The Illearth War: GILDEN-FIRE (Forward & Haruchai)

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The Illearth War: GILDEN-FIRE (Forward & Haruchai)

Post by Fist and Faith »

OK, here's my part of dissecting GILDEN-FIRE. I'm in charge of the Forward and the glorious Haruchai aspects. birdandbear will be doing other aspects of the chapter/book. (And what a great 500th post for me! :) )

SRD's Forward to GILDEN-FIRE is a lot of fun. Only a few pages, but great ones! It's nice to "hear" him talking as himself, about how he writes.

But the main point is, of course, why GILDEN-FIRE isn't just another chapter in TIW. It is told from the point of view of a character of the Land. So far, everything has been from the pov of Covenant, Troy, or a Land-character who is in the presence of Covenant or Troy. The difference in GILDEN-FIRE is striking!

What's important about this is that it takes away from the unbelief in the reader's mind. Covenant, of course, isn't aware of anything that doesn't happen in his presence, so his struggle with his unbelief still stands. The reader is not aware of anything that happens outside of Covenant's or Troy's presence, so we still wonder, too. So when Covenant shaves his beard in Descent to Earthroot, we can shout with joy! We STILL don't know if the Land is "real" or not, but, damnit, they need help!! That part-time s.o.b. is finally doing the right thing, without worrying about the danger or benefit to himself. Yee Ha!

Now what if we had good reason to believe that the Land is real? We'd be yelling at him, "Of course it's real! Can't you tell?" We wouldn't even notice the victory of Covenant's decision, the realization that in reality as in dreams, what matters is the answer we find in our hearts to the test of Despite.


But let's talk about the Haruchai!! What an extraordinary chapter for the Haruchai!! Where do I even start? Here's one of only two times (with Brinn vs. ak-Haru Kenaustin Ardenol) that we see Haruchai vs. Haruchai. And what's the point of seeing Haruchai vs. anybody else? It wouldn't remotely resemble a fair fight to see Haruchai vs. a basic stonedowner, woodhelvenin, ur-vile, cavewight, hustin, or just about anybody else. If there aren't several of them, armed, there's no point. And even then, if circumstances are right, we have something like Brinn sitting around waiting for them to clear the bodies away so they can attack again.

But in GILDEN-FIRE, we get to see supreme skill vs. supreme skill. In fact, in one way, this is better than Brinn vs. ak-Haru Kenaustin Ardenol. In that fight, Brinn is up against a foe who only becomes more substantial with each blow. Perhaps if Brinn hit him enough, he would be fully real, then Brinn would be able to hurt him. As it was, the majority of what we saw was of Brinn proving just how much punishment he could take. But in Korik vs. Tull, heartbreakingly short as the description is, we see skill, skill, skill!

What else do we learn... There are two ancient Haruchai clans; Ho-aru and Nimishi. They were continually at war, until they realized the waste of such a course, and formed the Bond. There's something else I'd love to see more about! My first thought was that they did a lot of inter-marrying. But Tull is the newest Bloodguard, and he is from one clan. So I guess they simply saw the futility of constant war, and, with the simplicity and dedication that the Haruchai lived by, decided to stop fighting. But they are a proud race, and kept their clans' bloodlines fairly pure.

The mind-speech is interesting. It would seem to be much like normal speech. I particularly like Sill's silent shrug. You can just hear the Bloodguard shrugging in their minds all the time, and I'm glad to see SRD put one into this brief telepathic conversation. Still, I get the impression that the telepathy of the Haruchai can be other than these conversations. I always figured it was their telepathy that lets them remember stories in great detail thousands of years later. Brinn and Cail knew everything about the Bloodguard, Covenant, and everything else that we know about. I figure they can all sort of join minds at times, a uni-mind, or Borg collective, so that everybody knows everything. If they do this years later, any detail that one Haruchai may have forgotten is reabsorbed. Just a thought. :)

And last, but greatest, we see the Vow!!!!

Ha-man rual tayba-sah carab ho-eeal neeta par-raoul

The Vow. The most extreme manifestation of their passion. They are an extremely passionate people! Consider Brinn's words again:
"In the song of the merewives we heard the fire of our yearning for that which we have left behind. Assuredly we were deluded - but the delusion was sweet. Mountains sprang about us. The air became the keen breath which the peaks exhale from their snows. And upon the slopes moved the women who call to us in their longing for fire and seed and offspring." For a moment, he broke into the tonal tongue of the Haruchai; and that language seemed to transform his visage, giving him an aspect of poetry. "Therefore did we leap to answer, disregarding all service and safety. The limbs of our women are brown from sun and birth. But there is also a whiteness as acute as the ice which bleeds from the rock of mountains, and it burns as the purest snow burns in the most high tor, the most wind-flogged col. For that whiteness, we gave ourselves to the Dancers of the Sea."
This doesn't just speak of their passion between man and woman. After unknown millennia in the Westron Mountains, they still speak of the mountains with words such as these! And until they went to the Land and met Kevin, the mountains were the only thing they knew. Basically, this is a people aching to be passionate, with very few things to be passionate about! Not that what they had to be passionate about, women and mountains, aren't extremely worthy, but that's only a couple of things for such a race.

