Forestals: back for more?

[Prom_STar]

In the "random thoughts on the new staff of law" thread, some discussion occurred about Forestals and the possibility of the return of the One Forest. While looking through the GI, I spotted this wonderfully applicable (not to mention exciting) excerpt:

As for seeing another Forestal in "The Last Chronicles": how is that actually possible? (No, don't tell me. I already know the answer.)

Ok, the excerpt doesn't mean Forestals will come back, but SRD admits that it is possible. And, unlike most questions about Runes (question was from 05/13/2004) Donaldson didn't respond as he normally does, "I don't want to spoil anything."

Could Forestals come back? Absolutely. They were manifestations of the One Forest's sentience, given existence by the Forest's Earthpower, and created with the guidance of the Elohim. Obviously, the Elohim are still around to "guide." And if we assume forests have regrown in the last 3500 years, there might be enough trees to give the forests a degree of sentience (this of course assumes that setnience was simply a by-product of trees' nature and that the only reason such a sentience ceased to exist was because of the death of so many trees. Also, remember that forestals--Troy and the other one whose name escapes me--existed long after the end of the One Forest).

Thus, it seems we have everything necessary for Forestals to once again: Elohim to guide, Earthpower to shape(need not necessarily be from the Forests; perhaps the Staff of Law could be used or maybe even Esmer... though his help would, of course, come with a price) and, hopefully, trees/forests to give "sentience."

Basically, I just want to see Forestals marching off to do battle with the Demondim.

[jwaneeta]

I absolutely adhere to your Forrest-estreal theory. Very sexxay.

I just submittd a Forestal pinup.

Oooh, my woobies!

[matrixman]

Forestals marching off to do battle with the Demondim? On whose orders? Seems highly undignified and out of character for any Forestal to do such a thing. (I know you're only joking...uh, I think.)

[Nerdanel]

But have the forests really come back? All Linden has seen thus far is grass. If my One Lawn theory is correct, we might see Lawnals instead. Perhaps after the end of the great forests grasses spread so widely that they started to develop similarly to the One Forest of old.

As I think the theme of the Last Chronicles is to have everything from the Land's past come back (with a twist) I think some sort of Forestal action is in order, even if it's only a weak, grassy copy of the original thing. But we'll see...

[jwaneeta]

Nerdanal expounded:

If my One Lawn theory is correct, we might see Lawnals instead.

I'm completely sold on the idea. The concept of a One Lawn is perfect.

I vote we make it Fanon.

[Sunbaneglasses]

A Haruchi as a Forestal!A Haruchi would make a perfect Forestal IMO.

[Prom_STar]

A Haruchi as a Forestal!A Haruchi would make a perfect Forestal IMO.

Caer Staveal?

[matrixman]

Unbeknownst to the One Lawn and the Lawnals --er--Fanon--Farrah Fawcett Fawnal--whatever! -- a resurrected Drool Rockworm has been secretly digging into the Earth for more hideous banes. Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, a newly resurrected Kasreyn has returned to his dark theurgy. Worse, he and Drool have contrived to communicate with each other! (Or rather, Drool just drools a lot and Kasreyn does most of the talking.) Together, they are ready to unleash a devastating evil upon the Land: the Illearth Lawnmower! (Illearth Batteries included.)

(Apologies to Prom_STar for completely derailing this topic into the 11th dimension)

[Prom_STar]

(Apologies to Prom_STar for completely derailing this topic into the 11th dimension)

Derail away, Matrixman. That was freaking hilarious.

But should such a blight be unleashed upon the land, we all know the Mahdoubt would step up to plate to defend the One Lawn....

And I think I just figured what the Mahdoubt is. She is the Lawnal: the will and sentience of the One Lawn brought to cognitive form. Why is she so confusing? Well, has grass ever really been all that clear?

[Jerico]

Of course I should have guessed by the one red eye...She is a 'Lawnhead'

[Variol Farseer]

Of course I should have guessed by the one red eye...She is a 'Lawnhead'

Grass + Earthpower . . . it doesn't get better than that. Far out, man!

[matrixman]

As a former "High" Lord, you would know, right?

[Nerdanel]

I noticed that in the First Chronicles Kurash Plenethor and the area of Landsdrop had been damaged so badly in war that the New Lords had spent centuries in healing before the finding of the Second Ward and could not get more than grass to grow.

Now, we have the question how much lasting damage the Sunbane did, was it more like the Ritual of Desecration or the wars against Lord Foul, and how powerful Sunder and Hollian were in comparison to the New Lords. Sunder and Hollian had the Staff of Law, but they also had much less time than the New Lords and a whole Land to heal. I think it's perfectly conceivable that Sunder and Hollian never achieved much beyond grass, making Andelain and Giant Woods the last forests in the Land.

Instead, we might be in for a "Rockal". I think Anele might grow into one. In the era of the Last Chronicles the rock itself is in peril much like the One Forest in the past as caesures are cutting it right and left. Of course rock has the tendency of being very slow to notice things and a century is nothing to it, so either somebody has to wake the bedrock up extra quickly, or there will be time-travel to the future involved if we are to see Rockals. SRD has said that the story will take up much less time than the previous trilogies, but we know he has a habit of being intentionally misleading. Linden might walk into a caesure and end up thousands of years in the future, while the effective Linden POV storyline takes only a few days. Then when Linden would wake up she would find out that she had been in a coma for a decade...

[ur-monkey]

[/quote]A Haruchi as a Forestal!A Haruchi would make a perfect Forestal IMO.


Caer Staveal?

Cailloil Wildwood

[MrKABC]

I am still holding out for Caer Chochiyo...

[Revan]

As a former "High" Lord, you would know, right?

Not just Variol - Avatar too.

I think it is very possible that the Forestals will return. I mean they played vital roles in the former Chronicles. And I think there would be a large area of information to discover with having them in the third chronicles.

[MrKABC]

I do not believe there will be any more Forestals.

The Forestals were the result of the Elohim assisting the One Forest by establishing the Colossus of the Fall and the interdict (banning Ravers from the upper Land). Findail made it clear that the One Forest used the knowledge gained from the Elohim Appointed and its consciousness to create the Forestals.

That consciousness is gone now - The Sunbane destroyed the last vestiges of the Forests. Sunder killed Hile Troy, the last Forestal. The Giant Woods is the only remaining Forest, and it wasn't conscious even in the time of the New Lords.

In keeping with SRD's theme of "...the beauty of the world becomes less than it was" I am thinking we will be seeing dumb, defenseless TREES and nothing more.

[dlbpharmd]

Agree with MrK.

[drew]

I think when SRD said he already knew what the answer was to the Forestals comming back, he meant that it could be possible that one would come through a ceasure, but I'm guesssing that he has no plans of doing this...his answer seemed fairly finite.

[Revan]

I do not believe there will be any more Forestals.

The Forestals were the result of the Elohim assisting the One Forest by establishing the Colossus of the Fall and the interdict (banning Ravers from the upper Land). Findail made it clear that the One Forest used the knowledge gained from the Elohim Appointed and its consciousness to create the Forestals.

That consciousness is gone now - The Sunbane destroyed the last vestiges of the Forests. Sunder killed Hile Troy, the last Forestal. The Giant Woods is the only remaining Forest, and it wasn't conscious even in the time of the New Lords.

In keeping with SRD's theme of "...the beauty of the world becomes less than it was" I am thinking we will be seeing dumb, defenseless TREES and nothing more.

Excellent post. Though I do hope to see new Forestals, part of me is certainly inclined to agree with you.