"The Words were Seven, and they are these"

[deer of the dawn]

"The Words were Seven, and they are these.
"The first is melenkurion, which signifies bastion or source. The second is abatha, suggesting endurance, or the need for endurance. Third is duroc, a reference to Earthpower, the substance of the fire which the lady wields. Fourth comes minas, which also means Earthpower, but in another sense. It indicates Earthpower as a foundation rather than a source of theurgy."
As he spoke, each Word seemed to resonate and expand until it strained the fabric of the tent. "The fifth Word is mill, which cannot be defined in human speech, but which implies invocation. The sixth, harad, may be understood as a stricture against selfishness, tyranny, malice, or other forms of despair. It binds the speaker to make no use of Earthpower which does not serve or preserve the munificence of creation. And last is khabaal, to which many meanings may be ascribed. In your mouth, it is an affirmation or incarnation of your sworn oath to the Land."

The Theomach, of course, is the one speaking, teaching the Words to Berek Halfhand-- although, apparently, Berek had already heard them from the stone of Mount Thunder, and crying them aloud had invoked the Fire Lions in support. But he had forgotten them, and had been trying ever since to remember. The Theomach is restoring them to him.

"This tongue is spoken nowhere, other than by one race that I scorn to name, for it is the language of the Earth's making and substance rather than of the Earth's peoples. Yet it may be discovered, word by word, by those who seek deeply for knowledge-and who do not wish to ben dor distort that knowledge for their own ends."

The race he scorns to name must be the Elohim. Although he doesn't like the Elohim, it is probably more that he does not want Berek to know about them in order not to violate the Arch of Time.

What I want to know is how did the Lords know some of the Words during the time of Covenant's first sojourns in the Land? Did they discover them "word by word" by deep seeking for knowledge? They certainly were "deep seekers", establishing the loresraat and the Unfettered traditions. Or were they somehow preserved in memory, perhaps by the Giants? Not the Haruchai; for though they would not have forgotten them, neither would they have had any interest in using them or teaching them to others.

"Aloud," he said distinctly, "the Seven Words are spoken thus. Melenkurion abatha. Duroc minas mill. Harad khabaal."
Before he had pronounced ten syllables, the Staff of Law burst into flame. With each Word, the fire mounted until it enclosed her in a conflagration: power gentle as a caress, entirely without hurt or peril, and jubilant as a paean.

The 9th and 10th syllables occur in the Word duroc, the very Word that describes the Power inherent in the Staff of Law.

Roughly translated, a person uttering the Seven Words is saying this:

"Source of needful endurance.
I invoke Earthpower, active and fundamental.
I shall make no use of Earthpower for purposes of despair, by my binding vow."

It is significant, then, that Words were missing at various times. Atiaran knew only "Melenkurion abatha!" and also cried out "Melenkurion abatha! Banas mill Banas Nimoram khabaal! Melenkurion abatha! Abatha Nimoram![i/]" against the ur-viles' attack on the Celebration of Spring, the Banas Nimoram. Mhoram knew "Melenkurion abatha! Minas mill khabaal! which is odd, since duroc was the Word having to do with active use of Earthpower, in which he was skilled.

The sixth, harad, may be understood as a stricture against selfishness, tyranny, malice, or other forms of despair. It binds the speaker to make no use of Earthpower which does not serve or preserve the munificence of creation.

Very significantly, Elena only ever seems to say "Melenkurion abatha!" Too bad she never knew harad, it might have kept her from desecrating Earthpower and breaking the Law of Death.

[wayfriend]

What I want to know is how did the Lords know some of the Words during the time of Covenant's first sojourns in the Land?

I presume they were handed down from Berek, who taught it to the old Lords, who preserved it in the Wards, which taught it to the new Lords.

Alas, somewhere along the way, a bit was lost.

I don't think it's too significant that it was the stricture against despair that was missing. I think of it as ironic, but not having significant impact. The new Lords were in no way unaware of the need to resist despair. They just weren't perfect at it.

One might argue that, having the seventh word, their resistence to despair might have been strengthened. But the example of Kevin - who surely knew all the words - argues otherwise.

