That Insequent bit at the end.

Book 4 of the Last Chronicles of Thomas Covenant

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That Insequent bit at the end.

Post by peter »

Can we just discuss briefly what was going on with that appearence of an Insequent like charachter beconing to TC et al at the end of the book. Was this SRD himself calling his charachters home to roost - their job being done. Was it letting us know that the Madhout had survived/been ressurected after all. What else are we to make of it - I can't work it out.

[Supplementary question - Did TC et al remake the Laws of Life and Death that had been so sorley used during the Chrons.]

[Further supplementary question - why didn't Linden use her ability to 'time hop' to engineer Liand's survival for Phanni's sake - or why did they not ressurect him ala Hollian before carrying out supplementary question.]
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Post by dlbpharmd »

1. I don't think this represented anything other than what the text tells us - it was an amalgamation of the Theomach, Mahdoubt and Ardent in one Insequent, hence the name "the Acolyte."

2. I've hypothesized in another thread that the Laws of Death and Life were remade, and that's why we don't see any of the Dead (ie, Mhoram) in the Epilogue.
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Post by Zarathustra »

I'm not sure "amalgamation of Theo, Mah, Ard" answers the question. That's just a restatement. What the heck was that amalgamation?

Also, what was Roger talking about in FR when he said that he can't wait for the Insequent--of for the Theomach in particular--to get what's coming to them? Was he talking about the Guardianship of the Tree? Something else?
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Post by TheFallen »

I don't get that final Insequent either. Okay, he/she had elements of all three of the "nice" Insequents we've been introduced to - fine. But that name... The Acolyte? An acolyte of whom? Of the dynamic trio? If so, how come TC, Linden and Jerry seem to be viewing him/her as some sort of guide at the end, rather than vice versa?

I can't get it to make sense at all.
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Post by peter »

Mmmm....... an 'acolyte' is defined as a follower or attendant, which sort of coincides with my understanding of it. Such an individual does not 'becon' his guru[s] (for want of a better word to describe the awsome trio). I think there is more going on here than that. I'm sure it is a [rare] glimpse of SRD's sense of humor - he's teasing us with possibilities for sure.

re Z's question about Rodgers comment in FR - was he not just assuming that Foul was going to crush them. I'm not aware that he was prescient in any way that would allow the comment to be considered a clue as to their final situation.

[sorry TheFallen - just read your post after making the above comments. Great that we hit on the same incongruency in the idea independantly. Repeat 100 times Peter 'Must read all the posts in the thread before answering; must read all the posts.....']
The truth is a Lion and does not need protection. Once free it will look after itself.

....and the glory of the world becomes less than it was....
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'Then let it end.'

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Post by Zarathustra »

The fact that we have three POV protagonists, three heroes, would seem to imply that there is something significant in the three Insequent being an amalgamation--especially when you consider that it took our three heroes working together to remake the world.

Combine this with the bizarre fact (revealed by Esmer; AATE) that Insequent magic is similar to wild magic--in particular, its ability to move through space-time*--and we get some intriguing possibilities. Where did that come from? Why would their magic be like wild magic? A magic that ONLY comes from the real world??? One final hint: the "amalgamation" is two males and one female. Just like our heroes.

What if the Insequent--of whom we only ever see one or two at a time--are somehow related to our real world protagonists? Symbols for them? Projections from their psyche? Granted, every character in the Land could be said to be "part of their minds," according to the rules of Epic Fantasy Donaldson has laid out in his essay. But the Insequent seem to have an even deeper relationship with them than most. They help out our hereoes at their most vulnerable, when there is absolutely no other recourse. Then they strangely disappear once our hereoes start becoming fit to solve their own problems, only to reappear at the end once our heroes perform their Trinity solution.

What if the "retcon" is literally a retcon, even in the story itself? What if Insequent weren't always there, but only started appearing once Jeremiah visited the Land in his mind? Or some other catalyst, like TC having his entire family--both the ones he loves now and the ones he used to love in the past--in the Land together? And then, because the Insequent could all travel through time--since Time is now damaged by Joan?--they started inserting themselves into its history, just as Donaldson himself has done?

