Kevin's Watch

Ok, so there's the original, The Illearth Stone.

Then there's Kevin's Dirt. Roger admits it was he and Kas who released it under Mt. Thunder to limit LA. Of course, she practically had it figured out when she was arguing with Esmer.

But Lord Foul had Jeremiah. Her son had constructed images of Revelstone and Mount Thunder in her living room. And the Masters had reason to think that Kastenessen now inhabited Mount Thunder.

Perhaps he was also responsible for Kevin's Dirt-

Such speculations left her sick with frustration....

But I think there's one more coming.

"Now, however," he said, "the Fire-Lions are restive. After millenia of concealed life, they may be observed at any time rampaging upon the slopes of Mount Thunder. They present no peril to the Land, for they are beings of Earthpower, as condign after their fashion as the Ranyhyn. But the cause of their restlessness must be a great peril indeed. When the unnamed Elohim spoke of 'a bane of great puissance and ferocity' from the far north whch had 'found release' in Mount Thunder, no Master knew the form or power of that evil, though all presumed it to be the source of the Fire-Lions' unrest.

"Upon that occasion, the Elohim also named the skurj."

It's the timing. The bane can't be Kevin's Dirt, though it's possible the bane could also be responsible for Kevin's Dirt (just as the Illearth Stone could give Covenant the magic tracking hotfoot and blast stuff). For one, Kevin's Dirt had been around a long time, the Fire-Lions not so much. So I'm thinking Kas slipped the Durance (with the aid of Jeremiah and Roger, maybe?), meets up with Roger in Foul's old stomping ground, find a bane that releases Kevin's Dirt (must've been easy), and then use that same bane or find another bane that stops the Durance dead and lets the skurj loose, ticking off the Fire-Lions in the process.

My money's on Illearth Wood, rolaillimol, showing up later in Kas's hands/hand (perhaps even having a direct relationship to his giving Roger a hand).

<edit to close parenthetical statement and 'correctly' spell rolaillimol.>

My money's on Illearth Wood, rollaimol, showing up later in Kas's hands/hand (perhaps even having a direct relationship to his giving Roger a hand).

Illearth Wood? Rollaimol?? I have never heard of any reference to this.

The other banes refered to where never defined in the Chronicles but it was said that Foul placed them there.

Illearth Wood? Rollaimol?? I have never heard of any reference to this.

Mostly tongue-in-cheek, Ur Dead. 'Wood' as opposed to 'Stone,' and rollaimol as opposed to lomillialor (spelling backwards is hard ).

The Illearth Wood, nice. I like where your head's at, Syl.

And I'm sure you're right. Other banes will present themselves in the next installment. Esmer keeps speaking of an endless havoc. The parts you quote lead one to think of some new threat. But couldn't it just be the skurj? How far north was Kastenessen's Durance, I wonder. Are the arghuleh pissed and coming to the land to battle? Just what would rouse the Fire Lions? IMO, I would say it's the skurj themselves. But as for what was used to create Kevin's Dirt, I'd say there's something else there. And remember, Kastenessen and Esmer had help from moksha Jehannum for that one.

Doesn't Syl's quote point to the idea that the Fire Lions are unrestive because of the release of the skurj who, once released, have come to hang out in Mount Thunder, the home of the Fire Lions?

Do we need to invent another bane?

If you take the bane in "When the unnamed Elohim spoke of 'a bane of great puissance and ferocity' from the far north..." as a general kind of bane, then no.

Syl wrote:If you take the bane in "When the unnamed Elohim spoke of 'a bane of great puissance and ferocity' from the far north..." as a general kind of bane, then no.

I think the bane from the north is the skurj, no?

SRD stated in Runes that the Durance that held Kasty was far, far to the north. I had always assumed that this was the 'generic' bane that was being referenced, not a (new) Bane.

dw

( I don't think that the Durance was the bane; the Durance was what was preventing the bane from escaping. The Durance wasn't "holding" Kastenessen in the same sense; the Durance *was* Kastenessen, in the form of a keystone that capped the fires of the skurj. Anyway ... I think the skurj are both the bane of which the Elohim speak, as well as what are now making the Fire Lions restless, as they have come to dwell about Mount Thunder. )

Except then the elohim follow that by mentioning the skurj outright. It would've been easier to mention them in the same breath, as well as being less confusing to the audience (or at least to me). It's entirely plausible, but I don't quite like it. It would've made things a lot simpler to replace "also" with "then."

Regardless, Kas still manages to find a way to slip himself around the Durance, and then a while later, from Mt. Thunder, releases them. Tells me that he found something in Mt. Thunder that made the skurj's complete release possible. Whether that's the same bane that let them make Kevin's Dirt or something else... I suppose it could've been along the lines of them sitting around and Kas suddenly realizing "Oh yeah, I can just blast apart the Durance like this," followed by a wave of the hands and a few words in elohimspeak. I suppose the Durance could've just worn out without his close proximity.

