Cool--an interesting thread in the TC forum. Hasn't been one in a while.
Sleeplessone wrote:
I'm confused, can Foul theoretically use a bloody 'tool' to bust the Arch of Time or not ? If not, why is Foul so gleeful about over purchasing TC's soul, and why is TC so concerned ?
No. Donaldson explicitly says Foul can't use a tool to break the Arch. As Wayfriend pointed out, this was set out in the 1st Chronicles by the necessity of TC
freely giving the ring to Foul. But really, we don't need any more than your own quote to decide this; Donaldson has stated his rules. Thus, we must conclude that Foul is "so gleeful" and TC is "so concerned" because freewill is still in play.
This can mean two things. Either the free choice has already been made when TC surrendered to the knife, or the free choice is going to be made when TC surrenders his ring. I believe the answer is "both." (Something similar to Wayfriend's speculations about "spiritual" vs physical embodiment of that choice.)
TC is concerned that he will make a choice which damns the Land. AND he is concerned that his surrender at the bonfire
was this choice--or it will
necessitate this choice (depending on whether the Land is "in his head" or independently real, doesn't matter which because the outcome will be the same).
Although Donaldson supposedly leaves behind the issue of the Land's reality, I think it provides insight to the issue of freewill. On the internal interpretation, Foul is part of TC's psyche. So "giving Foul the ring" means that TC gives his passions over to Despite, i.e., he chooses to act upon the darker, more destructive side of his own passions.
Anger and hatred are impotent unless you choose to act upon them. This was the whole point of the Oath of Peace. People limited their freewill so that their actions wouldn't be dominated by negative emotions. However, they took it too far and applied it not only to their actions, but also to experiencing those emotions themselves. Thus, Mhoram's solution was to allow himself to experience those very human emotions--to feel authentically--but then to act rationally upon those feelings, to choose creative and nondestructive actions.
However, TC's choice at the bonfire--while full of good intentions--certainly wasn't nondestructive. It was like a miniature Ritual of Desecration. Having good intentions isn't enough to keep you from serving Despite. You can't surrender your way to victory.
TC is scared that he has already chosen to die, to surrender to death. He didn't "sell himself for Joan." He didn't do something entirely noble. He let himself be destroyed, and did so with a smile. He thought he was doing something good because he had good intentions. But now that he's in the Land, he's worried that this choice is just like giving Foul the ring.
Or, if the Land is an external, independent reality and Foul is his own person, TC's fear of serving him comes from his knowledge of himself (demonstrated at the bonfire, along with his entire past choices). He's afraid that he'll repeat the same destructive pattern (and in a way this is in fact what he does). Foul is gleefully hoping that this will turn out to be true because he, too, knows TC. He knows what kind of person he is. Just like Linden, he has been "chosen for this desecration." And, if you believe Foul entered TC's world as a real, independent being, then Foul also believes he manipulated the circumstances surrounding TC's choice to reenter the Land. Thus, the initial conditions are such that TC will eventually choose to give him the ring. This doesn't mean that TC isn't free. It just means that his choices are specifically limited. After all, TC thinks he is going to die. If that's not enough to make one give up, I don't know what else Foul could do.
I'm confused, can Foul theoretically use a bloody 'tool' to bust the Arch of Time or not ? If not, why is Foul so gleeful about over purchasing TC's soul, and why is TC so concerned ?