And then they found Revelstone. This is what is meant by "In the rush of their unfamiliar passion..." and "This they wrought out of the extremity and innocence of their hearts..." The passion and extremity were there, waiting, but their unfamiliarity with the glories outside of their mountain fastnesses made them innocent. Neither the unfamiliarity nor the passion, the extremity nor the innocence, alone would have been enough. Only the combination of the two could lead to the Vow.

The specifics of exactly what inspired the Haruchai SO much is a mystery. In WGW, Durris says, simply:
"The Vow of the Bloodguard was sworn to meet the bounty and grandeur of High Lord Kevin and Revelstone."
In LFB, Bannor had told us this:
"When we came to the Land, we saw wonders - Giants, Ranyhyn, Revelstone - Lords of such power that they declined to wage war with us lest we be destroyed. In answer to our challenge, they gave to the Haruchai gifts so precious-" He paused, appeared to muse for a moment over private memories. "Therefore we swore the Vow. We could not equal that generosity in any other way."
And now we have this:
The great gates stood open for three days while the Haruchai commanders tasted the grandeur of Revelstone. They experienced the laughing genial power of the Giants who had made the Keep, received the confident offer of Kevin's Council to supply the Haruchai freely whatever they needed for as long as their need lasted. When the commanders returned to their army, they sat astride prancing Ranyhyn, which had come from the Plains of Ra at Kevin's call and had chosen to bear the Haruchai. Korik and his peers were of one mind. Something new was upon them, something beyond instinctive kinship with Ranyhyn, beyond friendship and awe for the Giants, beyond even the fine entrancement of Revelstone itself. The Haruchai were fighters, accustomed to wrest what they required: they could not accept gifts without making meet return.
For me, no scene of TCTC is more powerful and dramatic (some are tied) than the next paragraph - the actual taking of the Vow:
Therefore that night the army from the Westron Mountains gathered under the south wall of Revelstone. All the Haruchai joined their minds together and out of their common strength forged the metal of the Vow - unalloyed and unanswerable, accessible to no appeal or flaw, unambergrised by the promise of any uncorrupt end: a Vow like the infernal oath upon the river of death which binds even the gods. This they wrought out of the extremity and innocence of their hearts, to match the handiwork of the Giants and the mastery of the Lords. As they spoke the hot words - Ha-man rual tayba-sah carab ho-eeal - the ground seemed to grow hot and cognizant under their feet, as if the Earthpower were drawing near the surface to hear them. And when they brought their Vow around full circle, sealing it so that there was no escape, the rocks on which they stood thundered, and fire ran through them, sealing their bones to the promise they had made.
Damn! I can just see the Earthpower bursting out of the ground, burning through them!!

But Kevin didn't want their service, and tried - enthusiastically tried - to talk them out of their Vow. But he, unintentionally, was largely responsible for it. The wonders and generosity that he showed was more than the naive Haruchai could handle. Their awe and gratitude was more than Kevin could have predicted.

And then there's the consequences of the Vow. Mhoram mentions it in LFB:
"They were a hot-blooded people, strong-loined and prolific, bred to tempest and battle - and now made by their pledged loyalty ascetic, womanless and old. I tell you, Thomas Covenant - their devotion has had such unforseen prices- Such one-mindedness does not come easily to them, and their only reward is the pride of unbroken, pure service."
And Bannor mentions it in TPTP:
"I am not shamed," he said distinctly. "But I am saddened that so many centuries were required to teach us the limits of our worth. We went too far, in pride and folly. Mortal men should not give up wives and sleep and death for any service - lest the face of failure become too abhorrent to be endured."
But nowhere is it made as achingly clear as it is in GILDEN-FIRE, and I'll end with these words:
Korik understood this assertion and accepted it. But he did not like it. It carried echoes of other losses and griefs - deprivations and hollow places which the Haruchai had not taken into account during their sole night of extravagance. Dourly, he posted his comrades in a wide circle around the camp. Then he stood with his arms folded on his chest, gazed warily out over the grasslands and the star-path of the moon, recited his Vow through the long watch. He could not forget any detail of the last night he had spent with his wife, whose bones were already ancient in the frozen fastness of her grave. The Vow sustained him, but it was not warm.
He could not forget any detail of the last night he had spent with his wife, whose bones were already ancient in the frozen fastness of her grave. The Vow sustained him, but it was not warm.
Last edited by Fist and Faith on Wed Sep 13, 2006 3:19 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by danlo »

Wow Fist! You definately grok w/the passionate blood of the Haruchai ! You make me feel like a Chrons "generalist". I guess I'm kinda jealous that way, especially w/all the folks on the Watch that have no problem IDing directly w/different groups of characters or aspects of these books. I can really see the temptation to ID and sympathize w/the Haruchai and Gilden-Fire really takes that temptation over the top. It's such a little gem of a story and it's so fascinating to see how they work & fight together.

