Kevin's Watch

A mysterious magical sword from the dim past...
Made to be a weapon in a war where the Staff of Law did not suffice...
A symbol of the legitamate High Lordship of the Land when Mhoram pulls it from the stone...
Was this krill made to somehow be attuned to the wild magic?
Or did Thomas Covenant change it somehow when he plunged it into the stone table? (remember, Mhoram did get a Lord's blue reaction from it once...)
Why did Loric make this?
Why was the Staff of law not enough?
Why did Kevin use it as the signal for Amok?
DID TC change it, reattune it to wild magic rather than some sort of Lord's power?

I reckon it simply reponded to the power of the holder, and if that holder's power was second-hand, then, so be it.

But surely considering it was Loric's, its original intent was for knocking off Viles, right?

Very interesting about Amok, though. Basically, I dunno.

Fantastic topic!!!!!

I know it's complete speculation, but here's my thoughts.

First, I cannot imagine what power the viles had that surpassed the Staff of Law!! The necessity of the krill is one of many things I plan to beg SRD to tell us about. But whatever the reason, it would seem that bringing the krill to life is the greatest act of power in Kevin's Lore. If there was something greater, you'd assume that Kevin would have had that be Amok's signal. No point giving someone access to the most supreme power he was aware of, the Power of Command, if they hadn't yet mastered a lesser power that was, nonetheless, greater than the krill.

My guess is that wild magic was able to bring the krill to life easily/quickly, rather than have it go through the process of mastering Kevin's Lore, but that it did not bring it to life in a way other than Kevin's Lore would have.

However, the krill was obviously attuned to the white gold from that point on. Since Loric and Kevin certainly did not have access to white gold wild magic, I don't see how they could have made anything that was attuned to it. Therefore, Covenant must have forced the... tuning?

Although... I suppose we could theorize about some sub-atomic partical, and make a gadget that would detect it. And if it did, it would turn out that we had attuned this gadget to something that we never saw before, only assumed existed, and possibly still could not harness in any way. So maybe that was Loric or Kevin's doing.

Niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice, duchess!!

Thank you, Fist.

this is a great topic! I'm with Landwaster - I don't know the answers to your questions, but I do have some comments:

Mhoram was able to draw the krill from the stone table b/c he understood the secret of the Ritual of Desecration - that is, extreme power is derived from extreme emotion and passion. No other Lord shared that knowledge with him, and also they were bound by the Oath of Peace, and thus would not have been able to approach the krill, regardless of their fitness as lords. Mhoram used this secret when he drew the krill from the table (remember, he had just withstood Trell's attempt at another RoD.) This knowledge of power was further utilized during the last battle against samadhi Satansfist. Mhoram channeled so much power through his staff, that the limits of the staff were tested. Strangely, though, when he confronted Satansfist, Mhoram was burned by the krill - was this a continuity error? I don't know.

So, perhaps the awakening of the krill summoned Amok to the land b/c only use of the secret of the RoD would awaken the krill at all, presence of white gold notwithstanding. After all, TC plunged the krill into the table originally in a fit of rage.

Again, thanks for the thought provoking topic!

This topic has re awakened a random thought I have had many times. How do these lords of the past, fashion items such as the Krill. I somehow picture Loric pounding away at the blade with an enchanted hammer of some kind. (Perhaps he borrowed one from the Mighty Thor.) An explanation of the Krill and its intended function would be fun to hear from SRD. Better yet would be reading a prequel to LFB. "Loric vs. The Viles" and so on. I think Fist's comments voice my thoughts pretty well.

Yes, exellent topic!

Fist and Faith wrote:Fantastic topic!!!!!

I know it's complete speculation, but here's my thoughts.

First, I cannot imagine what power the viles had that surpassed the Staff of Law!! The necessity of the krill is one of many things I plan to beg SRD to tell us about. But whatever the reason, it would seem that bringing the krill to life is the greatest act of power in Kevin's Lore. If there was something greater, you'd assume that Kevin would have had that be Amok's signal. No point giving someone access to the most supreme power he was aware of, the Power of Command, if they hadn't yet mastered a lesser power that was, nonetheless, greater than the krill.

My guess is that wild magic was able to bring the krill to life easily/quickly, rather than have it go through the process of mastering Kevin's Lore, but that it did not bring it to life in a way other than Kevin's Lore would have.

