Belintar says “of course” a returned Arkat (the Destroyer) would come for him. This implies that Belintar is somehow a heir of Nysalor. I don’t understand. What does Belintar have in common with Nysalor?
I’m bemused that the Red Goddess identifies so much with Nysalor that she “remembers” fighting Arkat. (I assume that Jar-Eel is speaking for/as the Red Goddess in the last panel.) I guess if I asked Her, She would simply reply: We Are All Us.
Several things pop-out for me now.
– Sedenya continues to cheat or bypass the Compromise by personally manifesting within time as Jar-Eel (and likely previously as Hon-Eel and the two other Inspirations of Moonson).
– Belintar is an illuminate, likely of a different source to both Lunar Jar-Eel and (probably) Dragon Argrath. Likely all characters referred to as Demi-Gods in publication are illuminated.
– There is an inbuilt confusion between the Deceiver and the Destroyer that is impossible to untangle, even by the people(!) that believe they have taken on only one of those roles.
There’s no question that Belintar is illuminated. Beyond that, he demonstrates a tremendous amount of both self-knowledge and mytho-historical understanding. He knows the history of Arkat, but in much more depth than almost everyone around.
Wheels within wheels; so, are the broken pieces used by the Seven Mothers to “birth” the Red Goddess, fragments left of Nysalor after battle with Arkat? Clearly (as clear as these things can be), Jar-Eel, with the Goddess speaking through her, seems to be taking the mantle of Nysalor/Gbaji, if not actually intimating that she IS Nysalor in some fashion. I love how deep the storytelling is taking us, still while leaving us with many questions to answer for ourselves. YGMV!
The case for Illumination does look incredibly strong. When he arrived in the Holy Country, Belintar was able to prove his rightful rule to many cults in the Holy Country, which suggests the ability to enter into multiple streams of myth, and show a role in each. He personally held together an unusual number of runes, and has a broad mythic insight. Finally, he sees himself as a natural target for the Destroyer, implying alignment to the “Nysalorean” side of illumination in a very wide sense, (which is reinforced by the conversation with Sedenya, who he chooses to warn, even though she has just dismembered him).
2. Cyclical repetition.
It is interesting how this reinforces Argrath’s role as the “Arkat” of the Third Age, and the correspondence between Sedenya and Nysalor (“this time”). The cyclical of things in Glorantha.
That Sedenya is a constructed god and therefore heir to Nysalor – also a constructed god is obvious. But the ‘I remember’ suggests a much more explicit connection.
Is this just that Sedenya – reused the mythic threads from the making of Nysalor – or as a reincarnating cyclical goddess also incorporating chaos she is the explicitly the new reincarnation?
Was she made from reusing pieces of the dead god. It strongly suggests the latter. – eye opeing stuff.
Or the rumors are true that Sedenya is a “tainted” iteration of Yelorna skymother, who was reconstructed as Yelorna Sundaughter to fight Arkat with the powers of the Bright Empire but could not defeat his Darkness.
Let’s remember something – Argrath’s title is not the destroy, but the Liberator. Argrath is in this sense essentially different from Arkat, He’s not Arkat – he’s another along the same cycle, but he’s also change, not darkness. He’s here to not destroy Sedenya, but set her free. Let’s contemplate this.
What are you going on about? Arkat liberated uz from Gbaji, the deceiver. He never destroyed, he created peace where chaos reigned. This Destroyer is somebody else, probably that Argrath individual. We need another Arkat.
Well, this at least seems to resolve (or at least strongly imply) who walked away from the Arkat/Gbaji battle at the Temple of Dreams, as IMO it was never 100% certain.
(If we say that it remains uncertain, then the alternative exists that Gbaji came out of it clothed as Arkat, and that would REVERSE Harrek/Sedenya’s roles here too, wouldn’t it? And that just seems sort of silly, given how the parallels run. Of course, that would be mind = blown reversal, which is something Greg always seems to prefer as a narrative choice….)
So the story unfolds… Now waiting for Arkat the Destroyer! Great work, Jeff and Kalin!
Should be harbinger shouldn’t it?
“Harbinger”, Although “harbringer” always sounds like it should be right 🙂
Herald does have related origins.
“Harbinger” seems to be the correct spelling.
THIS TIME!
Belintar says “of course” a returned Arkat (the Destroyer) would come for him. This implies that Belintar is somehow a heir of Nysalor. I don’t understand. What does Belintar have in common with Nysalor?
