The Mahdoubt

[Nerdanel]

There is indeed evidence that the Demondim had no eyes.

...and for that moment Linden saw the Demondim clearly.

Eyeless like the creatures they had spawned, they...

I think we can say that the mode of perceiving the world is among the most fundamental things a creature has. Viles, being non-corporeal, would not have used normal eyes to see. Therefore when they made the Demondim to be their offspring, it would have seemed natural to them to pass on their perception. They probably did it without thinking about it, just like humans designing an android would be highly unlikely to even seriously consider leaving out the ability to see the visual electromagnetic spectrum and replacing it with sonar.

The ur-viles are known to fare well without eyes. They do not bump into walls or anything and might conceivably have exotic things like a full 360-degree sense of their surroundings. However, what the thing called color really means is how an object reflects in the narrow band of electromagnetic radiation called the visible light. That kind of information is hard to replace with senses that do not depend on the electromagnetic.

[ur-bane]

All this talk with all these theories led me to apply Bible Code to Runes where we were first introduced to the Mahdoubt.

Over and over, no matter what code reference I chose, I kept coming up with the same thing!!!!

The code always deciphered as "RAFO." What does this mean? Does this mean that SRD knew that the Mahdoubt would stir up such a discussion that he decided to encode "RAFO" right into the text to avoid having to repeat himself in the GI??
"RAFO." Amazing! Bible Code really does work!


I am still looking over your info, Wayfriend. I am intrigued, and trying really hard to come up with concrete counter-evidence.

[burgs]

If so, he's far more clever than we originally thought.

[Nerdanel]

It could be that eyes are mirrors of the soul that remain the same through different forms. Lord Foul seems to be a case in point. If this is true, the Mahdoubt could not be Thomas Covenant. She would need to be something other than human. I also suspect that creatures like the Demondim who normally do not have eyes would not be bound to this limitation.

[Nerdanel]

I suspect I should be wary of her, yet I feel only fondness.

I crave your pardon. My concerns have misled me.

Note the words "be wary of her" and "concerns".

Apparently Mahrtiir had not encountered the Mahdoubt before. He started forward to place himself between Linden and the older woman.

They are supposed to be in a sanctuary and the Mahdoubt is outwardly unthreatening. Linden had just had Mahrtiir's health-sense restored. Linden sees only goodness in the Mahdoubt's aura but what does Mahrtiir see, initially?

I think the Mahdoubt has been casting a spell on everyone, but she needed a while to get it working on Mahrtiir, just like she needed a moment to erase the wisps of darkness from Linden's perception.

She is a servant of Revelstone. The name is her own. More than that we do not know.

She is the Mahdoubt. She serves Revelstone. And she has cared for us kindly.

She is the Mahdoubt. She serves Revelstone. Naught else is certain of her.

Sound just a bit like a rigid enchantment?

Earlier Linden sees the Mahdoubt and her hair and face and clothes but it takes her literally PAGES to notice the eyes. One of the eyes in question is burning orange. I would have expected it to be the first thing Linden noticed about the Mahdoubt, but not. Just imagine yourself seeing someone with the Mahdoubt's eyes. I think the Mahdoubt is using her glamour to mask her eyes from casual observation but Linden managed to see through that after a while.

Are you gladdened to behold it? Yes, assuredly, it must be so. How should it be otherwise? Every scrap and patch was given to the Mahdoubt in gratitude and woven together in love.

I have this nasty feeling that the Mahdoubt appears to serve selflessly, but secretly takes a payment in the form of a bit of cloth. (She can't just take a scrap without giving anything back for the same reason Lord Foul cannot take the white gold ring by force.) Then the bit that was "given" in gratitude is woven in place by the person's love for the Mahdoubt, allowing for all sorts of nasty magic.

Note that while Linden sleeps soundly (one might say unnaturally soundly) the Mahdoubt comes in quietly to bring the other tray which she had conveniently forgotten earlier. When Linden wakes up for good she is too groggy and in too much of a hurry to note any new holes in her clothes. I wonder if any had suddenly appeared.

It may be that the Mahdoubt's robe's ugliness is a sign of the ugly purpose behind it all.

