There was something that hinted at hope earlier in this chapter, though it was so subtle that it could easily be missed or dismissed in a first read.
Weak, ringless, and miserable though he was, Covenant still heard Triock, heard the whelming passion with which Triock told him that even now he did not know the worst, had not faced the worst. And that communication made a difference to him. It pushed him deep into his fear, down to a place in him which had not been touched by either capture or horror. It drove him back to the calm which had been given to him in Morinmoss. He seemed to remember a part of himself that had been hidden from him. Something had been changed for him in the Forest, something which could not be taken away. He caught hold of it, immersed himself in the gift.
That
something, it turns out, is an empathic connection with Caer-Caveral, the Forestall of Morinmoss. Had Covenant relied upon that connection earlier, when he first encountered
turiya Raver in the form of Triock, he would not be in this situation now. (In Covenant's defense, he had never before met a Raver, and also his health-sense was seriously compromised by leprosy, making it harder for him to recognize Triock was possessed.)
That empathic connection suddenly pays off in a big way, as Covenant understands he must have the Forestal's help at a critical moment.
She regarded him momentarily, then chose not to exert herself against him. With one wave of the Staff, she reimprisoned Foamfollower and Bannor, quenched the rebellion of the Ramen. Then she dropped her guard as if she no longer needed it. Her voice shook with anger, but she was steady as she said, "It will not avail him. He knows not how to awaken its might. Herem, Jehannum--I leave him to you."
In horrid unison, the two Ravers snarled their satisfaction, their hunger for him. Together, they moved slowly toward him.
He was caught between them and Elena.
So that he would not lose his ring again, he pushed it onto his wedding finger. He had lost weight; his fingers were gaunt, and the ring hung on him insecurely, as if it might fall off at any moment. Yet his need for it had never been greater. He clenched his fist around it and retreated before the advance of the Ravers.
In the back of his mind, he was sure that Triock was not dead. Triock was his summoner; he would disappear from the Land as soon as the Stonedownor died. But Triock surely had only moments of life left. Without knowing how to do it, Covenant wanted to make those moments count.
He backed away from the Ravers, toward Elena. She stood at rest near the Colossus, observing him. Glee and anger were balanced in her face. The Ravers came at him step by slow step, with their arms extended hungrily, sarcastically, inviting him to abandon resistance and rush into the oblivion of their grasp.
They advanced; he retreated; she stood where she was, defying him to touch her. His ring hung lifeless on his finger as if it were a thing of metal and futility, nothing more--a talisman devoid of meaning in his hands. A rising tide of protest filled him with ineffectual curses.
Hellfire. Hellfire. Hell and blood!
Impulsively, without knowing why he did it, he shrieked into the gray wind, "Forestall! Help me!"
At once, the clenched crown of the Colossus burst into flame. For an instant while Herem and Jehannum yowled, the monolith blazed with verdant fire--a conflagration the color of leaves and grass flourishing, green that had nothing in common with Lord Foul's emerald Illearth Stone. Raw, fertile aromas crackled in the air like violent spring.
Abruptly, two bolts of force raged out of the blaze, sprang like lightning at the Ravers. In a coruscating welter of sparks and might, the bolts struck the chests of Lal and Whane.
The monolith's power flamed at their hearts until the mortal flesh of the Ramen was incinerated, flash-burned into nothingness. Then the bolts dropped, the conflagration vanished.
Herem and Jehannum were gone.
The sudden blast and vanishing of the fire staggered Covenant. Forgetting his peril, he stared dumbly about him. The Ramen were dead. More blood, more lives sacrificed to his impotence. He wanted to cry out, No!
The Ravers are banished from the scene, and Covenant has regained his ring, which certainly is putting the situation more in favor of the Land's defense. It is sad that the two Ramen die to make this happen, but they have the satisfaction of being in Ramen heaven with the Ranyhyn, horses, and fellow Ramen who cared for the Manes, so they get a good reward. (That's how I interpret & preach it, and if you can't trust a Raman like me to explain our theology to you, then who CAN you trust?)