Ahira's Hangar

Only three chapters left, counting this one. The book is going by much too quickly. However, the chapters in this latter part of the book all seemed to be packed to the gills with both action and important information.

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The party stays up all night, as the Giants wish to stay up all night talking and asking questions. Well, they ARE Giants after all.

In answer to the Giants' questions about how Linden, Joan, Roger, and Jeremiah can all be dead in their own natural world, but still be alive in the Land, Stave tells the story of Hile Troy. Now, there have always been a lot of discussion and questions as to how he stayed in the Land when Atiaran died. I know a lot of people have speculated that he might have been hanging around in a coma somewhere until the Second Chrons, and that little action in Andelain played out. Well, now we have the answer from the haruchai - the Lords believed that his summons was not undone because his own death came before Ataiaran's death. His spirit could not return to the real world, as his body was dead, so his place was fixed in the Land.

Stave says that he does not know if this story can give hope to Linden and Jeremiah - for in the Land theri summoner still lives in Joan, though Joan is dead in the real world, too. So the circumstances are differrent - yet he sees hope. He also seems to think that Linden is seeking the krill to use it against Joan and her white gold ring, and have enough power to stay in the Land if Joan is slain.

I still think Linden is trying to get the krill for something that has to do with Thomas Covenant. We will have to see if I have egg all over my face if Linden does gain the krill and uses it like Stave thinks she will.

The Giants say that they expect a huge attack by skurj before they get to Andelain, which is eight or nine leagues (or less then forty miles, depending on the conversion ) away. The forest is difficult to travel through, and Longwrath will be tryign to get loose to kill Linden along the way. The Giants tell Linden that she will have to use the white gold to keep the company safe.

Linden explains that she has trouble using the white gold. She expresses doubts that the ring is really hers and that she is not the rightful wielder. Man, are her insecurities ever preying upon her right now. And whenever Esmer is around, he blocks her ability to use the white gold at all.

The humans try to get a little sleep before dawn. And Liand surprises Linden by asking her to give him the Staff of Law if she fights with the white gold. Liand has great and natural power, as expressed by his quick and increasing mastery over the orcrest. Does he have a plan for the Staff?

In the morning Linden explains the problem of Kevins Dirt to Coldspray, leader of the Giants. While the Giants and haruchai are immune, the humans must be cleansed in order to be effective. And the cleansing involves Earthpower, which can be sensed by the skurj. Both the Giants and Stave feel the risk is worth taking.

Liand quickly cleanses the humans with the orcrest. And then he turns towards Longwrath. Longwrath literally flips out. Liand has to withdraw.

Coldspray decides to separate the party once more, to keep Longwrath away from Linden.

And Marttir steps forward to say that the party must find a rocky outcropping of some sort. They must face the skurj someplace where there is an abundance of loose rocks.

So the party heads out, with the Giants once more carrying Linden and the slwoer humans along in their arms to make for better speed. They plan on keeping Linden and Liand close together so that Linden can give him the Staff if she has to use the white gold. Once again, the Cords will act like advance scouts, looking for the best path. The Humbled range out to look for threats.

Linden spends the travelling time trying to concentrate to find the place within herself that allows her to use the white gold. And she cannot fins it.

When they have made about half the remaining distance to Andelain, the party decides to slow down. In part, this is to help the Cords keep some of their energy. It is also in part because they expect an atatck by Nasty Kasty very soon - and they want to Cords to have tiem to find the right place for the coming battle.

And Linden's low self esteem and inner doubts eat awy at her.

A grieved and frightened part of her insisted that she was not Covenant, she was not. She had never been his equal. It was folly to pretend that she could match his capacity for extravagent and unforeseen victories.

This is the critical voice of her parents, loose in her because of the terrible stress and horror over what has happened to Jeremiah. This is the voice of the terrified abused child that rides deep inside her mind and heart, the child who loved those parents and therefore accepted their cruelty and believed in it because of that love. This is what Linden must overcome inside of herself in order to help Jeremiah and help the Land.

The party travels on, and sure enough - one of thte Humbled detects skurj.

In what seems to be the nick of time, word comes back from the Cords - a place to make their stand has been found by Bhapa.

It is an old volcanic plug, worn away and crumbling. Martiir thinks it is perfect for what he has in mind. And the top is big enough for everyone to stand and fight together - but with no way to escape.

Galt sends word through haruchai mind speech that eighteen!!!!! skurj are on their way.

