[Myles]

I finished my first read-through of FoL about a month ago and found the off screen death of Galar Baras really unsatisfying. There is a passage in FoD where Hust Henarald son is telling Galar how kick-ass/almost unbreakable his sword is before what now seems a meaningless quote:

Quote

Yet, should it ever break, captain, abandon not the sword. There are many knuckles in the Heartline, you see. Many.

Am I right in thinking this was never fully explained in either FoD or FoL? The quenched in Vitir explanation about the Hust gear doesn't really fit as a good explanation to me. Also, I can't see how this can be resolved now Galar is dead.

[nacht]

Interesting point. The words have such strength; perhaps it was meant to be symbolic.

The Tiste heart metaphorically compared to the Hust Sword
(Even if the heart is broken, don't give up.)


or maybe the Hust Sword is being compared to Galar's path of action (symbolically representeted by the hand or palm. The Heartline is part of the hand).
and that even if the sword breaks at some points (i.e. knuckles), it could still be useful. (i.e. Galar can continue to do something useful).

This post has been edited by nacht: 12 September 2016 - 04:51 PM

[Nevyn]

 Myles, on 12 September 2016 - 01:22 PM, said:

I finished my first read-through of FoL about a month ago and found the off screen death of Galar Baras really unsatisfying. There is a passage in FoD where Hust Henarald son is telling Galar how kick-ass/almost unbreakable his sword is before what now seems a meaningless quote:

Quote

Yet, should it ever break, captain, abandon not the sword. There are many knuckles in the Heartline, you see. Many.

Am I right in thinking this was never fully explained in either FoD or FoL? The quenched in Vitir explanation about the Hust gear doesn't really fit as a good explanation to me. Also, I can't see how this can be resolved now Galar is dead.

While in general I found most of FoL unsatisfying, you may be a victim of your own expectations in this case. The conversation you note is part of a Galar flashback that basically serves to introduce the notion of the Hust blades, and how they are perceived by the Tiste.

In other words, it was not meant to foreshadow particular importance of Galar or his blade.

[Kasig]

it's a nod to Hust blades and their abilities, such as the one Yedan Derryg finds regenerated after it was first used and broken by Silchas Ruin ages ago if memory serves me right (I don't have the DoD and TCG books with me now for the quotes, sorry) on the First Shore and uses to defend against the Liossan siege.

[Myles]

 Secret Startaker, on 12 September 2016 - 05:38 PM, said:

 Myles, on 12 September 2016 - 01:22 PM, said:

I finished my first read-through of FoL about a month ago and found the off screen death of Galar Baras really unsatisfying. There is a passage in FoD where Hust Henarald son is telling Galar how kick-ass/almost unbreakable his sword is before what now seems a meaningless quote:

Quote

Yet, should it ever break, captain, abandon not the sword. There are many knuckles in the Heartline, you see. Many.

Am I right in thinking this was never fully explained in either FoD or FoL? The quenched in Vitir explanation about the Hust gear doesn't really fit as a good explanation to me. Also, I can't see how this can be resolved now Galar is dead.

While in general I found most of FoL unsatisfying, you may be a victim of your own expectations in this case. The conversation you note is part of a Galar flashback that basically serves to introduce the notion of the Hust blades, and how they are perceived by the Tiste.

In other words, it was not meant to foreshadow particular importance of Galar or his blade.

I probably should have included the whole quote because when you read the passage in context it seems to go a bit further than just a general introduction and does seem to foreshadow something. Some of the more relevant parts include:

Quote

Captain, listen well for the words I now speak are know only to a few. We struggled in the wrong battle against the wrong enemy. All iron has limits to its flexibility, it's endurance: these are true laws. I cannot guarantee that your new sword will not break, though it is of such power no mortal blade is likely to shatter it edge to edge; nor could any swing or thrust you manage make the weapon fail you. Yet, should it ever break, captain, abandon not the sword. There are many knuckles in the Heartline, you see. Many.

Galar then goes on to think:

Quote

At the time he had know nothing about "knuckles" or "Heartlines". Such knowledge came later when the secrets of the Hust sword became his obsession. He though he understood the significance of these knuckles, and though he had yet to witness, or even her of, a Hust sword breaking, he believed that a miracle was buried in each blade, an expression of sorcery unlike any other.

The passages seems to suggest the point would be furthered. Maybe, as Kasig suggested, it was just about Hust blade qualities in general but then why the focus on Galar's blade in particular? The passages don't work as a metaphor because the lesson about not giving up isn't something know only to a few and does't fit with Galar's later so called obsession?

I could just be trying to talk myself into some sort of Galar comeback which isn't likely to happen but I'd be interested in the mystery of the Hust blades being resolved.

[Nevyn]

 Myles, on 15 September 2016 - 10:56 AM, said:

 Secret Startaker, on 12 September 2016 - 05:38 PM, said:

 Myles, on 12 September 2016 - 01:22 PM, said:

I finished my first read-through of FoL about a month ago and found the off screen death of Galar Baras really unsatisfying. There is a passage in FoD where Hust Henarald son is telling Galar how kick-ass/almost unbreakable his sword is before what now seems a meaningless quote:

Quote

Yet, should it ever break, captain, abandon not the sword. There are many knuckles in the Heartline, you see. Many.

Am I right in thinking this was never fully explained in either FoD or FoL? The quenched in Vitir explanation about the Hust gear doesn't really fit as a good explanation to me. Also, I can't see how this can be resolved now Galar is dead.

While in general I found most of FoL unsatisfying, you may be a victim of your own expectations in this case. The conversation you note is part of a Galar flashback that basically serves to introduce the notion of the Hust blades, and how they are perceived by the Tiste.

In other words, it was not meant to foreshadow particular importance of Galar or his blade.

I probably should have included the whole quote because when you read the passage in context it seems to go a bit further than just a general introduction and does seem to foreshadow something. Some of the more relevant parts include:

Quote

Captain, listen well for the words I now speak are know only to a few. We struggled in the wrong battle against the wrong enemy. All iron has limits to its flexibility, it's endurance: these are true laws. I cannot guarantee that your new sword will not break, though it is of such power no mortal blade is likely to shatter it edge to edge; nor could any swing or thrust you manage make the weapon fail you. Yet, should it ever break, captain, abandon not the sword. There are many knuckles in the Heartline, you see. Many.

Galar then goes on to think:

Quote

At the time he had know nothing about "knuckles" or "Heartlines". Such knowledge came later when the secrets of the Hust sword became his obsession. He though he understood the significance of these knuckles, and though he had yet to witness, or even her of, a Hust sword breaking, he believed that a miracle was buried in each blade, an expression of sorcery unlike any other.

The passages seems to suggest the point would be furthered. Maybe, as Kasig suggested, it was just about Hust blade qualities in general but then why the focus on Galar's blade in particular? The passages don't work as a metaphor because the lesson about not giving up isn't something know only to a few and does't fit with Galar's later so called obsession?

I could just be trying to talk myself into some sort of Galar comeback which isn't likely to happen but I'd be interested in the mystery of the Hust blades being resolved.

No, again, this is a flashback that serves to introduce the hust weapons, what they were, and how they were thought of. Galar's role in it is incidental. Note that they never tell Galar his blade is unique among the hust weapons, thus what he got was advice that pertained to all of them.

[worry]

Also it's a metaphor for love and a broken heart.