[SkurjMaster]

Dear Watchers,

Please forgive me if I am making points that have already been made. Maybe I am making too much of things, but this discussion made me think of something. I wonder if the revelation of the seven words is somehow more significant than just a bit of history. Is SRD revealing something of broader scope and meaning than just history? Knowledge of the words (I presume) would have been handed down in the lore of Kevin, but harad was lost to the new Lords. Why wasn't it simply recorded along with Melenkurion abatha! Duroc minal mill khabaal!?

Kevin had fallen into Despair by the time he prepared his Wards and hid them. Maybe he understood something limiting in the Lore, or meant to imply it, by purposely leaving out harad. Remember, the Elohim claim to be effectless against the Despiser as beings of pure Earthpower. Kevin's Ritual of Desecration diminished the Despiser, but did not destroy him. Was Kevin's despair from the ultimate realization that Earthpower could never undo the Despiser and his works? That the only way to kill the Despiser was to destroy the Earth? Maybe Kevin's ultimate lesson was that you must abandon the desire to preserve creation in order to eliminate the Despiser.

Could that be the lesson in the revelation of the missing word now?

[deer of the dawn]

"Yet it may be discovered, word by word, by those who seek deeply for knowledge-and who do not wish to bend or distort that knowledge for their own ends."

It would make sense to us that the Words were handed down. But then, why would the Theomach have made this statement? Who else would classify as "deep seekers" but the new Lords, who spent lifetimes searching out the mysteries of lore? As passionate as they were, it seems too unlikely that Words-- one of the central elements of their mysteries-- would have been lost along the way. I am reminded of (and I don't have the numbers or facts stored in my mind) Hebrew texts that were transcribed as parchments and papyrii wore out after decades of use. Our assumption would be that minor and major discrepancies would accumulate over time until after, say, a few thousand years, the original would hardly resemble the copy. But when the oldest copy of the book of Isaiah was found, thousands of years older than anything they had before, the discrepancies were less than 1%, and no major ideas or teachings were affected. The words were just too important for them to mess it up, and I imagine the Lords have a similar feeling for the Seven Words. And there are only Seven, not thousands, to transmit from generation to generation.

Why wasn't it simply recorded along with Melenkurion abatha! Duroc minal mill khabaal!?

That's a good question. No one ever seems to actually read any text in the Land. There are indecipherable runes, and Mhoram speaks of "translating the speech of the old Lords" (although in the GI, SRD answered my question about that, saying it was a "poor" choice of words). But there is never any actual writing or reading that happens.

Kevin had fallen into Despair by the time he prepared his Wards ... Was Kevin's despair from the ultimate realization that Earthpower could never undo the Despiser and his works? That the only way to kill the Despiser was to destroy the Earth?

Good point about the Wards-- but then why would he bother to make them? If no tool would ever be effective? He believed the Ritual of Desecration would destroy Foul.

I have to conclude that the Words were "discovered" by Lords seeking them. They simply never attained to perfect knowledge. (Which gives rise to another big question, for another thread: will the Seven Wards ever be fulfilled, in sequence?)

[rdhopeca]

Dear Watchers,

Please forgive me if I am making points that have already been made. Maybe I am making too much of things, but this discussion made me think of something. I wonder if the revelation of the seven words is somehow more significant than just a bit of history. Is SRD revealing something of broader scope and meaning than just history? Knowledge of the words (I presume) would have been handed down in the lore of Kevin, but harad was lost to the new Lords. Why wasn't it simply recorded along with Melenkurion abatha! Duroc minal mill khabaal!?

Kevin had fallen into Despair by the time he prepared his Wards and hid them. Maybe he understood something limiting in the Lore, or meant to imply it, by purposely leaving out harad. Remember, the Elohim claim to be effectless against the Despiser as beings of pure Earthpower. Kevin's Ritual of Desecration diminished the Despiser, but did not destroy him. Was Kevin's despair from the ultimate realization that Earthpower could never undo the Despiser and his works? That the only way to kill the Despiser was to destroy the Earth? Maybe Kevin's ultimate lesson was that you must abandon the desire to preserve creation in order to eliminate the Despiser.

