The man who put the scar on Merlin's cheek.

Tonto Silerheels wrote:jtg452 wrote:
Three pages on a 'what if' topic about a minor facet of Merlin's appearance! Folks must be REALLY getting bored around here.

I originated the topic, and I must say that I'm quite pleased that people found it interesting enough to discuss. I would consider my post a failure if people saw no reason to comment. (Having said that I have to confess that I didn't respond to The Princess Bride allusion because I thought I didn't have anything more interesting to offer, rather than because I didn't catch the allusion.) I try to put myself into the shoes (or birch bark covers) of different characters in the story and try to decide how their viewpoint would differ than what's been offered so far in the story. I think that it's entirely possible that Mr. Weber has considered the viewpoints I offer and decided it's not sufficiently interesting to include in a novel. Regardless, I think that it's interesting to discuss, and I'm quite pleased to discover that others think so as well.

RFC might need to throw the Brethren (and Sisters) here a bone and give us something to chew on for a while before things get ugly around here and Dukk has to flex his Almighty Admin Powers.

Of course...I hadn't considered that something I might say might encourage Mr. Weber to post a snippet, so with that in mind I retract everything I have ever said and claim that it's the only reasonable thing for him to do.

~Tonto

I wasn't knocking or insulting the original intent of the thread by any means.

I merely commented on just how stir crazy we have to be getting to have the topic come up in the first place.

We've beat most of the normal topics to death (and gave them a well deserved funeral afterwards) and there hasn't been a noob that's came in and rehashed any of the old standbys in the last few months, so we've come to a point where even the more off the wall comments are going to draw a good bit of attention (and you have to admit that as topics go, the theoretical back story of how he got the scar qualifies as 'off the wall').

Yes, we're punchy. We are punchy because we know this story arc is approaching completion. Will it end as we hope? Will Clyntahn get what he so richly deserves? Will Hektor participate on the Salthar canal raid? Will Nimue shed her relative innocence? .......

The list of questions go on. What question do you want answered in this concluding book? Please suggest some in honor of Tonto's original motive.

PeterZ wrote:Yes, we're punchy. We are punchy because we know this story arc is approaching completion. Will it end as we hope? Will Clyntahn get what he so richly deserves? Will Hektor participate on the Salthar canal raid? Will Nimue shed her relative innocence? .......

The list of questions go on. What question do you want answered in this concluding book? Please suggest some in honor of Tonto's original motive.

I see the end coming, too. From what's been said and posted by RFC, we know the general direction the plot is headed. we just don't know the route he's going to take or how long it's going to be. I don't have the habit of trying to anticipate the plot too badly. I can see the direction we are heading but, since it's the writer's story and I'm just along for the ride, I let the writer earn his keep by telling me his story instead of just telling me something that I've already thought of.

I can see wrapping this part of the arc up in as little as 2 more books. You could probably do it in one book but it would be a shame to collapse the entire last act of this story arc into that short a space after all the build up. That and way too many readers would be frustrated by it, too. After this much build up, there needs to be some kind of seriously climactic conclusion. (In other words, nothing like Tim Zahn's ending to his Quadrail series. That one actually made me mad and I haven't bought another of his books since.)

Warning

Spoilers?

Speculations?

Random Thoughts from the Peanut Gallery Ahead

The biggest obstacles between Charis and the Temple, aside from the actual distance between their troops and the Temple and that can be dealt with, are the Harchoneges Army and Thirsk's navy. They are the last two trained and organized formations of their respective types still in opposition to the Charisans and the Go4 doesn't have the time or money to replace them. I figure when those threats are eliminated and the Border States are gobbled up (to close the distance), I think that things will start happening real fast.

If I was writing the end of the story arc, I'd have the Charisans put a lot of pressure on the TL from the East to draw a maximum amount of troops in that direction while a large land force comes around from the west and makes an amphibious landing as close to the Temple itself as possible. Take a port for a logistics base and a way to withdraw if things go badly and then a lightning thrust directly at the Temple itself using their fastest formations to lead the way while the slower formations secure the flanks and eliminate or contain any pockets of resistance that were bypassed. Basically, use the German's Ardennes offensive plan from the Battle of the Bulge without having to worry about enemy air cover. The details that we long for like Merlin's first visit to the Temple proper, Clyntyn's comeuppance, finding out exactly what is in the Temple basement, .... I have no idea how they will be handled. Again, that's the writer's part of the job. I can see a general direction and I know the destination, I just don't know the exact route or the stops we will make along the way.

But then again, there's probably a reason I'm not a professional writer with so many successful books under my belt so I'm most likely completely and absolutely wrong.

jtg452 wrote:
The biggest obstacles between Charis and the Temple, aside from the actual distance between their troops and the Temple and that can be dealt with, are the Harchoneges Army and Thirsk's navy.

There are also those elements of the Army of Glacierheart and the Army of the Sylmahn, who were once trained with pikes, but are now trained with breach-loading rifles, and who are currently in the border states.

