[Pherikus Nul]

Since finishing the series, the two Kharkanas books and subsequent re-reads, I've always wondered why D'rek was involved in the end-game in tCG. Be it against the Forkrul Assail through the Snake, helping the re-imprisonment of Korabas or the freeing/slaying of Kaminsod, D'rek was kind of a crux to a lot of the tying-up of plotlines. Curiously, I also noted that within the published Kharkanas books, D'rek isn't mentioned even though the god/goddess is supposed to be old. Banaschar even mentions that she is "coiled around time itself."


Moreover, we know that there was a god of the FA and that such a god was shattered, destroying Akhrast Korvalain and turning the god into the d'ivers (shards, diamonds and rubies) of the Glass Desert. It is hypothesized, through Grizzin Farl's discussions about how he lived among the Forulkan and was worshiped by them even after he killed a bunch of them in vengeance, that he himself was the d'ivers: the forgotten god of the Forkrul Assail. Brys Beddict has this forgotten name stored in his hard-drive and uses it to wound Brother Diligence enough for the Ve'Gath to eat him.


I've struggled trying to put these three pieces of information together: D'rek, nameless FA god that is the Glass Desert d'ivers, and Grizzin Farl.


The main 'glue', so to speak, that I think kind of puts this all together is the Snake, particularly Badelle. As is revealed in tCG, we know that the Snake is some sort of accumulation for D'rek. The imagery of a snake eating itself used in Badelle's poetry, as in children eating the dead, as well as the fact that D'rek is a sort of Nidhogg-esque god are examples of this before the reveal from Banaschar. We also know that Badelle, the poet of the Snake, can access Akhrast Korvalain when she learns to use her voice at the end of Dust of Dreams in Icarias against the watered and pure FA. We also have the d'ivers of the Glass Desert constantly gnawing on the Snake and the Snake eating the d'ivers to survive their journey.


But none of this is conclusive. It's lingered in my head for a while so I've decided to keep seeing if there is any other clues. I've always wondered why D'rek killed her priests in Kartool. Yes, yes .. she disliked their worship of the Crippled God, but have we seen a god killing their worshipers before? Again, I point to Grizzin Farl's interactions with the Forkrul Assail. He massacred them and was worshiped even more because of it. But, again, nothing conclusive.


Is it possible for both the d'ivers and D'rek to be the fractions of the same god? For this to work, it must be so. Luckily, Traveller and Dessembrae simultaneously existing, which is confirmed in tCG by Shadowthrone, proves that this can happen.

There's also this:

Quote

‘I have too many questions for that, Atri-Ceda. Why is the Hold empty?’

‘Because it is home to all which cannot be possessed, cannot be owned. And so too is the throne within the Hold empty, left eternally vacant. Because the very nature of rule is itself an illusion, a conceit and the product of a grand conspiracy. To have a ruler one must choose to be ruled over, and that forces notions of inequity to the fore, until they become, well, formalized. Made central to education, made essential as a binding force in society, until everything exists to prop up those in power. The Empty Throne reminds us of all that. Well, some of us, anyway.’

Precious Thimble frowned. ‘What did you mean when you said the Hold was awake once more?’

‘The Wastelands are so called because they are damaged—’

‘I know that – I can’t do a damned thing here.’

‘Nor could I, until recently.’ The Atri-Ceda plucked out a stick of rolled rustleaf and quickly lit it. Smoke thickened the air in the tent. ‘Imagine a house burning down,’ she said, ‘leaving nothing but heaps of ash. That’s what happened to magic in the Wastelands. Will it ever come back? Ever heal? Maybe that’s what we’re seeing here, but the power doesn’t just show up. It grows, and I think now it has to start in a certain way. Beginning with … wandering. And then come the Holds, like plants taking root.’ Aranict gestured. ‘Much wandering in these Wastelands of late, yes? Powerful forces, so much violence, so much will.’

‘And from Holds to warrens,’ muttered Precious, nodding to herself.

‘Ah, the Malazans speak of this, too. These warrens. If they are destined to appear here, they have yet to do so, Precious Thimble. And is there not concern that they are ill?’

‘Malazans,’ Precious hissed. ‘You’d think they invented warrens, the way they go on. Things got sickly for a time, sure, but then that went away.’

‘The Holds have always been the source of magical power on this continent,’ Aranict said, shrugging.