Could that be the lesson in the revelation of the missing word now?

I believe that duroc was not used during LFB, and only used after the discovery of the 2nd ward...? That would lead me to believe that only certain words were available at certain levels of knowledge...

[Mack]

That's a good question. No one ever seems to actually read any text in the Land. There are indecipherable runes, and Mhoram speaks of "translating the speech of the old Lords" (although in the GI, SRD answered my question about that, saying it was a "poor" choice of words). But there is never any actual writing or reading that happens.

From LFB....

REVERENTLY, Prothall took the chest. His fingers fumbled at the bindings. When he raised the lid, a pale, pearly glow like clean moonlight shone from within the cask. The radiance gave his face a look of beatitude as he ventured his hand into the chest to lift out an ancient scroll. When he raised it, the company saw that it was the scroll which shone.

I had always assumed that there was a written language based on the "scroll" (2nd ward).

But....

"My friends-people of the Land-Thomas Covenant once inquired of me why we so devote ourselves to the Lore of High Lord Kevin Landwaster. And now, in this war, we have learned the hazard of that Lore. Like the krill, it is a power of two edges, as apt for carnage as for preservation. Its use endangers our Oath of Peace.
"I am Mhoram son of Variol, High Lord by the choice of the Council. I declare that from this day forth we will not devote ourselves to any Lore which precludes Peace. We will gain lore of our own-we will strive and quest and learn until we have found a lore in which the Oath of Peace and the preservation of the Land live together. Hear me, you people! We will serve Earthfriendship in a new way."

Since Lord Mhoram declares the lords will seek a new lore at the end of TPTP and nothing seems to have been recorded of this new lore in the later chronicles. One has to wonder

[wayfriend]

"Yet it may be discovered, word by word, by those who seek deeply for knowledge-and who do not wish to bend or distort that knowledge for their own ends."

It would make sense to us that the Words were handed down. But then, why would the Theomach have made this statement?

I think here, the Theomach is saying that the meanings of the words can be discovered by anyone, anyone who knows what the words are. He's not saying that anyone can discover what "the" seven words are.

So if they weren't spelled out in the First Ward, then the new Lords would not have them.

It's tempting to say that it's Kevin's fault for only putting six in the first Ward. But I don't think it's that simple. I think they needed lots of lore to decipher the Wards, and that the Lords were not skilled enough to find all seven within them.

[Brother Charn]

It's tempting to say that it's Kevin's fault for only putting six in the first Ward. But I don't think it's that simple. I think they needed lots of lore to decipher the Wards, and that the Lords were not skilled enough to find all seven within them.

This explanation makes the most sense to me - that the Wards were similar to apocryphal texts in a language that requires both deciphering and interpretation. According to what we were told of the Wards, each Ward was designed to lead (directly or indirectly) to the discovery of the next. The activation of the krill apparently was the key to invoking Amok - it is assumed that a Lords' activation of the krill would have required intimate knowledge contained within the Sixth Ward, and Covenant short-circuited Kevin's intent with Wild Magic.
Which Ward contains the text of all seven words is a matter of speculation, and not the only way to get them - it appears that those with sufficient lore, like the Unfettered, can discover some of the words on their own, by 'reading' stone, water, wood, etc. Whether the Unfettered share that knowledge with their contemporaries is unlikely, though another matter for speculation.

bc aka dw

[Ur Dead]

Unfortunely by only having 6 of the 7 words, the new Lords were betrayed by their most trusted allies. The Bloodguard.

How could those Haruchai hear only in whispers the words of " Power of Command" (from the TIW - during the quest of Elane and Covenant)
and NEVER tell the new Lords the missing word? IN over a thousand years after the ROD? When they knew the Lords were looking for that last word.
They never told any of the new lords what the sixth word was. They must have heard it so many times, it should have been coming out of their ears.

Maybe Esmer was right about them.
"Because of the Haruchai, there will be endless havoc!"

[wayfriend]

The Bloodguard's motivations in this regard must be basically as Bannor described in TIW.

