The beggar's note

[Fist and Faith]

*bump* for First Mark Tuvor

[amanibhavam]

bumping this for Chasmys

[Sivit na-Morham]

"Still, it didn't answer my question.
Do you think Covenant was brave or cowardly for refusing to believe?"

Both, and neither. He was just trying to cope. I think this idea runs throughout the story. For instance foul could not be beaten by anyone trying to beat him. Or the Ranyhyn would not choose him, but could not refuse him either. Covenant was just trying to get through it. And hard headed as hell.

Sivit

[danlo]

This is one of a number of "ethics" related topics from the back pages...

[The Dreaming]

I thought this was apparent to everyone? If Foul gets the White Gold and breaks the arch of time, he poses a serious threat to all existance. I bet he would destroy the "real" world just to spite Covenant.

[Revenant]

What "inner strenght" does 'our' real world lack against Foul?
I mean, apart from its usual day-to-day corruptibility.
Is there any 'Earthpower' in 'our' reality (or rather SRD's TCTC's Reality) for Foul to corrupt?

In other words: what would/could beings like the Land's Creator and his Enemy (LF) possibly do to harm our world? (Apart from being politicians or lawyers of course!)

This is of course not much answerable: one of those questions SRD might consider pointless in his gradual interview.

As a detail in a work of fiction, any answer could be invented out of thin air, depending on the creator's (i.e. the author's) volition/inspiration.

The degree to which we can take the beggar's note can't go much beyond what SRD has presented us in his (SRD's) invented worlds (both SRD's Covenant's reality and the Land's reality/dream). We can of course invent our own answers, conjecture on what SRD's intentions were, etc.

But eventually our favorite creator has the last word...
In the end, the answer might come in the final paragraph of the final chapter of the final book of the Last Chronicles... in a decade or so


... or not.

[Dawngreeter]

How deep goes the connection between our world and the Land?

That's what I was wondering about Hile Troy / Caer - since he was thousands of years old that would equate to some 10 plus years Hile was supposedly sitting there in a coma. What if someone in the real world had unplugged him from life support would Caer just have dropped and the Andelain went to crap? Are the two worlds linked like that? I think the Hile Troy / Caer is the only example like that (thats if you presume him to be real)

[Reynard Ashmelayn]

That's one that bugs me...I mean, I like to think of the Land as a reflection of the real world, just as Foul is in some way a reflection of Covenant's inner Despiser...but if that's the case, how does Troy fit into things. The coma theory seems very unlikely to me; the situation he was in during summoning would be pretty rough to survive. He's dead, no question in my mind. But if that's the case, how could he persist in the Land...?

But if the Land is a reflection of the real world, and/or vice versa (never forget the balance/paradox theme in 1 CHRONS), then if Foul destroys the Arch, then the real world should cease to exist as well, just as the only way to eliminate someone's reflection in a mirror would be to remove them.

Perhaps the real world is the Arch of Time.

(Or perhaps I need sleep)

[danlo]

The question might be: what Law does Elena break? And is it before or after Hile is transformed into a Forestal?

[Revenant]

Well, the laws surrounding the summonings might not be that well known.

Consider (again!) Troy's example: his summoner, Atiaran, did die from it (although she wanted to bring in Covenant). But he still was in the Land.
But didn't we expect Covenant to go back to his reality when his summoner died?: Drool in LFB ("Drool is dead. He was your summoner, and with his death the call ends. That is the way of such power." ); High Lord Elena in TIW; Foamfollower in TPTP. And Linden going back in WGW ("Foul isn't dead - but as far as your summons goes, he might as well be." ).

So, what are the exceptions? And while we're at it, what are the rules?
Of course we don't really know extensively. Might not be the kind of details SRD wanted to delve into also.

I do believe that Troy is dead in Covenant's Reality, while he lived in the Land's.

But this has probably been debated to death in this board's Land Dissection (I'm too lazy now to browse through all that!)

(To danlo: Law of Death was broken by invoking Kevin, in TC's presence; Troy's transformation into a Forestal happened later, again in TC's presence)

[Reynard Ashmelayn]

...but I don't think the breaking of the Law of Death affected the "real" world. It would be like trying to hurt me by stabbing my reflection in the crotch.