This is not the first time that an author has broached the subject of time travel, so some of us may have an easier time understanding (or misunderstanding
![Wink ;)](./images/smilies/wink.gif)
The way I see it happening in LCTC, time travelers are cautioned not to do anything which might have an inordinate (and assumedly devastating) impact on the history of the Land.
However, from the standpoint of history, it must be assumed that the actions of any time travelers in the past have been incorporated into and become part of the single history of the Land upon their return to their 'normal' time stream - any other explanation involves creating a new instance of reality for each historical deviation - which would be very messy to explain, a letdown to the audience, and in general is not a good creative direction to head.
The Theomach and the Mahdoubt, both experienced time-travellers, are very concerned about not having dramatically a bad impact to history through the inordinate actions of the travelers, for the results would destroy the Arch of Time and thus free the Despiser.
So, one must deduce from this line of thinking that the knowledge/assistance that Berek gained from Linden & Co. and the Theomach has become a (well-hidden) part of the Land's history. In other words, had the Theomach not intervened and taught Linden and Berek the Seven Words in the distant past, the current History of the Land (via Berek's legendary and unprecedented knowledge of Earthpower) and the events unfolding in FR (via Linden's "accidental" learning of the Seven Words) would radically shift.
So, here is one theory tossed out there for us to chew on: who is the Theomach? Is it TC - the TimeWarden - himself? Who is powerful enough to dismay the Elohim so? Who has consistently dismayed the Elohim all along because of his 'reckless' use of power? If it isn't TC, could it be someone else, like Anele? Mahrtiir? Esmer? Why else do we need the convention of the mummy-like wrapping protecting the physical identity of the Theomach, unless that identity would somehow give Linden and Co. forbidden knowledge (i.e., a visgae that someone would recognize) that might change perceptions, actions, and thus the course of history?
Regardless of whether the Theomach is somone we already know or not, I'm interested in hearing other theories on how time is being impacted by the traveling that has occurred so far in the LC.
For example, the other threads that mention CW's actions in scripting Linden's Staff - or the supposition that Linden's staff and Berek's staff are one and the same (i don't believe this to be true, because of the egregious temporal anomaly this represents) - the truth/import of Findail's explanation of the Worm and how/whether this information should be seen in a new light based on Infelice's actions in FR... lots of "time"ly questions... I think it is interesting looking at this new and history-impacting information from both the in-story PoV and the author's perspective - since in my experience, attempting to adopt the latter can help us eliminate theories within the former.
dw
[Post-post addition]
Here is an existing thread that broaches the subject of the Theomach and time travel. Let it be said it was F&F that first posed the theory that someone Linden already knows well (TC? Brinn?) may be the Theomach.
dw