Bannor's gaze did not waver. In his familiar, awkward, atonal inflection, he replied, "Ur-Lord, we have seen the Desecration. We have seen the fruit of perilous lore. Lore is not knowledge. Lore is a weapon, a sword or spear. The Bloodguard have no use for weapons. Any knife may turn and wound the hand which wields it. Yet the Lords desire lore. They do work of value with it. Therefore we do not resist it, though we do not touch it or serve it or save it.

"High Lord Kevin made his Wards to preserve his lore-and to lessen the peril that his weapons might fall into unready hands. This we approve. We are the Bloodguard. We do not speak of lore. We speak only of what we know."

So: the Haruchai never mentioned it because they didn't want to usurp Kevin's protective schemes embodied by the Wards, and because they don't make any attempt to either help nor hinder the Lord's quest for lore.

That much, at least, is explicable to me.

[deer of the dawn]

I had always assumed that there was a written language based on the "scroll" (2nd ward).

Scrolls are spoken of, but strangely, no one ever seems to actually read. There are runes as well, which mean something-- but no one ever seems to decipher those either.

[lborl]

But....

"My friends-people of the Land-Thomas Covenant once inquired of me why we so devote ourselves to the Lore of High Lord Kevin Landwaster. And now, in this war, we have learned the hazard of that Lore. Like the krill, it is a power of two edges, as apt for carnage as for preservation. Its use endangers our Oath of Peace.
"I am Mhoram son of Variol, High Lord by the choice of the Council. I declare that from this day forth we will not devote ourselves to any Lore which precludes Peace. We will gain lore of our own-we will strive and quest and learn until we have found a lore in which the Oath of Peace and the preservation of the Land live together. Hear me, you people! We will serve Earthfriendship in a new way."

Since Lord Mhoram declares the lords will seek a new lore at the end of TPTP and nothing seems to have been recorded of this new lore in the later chronicles. One has to wonder

I'm probably missing the point here, but I always assumed the 'new lore' Mhoram's followers came up with was the blood magic of the Clave in the RETURN TO OZ-style Second Chronicles. That is why the Clave had a "na-Mhoram". No?

[rdhopeca]

But....

"My friends-people of the Land-Thomas Covenant once inquired of me why we so devote ourselves to the Lore of High Lord Kevin Landwaster. And now, in this war, we have learned the hazard of that Lore. Like the krill, it is a power of two edges, as apt for carnage as for preservation. Its use endangers our Oath of Peace.
"I am Mhoram son of Variol, High Lord by the choice of the Council. I declare that from this day forth we will not devote ourselves to any Lore which precludes Peace. We will gain lore of our own-we will strive and quest and learn until we have found a lore in which the Oath of Peace and the preservation of the Land live together. Hear me, you people! We will serve Earthfriendship in a new way."

Since Lord Mhoram declares the lords will seek a new lore at the end of TPTP and nothing seems to have been recorded of this new lore in the later chronicles. One has to wonder

I'm probably missing the point here, but I always assumed the 'new lore' Mhoram's followers came up with was the blood magic of the Clave in the RETURN TO OZ-style Second Chronicles. That is why the Clave had a "na-Mhoram". No?

The blood magic did not appear for 2000 years, after Sheol took over the Council and changed its name to the Clave.

[Mack]

We know from Covent's soothtell in "the Wounded Land" that Lord Mhoram did pursue new lore.