I’m bemused that the Red Goddess identifies so much with Nysalor that she “remembers” fighting Arkat. (I assume that Jar-Eel is speaking for/as the Red Goddess in the last panel.) I guess if I asked Her, She would simply reply: We Are All Us.
Several things pop-out for me now.
– Sedenya continues to cheat or bypass the Compromise by personally manifesting within time as Jar-Eel (and likely previously as Hon-Eel and the two other Inspirations of Moonson).
– Belintar is an illuminate, likely of a different source to both Lunar Jar-Eel and (probably) Dragon Argrath. Likely all characters referred to as Demi-Gods in publication are illuminated.
– There is an inbuilt confusion between the Deceiver and the Destroyer that is impossible to untangle, even by the people(!) that believe they have taken on only one of those roles.
There’s no question that Belintar is illuminated. Beyond that, he demonstrates a tremendous amount of both self-knowledge and mytho-historical understanding. He knows the history of Arkat, but in much more depth than almost everyone around.
The other shoe drops
Is that a Waertagi dragon on his forehead?
If so, the combination of Blue Skin, a Dragon on his forehead, and siring Dormal is interesting.
Wheels within wheels; so, are the broken pieces used by the Seven Mothers to “birth” the Red Goddess, fragments left of Nysalor after battle with Arkat? Clearly (as clear as these things can be), Jar-Eel, with the Goddess speaking through her, seems to be taking the mantle of Nysalor/Gbaji, if not actually intimating that she IS Nysalor in some fashion. I love how deep the storytelling is taking us, still while leaving us with many questions to answer for ourselves. YGMV!
The first time I read this, I missed the “This time” comment. Gadzooks, those two words say everything!
Lots of things coming together.
1. Belintar
The case for Illumination does look incredibly strong. When he arrived in the Holy Country, Belintar was able to prove his rightful rule to many cults in the Holy Country, which suggests the ability to enter into multiple streams of myth, and show a role in each. He personally held together an unusual number of runes, and has a broad mythic insight. Finally, he sees himself as a natural target for the Destroyer, implying alignment to the “Nysalorean” side of illumination in a very wide sense, (which is reinforced by the conversation with Sedenya, who he chooses to warn, even though she has just dismembered him).
2. Cyclical repetition.
It is interesting how this reinforces Argrath’s role as the “Arkat” of the Third Age, and the correspondence between Sedenya and Nysalor (“this time”). The cyclical of things in Glorantha.
That Sedenya is a constructed god and therefore heir to Nysalor – also a constructed god is obvious. But the ‘I remember’ suggests a much more explicit connection.
Is this just that Sedenya – reused the mythic threads from the making of Nysalor – or as a reincarnating cyclical goddess also incorporating chaos she is the explicitly the new reincarnation?
Was she made from reusing pieces of the dead god. It strongly suggests the latter. – eye opeing stuff.
I feel Illuminated.
Or the rumors are true that Sedenya is a “tainted” iteration of Yelorna skymother, who was reconstructed as Yelorna Sundaughter to fight Arkat with the powers of the Bright Empire but could not defeat his Darkness.
Let’s remember something – Argrath’s title is not the destroy, but the Liberator. Argrath is in this sense essentially different from Arkat, He’s not Arkat – he’s another along the same cycle, but he’s also change, not darkness. He’s here to not destroy Sedenya, but set her free. Let’s contemplate this.
You might want to listen to the latest podcast….
What are you going on about? Arkat liberated uz from Gbaji, the deceiver. He never destroyed, he created peace where chaos reigned. This Destroyer is somebody else, probably that Argrath individual. We need another Arkat.
Yes!!!
Is it a Waertagi dragon on his forehead as David asks?
Well, this at least seems to resolve (or at least strongly imply) who walked away from the Arkat/Gbaji battle at the Temple of Dreams, as IMO it was never 100% certain.
(If we say that it remains uncertain, then the alternative exists that Gbaji came out of it clothed as Arkat, and that would REVERSE Harrek/Sedenya’s roles here too, wouldn’t it? And that just seems sort of silly, given how the parallels run. Of course, that would be mind = blown reversal, which is something Greg always seems to prefer as a narrative choice….)
Is it just me or does Jar-Eel look a lot like a young Lois Griffin?