The Power of Apparel

[Beyondthebreach]

My apologies if this has been discussed already, but I didn't find it in any threads so far . . .

It seems that the Insequent have no Lore, rather their power comes from Knowledge (this is mentioned somewhere towards the end of Fatal Revenant).

Of the four Insequent, they each have a unique manner of clothing themselves:

Mahdoubt has a special robe made of various fragments that others have given her and attached themselves.

Vizard Wears nothing (or almost nothing - can't remember) and is covered in his own filth.

Harrow is dressed neat and fine with clean, well kept attire (don't forget those buttons that he strokes).

Theomach I don't have the book with me now, but isn't he wrapped up almost entirely? His features are hidden.


Their power is knowledge - for instance, knowledge of what the exact right attire, applied or utilized in an exact way, will bring about a desired effect.

The Mahdoubt may have been able to travel through time, but the Knowledge to bring Linden back to the present required Linden to sew on a piece of her own clothing . . . willingly and with gratitude.

The Vizard may not have wanted to live like a filthly hermit . . . rather the Knowledge he sought required that he did.

This is a special kind of power - not Earthpower or Wild Magic - it is power through the exact utilization of objects, gestures or phrases.

Ya' know . . . that is kind of like Jeremiah's power. He has the Knowledge of how to place certain items in a specific fashion to form portals (or prisons). It must be more than coincidence that both Jeremiah and the Insequent have this new form of Knowledge Power than Donaldson has introduced.

[amanibhavam]

Interesting points, will have to ponder this.

Only loosely connected: was the Theomach's face covered to prevent Linden from recognizing him as Kenaustin Ardenol? After all she has seen his face when he battled Brinn. Okay, there was a fog and the Guardian was old as hell by then but still there was a chance for a recognition. And then the Theomach would've been susceptible to Linden invoking his true name...

[Unfettered One]

Afterwards, I thought that as well, that he covered in order not to be recognized.

I think that LA can still invoke his true name, since he's now Elohim/Theomach/Brinn.

[Endymion9]

Ya' know . . . that is kind of like Jeremiah's power. He has the Knowledge of how to place certain items in a specific fashion to form portals (or prisons). It must be more than coincidence that both Jeremiah and the Insequent have this new form of Knowledge Power than Donaldson has introduced.

If we take any of what Jeremiah/croyel said as truth, then this could be why the Insequent were attracted to him on his previous "mind" journeys into the land. He displayed their type of power/knowledge.

[ninjaboy]

I don't suspect that the Theomach deliberately attempted to conceal his identity from Linden... And another thing is, if, hypothetically, you wear a mummy outfit to a costume party, and no-one else wears one - people are going to recognise you AS the guy wrapped in bandages, regardless of wether you cover your face or not...

But oddly I read a GI answer about the Theomach - and I can't find it now but SD implied that after he was defeated by Brinn he just kind of.. died.. Which I have trouble understanding because.. it seemed that the Theomach Linden met in the past was from around Stave's time, as he seemed to have prior knowledge of his One Tree Victory AND his defeat... And there's no point LA learning his name if he can't be summoned by her in the next two books..

But as for what they wear... To me it more reflects their personality than their power.. Mahdoubt treasures her interactions with others and she keeps an item of cloth from everyone she helps, which is important to her.. The Harrow Is smart - he knows he is and dresses in a way that, well, looks smart.. And he's arrogant and seemingly prideful. Wheras the Vizard was very humble, and friendly.. He seems like a close-to-earth guy who doesn't expect company, and doesn't dress to impress anyone.

[Beyondthebreach]

Well, I realize that Donaldson was trying to give a lot of personalization to the Insequent and they have some unique clothing styles that set them apart. I don't mean to imply that clothing is the source of all their power, rather that certain items have some sort of talismanic property.

The Mahdoubt's cloak, for instance - I think that to some degree it is the source of her power/knowledge. I don't believe that she would have been able to bring Linden to the present without Linden sewing on a piece of her own clothing - it also seems that Linden had to discover this for herself.\

The Harrow is repeatedly described as stroking various "buttons", touching items on his person and making gestures whenever he invokes his power/knowledge. Somehow, I think that Donaldson is hinting that there may be more to they way they dress (or certain specific "talismanic type" items) .