‘In many ways, we Letherii are very conservative, but I am beginning to think there are other reasons for why there has been no change here. The K’Chain Che’Malle remain. And the Forkrul Assail dominate the lands to the east. Even the creatures known as the T’lan Imass are among us now, and without question the Hold of Ice is in the ascendant, meaning the Jaghut have returned.’ She shook her head. ‘The Malazans speak of war among the gods. I fear that what is coming will prove more terrible than any of us can imagine.’

Precious licked her lips, glanced away. The tent seemed to have closed round her, like a death-shroud being drawn tight. She shivered. ‘We just want to go home.’

‘I do not know how I can help you,’ Aranict said. ‘The Holds are not realms one willingly travels through. Even drawing upon their power invites chaos and madness. They are places of treachery, of deadly traps and pits leading down into unknown realms. Worse, the more powerful rituals demand blood.’

Precious gathered herself, met the Atri-Ceda’s gaze. ‘In the east,’ she said. ‘Something’s there – I can feel it. A thing of vast power.’

‘Yes,’ Aranict said, nodding.

------------Chapter 13, The Crippled God.


Emphasis is mine. We know that the Snake is D'rek doing this wandering, re-accumulating her strength. But Aranict's point here is that the house had been burned down before. What was D'rek's presence before it was depleted? And why is it that the most important part of the Snake, Badelle, is able to use voice-magic as if she was a Forkrul Assail Pure or Watered?


There's still a bunch of quotes I could offer here but I'll let this settle for a bit before I come back to it.

[worry]

Here's a good thread on Badelle, though it doesn't touch on the D'rek/Grizzin Farl idea you had (which, to my knowledge, is an original one). Maybe it'll help propel your thoughts.
https://forum.malaza.../21610-badalle/

[Pherikus Nul]

I also like this scene in Chapter 14 of Midnight Tides where Silchas Ruin brings Kettle to a Forkrul Assail quarry:

Quote

He led her by the hand down the shallow, crumbling steps. She liked these journeys, even though the places he took her were strange and often… disturbing. This time, they descended an inverted stepped pyramid, at least that was what he called it. Four sides to the vast, funnelled pit, and at the base there was a small square of darkness.

The air was humid enough to leave droplets on her bare arms. Far overhead, the sky was white and formless. She did not know if it was hot - memories of such sensations had begun to fade, along with so many other things. They reached the base of the pit and she looked up at the tall, pale ngure at her side. His face was becoming more visible, less blurred. It looked handsome, but hard. ‘I’m sorry,’ she said after a moment, ‘that she’s got you by the ankles.’


‘We all have our burdens, Kettle.’

‘Where are we?’

‘You have no recognition of this place?’

‘No. Maybe.’

‘Let us continue down, then.’

Into the darkness, three rungs to a landing, then a spiral staircase of black stone. ‘Round and round,’ Kettle said, giggling.

A short while later they came to the end, the stairs opening out onto a sprawling, high-ceilinged chamber. The gloom was no obstacle to Kettle, nor, she suspected, to her companion. She could see a ragged mound heaped against the far wall to their right, and made to move towards it, but his hand drew her back. ‘No, lass. Not there.’

He led her instead directly ahead. Three doorways, each one elaborately arched and framed with reverse impressions of columns. Between them, the walls displayed deeply carved images.

‘As you can see,’ he said, ‘there is a reversal of perspective. That which is closest is carved deepest. There is significance to all this.’

‘Where are we?’

‘To achieve peace, destruction is delivered. To give the gift of freedom, one promises eternal imprisonment. Adjudication obviates the need for justice. This is a studied, deliberate embrace of diametric opposition. It is a belief in balance, a belief asserted with the conviction of religion. But in this case, the proof of a god’s power lies not in the cause but in the effect. Accordingly, in this world and in all others, proof is achieved by action, and therefore all action - including the act of choosing inaction - is inherently moral. No deed stands outside the moral context. At the same time, the most morally perfect act is the one taken in opposition to what has occurred before.’


‘What do the rooms look like through those openings?’

‘In this civilization,’ he continued, ‘its citizens were bound to acts of utmost savagery. Vast cities were constructed beneath the world’s surface. Each chamber, every building, assembled as the physical expression of the quality of absence. Solid rock matched by empty space. From these places, where they did not dwell, but simply gathered, they set out to achieve balance.’

It seemed he would not lead her through any of the doorways, so she fixed her attention instead on the images. ‘There are no faces.’


‘The opposite of identity, yes,Kettle.’


‘The bodies look strange.’