Of course, we could ask questions about the Harrow--who doesn't seem to fit into this Trinity. Or Vizard. But remember that the Insequent can't interfere in each other's plans or they "cease to be who they are." Maybe their identities are fragile precisely because they are separate parts of our protagonists's minds, only having independent existence as long as they have independent purposes. Once their purposes either join or contradict, they either cancel out or become an amalgamation.

Obviously, Mahdoubt would be from Linden's psyche. The Harrow could have been Jeremiah's subconscious trying to get his mom to come rescue him. Maybe that's why he's the only one who knew where Jeremiah was. And maybe he's an asshole because Jeremiah is still possessed by the croyal at that point. He also dies as soon as we find Jeremiah--because he has served his purpose. The Ardent doesn't appear until Covenant is back.

Theomach and Vizard could have been more projections from Jeremiah's mind.

Edit: one last point ... TC says they have to leave at the end (once he sees the Acolyte) because of "unearned knowlede." The Insequent are primarily beings of knowledge ... lore. And our hereos have performed "miracles" throughout the Last Chronicles, if they really were the Insequent themselves, with knowledge that they couldn't have earned. Granted, this also refers to the knowledge they gained from Lord Foul and moksha, but that can't be the whole point, because Linden leaves with them too.

*[This is where TC gets the idea to do his wild magic circles]
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Post by Zarathustra »

Some more thoughts on my little theory:

The Harrow is garbed in all brown earth tones. Jeremiah's eyes are constantly desribed in similarly earthen hues. The Harrow's main power or gambit seems to be pulling people into his eyes, making them like Jeremiah (stasis). This is an interesting reversal of Jer's internal state, what he did to himself, directed at others. Also, Jeremiah ends up with the Staff, just as Harrow wanted for himself.

Covenant ends up riding Ardent's horse, taking his place.

Are the Insequent characters the Creator aspect of each of our protagonists?
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Post by peter »

Wow Z - you've thought this thing out at a much deeper level than I could have achieved! One question - if what you hypothesize is correct, would the appearance of the Acolyte at the end satisfy the question of the Creators [apparent] failure to materialise - ie he actually did, but just not in the form we recognised!

[nb I perhaps should have stated at the outset of the thread I never really 'understood' the Insequants place in the last Chrons at all - I enjoyed them, but I didn't understand their necesity to the story.]
The truth is a Lion and does not need protection. Once free it will look after itself.

....and the glory of the world becomes less than it was....
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'Then let it end.'

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Post by mcnpauls »

For some reason, I thought The Acolyte was actually Elena, finally getting the chance of redemption she badly needed and deserved, as well as the proper mentors from among the Insequent that she had never had.

I actually loved the Insequent, and I wished they'd featured in TLD. I'd actually be up for SRD doing new books about the other realms of his world and foregtting The Land, which, quite frankly, meant nothing to me in the Last Chronicles, apparent from Andelain, I had no sense of it as an interesting setting in itself any more.

I'd love to explore the land that the kasreyn of the Gyre came from, of that of the Demi-mages, the Haruchai, the Giants and the Insequent.
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Re: That Insequent bit at the end.

Post by shadowbinding shoe »

Was the Acolyte supposed to be all three of our insequent? I only noticed its similarity to the Mahdoubt and thought it was supposed to follow in her footsteps and be charitable and sociable, hence the name. In what ways does it resemble the other two?

I didn't think the broken Laws were remade. The Land's state seemed to be unchanged. The One Forest didn't seem to be remade for example. All the old scars probably remained. Our trio are not Creators. They're recreators. The reason the dead didn't make an appearance in the epilogue is because we have a celebration of life and new beginnings. The only important dead are the redigested lost women in the demondim spawns' stomachs.


