Kevin's Watch

In The Power that Preserves the innocent snake-bitten little girl could be said to represent the Land and the rattlesnake Lord Foul, who notably has eyes like fangs.

In The Wounded Land both Joan and Covenant's house could be said to represent the Land. Joan's madness would be the Sunbane, and Covenant's house's drenching in blood would represent the widespread blood-letting in the Land. The Community of Retribution corresponds to the Clave.

Now we get to The Runes of the Earth and the speculative stuff. Jeremiah's building projects are obviously significant, but I think they could also have a metaphorical dimension. Jeremiah built Revelstone and Mount Thunder, but he also disassembled them. I think that could mean that both Revelstone and Mount Thunder will get destroyed, but the destroyer is not Lord Foul but something within the Land. Ultimately, as Linden told Jeremiah to take these structures down, I think Linden's actions could be significant contributing to the destruction of Revelstone and Mount Thunder. Already Linden's choices have resulted in Demondim at the gates of Revelstone.

As for what could destroy something as big as Mount Thunder, I think the skurj and the battle against them and Kastenessen will be significant in this.

I think the elaborate castle in the entryway will be a new place we will meet as the series progresses. Linden let the castle stay, but Roger wrecked it later. I think this means that the castle's eventual destruction will be attributable to Lord Foul and his servants.

The Arch of Time in Jeremiah's bedroom remained intact, signifying that it cannot be destroyed that easily, but there's more metaphoratic material to complicate things.

Sara, the nurse killed by Roger, could be said to correspond both to Joan and the Land. First Roger made a lot of small cuts like the Land is being cut by Joan's caesures. Then, probably when he saw Linden's car's headlights, he cut Sara's throat. I think this could mean that Joan will die and things in the Land will get a sudden turn for the worse.

Covenant's house also corresponds to the Land. It has been left untenanted and uncared-for like the Land has no Lords anymore, only Masters who just own the place and do nothing to improve it. Then when Linden was inside, Lord Foul made a lightning hit the house which started to quickly go down in flames. I think this could tie in with Sara's death and mean that Lord Foul uses white gold to destroy the Land, leaving Linden to find a metaphorical window to escape in time so that she can take part in the final showdown.

There is definitely tremendous significance in the events of the Prologue, specifically Jeremiah's constructs.

Nerdanel wrote: I think the elaborate castle in the entryway will be a new place we will meet as the series progresses. Linden let the castle stay, but Roger wrecked it later. I think this means that the castle's eventual destruction will be attributable to Lord Foul and his servants.

I've got to read Runes again.
I don't remember a castle.

Lots of good parallels, Nerdanel!
The "house being the Land" is just too good to ignore.
I need to think more on this before I can add to it though.

In a review I wrote of ROTE, I stated that the Prologue was Donaldson's best writing to date. I don't know if he spent more actual time editing and re-editing that, but his writing has never been more smooth, articulate, and descriptive - not to mention laden with, as noted above, the possibility of a number of clues/metaphors regarding the story/Land.

I would venture to guess that he wouldn't have put so much effort (I'm guessing) into writing the Prologue if it didn't contain extremely important information.

The mystery castle:

Turrets of wooden rods and circular connectors rose above her on both sides. If she had not ducked, she would have struck her head on the flying rampart stretched between them. Other ramparts linked the turrets to a central keep: more turrets proliferated beyond it. The whole edifice was at once enormously elaborate, thick with details like balconies and bartizans, and perfectly symmetrical, balanced in all its parts. Its strangeness in her entryway, a pedestrian place intended for the most ordinary use, gave it an eldritch quality, almost an evanescence, as though some faery castle had been half translated from its own magical realm, and could be discerned by its outlines of slim rods and wheels like a glimpse into another dimension of being. Seen by moonlight, blurred and indistinct, it would have seemed the stuff of dreams.

The castle cannot be anything from the Second Chronicles or else Linden would have recognized it. I think it's a new place. The use of the word "faery" might refer to the Elohim, but on the other hand it might not.

Nerdanel wrote:The mystery castle:

Turrets of wooden rods and circular connectors rose above her on both sides. If she had not ducked, she would have struck her head on the flying rampart stretched between them. Other ramparts linked the turrets to a central keep: more turrets proliferated beyond it. The whole edifice was at once enormously elaborate, thick with details like balconies and bartizans, and perfectly symmetrical, balanced in all its parts. Its strangeness in her entryway, a pedestrian place intended for the most ordinary use, gave it an eldritch quality, almost an evanescence, as though some faery castle had been half translated from its own magical realm, and could be discerned by its outlines of slim rods and wheels like a glimpse into another dimension of being. Seen by moonlight, blurred and indistinct, it would have seemed the stuff of dreams.

