The Illearth War - Chap 26 Gallows Howe

[Earthblood]

Sorry for the delay fellow watch persons.....

My favorite character in all the chrons shines here, imo.

Bannor of the Bloodguard, one of the original Haruchai to speak the vow in the face of the splendor of Revelstone & all the old Lords majesty once again saves TC's a**!

He pulls TC out of the chasm created by Elena & dead Kevin's battle. I always think that Bannor has got to be thinking - "What the *&%@ is wrong with this guy??!! He's got the ability to save the Land & all the Lords, but he's either too stubborn or too weak or too stupdid or something to even make an attempt!!!!" But, alas for Bannor, he's stuck with him & he usually needs to use all his skills & knowledge to keep TC alive.

I love the passsages describing their hurtling & frenetic ride. Can you picture Bannor losing his rudder and pulling out one of the seats to replace it, very non-chalontly(?sp), lalala, a walk in the park.....all while flying thru crevises & chasms, following the path Earthroot was finding, to some outlet, deep in the bowels of Melenkurion Skyweir.

Finally, the boat dives deep underwater and Bannor clutches TC to keep him alive. Bannor himself grabs the orcrest - an object of Earthpower, which sustains him, as the Vow does.

Am I the only one who finds himself holding his breath as he reads this part????

Finally they are shot out into the Black River entering Garroting Deep (and I take a deep breath ).

They eventually come upon the company, at Gallows Howe. TC takes in the scene and is able to pretty much assess the situation - Troy has lost his 'Land sight', the guy with the white hair singing is Caerroil Wildwood and tey are all staring at him, wondering what the heck happened.

Of course, Troy has a major convulsion at the news of Elena's fall, and Mr. Stoicism, Bannor, give Mhoram the marrowmeld scuplture the Elena had made fo TC after Mhoram's remark of:

"It is as I have said," he breathed achingly. "Madness is not the only danger in dreams."

I'm not exactly sure what Bannor heard in this remark, but he hears a deeper meaning and relates it to the scuplture.

SRD then takes us thru a quick series of events in the next 3 pages - Troy is given the info that TC is Elena's father, he cracks TC in the head (giving him the proper injury for his return to Haven Farm) then denounces his Oath of Peace & verges on the brink of despair, desperate for a way to try to save Elena, which brings him to the point of demanding TC use the white gold to save her.

He swung toward Covenant. "You!" he shouted stridently. "If you're too much of a coward to do anything yourself, at least give me a chance to help her! Give me your ring! - I can feel it from here. Give it to me! Come on you bastard. Its her only chance."

So what does our hero do?????

He gives the ring to Troy.

To my surprise, Troy is able to produce power from the ring. How is this so?? "You are the white gold" This is what TC has been told. How is it that Troy can elicit power from the ring?? I know we had a whole thread specifically addressing this question, but perhaps some of you might want to expound on it a bit here. I am not completely convinced that this is something that makes sense. Troy has no 'power', aside from the fury of emotion that could trigger the ring - is this enough?

Well, aparently it is enough for the Forestal, and he quickly snuffs it -
"No, I cannot permit this." He actually has fear that Troy could possibly develop some mastery of the wild magic and reneg on their agreement.

He then claims the payment for his forebearance -

"Eyeless one, you have promised payment. I claim your life."

. Thus, Caer-Caveral is "born".

As the company processes the passing of Troy, a large blast from Rivenrock shakes the Earth and they witness the Fall of Elena, as Covenant begins to fade........

[Earthfriend]

No, Earthblood, you aren't the only one holding his breath through this chapter. Phew! - what a ride!!

Great review, earthy!

[Reisheiruhime]

Like EF said, you're not the only one holding your breath. Wonderful job, positively wonderful!

[caamora]

I think everyone holds their breath at this part!

What I noticed in this chapter is that, during the watery escape, SRD writes from Bannor's POV.

Back again to the wound that Troy inflicts on TC. Is it the same wound of dead Kevin's?

Caerroil Wildwood stops Troy from using the White Gold. His reason:

I cannot permit this. It is breaking the Law.

He then goes on to say that if Troy masters the White Gold, he will recant what he owes. My question is what Law is Troy breaking by using the ring?

[Han-shan]

My question is what Law is Troy breaking by using the ring?

Excellent question! The two quotes:

"Who comes? Have you made other bargains?"

"If I have," sang the Forestal, "they are no concern of yours. But these two pass on sufferance. They have not spoken to me. I allow them because the light they bear presents no peril to the trees - and because they hold a power which I must respect. I am bound by the Law of creation."

In the stillness, Caerroil Wildwood lifted his gnarled scepter. "No," he trilled, "I cannot permit this. It is a breaking of Law."

I'm only just learning to use this magnificent Staff, but, if I read things right, though Covenant is the white gold, it is possible for others to use it. Possible, but it should not be done. And I need a small TPTP spoiler - and a big huge WGW spoiler - to make my point.

Spoiler

I think Mhoram should have said: "You are the wild magic." The thing is, if Covenant had given the ring to anyone else, and that person had given it to, and been killed by, Foul, that person would not have been able to put him/herself between Foul and the Arch of Time.

Yes, others can access the wild magic if they have the tool - the white gold - but Covenant is the wild magic itself. And those who are not the wild magic should not use it.

[danlo]

This is obviously a plot 2 confuse the hellfire out of every servant of the Land! How in the world did Han-shan come by the Staff of Law? Did Jay (kevinswatch) make some nefarious deal while we weren't looking? Is Han-shan the 2nd coming of Jay? How does a new member with not that many post come up with all the WGDs 2 aquire this thing? Something is not right here...If Han-shah is an aspect of F&F then he's doing some weird-ass deals off the board. 2 weird in any case...

