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continuation:
[spoiler]
And so Linden - and we - meet one of the greatest men who will ever grace the Earth of the Land.
quote:
There was Earthpower in him, that was obvious; as potent as Anele's inheritance, but closer to the surface, more readily accessible. However, his numinous energy was not what caused him to stand out from his escort of warriors as if he were somehow more real than they, more significant and substantial.
Nor did his vividness, his particular intensity, arise from his physical presence. He was little more than half a head taller than Linden: a stocky man, broad of shoulder and girth; prematurely bald, with deep eyes, a short cropped beard the color of old iron, and a nose that had been dented by a blow. His hands looked as heavy as truncheons, and they had seen hard use in spite of the loss of two of his fingers; the same two which has been amputated from Covenant. The slashed and battered condition of his cuirass and vambraces proclaimed that he did not remain aloof from battle. He was a powerful man, familiar with fighting for his life. Yet that did not account for his obvious dominance, his air of unmistakable authority. Most of the men and women in his escort were muscular and injured, marked by an interminable series of fierce engagements.
No, it was his emotional aura that made him more distinct, more necessary, than the people with him. Covenant had said "He's charismatic as all hell", but Linden saw more. With her full senses, she discerned that he was haunted by death; that loss and despair had been carved into the bedrock of his nature. And the sheer depth of his bereavements had taught him a desperate compassion. She loathed war, but her abhorrence lacked the intimacy of his, the hideously prolonged exposure to that which rent his heart. Now he grieved for his foes as much as for his own forces. When he slew them, he did so as if he were weeping; as if his strokes were sobs. He fought - and fought endlessly, season after season, battle upon battle - only because the darkness which drove his enemies left him no choice. And because he had given his oath to the Land.
Berek has the endless compassion we have only previously seen from Pitchwife. He has the heart of a Giant.
I have always felt that when facing a life filled with horrors - as Berek's must have been in service to a King dominated by a Raver, then in endless warfare against that Raver, in a nuclear winter engendered by Lord Foul - you have two choices.
You can embrace the darkness in a confirmation that evil is the way of the world, and justify everything that has happened to you.
Or you can learn from it, try to make your life and the lives of those around you better. Live a life filled with compassion and service and reject the evil that others have committed in your life.
Berek has chosen a life of service (as did Linden herself, something I will always give her every break for doing). And yet - even after his experience at Mount Thunder - even as he has been filled with Earthpower and his very senses have been changed - he remains woefully ignorant.
The exhausted Linden explains Hurtloam to him.
And he sends his Hand and son, Damelon, to go gather a crew to get Hurtloam for the sick and wounded.
Damelon - another legend from the past of the Land - here as young as Liand, though very much more experienced. I wonder if this is a little dig by Donaldson at the Masters - that even very young men (and women) can learn to be extraordinary, if given opportunities?
And Linden returns to her duties towards to wounded and sick, watched over now by Berek himself, and tended in her labors by the tent's healers.
When the hurtloam comes, her labors are eased, as she teachers others how to use it - and as those who use it are also healed from their wounds and diseases. And so much Hurtloam - Linden thinks that the Earth itself has provided a huge gift in response to Berek's oath of service.
And while still working, she hears Covenant start to yell...
A large officer, the Warhaft Inbull, has begun to mistreat her three companions, despite Damelon's orders to desist. And then the officer strikes Damelon, himself.
And Linden sees and senses that Inbull is a traitor to Berek, and he is trying to deliberately make trouble in the camp by attacking Covenant and Jeremiah.
Berek, whom Covenant had said was too powerful - like Linden herself - to touch him or Jeremiah without "making them disappear" - reaches out to steady Covenant - and not only does Covenant not disappear - but Berek acts as if his hand has been burned.
This is just further confirmation to me that Covenant and Jeremiah are liars of the first degree, and that Covenant is in the service of Kastenessen, who is Anele's fiery possessor.
When Linden is about to enter the fray, the Theomach stops her. He tells her that there is much going on that she does not yet understand, and she must be quiet and good so that things will work out. 
He cautions her to say as little to Berek as she possibly can, and to leave as many answers to the Theomach as she can.
We see a little more of Damelon now, as he escorts Linden and her three companions to his father's tent. He is a man able to control his anger, as he shows in the manner in which he deals with being hit by Inbull. He is a courteous young man. And despite a life filled with warfare and battle - he lacks his father's pain. His father's despair has taught him confidence and a conviction in a positive future. While he shows no signs yet of his father's power, you can tell that the future of the Land will be in good hands one day, when he leads. From the twilight of the world of a cruel monarchy that his father grew up in, building on his father's dawn, he will lead the Land into a bright morning and high noon, a world made anew and filled with promise.
Linden's heart aches anew when she cannot treat her own son for his injuries from Inbull. He still refuses her touch (but why????). The Theomach bathes his eye socket.
And Damelon - though he shows no other signs of his great coming power - senses Berek's Earthpowerful approach at the same time as Linden.
Berek explains to Linden that he uses the traitor Inbull to spread false information to the enemy, though it is obvious that using someone in such a way hurts Berek greatly.
When Berek asks what the foursome want, he is told that Linden, Covenant , and Jeremiah only want to leave, and help to make their journey easier (horses, supplies, warm clothing , etc.)--- but the Theomach!
The Theomach of the Insequent wants to stay with Berek. He is a seeker of knowledge, and a mighty warrior, and perhaps most importantly he wishes to
teach
Berek.
And after Covenant (drinking again) and Jeremiah depart to get even with Inbull (and when would the REAL Covenant ever look for vengeance??? 
), as a pledge of good faith, and a teaching demonstration, the Theomach teaches both Berek and Linden the Seven Words of Power. 
And, after some debate about the meaning of life, Berek finally accepts the Theomach, as companion and teacher.
Linden then gets her turn alone with Berek, and teaches him about basic hygiene, in an effort to save further lives after her departure from the camp. She begs him to not allow her story to ever be passed onward forward into time. And she names her staff and white gold ring to him.
Berek grants her all of the aid in her coming travels that he can provide.
And Linden wishes with all of her heart that Covenant could be honest with her... 
And of course - this chapter might have just solved one of the greatest mysteries of the Second Chronicles -who was the former Guardian of the One Tree before Brinn? The Theomach, possibly immortal and a great and renowned warrior in the service of Berek? Could he have led Berek to the Tree using his mage powers, instructed Berek on how to make a staff like Linden's, and then become the Guardian? 
[/spoiler]
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