The Arch of Time is know to have cracks and Covenant is nowadays identified with the Arch of Time, but it gets really esoteric to figure out how that would lead to multiple Covenants. The cracks in the Arch of Time were caused by the broken Laws of Death and Life, but this happened before Covenant died and become the Arch. The dead Covenant at the end of White Gold Wielder has no dialogue to the effect of "Ooops, there are many of me!" Later came the caesures, but I have written elsewhere how the caesures should only be making holes in the Arch of Time, not fragmenting it until before there was be more hole than Arch.
Construct
Suprisingly many people may have been capable of making an artificial Mahdoubt. This includes (but is not necessarily limited to) everyone descended from Viles (and the Viles themselves), some of the latter Old Lords including Loric and Kevin, and Lord Foul who seems to be familiar with about every lore. The potential motives are as numerous as the people.
Lord Foul
Lord Foul has according to his own words just whispered some words here and there. If he was disguised as the Mahdoubt he could have planted ideas into the Masters and almost ruled the Land himself! The Masters certainly appeared easily charmed and suggestible.
Lord Foul has a similar stout bodyplan as the Mahdoubt, although he has muscle and the Mahdoubt has fat. (I don't think Lord Foul was described as short though, but perhaps he is, or capable of changing that.) The Mahdoubt's bizarre eyes could be interpreted as a clever distraction; if someone sees through the distraction spell hiding the Mahdoubt's eyes, they wouldn't think that hidden eyes were actually an illusion over very distinctive eyes that looked like carious fangs. Also, both the Mahdoubt and Lord Foul are known to be capable of faking their auras somehow. Perhaps the situation is similar to the Test of Truth and the Mahdoubt can hide her true aura from Linden because the Mahdoubt is stronger than her. This would point to Lord Foul, although some others could also qualify, like Kevin, a Demondim, or an Elohim.
Raver
A Raver (specifically, Jehannum) could be useful for Lord Foul to influence things in Revelstone. Since the Masters are Haruchai, a Raver wouldn't be able to possess them, but it could do its work by possessing a servant and casting charm spells like candy to avoid being noticed.
Modern Lord
It could also be that the Mahdoubt is a woman of the Land who can use Earthpower and uses sneaky magic to avoid detection by the Masters. There could be a group of undercover magic users in Revelstone who have kept alive the skill teached to their ancestors by Sunder and Hollian. This could be a very nice option for Linden, even if the reason for the Mahdoubt's eccentricity was that she was a little off her rocker.
Embodiment of something
If the Mahdoubt is an embodiment of something abstract or something not conventionally alive, I think that which she is an embodiment of wouldn't be something nice and innocent. I have a hard time thinking what exactly she could be, as she is quite a character. She seems a little too deceitful to be an embodiment of Service, for example.
If the Mahdoubt is an embodiment of Earthpower, she almost has to be an Elohim.
Something else
The following ideas range from the unsupported to the ludicrous, but I want to note their existence anyway:
Anele's sister/daughter
animal
arghuleh
Cavewight
corrupted human
Courser
Creator
crossover character
Diassomer Mininderain
Esmer
fire-lion
Forestal
Giant
Griffin
groupmind of somethings
kresh
Linden's dream
Linden's psychotic delusion
Lord Foul's daughter
magical illusion
mushroom
Nicor
ordinary human
plant
Ranyhyn
Sandgorgon
skest
skurj
someone from the future
someone from the "real world"
someone with a croyel
space alien
(sur-)jhejerrin
Thomas Covenant's other daughter
ur-vile
Vile
Waynhim
Worm at the World's End
Wraith of Andelain
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IrrationalSanity
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My own inclination is that she is, if not a merewife, some other kind of siren or succubus, and that her patchwork garment is much more than simply pieces of cloth. I'm thinking it is made from pieces of her "willing" victims - those men drawn to her by whatever force it was. Each scrap, you recall, was "given in love"...
- Woody -
Linden Lover and proud of it...
But I love my wife more!
"Desecration requires no knowledge. It comes freely to any willing hand." - Amok
Linden Lover and proud of it...
But I love my wife more!
"Desecration requires no knowledge. It comes freely to any willing hand." - Amok
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wayfriend
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Nicely done!Nerdanel wrote:Here follows my mammoth epic about the Mahdoubt's identity.
I think these need some revision.Nerdanel wrote:- The Mahdoubt sometimes has wisps of pure dark floating about her
- The Mahdoubt's true aura is powerful and scary
First of all, what Mahrtiir has seen may be a 'true aura', but we can't assume it is scary. After all, Mahrtiir merely stood defensively between the Mahdount and Linden - he did not raise a cry, or attack, or even make ready his cord. This is a response to an unexpected stranger, if you feel yourself to be a bodyguard. This is not a response to something evil or menacing or scary IMO. What we only know is that her visage was unexpected within Revelstone, and unusual for someone who serves.
Second, keying in on the wisps of dark seems like a misinterpretation. SRD wrote a lot about what Linden sensed, and the dark wisps were only a small part. In fact, they may merely be the afterimages from looking at something bright. The overall description from Linden's point of view was not menacing, but warm and powerful and asuaging.
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I think I might have phrased the aura part a little strongly, but I think Mahrtiir saw something less reassuring than Linden. Mahrtiir's health-sense had just been restored so he should have seen it at first glance if the Mahdoubt was obviously benevolent. After all, they were all supposed to be safe in Revelstone and the Demondim hadn't attacked quite yet.
I think someone like Lord Foul might indeed have had too obviously bad an aura unless Mahrtiir was stunned into silence (or thought that Linden would see the same thing and better) and then promptly gotten charmed. At the less evil end, even a good guy like Kevin would likely have had a dark enough aura to disturb Mahrtiir.
About the wisps, Linden was walking along an insufficiently lit corridor. The few torches there would in no way cause aftereffects of bright light.
The chain of events:
1) Linden sees the Mahdoubt plus the dark wisps and recognizes her by the "comfortable complacency" of her aura.
2) The Mahdoubt sees Linden and suddenly the dark wisps vanish from Linden's sight. The Mahdoubt seems to glow instead.
3) Mahrtiir starts forward to protect Linden from the Mahdoubt, but is stopped by Liand.
4) Mahrtiir soon stops seeing whatever it was that he saw in the first place and apologizes to the Mahdoubt.
Somehow, I keep thinking that the first impressions were the real ones.
I think someone like Lord Foul might indeed have had too obviously bad an aura unless Mahrtiir was stunned into silence (or thought that Linden would see the same thing and better) and then promptly gotten charmed. At the less evil end, even a good guy like Kevin would likely have had a dark enough aura to disturb Mahrtiir.
About the wisps, Linden was walking along an insufficiently lit corridor. The few torches there would in no way cause aftereffects of bright light.
The chain of events:
1) Linden sees the Mahdoubt plus the dark wisps and recognizes her by the "comfortable complacency" of her aura.
2) The Mahdoubt sees Linden and suddenly the dark wisps vanish from Linden's sight. The Mahdoubt seems to glow instead.
3) Mahrtiir starts forward to protect Linden from the Mahdoubt, but is stopped by Liand.
4) Mahrtiir soon stops seeing whatever it was that he saw in the first place and apologizes to the Mahdoubt.
Somehow, I keep thinking that the first impressions were the real ones.