Sorry Earthy! Back 2 ur read...So what law is this exactly? Sorry Han-shan/Jay/Fist (whoever u r..) what u have stated above doesn't seem to answer anything for me unless u mean to infer that the Creator is speaking thru Caerroil Wildwood and saying that TC is the only 1 who can effectively use the WG. The songs lead us to believe that there can be only 1 WG wielder "to save or doom the Land". But where is the hard evidence that this is part of the Law of Creation? Or any other Law?

Earthy fantasic job with your chapters! Thank you! I have to read this stuff again, like right now...

[Infelice]

To my surprise, Troy is able to produce power from the ring. How is this so?? "You are the white gold" This is what TC has been told. How is it that Troy can elicit power from the ring?? I know we had a whole thread specifically addressing this question, but perhaps some of you might want to expound on it a bit here. I am not completely convinced that this is something that makes sense. Troy has no 'power', aside from the fury of emotion that could trigger the ring - is this enough?

I haven't read the thread discussing this question, and maybe I should before having my say but I'm a little too lazy. Could it be that perhaps Troy really was from TCs world, and that this, coupled with his extreme emotion at that point in time, may have given him some sort of access to the white magic? Was it Troy's passion or was it maybe that he was from Covenant's world and that allowed him access to that power? Or was it a combination of both?

[caamora]

Danlo, I think what he is saying is that since TC is the white gold that anyone else who attempts to use it is going against the grain. Troy could borrow the wild magic and Caerroil Wildwood saw that as a breach of etiquette - or breaking the law. The ring's rightful place was with TC.

[Earthfriend]

Perhaps what the Forestal feared was that Troy would break the Law of Time (ie, the Arch) through his reckless use of the wild magic - maybe that is the why he could not permit HT's use of the ring.

As to why and how HT was able to call forth power from the ring in the first place...i can only suggest that as Covenant was in the Land, the power of wild magic, (which is Covenant, according to Mhoram), was accessable to anyone with the courage/stupidity/blindness to use it. And Covenant gave the ring freely to Troy - he surrendered his power to Troy's inflammatory desire to save Elena.

This is precisely what Foul wants Covenant to do - to freely give up the wild white gold magic...by stopping Troy, Wildwood may have very well prevented the destruction of the Land, and Foul's escape from the Arch of Time!

[Earthblood]

You might be on to something, EF...

Foul did talk about TC giving the ring freely so he could gain it's power - hhmmmm.....

[Han-shan]

Thank you, caamora. That's about it.

Infelice, here's Foamfollower in LFB:

"If the wild magic may not be called up by the simple decision of use, then I do not understand it at all."

And Amok:

"White gold is brought into use like any other power - through passion and mystery, the honest subterfuge of the heart.

Troy's ability to use it seems to back these quotes. Only a small part of any Lore is about how to call up power. "It comes freely to any willing hand."

And as Earthfriend points out, the fact that Covenant gave it freely couldn't have hurt any. It allows the receiver to feel entitled, removing at least one impediment.

[JD]

Good point EF, another by product of Troy using the Wild Magis is it might have the same effect that the Staff of Law has on Drool Rockworm. Since he was also not meant to wield its power.

[Skyweir]

excellent points han-shan and ef!

not only TC could exercise wild magic at all times Foul wanted it for the power he could invoke from it .. the Elohim also wanted the ring .. not as a safe-keep .. i wager it is difficult to say when it comes to the elohim .. what they would have done with the ring had TC given it to them ..

and yeah i never thought of that aspect JD .. there may well have been consequences for a given user .. like there was for Drool ..

Obviously LF had to aquire a substance that he himself did not possess - wild magic - the ring - or so he believed .. but it was true wasnt it? If LF had the ring he would have been able to breach the AoT .. The Creator knew this possibility .. yet TC was wild magic .. and only wild magic could defeat LF ..

mmm .. thats a head bender for sure

[Damelon]

The ring was freely given to Troy. Therefore there were no problems for him with it's use.

Spoiler

That is the reason that the Elohim just can't take the ring from him in TOT

[caamora]

So, by the points of view I have read, it would seem that Troy's ability to bring forth power from the ring is due to his BELIEF that the ring has power. TC does not believe, therefore the ring has no power. TC only believes that he can spark a reaction by touching the ring to something else i.e., the orcrest - so, in essence, a spark is all he gets.

[Han-shan]

I think that Covenant’s problem wasn’t that he did not believe he had it, but that he was terrified of it. Mainly because of the leprosy, and his need to not be thinking like a healthy person when he woke up. I think he believes, but cannot allow himself to behave that way, and have that kind of mind-set and habits when he wakes. So he can only access it with a trigger. That way it’s not really him with the power, it’s the combination of the ring and the trigger.

Power itself is not complicated. The user's relationship with it can be.

[Skyweir]

interesting .. I wonder if that is quite true ..

.. to harnass the power of wild magic one must have 'faith' .. mmm .. thats something i havent considered before

[Han-shan]

Take my word for it. Understanding power is the focus of my life. What is needed is the knowledge that it is there, the belief that it is accessible, and the will to use it.

Again, Amok said

"Desecration requires no knowledge. It comes freely to any willing hand."

And

"White gold is brought into use like any other power - through passion and mystery, the honest subterfuge of the heart."

Few beings knew power like Amok!

A big drawback - for humans - is that power very often goes beyond our control. We are not beings of power, and, so, often misjudge it's strength and/or our ability to control it. Arrogant little things, aren't we? Beings of power, Forestaal and Elohim, for example, don't make such mistakes.

[Vain]

*fixing this quickly...I hope

[Skyweir]

mmm . i am sure i responded to this yesterday :s