Kevin's Watch

I was confused and /or frustrated about this part the first time I read this book, now, again -

Ruel shouted, "Warmark! Corruption attacks!" At the word Corruption, a complete lucidity came over Troy. Fear filled all his thoughts with crystalline incisiveness. At once, he perceived that the Bloodguard was trying to undo him; Ruel's impenetrable fidelity was a deliberate assault upon his fitness for command. The understanding made him reel, but he reacted lucidly, adroitly. He took one last look around him, saw one or two figures still surging back and forth through the livid anguish of the dust. Ruel was moving to capture him. Overhead, the dark birds dropped toward the ruins. Troy picked up a rock and climbed to his feet. When Ruel touched him, he suddenly gestured away behind the Bloodguard. Ruel turned to look. Troy hit him on the back of the skull with the rock.

Troy has lost his mind? The vortex of trepidation denizens have cracked the Warmark enough to apparently kill his own Bloodguard? I realize that these beasties were quite potent since they had taken all all night to create & summon - everyone was diminished from them, but c'mon.... kill your Bloodguard? You know, I really didn't have a problem with Troy up until this point. I'd like to think that the Creator re-blinded him. All Hail Lord Mhoram for bailing out Troy and saving everyone!

Side note - interesting to see the similarity in the method of creating Fleshharrower's weapon used to summon the vortex and the creation of Vain/ Staff of Law.

Interesting. I agree that the Vortex caused him to lose his mind, but I see it that triggering a deep enough fear will cause the person to gain a feeling of total clarity about their situation... although that clarity may not be the "right" thing to do. Remember the exchange w/ Mhoram before the assault:

M: It is a Vortex of Trepidation.
HT: What will it do?
M: It will make us afraid.

When I read the Gap series, when Morn describes the effect of her Gap-sickness, I immediately thought of this scene from TIW. She says something to the effect of:

"The Universe spoke to me. I knew with complete lucidity what I had to do."

Oops.

It's essentially the same effect SRD is describing. Something snaps, and the person is totally calm and clear. We've probably all had a situation where in the midst of panic or fear, you suddenly became hyper-aware in order to manage or survive the situation... a fire, accident, etc.

Unfortunately, in the case of our beloved SRD characters, they've also snapped. Troy essentially got Gap-sickness and thought Ruel was a threat. Of course, there's also a truth in there: the Bloodguards' unnatural fidelity is an assault on any sane human's fallibility. Morn's reasoning also included something that made perfect sense at the time (I don't remember the details).

I would've loved to know what Mhoram experienced during the Vortex.

wow, excellent post guys. I never thought of that Gap connection.

I don't think Troy's mad actions were entirely random. As the text implies, somehow Troy's inner doubts manifested themselves. In his bones he never really believed that he was fit for command, or that the Warward and the Lords really supported him. His rationalizations for attacking Ruel [ BTW, no coincidence that it sounds like "rule", I'm sure. ] are acting out his magnified fears.

Notice that he does not become scared of his responsibilities; he becomes scared about how other people judge him. This is probably a deep insight into his character.

Well put!