After the destruction of Foul's Creche, the Council of Lords had prospered in Revelstone for centuries. Led first by High Lord Mhoram, then by successors equally dedicated and idealistic, the Council had changed the thrust and tenor of its past service. Mhoram had learned that the Lore of the Seven Wards, the knowledge left behind by Kevin Landwaster, contained within it the capacity to be corrupted. Fearing a renewal of Desecration, he had turned his back on that Lore, thrown the krill into Glimmer-mere, and commenced a search for new ways to use and serve the Earthpower.
Guided by his decision, Councils for generations after him had used and served, performing wonders. Trothgard had been brought back to health. All the old forests-Grimmerdhore, Morinmoss, Garroting Deep, Giant Woods-had thrived to such an extent that Caerroil Wildwood, the Forestal of Garroting Deep, had believed his labor ended at last, and had passed away; and even the darkest trees had lost much of their enmity for the people of the Land. All the war-torn wastes along Landsdrop between Mount Thunder and the Colossus of the Fall had been restored to life. The perversity of Sarangrave Flat had been reduced; and much had been done to ease the ruin of the Spoiled Plains. n For a score of centuries, the Council served the Land's health in peace and fruitfulness. And at last the Lords began to believe that Lord Foul would never return, that Covenant had driven Despite utterly from the Earth. Paradise seemed to be within their grasp. Then in the confidence of peace, they looked back to High Lord Mhoram, and chose to change their names to mark the dawning of a new age. Their High Lord they christened the na-Mhoram; their Council they called the Clave. They saw no limit to the beauty they could achieve. They had no one to say to them that their accomplishments came far too easily.
For the Staff of Law had been destroyed. The Clave flourished in part because the old severity of the Law, the stringency which matched the price paid to the beauty of the thing purchased, had been weakened; and they did not know their peril.
Finding the Third Ward, they had looked no further for knowledge. Through the centuries, they had grown blind, and had lost the means to know that the man who had been named the na-Mhoram, who had transformed the Council in the Clave, was a Raver.
For when Covenant had defeated the Despiser, reduced him by wild magic and laughter to a poverty of spirit so complete that he could no longer remain corporeal, the Despiser had not died. Despite did not die. Fleeing the destruction of his Creche, he had hidden at the fringes of the one power potent enough to heal even him: the Earthpower itself.
And this was possible because the Staff had been destroyed. The Law which had limited him and resisted him since the creation of the earth had been weakened; and he was able to endure it while he conceived new strength, new being. And while he endured, he also corrupted. As he gained stature, the Law sickened.
The first result of this decay was to make the work of the Council more easy; but every increment strengthened Lord Foul, and all his might went to increase the infection. Slowly, he warped the Law to his will.
His Ravers shared his recovery; and he did not act overtly against the Land until samadhi Sheol had contrived his way into the Council, had begun its perversion, until several generations of na-Mhorams, each cunningly mastered by samadhi, had brought the Clave under Lord Foul's sway.

So...eventhough they had turned their backs on Kevins lore, they find the third ward and look no further for knowledge? Seems to be an inconsistency or contradiction. Either way, Kevins lore was abandoned so the "seven words" would not have come to light to the new lords. Lord Morhams lore seems to have not been recorded or was destroyed by Sheol as the na-Mhoram. So we don't know if Mhoram knew or found the words. Sunder and Hollian used what lore to heal the Land? They only knew of blood lore which could not have been used after the Sunbane was destroyed.
Since the Theomatch is introducing some of Kevins lore back into the Land through Lindens knowledge of the seven words. Is another danger present?

Mhoram had learned that the Lore of the Seven Wards, the knowledge left behind by Kevin Landwaster, contained within it the capacity to be corrupted.

[AjK]

Interesting discussion!

Seven words, seven wards. While a one-to-one relationship of words to wards clearly doesn't exist, I wonder if there is a significance to the number seven. I tried a search but came up empty. Has numerology been discussed here or in the GI to anyone's knowledge? (* looks at Wayfriend * )

[Menolly]

And remember, apparently there are also seven hells...

[wayfriend]

Seven is a number freighted with mystical significance.

Has there been a discussion on numerology in the Chronicles? I'm not aware of any.

Is there a significance to seven words, seven wards, seven hells? I can't see any. But you never know. Frankly, I just chalk it up to choosing numbers freighted with mystical significance.

Seven and Three being the big two in this department.

We also have three Ravers, and three corners of truth.

[AjK]

Is there a significance to seven words, seven wards, seven hells? I can't see any. But you never know. Frankly, I just chalk it up to choosing numbers freighted with mystical significance.

Most likely the case. (Seven words, seven wards, but one wurd. Word! )

We also have three Ravers, and three corners of truth.

... and once, twice, three times a lady.

[Zortag]

I've been re-reading FR, and taking my time with it this time, and I've come up with a couple of things that seemed to invite a different take. This the first of those. In Berek's camp, the Theomach "teaches" the Words to both Berek and Linden.

