[bonzihunter]

I'm sure I'm not the only one who would've liked to have a bit more information about the Jade Slashes/Strangers. We know that they are the Crippled God's followers and that they journeyed here to rescue/reclaim him, but beyond that I don't think we're given much information. It's been a while since I read some of the earlier books in which these statues are described in more detail, so I might be forgetting some of the hints that were dropped, but does anybody know what the deal is with them?

Something as bizarre as giant jade statues flying through space containing the humanoid followers of the CG warrants more explanation IMO. I'm tempted to think that his followers are an advanced alien race, like something out of science fiction, and that those jade statues are their spaceships - as ridiculous as that sounds, lol. Any ideas?

[worry]

I don't think they're here to rescue him at all. They are dead people's souls going to their Shield Anvil, he just happens to be a bajillion miles away in another dimension. Some of them don't even believe in him anymore, he's been gone so long.

This post has been edited by worrywort: 09 May 2011 - 09:17 PM

[Ceda Cicero]

It's interesting to me how, in those instances in the last book where Kaminsod is relating to Shadowthrone (the italics sections, the one-sided convos) the nature of his homeworld, it very, very clearly is meant to resemble ours. I wouldn't go so far as to say OMFG KAMINSOD IS FROM EARTH, but there's definitely something going on there.

[dawnkiller]

There's an incident earlier -- I think DG, possibly HoC -- where Heboric hears some of the strangers talking amongst themselves in the jade. The conversation is rather philosophical, and to my recollection even involves arguments on the nature of the gods themselves. Certainly they don't seem to realize they're dead. But yeah -- my general sense is that they're simply attracted to their god, who remember also came down in a physical way that created a massive crater and shattered his body. Their manifestation as jade giants, IMO, is due to the fact they are mimicking Kaminsod's original form. I seem to recall that very early on Kaminsod identified himself as a beautiful god and/or god of beauty. Since there are multiple giants around the world, I assume such cataclysms either happened in the past or the strangers materialized within the earth itself.

They're definitely faith-linked, since any little bit of prayer seems to trigger them (see Sweetest Sufferance's extremely unfortunate end). I think it must have something to do with the fact the gods are somewhat fed and formed by their followers' beliefs, and in the absence of any guiding presence to control that power (like Trake, Mael, etc) the raw power -- in this case, embodied by the followers -- reacts in unpredictable and lethal ways. The strangers in the Glass Desert seemed to be waiting for ANY kind of prayer to give them direction, with lethal results.

What's more puzzling to me is that TCG indicates near the end that the jade giants were a warning that was "not understood". A warning of . . . what, the inevitable result of allowing a foreign god to remain chained to your world while you use him as a communal sippy cup?

[King Bear]

 Ceda Cicero, on 09 May 2011 - 09:56 PM, said:

It's interesting to me how, in those instances in the last book where Kaminsod is relating to Shadowthrone (the italics sections, the one-sided convos) the nature of his homeworld, it very, very clearly is meant to resemble ours. I wouldn't go so far as to say OMFG KAMINSOD IS FROM EARTH, but there's definitely something going on there.

You've just hit on the answer to one of the persistent problems with theism: God's seeming inaction.

So the next time someone asks why God doesn't do anything about human suffering/answer prayers say it's because 100,000 (?) years ago he was pulled into another dimension by a bunch of desperate mages, was broken into a million pieces, chained and used by the gods of that dimension as a battery. And if they tell you 'that's retarded' say 'read tMBotF and get back to me' and pat yourself on the back for the legions of atheists and agnostics you convert to believers Malazan.

[bonzihunter]

 worrywort, on 09 May 2011 - 09:17 PM, said:

I don't think they're here to rescue him at all. They are dead people's souls going to their Shield Anvil, he just happens to be a bajillion miles away in another dimension. Some of them don't even believe in him anymore, he's been gone so long.