I'd have the Charisans put a lot of pressure on the TL from the East to draw a maximum amount of troops in that direction while a large land force comes around from the west and makes an amphibious landing as close to the Temple itself as possible.

Paiter Wylsyn (sp) once speculated that his uncles would trigger the key if an army were approaching the temple. We know where one key is. We don't know if there are others, or, if there are, who has them.

~Tonto

Tonto Silerheels wrote:
Paiter Wylsyn (sp) once speculated that his uncles would trigger the key if an army were approaching the temple. We know where one key is. We don't know if there are others, or, if there are, who has them.

~Tonto

So, the Temple can't be breached- meaning the Go4, who are based in the Temple (Heck, Clyntyn never leaves the building) can't be faced down or brought to justice?

To end the story with the good guys winning, there's gonna have to be a takeover of the Temple proper.

Otherwise, the Go4 have that KEW platform hanging over everyone's head and they get to go back to business as usual- after blotting everyone that resisted them from the face of the planet.

That's not part of the long range plan for the story that RFC has shown us. There has to be a end to the major plot line - the fight between Charis and the Go4- of some sort. Even if there's no face to face confrontation at the end between the main protagonists and antagonists, the Temple has to fall. Either through a coup from inside or an attack from outside, it's gotta come down so the next phase of the story- the revelation of the truth about Langhorne's lie- can start.

There's the first submission.

Will the OBS survive the G4?

PeterZ wrote:There's the first submission.

Will the OBS survive the G4?

I think the answer is yes.

Once it is out of automatic, AI or Church (or whatever is controlling it- IF anything is actually controlling it at this 'moment' in the story line) control, you have some more Federation weaponry and tech that can be used and reverse engineered once the wars are over and they start gearing up to face the Ghaba. That's for later. First, there's the "I don't believe it!" and "Heretic, I'll kill you!" (he says in his best Akhmed the Dead Terrorist voice) wars that have to be fought AND then there's the educational obstacle of bringing the planet from 1500 Europe up to late Federation level. We are talking about a generation at least- maybe more. Then they have to build the machines to build the machines to build the stuff they are going to need. I can see a pretty big time jump in the books coming up from we get to this phase to the final showdown with the Ghaba. It's gonna take decades or centuries to build the fleet- and the support infrastructure and the population necessary- to go after them or even to be ready when they show up again.

Direwolf18 wrote:Well with a warrior as famous as Merlin has become, it must lead to speculation on who was good enough to actually get cold steel close enough to Merlin's face to leave a scar. Clearly this mystery person has done faaaaar better then anyone else seems to have done after several years and several assassination attempts latter.

I LOVE the notion of the different realms viewing "their" Senjin as the most likely party. I think it's a brilliant notion.

It just occured to me, knowing Merlin/Nimue's (and most importantly, David's) sense of humor, that one of Merlin's various avatars, in a moment of comradery with the un-initiated, might trade a story about "the way he heard" Merlin had received the scar - just to see how far and wide the story would go, and the growth in the re-telling.

Of course said Avatar wasn't there for the event, but knows a person, who knew someone else who saw the whole thing....

Theemile wrote:

Direwolf18 wrote:Well with a warrior as famous as Merlin has become, it must lead to speculation on who was good enough to actually get cold steel close enough to Merlin's face to leave a scar. Clearly this mystery person has done faaaaar better then anyone else seems to have done after several years and several assassination attempts latter.

I LOVE the notion of the different realms viewing "their" Senjin as the most likely party. I think it's a brilliant notion.

It just occured to me, knowing Merlin/Nimue's (and most importantly, David's) sense of humor, that one of Merlin's various avatars, in a moment of comradery with the un-initiated, might trade a story about "the way he heard" Merlin had received the scar - just to see how far and wide the story would go, and the growth in the re-telling.

Of course said Avatar wasn't there for the event, but knows a person, who knew someone else who saw the whole thing....

Or several of his avatars do at various times and they all give different stories. Ahbraim says Mab did it, Mab says Nimue did it, Nimue says Ahbraim did it.

Somehow I doubt that Mab will be "comradely" enough to be spreading tall tales about how Merlin got that scar.

Mab's too much an embodiment of death to share beers with people.

Now old Zhapyth, he would be willing to spread tall tales about that youngster Merlin.

Starsaber wrote:

Theemile wrote:It just occured to me, knowing Merlin/Nimue's (and most importantly, David's) sense of humor, that one of Merlin's various avatars, in a moment of comradery with the un-initiated, might trade a story about "the way he heard" Merlin had received the scar - just to see how far and wide the story would go, and the growth in the re-telling.

Of course said Avatar wasn't there for the event, but knows a person, who knew someone else who saw the whole thing....

Or several of his avatars do at various times and they all give different stories. Ahbraim says Mab did it, Mab says Nimue did it, Nimue says Ahbraim did it.