==================

"The tale is told that in your despair upon the slopes of Mount Thunder, ancient Gravin Threndor, the Fire-Lions or the mountain or the very Earth spoke to you. Yet to avow that you indeed heard their speech is not sooth. It is merely a convenience, a means of passing over that which cannot be explained. The truth is both more simple and more profound. Inspired by by despair and desperation, you called out for succor, offering your oath in recompense. This you did because your need was absolute, and because you sensed, in a fashion which defies your explication, that Mount Thunder was a place of power amid the supernal loveliness of the Land. How or why your appeal was received and answered, you cannot declare."

Berek made a visible effort to mask his surprise; but his growing wonder was clear in spite of self-control.

"Nonethe less," the Theomach continued, "a form of speech occured. Words became known to you, Words which you did not hear, and which you could not comprehend. Because they had been given to you, their puissance was evident. Also no other course remained to you. Therefore you uttered them aloud. When the FIre-Lions replied, you were as astonished as your foes.

"Since that moment, however, the Words have gone from you. Your recall them only in dreams, and when you awaken, naught but sorrow remains."

...

A moment later, the Theomach said, This tounge is spoken nowhere, other than by one race that I scorn to name, for it is the language of the Earth's making and substance rather than than of the Earth's peoples. Yet it may be discovered, word by word, by those who seek deeply for knowledge - and who do not wish to bend or distor that knowledge to their own ends."


================================

OK, the question is, who "gave" the Words to Berek?

The obvious answer is the Theomach. Certainly the Theomach could have discovered the Words "word by word", for he is a seeker of knowledge, and has no need for the Words for his own use. But does the Theomach have the ability to "place words in ones mind, without speech" and then lock them away so they can never be used again? That to me sounds a lot like the Elohim, a gift with restrictions. Once Berek had been given the Words, the Theomach certainly made use of that, for his own purposes; but would he have given the Words to Berek, in the first place. If the Elohim had given the Words to Berek, with restrictions, then the Theomach would certainly like to "throw a wrench" into the Elohim's plans.

Who else might have reason, and ability, to give the Words to Berek. Lord Foul comes to mind. A specific Elohim, Kastenessen, as well. But with both of them, why lock the knowledge away after only one use?

Shortly after this scene comes another where invisible beings speak, this time to Linden, and they are aware of the EarthPower she has (the Staff of Law). The Viles have not yet been completely turned by the Ravers, and there are indications that there may be some who distrust the Ravers and their ideas. Is the Lost Deep of the Viles, near Mount Thunder? But again, why lock the knowledge away?

Another specific Elohim, is the one contained within the Colossus. This one knows that his power against the Ravers is waning, and Berek is certainly fighting against the Ravers.

Perhaps the Theomach is the best answer. By locking it way it gives him a reason to come back at a later time, for a more comprehensive teaching. But I am not convinced, I feel there's something going on here, but I can't put my finger on it.

[wayfriend]

Welcome to the Watch, Zortag. (Why not introduce yourself over in the Summonsing forum, so we can welcome you in style?)

That's a good post.

I think that you left out one possible choice for consideration. And that's that it happened more or less exactly how the story goes. No "hidden agent" required.

Certainly the Fire Lions are there on Mt Thunder. They seem to be beings of Earthpower. And they gather on Mt Thunder, and no where else, for a reason. I think Mt Thunder is a special, Earth-powerful place in its own right. There's a reason why the Viles dwelt there long ago; there's a reason why the Fire Lions live on it's peak; etc.

At minimum, the Fire Lions are an agent who could have communicated with Berek, and provided the words. Or perhaps there is something there on Mt Thunder which both can release the Fire Lions and communicate with Berek.

Or, in a world that contains magical mysterious things such as Andelain and Earthroot, could there not be room for one more magical mysterious thing? Need it be explained away as a consipiracy of other, known entities, rather than a unique new thing having no connection with other events?

Sure, there is some economy in re-using story elements, but the peril of time-travel stories, in a way, is the overuse of the "discovery" that everything is really something else and we never knew it. There must be room for new things, and the discovery of them, as well.