So all the CG's followers are dead and the CG is a Shield Anvil??? Hmph, news to me! Them being dead seems reasonable but I never recall it being mentioned that the CG is a Shield Anvil. Shield Anvils aren't typically gods in this series, they serve gods. Where was it ever mentioned that CG is a Shield Anvil??? lol

[bonzihunter]

 dawnkiller, on 09 May 2011 - 11:26 PM, said:

There's an incident earlier -- I think DG, possibly HoC -- where Heboric hears some of the strangers talking amongst themselves in the jade. The conversation is rather philosophical, and to my recollection even involves arguments on the nature of the gods themselves. Certainly they don't seem to realize they're dead. But yeah -- my general sense is that they're simply attracted to their god, who remember also came down in a physical way that created a massive crater and shattered his body. Their manifestation as jade giants, IMO, is due to the fact they are mimicking Kaminsod's original form. I seem to recall that very early on Kaminsod identified himself as a beautiful god and/or god of beauty. Since there are multiple giants around the world, I assume such cataclysms either happened in the past or the strangers materialized within the earth itself.

Yeah the scenes with Heboric in DG and HoC are pretty hazy to me, as I read these novels like 2+ years ago. It would sure be interesting to go back and re-read em now! Interesting point about them mimicking the form of their god. That would at least explain the whole giant jade statue thing, which otherwise seems very random. Thanks for the info dawnkiller!

[worry]

 bonzihunter, on 10 May 2011 - 07:48 PM, said:

 worrywort, on 09 May 2011 - 09:17 PM, said:

I don't think they're here to rescue him at all. They are dead people's souls going to their Shield Anvil, he just happens to be a bajillion miles away in another dimension. Some of them don't even believe in him anymore, he's been gone so long.

So all the CG's followers are dead and the CG is a Shield Anvil??? Hmph, news to me! Them being dead seems reasonable but I never recall it being mentioned that the CG is a Shield Anvil. Shield Anvils aren't typically gods in this series, they serve gods. Where was it ever mentioned that CG is a Shield Anvil??? lol

In TCG, Kaminsod mentions that all of the gods on his world are Shield Anvils to their worshipers. Don't have a page number handy though. And I'm not saying all of his followers are dead, I'm saying that the ones in the Jade Giants represent a large portion of his followers, millennia's worth, who have lived and died and whose souls are now on their way to him. I don't have a personal theory as to why they take the form of giant jade statues though, unless they are simply religious artifacts made in TCG's image on the home world.

[Sinisdar Toste]

 worrywort, on 10 May 2011 - 11:06 PM, said:

 bonzihunter, on 10 May 2011 - 07:48 PM, said:

 worrywort, on 09 May 2011 - 09:17 PM, said:

I don't think they're here to rescue him at all. They are dead people's souls going to their Shield Anvil, he just happens to be a bajillion miles away in another dimension. Some of them don't even believe in him anymore, he's been gone so long.

So all the CG's followers are dead and the CG is a Shield Anvil??? Hmph, news to me! Them being dead seems reasonable but I never recall it being mentioned that the CG is a Shield Anvil. Shield Anvils aren't typically gods in this series, they serve gods. Where was it ever mentioned that CG is a Shield Anvil??? lol

In TCG, Kaminsod mentions that all of the gods on his world are Shield Anvils to their worshipers. Don't have a page number handy though. And I'm not saying all of his followers are dead, I'm saying that the ones in the Jade Giants represent a large portion of his followers, millennia's worth, who have lived and died and whose souls are now on their way to him. I don't have a personal theory as to why they take the form of giant jade statues though, unless they are simply religious artifacts made in TCG's image on the home world.

kaminsod might mention it as well, in one of his one-sided conversations, but i remember quite vividly, Draconus, in a rage, closing in on a shit-scared faint who just saw her friend torn apart by a green hand, a dragon of darkness descend from the sky and kill a jade giant, then semble and begin to come toward her, saying, "Where he comes from, every god is a Shield Anvil."

[worry]

That might be it, don't remember if it's mentioned more than once.