Arch of Time

zan · Post by **zan** » Thu Jul 03, 2003 6:45 pm

Lord Foul wanted Thomas Covenant to break the Arch of Time.
Does anyone suspect Thomas Covenant may be time travelling back and forth in the Third Chronicles?

Post by **Fist and Faith** » Thu Jul 03, 2003 9:01 pm

I don't suspect anything at all. Anything I come up with will be complete speculation, and I'm sure wrong. I'll just be amazngly pleasantly surprised when I read it.

However, I'd be interested to know what you have in mind.

Post by **Kinslaughterer** » Fri Jul 04, 2003 5:21 am

You the time travel idea might be an interesting prospect. Covenant could meet the Old Lords, see the arrival of the Unhomed, witness the haruchai taking the Vow, or stop the Ritual of Desecration. Who can say what to expect? Perhaps Roger could actually play a role this time around instead of being mentioned twice in every book.

Post by **amanibhavam** » Fri Jul 04, 2003 9:25 am

I do not expect such a thing. That would very much give a Superman- or Godlike status to TC, and SRD is never that much generous to his protagonists

zan · Post by **zan** » Fri Jul 04, 2003 4:52 pm

Lord Foul had a thing about breaking the Arch of TIME. That must mean something.
Supposed Covenant was faced with the choice of stopping Foul in the past, by sacrificing the future. Some people want a prequel series instead of a sequel series. Why not have both at once? Third Chronicles is supposed to be four books long.

Below is my idea for the plot.

Foul kidnaps Covenant's and/or Linden's son.
Covenant is forced to break Arch of Time.
Foul is loose while Covenant and Linden find themselves in various times/places picking up the pieces. If the Laws of Life and Death can be broken, and the Land wounded, then why can't the same be done to Time?

Post by **[Syl]** » Fri Jul 04, 2003 5:33 pm

Sounds interesting, zan (no relationship to certain Delvian priestess?). I'd love to see some time travel-type action (though only if they kept the timeline solid... no changing the future and such)

Post by **CovenantJr** » Fri Jul 04, 2003 11:20 pm

I can't see it happening, myself. Firstly, TC now is the Arch, so breaking it would be breaking himself, not to mention wild magic as well.

Also, unless I'm mistaken, the destruction of the Arch results in LF being given free reign throughout the universe, effectively resulting in much destruction, and certainly the end of the Land, since the Arch is what holds the Land together.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sat Jul 05, 2003 7:08 am

The Arch of Time is everything to Foul because it's what imprisons him but he can't break the Arch himself without white gold.

So now that TC is part of the Arch of Time, I don't think it is such a crazy idea for a time travel thing to be part of the plot in the new series. There are so many questions I have about the Old Lords...it would be such a cool way to answer some of those questions while still creating a brand new series.

Post by **amanibhavam** » Sat Jul 05, 2003 7:45 am

In my very humble opinion that would be a cheap and spoiling thing to do. Almost every single Law is broken now in the Land. If SRD breaks the linearity of time he takes away that little element of uncertainty that comes from not knowing exactly what the future is or what the past truly was.

Post by **Fist and Faith** » Sat Jul 05, 2003 12:03 pm

CovenantJr wrote:Firstly, TC now is the Arch

This makes me think. Remember how Covenant felt when he found out that the Bloodguard were 2000 years old, and that Troy was still alive, as Caer Caveral, after millennia? He always groans when he thinks of the horror of being alive for so long. Well, welcome to the club, Tom!!!

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sun Jul 06, 2003 4:19 am

amanibhavam wrote:In my very humble opinion that would be a cheap and spoiling thing to do. Almost every single Law is broken now in the Land. If SRD breaks the linearity of time he takes away that little element of uncertainty that comes from not knowing exactly what the future is or what the past truly was.

What good is it to be the friggin Arch of TIME if you can't break the law of time once in a while?

Post by **Kinslaughterer** » Sun Jul 06, 2003 4:39 am

I suppose the real question is whether or not traveling back and forth between time will actually break the Arc. If Covenant is indeed the Arc can't he say what goes, sort of? Maybe the Creator made up the breaking the arc thing so he could relax. Remember the Clave told Sunder that the aliantha was poison. Ok, ok that's just stupid.

Post by **variol son** » Sun Jul 06, 2003 4:49 am

but the earth that land exists in needs the arch of time 2 exist. if it is broken, wont the earth cease 2 exist. SRD wouldnt do THAT i dont think.

sum sui generis

Post by **Skyweir** » Mon Jul 07, 2003 2:20 pm

I agree Variole .. it is difficult to conceptualise TC being able to pop in and out of the AoT or even from one dimension <the Land> to another <his world> at his whim and pleasure .. its too easy

and smacks of a little incongruent with the system SRD has established for governing his world and his characters imho.

I agree with amy - to me this would cheapen SRD's well crafted plot and creation premise .. not that i think it would be impossible .. just impracticable .. and even .. not a little disappointing ..

TC is bound to the AoT .. and has to retain its integrity with his presence .. the idea of his flitting in and out of realities .. just doesnt seem to gel as a logical or rational proposition ..

but who knows what SRD will do with TC in the 3rd chrons .. I certainly dont but cant wait to see

Post by **Kinslaughterer** » Mon Jul 07, 2003 2:27 pm

When you really think its had to imagine just which way SRD might go. Clearly he'll have to make something slightly different. I think you'll agree that a downtrodden, broken TC, thrust into a world he never made and forced to defeat the Despiser won't really be new. Who knows?

Post by **MsMary** » Tue Jul 08, 2003 1:58 am

Interesting ideas...

BTW, Zan, is that your real name?

~MsMary~

Post by **hamako** » Tue Jul 08, 2003 10:11 am

TC has always been the cornerstone of the arch, being the wild magic. Something happened to him at the end whereby he was changed so that he was also protecting the arch from Foul - he had to go thru Covnenant to get to the arch.

Not sure what this means to TC's role in the 3rd series, but it sounds like he's on a higher plane and is untouchable by Foul.

Maybe the key could be in his leprosy - nothing in the entire series could remove it and if I recall, it was fused into him with the venom in the Banefire. What does this mean for the arch? Yet another flaw?

I don't know, maybe it's pointless speculating? Too many possibilities .......

Zan · Post by **Zan** » Tue Jul 08, 2003 12:04 pm

Covenant is referred to as saviour and destroyer. There are a lot of references to PARADOX in the Covenant Chronicles, so 'being' the Arch of Time may not be an obstacle to breaking it,,(or even just make a little hole in it).

NOTE Zan's a name I sometimes prefer to use in my net life, which I prefer to keep separate from my home life. It's short and easy to remember.

Post by **caamora** » Tue Jul 08, 2003 5:58 pm

Interesting idea. Maybe it could be this way: rather than TC being able to time-travel himself, he might be more of a portal between times. He could see the future and summon (by virtue of having white gold) someone (Linden, Roger?) to a certain time in the Land to keep something from happening or to ensure a sequence of events.

Post by **Skyweir** » Wed Jul 09, 2003 3:08 am

mmm .. the portral theory is quite intriguing

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Arch of Time

Arch of Time