a thomas covenant discussion which does not suffice

part two: the second chronicles

Thomas Covenant's story to Linden in TWL:

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In the measureless heavens of the universe, he told her, where life and space were one, and the immortals strode through an ether without limitation, the Creator looked about him, and his heart swelled with the desire to make a new thing to gladden his bright children. Summoning his strength and subtlety, he set about the work which was his exaltation. First he forged the Arch of Time, so that the world he wished to make would have a place to be. And then within the Arch he formed the Earth. Wielding the greatness of his love and vision as tools, he made the world in all its beauty, so that no eye could behold it without joy. And then upon the Earth he placed all the myriads of its inhabitants - beings to perceive and cherish the beauty which he made. Striving for perfection because it was the nature of creation to desire all things flawless, he made the inhabitants of the Earth capable of creation, and striving, and love for the world. Then he withdrew his hand, and beheld what he had done. There to his great ire he saw that evil lay in the Earth: malice buried and abroad, banes and powers which had no part of his intent. For while he had labored over his creation, he had closed his eyes, and had not seen the Despiser, the bitter son or brother of his heart, laboring beside him - casting dross into the forge, adding malignancy to his intent. Then the Creator's wrath shook the heavens, and he grappled with the son or brother of his heart. He overthrew the Despiser and hurled him to Earth, sealing him within the Arch of Time for his punishment. Thus it became for the inhabitants of the Earth as it was for the Creator; for in that act he harmed the thing he loved, and so all living hearts were taught the power of self-despite. The Despiser was abroad in the Earth, awakening ills, seeking to escape his prison. And the Creator could not hinder him, for the touch of any immortal hand through the Arch would topple Time, destroying the Earth and freeing the Despiser. This was the great grief of the Creator, and unending flaw and sorrow of those who lived and strove upon the Earth.

Sunder's story:

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"In the Rede it is told that the Earth was formed as a jail and tormenting place for the Lord of Wickedness - him who we name a-Jeroth of the Seven Hells. And life was placed upon the Earth - men and women, and all other races - to wreak upon a-Jeroth his proper doom. But time and again, throughout the ages, the races of the Land failed their purpose. Rather than exacting pain from a-Jeroth, meting out upon him the Master's just retribution, they formed alliances with the Lord, spared him in his weakness,and bowed to him in his strength. And always...the most heinous of those betrayals have been wrought by men born in the image of the First Betrayer, Berek, father of cowardice. Halfhanded men. Therefore in his wrath the Master turned his face from the Land. He sent the Sunbane upon us, as chastisement for treachery, so that we would remember our mortality, and become worthy again to serve his purpose. Only the intercession of the Clave enables us to endure.

the Clave's strange song:

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" 'Oh come, my love, and bed with me; Your mate knows neither lust not heart - Forget him in his ecstasy. I joy to play the treacher's part.' Spoke a-Jeroth of the Seven Hells. "Diassomer Mininderain, The mate of might, and Master's wife, All starts' and heavens' chatelaine, With power over realm and strife, Attended well, the story tells, To a-Jeroth of the Seven Hells. "With a-Jeroth the lady ran; Diassomer with fear and dread Fled the Master's ruling span. On Earth she hides her trembling head, While all about her laughter wells From a-Jeroth of the Seven Hells. " 'Forgive!" she cries with woe and pain; Her treacher's laughter hurts her sore, 'His blandishments have been my bane. I yearn my Master to adore.' For in her ears the spanning knells Of a-Jeroth of the Seven Hells. "Wrath is the Master - fire and rage. Retribution fills his hands. Attacking comes he, sword and gage, 'Gainst treachery in all the lands. Then crippled are the cunning spells Of a-Jeroth of the Seven Hells. "Mininderain he treats with rue; No heaven-home for broken trust, But children given to pursue All treachery to death and dust. Thus Earth becomes a gallow-fells For a-Jeroth of the Seven Hells." ..."Her children are the inhabitants of the Earth. It is said that elsewhere in the earth - across the seas, beyond the mountains - live beings who have kept faith. But the Land is the home of the faithless, and on the descendants of betrayal the Sunbane wreaks the Master's wrath."

The first one if the traditional story of the Land, as told by Covenant. Going by the richness of the language you can tell that this character is a writer, can't you? And the constant evocations of beauty, love, and joy shows how much TC values those three three things.

The second is the Clave/Raver/Foul corruption of the original story. It has a grain of truth in it - that the Earth became a prison for the Despiser. I think it had to have that truth grain, or else it could not have been spread about and have people believe it. It also has a quality of abuse about it. An abuser always puts the blame on the victim. In this case, blame for the Sunbane and other bad things are put on the people of the Land.

The third story has just always stricken me as being...weird. It is the first time we have heard of a goddess figure. And love triangles are not something we have seen or heard about very often in the Land.

It does add to the abuser blaming the victim in that the peoples of the Land must deserve to be imprisoned and abused, as being the bastard offspring of adultery? (Not that I personally feel this way towards illegitimate children, or even adulterers, but I know historically society has felt this way about such people ).

I also cannot help but wonder if this story also tries to make several beings look bad:
* the Creator, for being first an inattentive spouse and then a vengeful cuckold
* the goddess, for being seduced by evil
* perhaps even Berek Halfhand and the Queen?

Looking back at the history of the Land, the most notable triangle would be the King, the Queen, and Berek. Which might even be a square or two triangles if Berek was married (after all, we do not know who Damelon's mother was). The Queen and King were married, but she had some sort of very significant relationship with Berek which never included marriage, whether it included sex or not. After all, Covenant told Lena something to the effect of

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Berek never married his Queen, either.

