Kenaustin Ardenol

Book 2 of the Last Chronicles of Thomas Covenant

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TheUnfettered
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Kenaustin Ardenol

Post by TheUnfettered »

I just read the part in fatal revenant about the theomach defeating the elohim guardian of the one tree but it has already been stated in the second chronicles that the reason the quest nearly woke the worm of the worlds end was because Covenant won his way through combat and Berek did not rouse the worm because he did not and in fact it was Berek that placed the guardian. So basically I wonder how is this discrepancy explained.

I apologize for my horrible grammar, however I have consumed copious amounts of alcohol and cannot do anything else until I have spoke my peace.
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wayfriend
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Post by wayfriend »

Welcome to the Watch, TheUnfettered. (I hope you introduce yourself over in the Summonsing forum and get a true welcome in return.)

There are several threads about this in the Fatal Revenant forum already, if you're curioius how other people thought about this. But I think the following statement from SRD, in the Gradual Interview, gives you your answer best.

(And BTW, if you spotted this, you get credit for paying very close attention.)
In the Gradual Interview, Stephen R Donaldson wrote:OK, it's time to call a spade a *u**ing shovel. You've put your finger on a gen-you-wine, gosh-all-fishhooks Internal Inconsistency. A gold-plated Authorial Screwup. (I talk about it this way to deflect my chagrin.) But the facts are worse than you've made them out to be. This II (internal inconyougettheidea) is already firmly established in "The Second Chronicles". Findail makes the claims you quote, but the Haruchai state that there were a number of Guardians before Kenaustin Ardenol. Obviously they can't both be right. So I could argue that the Haruchai (being more human) are more likely to be wrong than the Elohim--which undercuts what I've written in "The Last Chronicles". Or I could argue that the Elohim (having a much older grudge against the Insequent) are more likely to lie than the Haruchai. But both arguments are just intellectual tap-dancing: an attempt to obfuscate the existence of a real II. The important facts, as I see them, are these:

1) I didn't do it on purpose. I simply screwed up. At the time, I was juggling so many balls that I dropped (at least) one. To pretend otherwise *now* is a self-serving rationalization.

2) This II exists entirely independent of "The Last Chronicles". It is firmly embedded in "The Second Chronicles," and it will still be there no matter what I do now.

3) I can't fix it. No one is going to let me go back and revise "The Second Chronicles". And I can't think of a way to resolve the contradiction retroactively that a) preserves the integrity of both the Elohim and the Haruchai in TSCOTC, and b) fits my current intentions.

At this point, all I can really do is throw up my hands. So-o-o--

I've decided to do what I believe is right for TLCOTC--and what I now believe I *would* have done in TSCOTC, if I had been smart enough 25 years ago. Admittedly, this exacerbates a prior II. But I choose not to dwell on that nagging detail. Instead I choose to revel in the freedom that comes from ACKNOWLEDGING MY MISTAKES and then leaving them behind. <rueful smile> The future sure looks brighter when it isn't chained to past errors.

(02/10/2008)
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