[BellaGrace]

There was a very brief scene where Scara Bandis made a comment to Silchas asking why his skin was still white and Silchas says he has no answer for that - he knelt and pledged his service just like his brothers. Scara then says "are you without doubt?" - to which Silchas shrugs and looks away (page 450-451 Tor hardback).

It made me wonder if there was a significance to the fact his skin never changed color - obviously the black Andii skin is not a biological result but magical - so why didn't it change Silchas? Does this mean he doesn't believe in Mother Dark? We know that he was MD's least favorite of the brothers - did that influence things?

Silchas later is very powerful and can access the KG warren - but is that power from Mother Dark or Tiam?

It was only 2-3 sentences in the entire book - but it felt like more than just a throw away line. I could be way off base - but why include that brief section at all - especially casting a shadow of doubt like it does?

PS... that same section of the book - Silchas walks up behind Scara and slaps him on the back which startled Scara and made him flinch. I feel like SE is winking at us there.

This post has been edited by BellaGrace: 08 February 2016 - 09:49 PM

[Felisin Fatter]

Silchas was albino before that, so either the MD blessing just didn't take on his skintype (it affects the melanin?) - or he isn't a true believer. Or she really doesn't trust him and faked his blessing, but that seems out of character for MD. He is the doubter (the 'Trull') of the three brothers, so both explanations work. Also, he must use a lot of healing magic - or he's not albino in the way humans can be. Otherwise all that horseriding and soldiering in the sun would have already killed / blinded / disfigured him.

I agree, that scene between Silchas and Scara was hilarious (in a painful way).

[Spoilsport Stonny]

I think this is a classic "You interpret it" scenario. Personally, I like to think that yes, Silchas is absolutely dedicated to the Tiste...and that means ALL the Tiste. He probably doesn't admire the idea of the three factions at all. You know he cares deeply for Anomander and Andarist - and is horrified at the Redder Wedding. But as FF stated up there, he is the doubter and that doubt likely leads to his idiosyncratic beliefs, while his loyalty and Spiderman-like understanding of great power/great responsibility, he fights on, not quite dedicated to the cause, but fully devoted to the people, calculating and playing the long game, but quick to take his opportunities when they arise. I especially love how he became a father figure for Rudd.

[Dragnipurake]

my take is Andarist completely believes in Mother Dark, Anomander has doubts (hence the white hair) and Silchas Ruin does not buy into it at all. The former edur slave (can't recall the name) muses on this in Reaper's Gale.

[Kanese S's]

BellaGrace, on 08 February 2016 - 09:49 PM, said:

There was a very brief scene where Scara Bandis made a comment to Silchas asking why his skin was still white and Silchas says he has no answer for that - he knelt and pledged his service just like his brothers. Scara then says "are you without doubt?" - to which Silchas shrugs and looks away (page 450-451 Tor hardback).

It made me wonder if there was a significance to the fact his skin never changed color - obviously the black Andii skin is not a biological result but magical - so why didn't it change Silchas? Does this mean he doesn't believe in Mother Dark? We know that he was MD's least favorite of the brothers - did that influence things?

Silchas later is very powerful and can access the KG warren - but is that power from Mother Dark or Tiam?

It was only 2-3 sentences in the entire book - but it felt like more than just a throw away line. I could be way off base - but why include that brief section at all - especially casting a shadow of doubt like it does?

PS... that same section of the book - Silchas walks up behind Scara and slaps him on the back which startled Scara and made him flinch. I feel like SE is winking at us there.

I think it's up to interpretation. He's an albino. So maybe it's a melanin thing, like the magic is like BOOST ALL THE MELANIN UNTIL IT'S LIKE ALL MELANIN or something, but in Silchas' case, it's like BOOST ALL THE... THERE'S NO MELANIN AT ALL HERE, WHAT DO?

As for warren use, Kurald Galain isn't from T'iam. The draconic warren, which we do see at least Anomander use (Silchas probably uses it as well) is Starvald Demelain.

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

Dragnipurake, on 29 February 2016 - 04:31 AM, said:

my take is Andarist completely believes in Mother Dark, Anomander has doubts (hence the white hair) and Silchas Ruin does not buy into it at all. The former edur slave (can't recall the name) muses on this in Reaper's Gale.

Udinaas. Here are the passages you're thinking of:


"What did Clip tell us? Oh, right, nothing. But we saw the tapestries, didn't we? Andarist, like midnight itself. Anomander, with hair of blazing white. And here, Silchas, our walking bloodless abomination, whiter than any corpse but just as friendly. So what caused the great rift between sons and mother? Maybe it wasn't her spreading her legs to Light like a stepfather none of them wanted. Maybe that's all a lie, one of those sweetly convenient ones. Maybe, Seren Pedac, it was finding out who their father was.'"

"If Silchas Ruin is all Light on the outside, what must he be on the inside?"

Google Books (free, legal) preview:
http://tinyurl.com/hg8e6hv


(They're also speculating about it as myth---how people tend to construct myths involving threes, how myths present structures of contrasts. The three brothers are likened to the three sisters: Menandore - dawn, Sheltatha Lore - dusk, Sukul Ankhadu - night ("Myths prefer manageable numbers, after all, and three always works best. Three of this, three of that"---against the backdrop of the Edur's mythic falsification of history, or at least Udinaas's skepticism about myths).)

So Udinaas barely knows anything, and he doesn't really say what you suggested. But there's probably some truth to it; "Maybe[...] it was finding out who their father was" reminds me of the major early scene in FoD where Silchas wants to see what's written on the inside of their father's tomb, Andarist is strongly against it, and Anomander tries to mediate between the two. I think you're probably right; in FoD, the transformation of Anomander's hair is described as more striking than the transformation of their skin. Mother Dark iirc essentially counsels looking inward, introspection----Andarist accepts this and lives this most fully, Rake is conflicted, and Silchas at least initially is the least introspective and (in FoD) barely seems to change at all. Also, FoD connects the change in color with "purity"... the High Priestess thinks she's cast out because she's impure, and that her white skin is a mark of that. "Pure was Anomander's black skin, and pure silver his long mane"---but here's an issue, contrary to what the tapestry shows, Anomander's hair isn't "white"---it's silver (which could allude to the moon---though I can't recall offhand whether Erikson associates the moon with silver, it's a common literary trope).

This post has been edited by Azath Vitr (D'ivers: 29 February 2016 - 05:07 PM