Z - Those are very interesting ideas but you seem to have forgotten Roger and Joan in your scheme. Making the parallels I'd pair them like this:

Theomach - Thomas Covenant
Mahdoubt - Linden Avery
Ardent - Jeremiah
Harrow - Roger Covenant
Auriference - Joan
Vizard - possessed Jeremiah

Roger and Joan had a role in the story and Roger grandiose ambitions and self image fit the Harrow very well. His cruelty towards his mother is paralleled by the Harrow's treatment of Linden and the Mahdoubt.

Similarly Joa's pact with the anti Covenant cult by which she sought to wrest Covenant moral victories from him which led her to her doom is paralleled by Auriference
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Post by Cord Hurn »

"The figure's head was wrapped in cerements like the Theomach's. Ribbands as garish as the Ardent's ornamented the figure's upper body..."...from page 534 of TLD.
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Post by peter »

A riddle wrapped in a mystery surrounded by an enigma ;)
The truth is a Lion and does not need protection. Once free it will look after itself.

....and the glory of the world becomes less than it was....
'Have we not served you well'
'Of course - you know you have.'
'Then let it end.'

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Post by SGuilfoyle1966 »

I think it is vague because he was trying to do too much in this final chronicle, but it got to big and he had to make a too-short ending.
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Post by peter »

I'm not so sure; the figure was I think deliberately enigmatic, as much as to keep us guessing as anything else. Even given more time and space I'm not sure SRD would have fleshed this out much.

It's an interesting point though, to what extent we were served an actually different dish as a result of the constraints he was under as opposed to just a smaller one. Would we have had the same denoument had SRD had the freedom to run to another - or even two - books. By stating at the outset it was going to be four - and then attompting to go it 'freestyle' [ie with less detailed planning] was it an experiment that ran aground on it's own ambition.
The truth is a Lion and does not need protection. Once free it will look after itself.

....and the glory of the world becomes less than it was....
'Have we not served you well'
'Of course - you know you have.'
'Then let it end.'

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Post by TheFallen »

...or did stuff end up on the cutting-room floor due to space restraints? If so, then there are episodes in the LCs that I'd much rather have seen undergo a robust précis, if it meant that it became possible to include that which I see as oddly absent.

I think I read somewhere that the initial draft of TLD was about 100 pages longer. I'd so love to know what those unpublished 100 pages contained...
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That Insequent bit at the end.

Post by RFlowers »

SGuilfoyle1966 wrote:I think it is vague because he was trying to do too much in this final chronicle, but it got to big and he had to make a too-short ending.
I wholeheartedly agree. For SRD, it felt completely rushed. I wonder if his editor(s?) took an axe to it, it was almost that bad.
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Post by Vraith »

TheFallen wrote:...or did stuff end up on the cutting-room floor due to space restraints? If so, then there are episodes in the LCs that I'd much rather have seen undergo a robust précis, if it meant that it became possible to include that which I see as oddly absent.

I think I read somewhere that the initial draft of TLD was about 100 pages longer. I'd so love to know what those unpublished 100 pages contained...

He usually says that what gets cut DESERVED to be cut...[Gilden being an exception, cut for "technical" viewpoint reasons].

I know I'm [apparently] among a minority that ranks the LC's highly...
But I'm not perfectly satisfied.
Four books was enough to do the job.
But some lines/arcs could have bled backwards into earlier books, and some "environment" stuff [the "Land as character" things folk seem to miss so much] have oozed forward from earlier Chron's [new language/environment life and changes explicatedand connected].
And a fair number of things could have been condensed in earlier volumes [particularly if the above things were done] making room for fullness in the last.

All that being said...I don't really care or feel a lack or need for explication of that "Insequent bit at the end." [[at least right now. I am changeable...even fickle according to some...which is weird cuz the same folk say I'm intense, certain, unpersuadable sometimes.]]
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Re: That Insequent bit at the end.