I love this line: in reality as in dreams, what matters is the answer we find in our hearts to the test of Despite.

Superb effort, damm good research, very well rounded!
Last edited by danlo on Thu Apr 19, 2007 8:55 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by Fist and Faith »

Aw shucks. :) Thanks!
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Post by Earthblood »

F & F - I actually got goosebumps on my arms while readimg your post!

This is also probly my favorite part of TCTC. I am so glad SRD published it.

I was struck by extravagance(sp?) of a group of people so confident that thier only response to the gift of the old Lords was to swear to unending service & protection!?!?!

Can you imagine the passion & courage it took to do such a thing? Some of us have a hard time deciding what to have for dinner, much less swearing a Vow like this. How many of us carried a New Years resolution of dieting or quitting smoking or some other such "sacrifice" for a whole year, much less a few millenia????

Bloodguard rule.

Excellent work Fist & Faith!!!
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Post by duchess of malfi »

That was beautiful, Fist. You made me cry! :wink: :cry:
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Post by Fist and Faith »

:oops: :oops: :oops:
Jeez folks!!

:D :D :D

I'm just a tiny bit thrilled that I'm able to express my love of the Haruchai in a way that touches you so strongly!!
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Post by Infelice »

That was great F&F!!!! Your passion for this chapter and the Haruchai almost echoes the passion of the Haruchai themselves.....only you express your's more eloquently. :D

My heart absolutely aches for the Bloodguard and what they had to give up and it is so touching to read that even after millenia (sp), Korik could still remember every detail of his last night with his wife...*sigh* :cry:
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Post by Damelon »

That was quite a post F&F! 8O 8). I'd read Gilden Fire many years ago, but had forgotten the power of that story. Thanks.
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Post by birdandbear »

Well, I haven't had time to read this thread (or any other) since Friday. I had the video race, and other RL stuff in the way. (RL has been running me absoloutely ragged the last couple weeks, most of it has been fun, but... :crazy: )

So, I know I'm running way behind on my Gilden Fire post, but I just wanted to check in and let you all know I haven't forgotten. I will post Gilden Fire Part II by midnight tomorrow (tuesday) I promise. And I'll catch up on this thread and everything else too.

Fist - I can't wait to read what you wrote! Just from scanning the replies, it sounds like you did a stellar job. I hope I can do half as well. :cross:

Sorry for the delay folks. Love you guys. :hnk:
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Post by danlo »

WOO HOO! U go girl!
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Post by Skyweir »

oooh thanks to this powerful introduction - I am going to get my most recent .. or one of them :wink: acquisitions 'Gilden Fire' <thanks again Landwaster> and read it too!

this is a group read right?

cool!
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Post by Fist and Faith »

Infelice wrote:My heart absolutely aches for the Bloodguard and what they had to give up and it is so touching to read that even after millenia (sp), Korik could still remember every detail of his last night with his wife...*sigh* :cry:
Bah. What woman would want a man who would remember her so perfectly after millennia! :wink:
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Post by duchess of malfi »

Bah yourself! :| ( :wink: )
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Post by Fist and Faith »

:)
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Post by Infelice »

Fist and Faith wrote:
Infelice wrote:My heart absolutely aches for the Bloodguard and what they had to give up and it is so touching to read that even after millenia (sp), Korik could still remember every detail of his last night with his wife...*sigh* :cry:
Bah. What woman would want a man who would remember her so perfectly after millennia! :wink:
Me for one F&F- that kind of devotion is very hard to find in a guy :)
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Post by Vain »

I bought Gildenfire over a year ago and never read it until now.

I find it frustrating that there is so much richness behind the characters in TCTC yet we only get glimpses.

Awesome summation F&F - have you ever wondered why there appears to be the need to recite the vow repeatedly?
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Post by Ryzel »

Excellent post. The Bloodguard first, and later the haruchai travellers have always been important in the chronicles. Now what we need is something told from the viewpoint of a giant to even the score.
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Post by Fist and Faith »

Ha! I imagine anything told from the viewpoint of a Giant would be a minimum of 10,000 pages!! :D

Good question, Vain. OCD?
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Post by Ryzel »

Vain wrote:Awesome summation F&F - have you ever wondered why there appears to be the need to recite the vow repeatedly?
I think that this is just a psychological need/tradition. The Bloodguard are several thousand years old and have seen most of the people they have ever known die. The vow might be the only thing they still see as constant, or solid, in a changing world.
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Post by Fist and Faith »

Here's another line I just found about how passionate the Haruchai are, without which the Vow never would have happened. In TOT, Covenant asks Findail to help when Brinn and Cail jump to the merewives. This is part of Findail's answer:
"The Haruchai have gone to meet a jeopardy which arises only from the quenchless extravagance of their own hearts, for the merewives did naught except sing - but the Haruchai answered."
quenchless extravagance of their own hearts
That's something!
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