Kevin's Watch

I'd probably single out Caerroil Wildwood's scene in FR as my prime candidate for this. The Wraith-song at the end of FR is another good one, as are many of Anele's ramblings or the Ranyhyn horserite.

Do the effects of Vile magic count as mystical? Maybe, a darker form of the thing maybe.

Hands down, the ending of AATE

shadowbinding shoe wrote:Hands down, the ending of AATE

not sure if it counts as 'mystical' or not, but I have literally just finished listening to the ending of AATE on audiobook (it counts as my first proper re-read) and I have chills; it really is an amazing piece of writing.

from the moment Covenant comes into Joan's presence there is paragraph after paragraph of fascinating metaphysical paradoxes, i.e. Covenant essentially 'existing' at one point purely in Joan's mind & the ability of the Forestals to intervene upon a *memory*

- apart from that, the sheer kick-assery of the haruchai and Ranyhyn coupled with the sheer melancholic eeriness of the final pages make it some of most breath-takingly awesome writing SRD has produced imo.

What do we mean by "mystical" here? Spiritual? Magical? Mysterious? Sparkly?

If we're talking about "having a spiritual meaning or reality that is neither apparent to the senses nor obvious to the intelligence", then ...

... I am going to say, Covenant's apotheosis in the Banefire. Because of the foreshadowing and the self-realization that led to that moment.

Last Chrons moment, WF. Your choice took place in 2nd Chrons, nu?

Drr...

Rather than duck my head and walk away embarrassingly ....

I thought the most mystical moment was the ending of FR. The resurrection event was simply laden with mysticism, from the attending Dead to Wildwood's spell on the Staff to Linden's need for a savior to the union of wild magic and Earthpower to Covenant standing while "theurgies spat and flared from his arms, his shoulders, his chest". In all the Chronicles there has never been such a ritual so deeply embued with significances and so freighted with needs.

That's a good one, WF. Also, the follow-up to that scene in the opening of AATE was an unprecedented instance of mystical wonder.

I'd also put the horserite in Runes on the list. And the synesthetic trippiness of the Viles encounter.