Post by wayfriend »

peter wrote:Can we just discuss briefly what was going on with that appearence of an Insequent like charachter beconing to TC et al at the end of the book. Was this SRD himself calling his charachters home to roost - their job being done. Was it letting us know that the Madhout had survived/been ressurected after all. What else are we to make of it - I can't work it out.
In [i]The Last Dark[/i] was wrote:Looking there, Covenant saw a lone figure standing in sunlight at the rim of the hollow. A woman, he thought, although he could not be sure. The figure’s head was wrapped in cerements like the Theomach’s. Ribbands as garish as the Ardent’s ornamented the figure’s upper body, while from its waist hung a motley skirt as haphazard and arcane as the Mahdoubt’s.

To Covenant’s gaze, and Linden’s, and Jeremiah’s, the figure replied with a beckoning gesture.

At first, Covenant smiled. “It looks to me,” he said wryly, “like the Insequent are finally giving credence of the idea of acolytes.” He almost chuckled. “In fact, if I had to guess, I might say that’s the Acolyte.”
The Insequent, who are otherwise completely independent, had gathered together to endow the Ardent with their combined magicks. It seems to me that the outcome to the Land's crisis has vindicated this choice.

It's possible that the Insequent are now a changed, and a bit improved, for their efforts. They might now be more "into" the notion of working together than they were before. It has not only proven useful, but it's made possible things not possible before.

We are told that the Insequent at the rim of the hollow is an acolyte. If so, she indicates by her raimnent that she is an acolyte of the teachings of the Ardent, the Mahdoubt, and the Theomach - at the very least. A symbol of the new co-mingling of Insequent knowledge, and honoring the Insequent heroes who contributed to the rescue of the Land. A herald of the dawn of a new age of the Insequent, combining the best of their race. Hence, she is The Acolyte.
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Post by lurch »

Pete, I think your..." Insequent bit" is an unfortunate choice of words. But I go forward anyway...Try this....apply the metaphor...The Insequent are a metaphor for....?

possibilities include

A frame of Mind
..a way of thinking and perceiving
..an outlook
or a " age" or era of ones own maturing
etc..

The idea of instead of being divided, separate, independent and at each others expense, and being unified, whole, is easy and obvious. The idea that Love, Hope and Compassion need to spend some time in training with this " way of thinking and perceiving" is clearly made, again, not a mention of perfection but an allude to a natural state( rain and rainbow)..The ambiguity of it all is on purpose. My frame of mind..is not the same as any body else. The How we get there can be the same, but What we find there is the Individual...the Who Am I? a different answer for each of us..

What is interesting is that TC, Linden and Jerry, " Rose to Glory" without direct involvement of a Insequent. Sure, TC had the " raw will power" of the Ardent's horse, Linden had the " insight " of the Mahdoubt" and in a way, Jerry had the amoral attitude of the Harrow for a time, but when it was time, " Now", not a Insequent around..why?..cuz the Insequent are more of a " How", a structured frame of mind,,than a What,,,our Talents, our Imagination and what we Create from it.

..The epilogue is a grand metaphor for achieving the Surreal State of Mind. It would be incomplete with out a separate symbol for ..the frame work of How we think and perceive. "Acolyte" is a good label for this new Insequent. It suggests that the reader can give this State of Mind a try as well.
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Post by peter »

Good answers guys.

Can I pick up on one point; Lurch, you describe the epilogue as '...a grand metaphor for achieving a surreal [my italics] state of mind. I'm not sure what a surreal state of mind would entail [or indeed if one could survive it] but given that this is the Chrons, and that TC is involved [the Unbeliever remember], is it significant that every definition of 'surreal' or 'surealism' I could find involved the words 'dreamlike' or 'dream elements'. Significant or coincidental? A case of 'what goes around comes around' perhaps.
The truth is a Lion and does not need protection. Once free it will look after itself.

....and the glory of the world becomes less than it was....
'Have we not served you well'
'Of course - you know you have.'
'Then let it end.'

We are the Bloodguard
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