Then she breathed with an air of intensity, "This, however, she knows assuredly. Be cautious of love. It misleads. There is a glamour upon it that binds the heart to destruction."

This could have many meanings, but I think at least one of them is that Linden should be afraid of her love of The Mahdoubt. I think the Mahdoubt is in service of something evil, most likely Lord Foul. I think the Mahdoubt risks a lot with her warning. She sounds uncharacteristically almost frightened in that scene. ...And naught vexes her anymore?

But then, I have this little theory that "assuredly" doesn't mean what it looks like. Instead of "surely", it could mean "convincedly", as in "I am convincing you to believe that piece of fiction." "It is as certain as rising and setting of the sun" is far from certain in a series the last book of which is called The Last Dark. The Mahdoubt might know about that, particularly with her shadow wisps.

Perhaps the Mahdoubt tactic might be what Lord Foul is using this time... That could be scary.

[I'm Murrin]

i'll never understand how you just managed to make the Mahdoubt seem dark and frightening. *shudder*

[ur-bane]

I think it is a very good interpretation of the text regarding the Mahdoubt.
Well done, Nerdanel.

I don't know that I agree, but to be honest, I've done so much thinking about the Mahdoubt, mah brain is fried. I've been trying to poke holes in Wayfriend's idea (without success so far, I might add) and now this.

As far as the Mahdoubt is concerned, I think I am now in the RAFO category.

[dlbpharmd]

As far as the Mahdoubt is concerned, I think I am now in the RAFO category.

We all are, ur-bane.

[bossk]

Fascinating that someone with very little page-time has created a mystery cult.

[danlo]

I'm sworn to secrecy, but I can tell you all that no one in this thread has a single clue as to who or what the who Madhoubt is.

[I'm Murrin]

I'm sworn to secrecy, but I can tell you all that no one in this thread has a single clue as to who or what the who Madhoubt is.

And since you are one of those in this thread, we can conclude....

[Nerdanel]

I knew it! The Mahdoubt is a civilized Sandgorgon!

(Only half joking.)

On a more serious note, I'm planning to write a little essay at some point on all the things the Mahdoubt could be. I think nobody has mentioned a Raver yet as a Mahdoubt candidate, for some reason. After I wrote my most recent post I've started to think that a Raver is in fact one of the more plausible theories. Jehannum in particular could be anywhere and if he has learned to disguise himself with the sort of magic the Mahdoubt has, Linden wouldn't detect his presence.

It also makes sense that Jehannum would constantly refer to himself (his host body really) in the third person. Has any Raver ever actually LIED? That's a good question. The Mahdoubt certainly looks very skilled in saying technically true things that may have extra meanings. "Assuredly" is a great help in this.

[danlo]

(I'm not kidding SRD told me exactly what it was, but like his email address I'll never give it out)

[Nerdanel]

But you danlo have revealed over seventy things the Mahdoubt ISN'T if you are to be trusted. That limits the options quite a bit. I think I may have hit the target with Jehannum and now you will never again say in this thread that none of us has any clue.

In fact, the more I think of it, the more likely Jehannum sounds. Lord Foul says the Masters serve him, and he must have some way to influence them what to do. Revelstone used to be the kind of place to merit a full-time Raver and I think it's still important enough. The Mahdoubt clearly has some mental hold over the Haruchai.

[danlo]

You're wrong, sweetie!

[dlbpharmd]

(I'm not kidding SRD told me exactly what it was, but like his email address I'll never give it out)

We have ways of making you talk.....

<reaches for thumbscrews>

[Sunbaneglasses]

(I'm not kidding SRD told me exactly what it was, but like his email address I'll never give it out)

Ha!He told me too!The only way I can trust you is if you E-Mail me the correct answer.Then and only then will I know that you are indeed in the circle.

[danlo]

The circle!!!??? I was out of the loop the second as I was out of the womb!

[Sunbaneglasses]

The circle!!!??? I was out of the loop the second as I was out of the womb!

Ahh the passphrase!Very good!But do you know the secret handshake?

[Seareach]

But do you know the secret handshake?

I do! I even know the SECRET secret handshake. Do you know that one?