In Fatal Revenant was wrote:With elaborate patience, he explained, "You need to realize that he didn't break his Durance. He didn't have that much actual power. No, he slipped out. Which he managed to do by becoming part skurj himself." While Linden stared at him, Covenant muttered as if to himself. "He probably got the idea from Foul. The Despiser loves XXXX like that."

Then he resumed his explanation. "Oh, the effect was the same. No more Durance."

If this is true - and it is the only story we have - then the Durance was made no more merely because Kastenessen slipped out. Nothing else was necessary to release the skurj.

I'm interpretting this to mean that the Durance was Kastenessen himself, or, more exactly, the binding that made Kastenessen into something that restrained the skurj. When he broke that binding, there was nothing restraining them any more. I could be wrong, but that's how I see it so far.

The Elohim "speak truth to conceal truth". They are ever ambiguous in order to mislead.

That would've been a bit more instant, wouldn't it? No doubt there's some truth to it mixed in, but it could be as much concocted tripe as the whole 'Jeremiah's in two places' bit. If Roger had a direct hand (ha) in it and wanted to completely avoid any mention of it, it would take a whole lot of twisting. And he likes to keep it simple but confusing and esoteric enough that Linden wouldn't ask questions.

earthbrah wrote:Are the arghuleh pissed and coming to the land to battle?

Oh good one, earthbrah! That would be awesome... but they weren't in the list of creatures the Elohim said were going to help bring about the Land's destruction: the skurj, Sandgorgons, and croyel.

Still, I wouldn't mind seeing the arghuleh again.

Though I don't think the situation is very likely, SRD created the arghuleh and used them in The Second Chronicles. Because of that, I have to believe that we'll see them again in some capacity.

He doesn't seem to be leaving any stone unturned. At the same time, it doesn't seem to fit that these beasts are the banes talked about in this thread, what stirred the Fire Lions. Still, I'd like to see them in battle one more time!

Wayfriend wrote:

In Fatal Revenant was wrote:With elaborate patience, he explained, "You need to realize that he didn't break his Durance. He didn't have that much actual power. No, he slipped out. Which he managed to do by becoming part skurj himself." While Linden stared at him, Covenant muttered as if to himself. "He probably got the idea from Foul. The Despiser loves XXXX like that."

Then he resumed his explanation. "Oh, the effect was the same. No more Durance."

If this is true - and it is the only story we have - then the Durance was made no more merely because Kastenessen slipped out. Nothing else was necessary to release the skurj.

I'm interpretting this to mean that the Durance was Kastenessen himself, or, more exactly, the binding that made Kastenessen into something that restrained the skurj. When he broke that binding, there was nothing restraining them any more. I could be wrong, but that's how I see it so far.

I read it that way too.
Kastenessen was the Durance much like I understood the Elohim that turned into the Colossus.
They were the "battery" that powered the construct (durance and colossus) that held them.
(I also like where SRD is going with the whole Elohim fear certain constructs idea!)

earthbrah wrote:Though I don't think the situation is very likely, SRD created the arghuleh and used them in The Second Chronicles. Because of that, I have to believe that we'll see them again in some capacity.

He doesn't seem to be leaving any stone unturned. At the same time, it doesn't seem to fit that these beasts are the banes talked about in this thread, what stirred the Fire Lions. Still, I'd like to see them in battle one more time!

Hell, maybe SRD will have the Nicor attacking the east coast of the Land, being made mad by the rousing of the Worm...? Or a Bhrathair army with hustin soldiers invading the Land? And the merewives... maybe Esmer will bring one of his mothers on stage in an act of betrayal? Or how about a Soulbiter popping up in the middle of Andelain?

You never know with SRD; everything mentioned before might be on stage for a final battle.

You know that scene in FR when the urviles and Sandgorgons and Cavewights and the Harrow and Esmer and Roger and Linden and everyone are all dukin' it out? I have a feeling we'll be seeing more insane battles of that kind in the last two books.

It was so intense with so many factions involved, I loved it. It was like sensory overload!

SWEET.

earthbrah wrote:You know that scene in FR when the urviles and Sandgorgons and Cavewights and the Harrow and Esmer and Roger and Linden and everyone are all dukin' it out? I have a feeling we'll be seeing more insane battles of that kind in the last two books.

It was so intense with so many factions involved, I loved it. It was like sensory overload!

SWEET.

Yes, "Sons" was an excellent chapter... I've read scraps from that chapter a few times over the last few weeks. All those different beings "dukin' it out" as you say; reminds me of the chapters in WGW, "March to Crisis" and "The Banefire" where we have all these last defenders of the Land standing at the gates of Revelstone: TC and Linden, the Giants, the Haruchai, Sunder and Hollian, the Elohim Findail, Vain the Demondim-spawn. And then TC summons Nom into the mix!

Yeah, and you mentioned the merewives. I am certain that we will get to actually see them in the next book, or the next one. I'm actually quite curious to know more about them. What power do they have, did Kastenessen impart upon the woman who spawned them or whatever? What do they think/feel about Esmer?

The bane that was in the north and then found release in Mount Thunder is Kastenessen. Really, it's that simple.