The Cords are so dehydrated they are ready to drop, but the Giants have plenty of diamondraught to revive them.

Linden knows that she must use the ring, and soon, for all of the lives upon the hilltop depends on her. Yat, a crippling fear of failure keeps her from even trying. Ah, Linden. She is too wrapped up in the mental patterns of the abuse to receive her own worth and strength.

When Linden finally gives her Staff to Liand, when she finally sits down to try to access the white gold - you guessed it! At that very monent Esmer decides to show up.

And Esmer is sick and hurt, infected and wounded. He has not healed himself of the wounds of his strange several way battle against Roger, the Harrow, and the demondim spawn. The wounds are going bad.

And the demondim spawn have followed him to the hilltop.

And Esmer blocks the ability of the Giants to understand all languages, a gift they had received from the elohim. No one can understand the barking of the ur-viles and waynhim other than Esmer. But he dos tell the Giants that the demondim spawn mean no harm to linden's party and/or the Giants. They will not even defend themselves of the Giants attack them...

Linden asks Esmer why he is not healed. Esmer tells her that he has no healing gifts. He also telsl her that Kastenessen is royally angry at him for bringing the demondim spawn to this tiem and for defendign them against the Harrow.

Linden asks Esmer why everyone is telling her not to go to Andelain. She says that she is not the rightful weilder of the white gold ring, and that she does not have enough power. Esmer - Esmer - tells her that she is sadly mistaken. That between her use of the whote gold and Joan's, all life on earth can be ended, inlcuding the Elohim. That iswhat Kastenessen wants - the destruction and extinction of the Elohim. Kasty does not care about the Arch of Time - he only wants to get back at those who Appointed him.

Kasty has sent Esmer here as a punishment. By being there, Esmer will prevent Linden from using the white gold, which will result in her death. If she dies, then the ring will fall ino the hands of somene like the harrow or Roger, who will use the ring in such a way that the elhim might be exterminated. It is win-win for Kasty. If Linden uses the ring, the power will help disrupt the Earth. If she does not use the ring, she will die, and it will come to someone who will use it and help disrupt the Earth.

And then Esmer shocks Linden further - he tells her that under the advice of moksha Raver, it was he and Kastenessen who made Kevin's Dirt, from the Banes under Mount Thunder. They made it to block full use of Earthpower. It is moksha who brought Roger Covenant and the cavewights into an aliiance with Kasty. It was the Raver who got Kasty to cut off his right hand and give it to Roger.

Once again, Esmer is giving Linden all sorts of extremely valuable information - but none of it is useful at the present moment. But Linden now knows where to find Kasty, how he got his allies, and where the source of Kevin's Dirt can be found - but somehow she must survive the present crisis to act on any of that knowledge.

And Esmer still will not tell her why she must not go to Andelain.

The skurj attack. And Linden suddenly understands why they have made their stand on top of the old volcanic plug.

The loose boulders and rocks are weapons.

Linden tells Stave that the Seven Words affect the skurj. The company begin using them.

Esmer tells Linden that he will immediately leave if she will promise to not go to Andelain. He seems to be "good Esmer' here - and if so, Andelain must be a horrible idea on Linden's part. Linden argues with Esmer, and they have words about the Harrow and his wnats for the Staff and white gold...

And then Liand begins his plan, He uses the Staff of Law and the orcrest...calling


rain.

Oh, that was such a good move, and good thought, Liand! Linden throws herself at the Staff to help him. And of, course, at that moment Longwrath gets loose and tries to murder her - but the other suviving Giants protect her, and she helps Liand unleash a montrous downpour. the rain does not kill the skurj, but it does make them leave.

Liand's good thinking and judicious use of power, augmented by Linden's power, has saved the company.


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Liand's creative use of orcrest and Staff would make Sunder proud. (Just as Sunder combined orcrest and Loric's krill in the Second Chrons.)

A thought occurred to me about the Harrow's desire for Linden's Staff and ring: we saw in the episode with the Mahdoubt how strictly the Insequent are bound by their code - madness and dissolution is the fate of any one Insequent who interferes with another's purpose. Now, I have no clue about the parameters of the Insequent's magic - how they are able to "enforce" their collective will on one of their own - but assuming that the Harrow knows how to use wild magic, would it enable him to defy his people? Or is the law which binds the Insequent a kind of power (a spell?) that is untouched by wild magic, even though the wild magic supersedes any other power under the Arch? I don't know, just throwing it out there.


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