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Moderators: kevinswatch, Orlion
But the trigger for the attack was when the lords called up Covenant wasn't it? To the day if I'm not mistaken. It's possible that Foul had some idea when this might be but it also suggests that Foul didn't really care about the prep time for The Lords and was just waiting for TC to arrive, be it sooner or later.Wayfriend wrote:Here's another thought, besides the one about the ring.
Sometimes the strategy you choose is the build fast and rush strategy. Anyone who ever played Warcraft is aware of it. The theory is to create a big army fast, and then rush in before the defense is organized.
If it works, you win. If it doesn't work, you lose. It's a gamble.
This sounds like Foul's plan. Hordes of kresh and mutant humans. A timeframe that you need to win within.
Time would only favor the defenders of the Land. Time to master lore. Time to build defenses. Time to train more warriers.
Just for example, look at those communications rods. If Foul had waited a few more months before his assault, they could have been put to use to forewarn Revelstone of his invasion path, much faster than could a Ramen scout. Advantage goes to the Lords.
So Foul had a real issue with waiting too long, IMO.
He also probably knew about Amok. Foul was in Kevin's inner circle; he may have even helped amass the Seven Wards. I'm not sure he could've known that Covenant would "light" the krill, which hence summoned Amok, but he may have seen the likelihood of it. (wasn't the krill found during the 40 years between LFB and TIW?) IIRC Amok said that even the Despiser would not dare to use the Power of Command... hence, Foul knew what it was, knew the probablilty of it going wrong, and knew that any human was likely to screw up.Wayfriend wrote:I think that his goal was to push the people of the Land, the Lords especially, into taking the kind of risks that would lead to self-destruction. Which is, ultimately, what happened to Elena. Did he know exactly what she would do? Maybe yes, maybe no, but he certainly knew that the consequences of extreme action which backfired or failed would only be to his benefit.
I agree... Foul can see some things, but not everything. Or he sees but can't determine the meaning or import of what he sees.Wayfriend wrote:I am wary of creditting Foul with too much foresight.
If he was that good at seeing the future, then how did things like Gallows Howe happen?
That was part of a speech by Lord Tamarantha, from Lord Foul's Brain -- uh, Bane."Oracles and prophecy are incompatible. According to Kevin's Lore, only Heartthew the Lord-Fatherer was both seer and prophet. Lesser souls lose the paradox. Why, I do not know. But when Kevin Landwaster decided in his heart to invoke the Ritual of Desecration, he saved the Bloodguard and the Ranyhyn and the Giants because he was an oracle. And because he was no prophet he failed to see that Lord Foul would survive. A lesser man than Berek."
SRD wrote:A "seer" is someone who can see/feel/intuit some aspects of the future--or of the possible futures. (I'm sometimes asked questions like: why didn't Mhoram know Covenant was coming to Revelstone? Well, a seer doesn't see "the future" that literally. A seer is more likely to feel that important events are gathering and something pivotal is about to happen; or, we're in a situation that's more dangerous than it appears to be, and we need to be extra careful.) An "oracle," on the other hand, is not concerned with "the future" per se. Rather an oracle sees/feels/intuits things like fate, doom, or destiny (of an individual; of a people; of a world). In some sense this naturally involves "the future," but the oracle's focus is on the inherent nature of the individual/people/world, and on the likely consequences of that nature. So in general--and putting it very crudely--seers tend to be vague, while oracles tend to be cryptic. <rueful smile> Helpful, no?