[Seppi2112]

Yeah I agree breach... the fact that SRD kept mentioning the Harrow's buttons stood out as more than just decorative.

[Endymion9]

The Harrow's buttons seem like the weakness that is needed to overcome him. Instead of the haruchai going for his eyes in the final battle, they go for his buttons.

[Seppi2112]

Well he's obviously attacking Linden because he needs more flair... heh.

[Bran Pendragon]

So long as the stroking of buttons doesn't evolve into Robert Jordan style straightening of skirts and admiring of scandalously brief ball-gowns.

[Ur Dead]

To take a phrase from Tolkien:

All that glows doesn't glitter.
He may look Foul and feel fair..

He's uglier than a yak but his heart is like a moose!

Or something to that effect..

You know what I mean!!

[Würd-o]

For me, the symbolism of costuming the Insequent is quite significant.

First off, the author makes the point that the Insequent are ordinary mortals. They have no special puissance apart from the knowledge and lore they identify themselves with in later life. In youth, they make merry, like ordinary people.

Interesting that these people are set up as being antagonists of the Elohim, then. How could they hope to be so? The Elohim are quite the opposite. They are nothing ordinary, all things at once, equal to earth's needs, and self-actualized. Yet in their transcendence, the Elohim only want the continuation of the earth, which they insure through their own self expression. The Insequent, on the other hand, work for the continuation of the earth with mortal and mundane forms exalted by knowledge. They improve themselves the same way each reader can, and achieve a level of relevance on par with the supernatural, doing so. They must be presented as foes to the Elohim, and the Elohim must seem arrogant to them, insuring the continuation of the earth by their very being, while the Insequent take a direct hand, transcending themselves until they are able to affect the earth with purpose.

Symbolically, I think the Insequent's costuming is reflective of the path each individual's lore has taken him or her on, toward puissance, toward transcendence, and toward fulfillment. In this sense, their costuming is indicative of their path to relevance, their quest for identity. And, it is opposite the Elohim's which is gifted to them in their very being, a gift of identity, rather than a potential to be developed.

So, what do the Insequent we've encountered use to clothe their mundanity?

The Theomach, greatest of the Insequent, floats draped in a shroud. I say shroud because it covers his face, his whole head, and every other part of his body, isn't tailored, and is a single sheet of fabric. He is covered like one might cover the dead. Beyond this world, yet still physically present in rude form, covered because society would have it be so, though he has no need for it.

The Mahdoubt is quite different. She is covered with evidence of service. Her transcendence is achieved through serving others, thus each piece of her gown is a remnant, a keepsake, a gratitude. And, when her gown is revealed in glory, it is wonderful to behold -- a gown to suit a fantasy princess -- not granted by a fairy godmother from nowhere meeting out justice, but by her own willingness to aid and comfort and serve others.

The Vizard is clad in rags and filth. His path is that of the ascetic. He disdains raiment as irrelevant, unworthy of note, because it represents the material world. Instead of acquiring things, he hones the self. Thus, he is able to best the early Haruchai.

Finally, we have the Harrow. For him, it is very much about the acquiring of things, accumulating the stuff of the world to the self, the putting on of airs, accessories, artifice, material possessions. It's no mistake that he is called greedy by everyone who knows him. He covers himself in items of power.

For each of the Insequent, the objective correlative of the their specific identity is their raiment, donned in seeking knowledge and self-actualization. It reminds me of a reader picking up a book.

I like where the author is going presenting the Insequent to us, especially when contrasted to the Elohim.

[Unfettered One]

Good analysis. Best I've seen so far.

[Seppi2112]

As far as Theo is concerned, it's possible that shrouding himself is symbolic for trying to shroud his influence through Time... trying to stay invisible and all.

[Mr. Broken]

It makes me wonder what an Insequent could do with some Camo.

[sweetbread]

It makes me wonder what an Insequent could do with some Camo.

Dang, looks like Hile Troy was summoned about 3,000 years too early...