Given that Covenant and Lena had produced a child who became High Lord, this does have a possible implication that Berek and the Queen's important and Land-changing relationship might have had a sexual component, and perhaps even produced Damelon.

So perhaps this song is trying to spin a bad light upon oneof the most important legends of the Land?

Things get more complex starting with TOT.

Pitchwife's story:

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"It is said among the Elohim, whose knowledge is wondrous, and difficult of contradiction...that in the ancient and eternal youth of the cosmos, long ere the Earth came to occupy its place, the stars were as thick as sand throughout all the heavens. Where now we see multitudes of bright beings were once multitudes of multitudes, so that the cosmos were an ocean of stars from shore to shore, and the great depth of their present solitude was unknown to them - a sorrow which they could not have comprehended. They were the living peoples of the heavens, as unlike us as gods. Grand and warm in their bright loveliness, they danced to music of their own making and were content... "But far way across the heavens lived a being of another kind. The Worm. For ages it slumbered in peace - but when it wakened, as it wakens at the dawn of each new eon, it was afflicted with a ravenous hunger. Every creation contains destruction, as life contains death, and the Worm was destruction. Driven by its immense lust, it began to devour stars. "Perhaps this Worm was not large among the stars, but its emptiness was large beyond measure, and it roamed the heavens, consuming whole seas of brightness, cutting great swaths of loneliness across the firmament. Writhing along the ages, avid and insatiable, it fed on all that lay within its reach, until the heavens became as sparsely peopled as a desert... "Yet the devoured stars were beings as unlike to us as gods, and no Worm of doom could consume their power without cost. Having fed hugely, the Worm became listless and gravid. Though it could not sleep, for the eon's end of its slumber had not come, it felt a whelming desire for rest. Therefore it curled its tail about itself and sank into quiescence. "And while the Worm rested, the power of the stars wrought within it. From its skin grew excrescences of stone and soil, water and air, and these growths multiplied upon themselves and multiplied until the very Earth beneath our feet took form. Still the power of the stars wrought, but now it gave shape to the surface of the Earth, forging the seas and the land. And then was brought forth life upon the Earth. Thus were born all the peoples of the Earth, the beasts of the land, and the creatures of the deep - all the forests and greensward from pole to pole. And thus from destruction came forth creation, as death gives rise to life. "Therefore, Chosen...we live, and strive, and seek to define the sense of our being. And it is good, for though we compose a scant blink across the eye of eternity, yet while the blink lasts, we choose what we will, create what we may, and share ourselves with each other as the stars did ere they were bereaved. Bit it must pass. The Worm does not slumber. It merely rests. And the time must come when it is roused, or rouses itself. Then it will slough off this skin of rock and water to pursue its hunger across the cosmos until eon's end and slumber. For that reason, it is named the Worm of the World's End.

So many things come to mind here:

*blackholes swallowing stars
* the ancient symbol of the worm orombouros, the dragon swallowing its own tail
* the Midguard Serpent of Norse mythology
* the Doomsday device from the original Star Trek
* modern cosmology that says all matter (including the matter which makes us up) comes from the stars (cue up Carl Sagan saying "We are all star stuff")

It is very different from the other mythos - and the mind bending thing is that both appear to be at least partly true. There does seem to be a Creator and Despiser - and also a Worm at World's End.

It, of course, also shows that the Giants of the Search tell different stories from the Unhomed. the Unhomed have adopted/adapted the stories of the Land/Lords. The Search Giants have done the same with the stories of the elohim.

the elohim story:

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"Sun-Sage," replied Daphin," we are the Wurd of the Earth." She spoke clearly but her tome was confusing. Her Wurd sounded like Wyrd or Word. Wyrd? Linden thought. Destiny - or doom? Or Word? Or both. Into the silence, Daphin placed her story. It was an account of the creation of the Earth; and Linden soon realized that is was the same tale that Pitchwife had told her during the calling of the Nicor. Yet it contained one baffling difference. Daphin did not speak of a Worm. Rather, she used that blurred sound, Wurd, which seemed to signify both Wyrd and Word. This Wurd had awakened at the dawning of the eon and begun to consume the stars as if it intended to devout the cosmos whole. After a time, it had grown satiated and had curled around itself to rest, thus forming the Earth. And thus the Earth would remain until the Wurd roused to resume its feeding. It was precisely the same story that Pitchwife had told. Had the Giants who had first brought that tale out of Elemesnedene misheard it? Or had the Elohim pronounced it differently to other visitors? As if in answer, Daphin concluded, "Sun-Sage, we are the Wurd - the direct offspring of the creation of the Earth. From it we arose, and in it we have our being. Thus we are the heart, and the center, and the truth, and therefore we are what we are. We are all answers, just as are every question. For that reason, you must not judge the reply which we will give to your need." Linden hardly heard the Elohim, her mind was awhirl with implications. Intuitions rand against the limits of her understanding like the clamor of bells. We are the Wurd. Morninglight swirling with color like the portrait of the clachon in metaphor. A willow leaved in butterflies. Self-contemplation. Power. Dear God. She could hardly form words though the soundless adumbration of the chimes. The Elohim-! They're Earthpower. The heart of the Earth. Earthpower incarnate.

I will not even comment on that one. The Elohim have always baffled me and I am not ashamed to admit it.