However, the krill was obviously attuned to the white gold from that point on. Since Loric and Kevin certainly did not have access to white gold wild magic, I don't see how they could have made anything that was attuned to it. Therefore, Covenant must have forced the... tuning?

Although... I suppose we could theorize about some sub-atomic partical, and make a gadget that would detect it. And if it did, it would turn out that we had attuned this gadget to something that we never saw before, only assumed existed, and possibly still could not harness in any way. So maybe that was Loric or Kevin's doing.

Niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice, duchess!!

I agree...

Question: if Loric knew about wild magic, hence the white gem, then how old is the legend of white gold?

I'd say it was attuned to wild magic's presence in the Land. BUT....it doesn't need wild magic to be powerful to it's wielder.

If it is attuned to its wielder: then how binding is being voted High Lord? Or just a Lord? If it's a powerful one, then...how did Foul become one??

dlbpharmd wrote:Mhoram was able to draw the krill from the stone table b/c he understood the secret of the Ritual of Desecration - that is, extreme power is derived from extreme emotion and passion.

I don't quite agree. Mhoram was able to draw the krill from the table because he learned the secret of Kevin's Lore. Which was not extreme emotion, because they all had extreme love and fear for the Land, their children, etc. The secret of Kevin's Lore is the willingness to do certain things that the New Lords were not willing to do. Certainly, the willingness to do these things came only with extreme emotions, but the emotion without the willingness did not allow them to learn and use Kevin's Lore.

dlbpharmd wrote:Mhoram channeled so much power through his staff, that the limits of the staff were tested. Strangely, though, when he confronted Satansfist, Mhoram was burned by the krill - was this a continuity error? I don't know.

One guess is that Mhoram's unfamiliarity with the forces he was dealing with meant he was unprepared for, even unaware of, the possible harm to himself. Maybe Loric knew what to expect, and how to shield himself from it.

It might be that Loric didn't even need shielding, if in his hands the Krill weilded some sort of Lord's Power or Earthpower...I think the wild magic might have been more potent than either, considering what happened to the SOL...

If you are thinking that Mhoram was wielding the wild magic somehow, I disagree. It's true that the gem was "charged to overflowing with echoes of wild magic." But it also says, "Through the focus of that blade, he drove all his might deeper and deeper toward the Giant-Raver's heart." I think Mhoram was using nothing ("nothing" ha ha) more than his own strength and Earthpower.

I'm not sure if the white of the gem is anything other than a reflection of the presence of the white gold in the Land, and the level of its use. It's also possible that the echoes of wild magic are why Mhoram is able to use the krill to its full potential without the benefit of much of Kevin's Lore. Maybe wild magic let Mhoram skip to the end, as it were. But I don't think he was shooting wild magic through the krill.

Impossible to say for sure, though.

I think the Krill taps into whatever is the strongest power in the Land at the time of its awakening. Green-Illearth Stone, White-TC/Wild Magic, and wasn't it red too like the Sunbane?

By now Mhoram felt the fire which burned against his flesh under his robe. In a rush of exaltation, he understood it, grasped its meaning intuitively. As the Stone reached its height over his head, he tore open his robe and grasped Lorc's krill. Its gem blazed like a white hot brazier in his hands. It was charged to overflowing with echoes of wild magic; he could feel its keenness as he gripped its hilt...Mhoram planted his feet on the ground, and braced himself to retain his grip on the krill. Through the focus of that blade, he drove all his might deeper and deeper toward the giant-Raver's heart...

It does sound as if it is Mhoram's own power that he is channeling through the blade, but there is more going on than just that, IMHO. It was burning with great power before he held it in his hands...

Where was Covenant and what was he doing at the exact same time? Maybe I'm just fishin' but somehow, iirc, this is important...

Hadn't he just regained the ring and incinerated the SoL?

Yes.

Well the intensity of the krill would have been linked to the intensity of the expression of the wild magic, I reckon.

If he was just wearin' it, instead of incinerating the SoL, then Mhoram may have been treated again to just a soft glow.

well, as Radar said in that 1 episode of MASH, "That's HIGHLY significant!" (you post too fast LW!!!)

Am I guessin' stuff you lot already know?

Like I said, "I'm not sure if the white of the gem is anything other than a reflection of the presence of the white gold in the Land, and the level of its use." It could certainly become very hot if the white gold is being used in a big way, like destroying the SoL, even if it doesn't actually let Mhoram use the echoes of wild magic in any way. But yeah duchess, there may well be more than that going on. I suggested one possibility. Any other guesses out there?