The castle cannot be anything from the Second Chronicles or else Linden would have recognized it. I think it's a new place. The use of the word "faery" might refer to the Elohim, but on the other hand it might not.

The Creator's workshop?

Nerdanel wrote:The mystery castle:

Turrets of wooden rods and circular connectors rose above her on both sides. If she had not ducked, she would have struck her head on the flying rampart stretched between them. Other ramparts linked the turrets to a central keep: more turrets proliferated beyond it. The whole edifice was at once enormously elaborate, thick with details like balconies and bartizans, and perfectly symmetrical, balanced in all its parts. Its strangeness in her entryway, a pedestrian place intended for the most ordinary use, gave it an eldritch quality, almost an evanescence, as though some faery castle had been half translated from its own magical realm, and could be discerned by its outlines of slim rods and wheels like a glimpse into another dimension of being. Seen by moonlight, blurred and indistinct, it would have seemed the stuff of dreams.

The castle cannot be anything from the Second Chronicles or else Linden would have recognized it. I think it's a new place. The use of the word "faery" might refer to the Elohim, but on the other hand it might not.

It sounds like the city of the Giants to me. Revelstone was built by sailors in, by their standards, a short period of time. Generations of Giant architects could easily create such a majestic, intricate, clockwork cityscape.

If Jeremiah built Revelstone and Mount Thunder, is he the Creator? If Covenant's house is the old Land, is Linden's a new Land? Will Linden become a reverse of Foul, tending and maintaining the New Land forever?

I'd never considered these connections, but they are becoming more obvious. I think it's important to return to the Second Chronicles for more clues. The two Chronicles were conceived together. TWL may contain information about both series.

Very, very interesting...and I'm sure that there is much portending and foreshadowing in the prologue.

The trick lies in knowing where to stop.

--Avatar

You couldn't be more right, Avatar. We tend to get ahead of ourselves, or see things that really aren't there. Why? Because, as I said in a different post - he's really messing with us, and I think he's having a ball with it.

Agreed. (I agreed with you in that thread too, for that matter. )

Still, that said, as long as we're having fun huh?

--A

In a review I wrote of ROTE, I stated that the Prologue was Donaldson's best writing to date. I don't know if he spent more actual time editing and re-editing that, but his writing has never been more smooth, articulate, and descriptive - not to mention laden with, as noted above, the possibility of a number of clues/metaphors regarding the story/Land.

I would venture to guess that he wouldn't have put so much effort (I'm guessing) into writing the Prologue if it didn't contain extremely important information.

I totally agree with you, "burgs66", as with many of your other recent posts (gasp, even the fall of Revelstone theory!).
I think the beginning of Runes in 'the real world' is some of the best, smoothest, keenest writing I have seen in ... well, forever. I recall reading the teaser on SRD's website and being so overwhelmed by excitement and anticipation that my heart was pounding. That has never happened before. Having said that, although I loved the whole novel, I didn't find the rest of it as keen as the 'real world' chapter. I was filled with such suspence and rapt attention, I mentaly urged the passive computer screen to show me more --- to no avail, of course.

Seing "burgs66" in quotes made me think - why in the he!! did I chose that for a username? I want to delete the stupid 66 part, but can't seem to. Oh well.

Go here:

kevinswatch.ihugny.com/phpBB2/shop_effe ... ts%20Store

Scroll down, and you'll see an option to change your user name. It will cost you 1000 WGDs.

Thanks! I wonder how much a sex change operation would cost.

... well, if you're married to an Ecuadorian (like I am) they can start you off at no charge! Just make them very upset, give them a pair of scissors and go to sleep naked...

I dated an Ecuadorian for two years, and, um...I would think twice about doing it again!

I too noticed a definite shift in Donaldson’s depiction of the “real” world in Rune’s prologue. In the previous books he treated the real world scenes as a necessary chore to be gotten out of the way as he laid the background for TC and Linden’s characters and situation. The other real world characters, except Dr Berenford, were mere caricatures (of course the sherrif still is). Most of them came across as brain-dead bufoons, none of them very likable. In Runes by contrast we meet people whom Donaldson shows some respect for and he takes a moment or two to give them personalities and show them as people we might like and respect even though we probably won’t meet any of them again. His real world actually does feel real.