Kevin's Watch

I remember in the gradual interview when SDR only creates things that he needs for his stories. This was regarding the history of The Land, etc. He stated that it would seriously slow down his creation process if he had to create all the back story.

I just listened to the Original Chronicles for about the twentieth time. But, this time, I paid particular attention to things that I knew appeared in later chronicles.

Also in the gradual interview I remember him saying that he was done with TCTC after the first chronicles. It was the badgering of Lester Del Rey that caused him to come up with the ideas for the second and the last.

So, here are my thoughts. In TCTC he mentions Kellen Brabanal (sp?). He mentions the Brathair (sp?). He talks about the Elohim. All these things he already had conjured in his mind. It seems inconsistent to me, his above statements about creating what is necessary, and then not having ideas for future chronicles.

In TCTC, he needed to conjure at least a few exotic places for the seafaring Giants to have visited, and a people powerful and enigmatic enough to grant the Giants the gift of Tongues. They need not have been fleshed out in any more detail than required to cover the narrative at hand.

In 2nd Chronicles and thereafter, having named them previously, with the need to visit some of the places and peoples that only had names before, now he had reason to bring more dimension and color to them.

I wonder if, while doing the outline for the books he had a number of unused ideas that he incorporated in his later books.

This is great. When Amok was guiding Covenant and Elena.

He sang long songs which he claimed to have learned from the faery Elohim—songs so alien that Covenant could distinguish neither words nor sentences, and yet so curiously suggestive, so like moonlight in a forest, that they half entranced him.

I've never thought the Unhomed got the gift of tongues from the Elohim. Although they were mentioned several times in the First Crons, the gift of tongues never was. And after this exchange in TWL

“But how do you even know that much?” Covenant demanded of Honninscrave. “How can you understand their language?” “That also,” the Giant responded, “is not knowledge. We possess a gift of tongues, for which we bargained most acutely with the Elohim. But what we have heard offers us no present aid.”

Covenant did not recall having heard about it regarding the Unhomed. I think the Search were the only ones who got it.


I find this fascinating. From LFB, when Foamfollower is giving the tale of the Unhomed:

One hundred Giants chose to remain and live out their lot with the sylvan faery Elohim. Two hundred died in the war service of the Bhrathair, who were nearly destroyed by the Sandgorgons of the great Desert.

First of all, a hundred Giants stayed with the Elohim??? I sure wish we'd gotten some news about that in ToT.

And can you imagine the war between the Giants and Sandgorgons!?!? 209 Giants died?!?! Incredible!!!



Kelenbhrabanal

Hi Fist!

I'll look later and post again, but the Giants who stayed with the Elohim were mentioned by one of the Giants in TOT.