‘Physically unique. In some ways more primitive, but as a consequence less… specialized, and so less constrained. Profoundly long-lived, more so than any other species. Very difficult to kill, and, it must be said, they needed to be killed. Or so was the conclusion reached after any initial encounter with them. Most of the time. They did fashion the occasional alliance. With the Jaghut, for example. But that was yet another tactic aimed at reasserting balance, and it ultimately failed. As did this entire civilization.‘

Kettle swung round to study that distant heap of… something. ‘Those are bodies, aren’t they?’

‘Bones. Scraps of clothing, the harnesses they wore.’

‘Who killed them?’

‘You had to understand, Kettle. The one within you must understand. My refutation of the Forkrul Assail belief in balance is absolute. It is not that I am blind to the way in which force is ever countered, the way in which the natural world strains towards balance. But in that striving I see no proof of a god’s power; I see no guiding hand behind such forces. And, even if one such existed, I see no obvious connection with the actions of a self-chosen people for whom chaos is the only rational response to order. Chaos needs no allies, for it dwells like a poison in every one of us. The only relevant struggle for balance I acknowledge is that within ourselves. Externalizing it presumes inner perfection, that the internal struggle is over, victory achieved.’


‘You killed them.’

‘These ones here, yes. As for the rest, no. I was too late arriving and my freedom too brief for that. In any case, but a few enclaves were left by that time. My draconic kin took care of that task, since no other entity possessed the necessary power. As I said, they were damned hard to kill.’


Kettle shrugged, and she heard him sigh.

‘There are places, lass, where Forkrul Assail remain. Imprisoned for the most part, but ever restless. Even more disturbing, in many of those places they are worshipped by misguided mortals.’ He hesitated, then said, ‘You have no idea, Kettle, of the extremity the Azath tower found itself in. To have chosen a soul such as yours… it was like reaching into the heart of the enemy camp. I wonder if, in its last moments, it knew regret. Misgivings. Mother knows, I do.’


‘What is this soul you are talking about?’


‘Perhaps it sought to use the soul’s power without fully awakening it. We will never know. But you are loose upon the world now. Shaped to right as a soldier in the war against chaos. Can that fundamental conflict within you be reconciled? Your soul, lass? It is Forkrul Assail.‘


‘So you have brought me home?’

I've always found it curious that the Forkrul Assail congregated underground like worms. Even if there is no connection between the FA and D'rek, this scene is awesome.

[Pherikus Nul]

 worry, on 17 May 2019 - 06:23 PM, said:

Here's a good thread on Badelle, though it doesn't touch on the D'rek/Grizzin Farl idea you had (which, to my knowledge, is an original one). Maybe it'll help propel your thoughts.
https://forum.malaza.../21610-badalle/

I will definitely check this out. I like your idea that she was using one of the Coins instead of the Elder Warren. To be honest, this kind of plays into another theory of mine that's connected to D'riss (Phyrlis, Icarium's destruction of an Azath, Icarium's parentage, and the sundering of Kurald Emurlahn).

EDIT:

I want to add in one of the prayers to D'rek.

Quote

Bless the falling leaves, bless the grey skies, bless the bitter wind and the beast that sleeps. And the weary blood shall feed the soil, their fleshly bodies cast down into your belly. And the Dark Winds of Autumn shall rush in hunger, snatching up their loosed souls. Caverns shall moan with their voices. The dead have turned their backs on the solid earth, the stone and the touch of the sky. Bless their onward journey, from which none return. The souls are nothing of value. Only the flesh feeds the living. Only the flesh. Bless our eyes, D'rek, for they are open. Bless our eyes for they see.

----- Restiturge of Pall

Emphasis mine, but doesn't this remind anyone else of Kadaspala and Grizzin Farl at the end of FoD?

This post has been edited by Pherikus Nul: 17 May 2019 - 07:24 PM

[Pherikus Nul]

I hope I don't get in trouble for multi-posting in a row, but I've been re-listening to a few Grizzin Farl chapters from FoD and just wanted to list some things that have alarms going off in my head.

• The first is the fact that Grizzin Farl is called the Protector among the Azathanai. What does D'rek do other than serve to protect the Bonehunters and crew at the end of the Crippled God?
• As I have mentioned before, we have seen a few cases of Gods killing their worshipers. One is D'rek on Kartool. Another, as found out in FoD, is Grizzin Farl on the Forulkan after they begin to worship him as a god of vengeance and justice.
• Grizzin Farl picks up a dog named Ribs (Ribby Snake) and renames it Providence (define: protective care of a god ... also note that Providence could totally pass as a name of a Pure Assail--just saying.) We know that the Snake were a manifestation of D'rek that served to provide divine protection of the Bonehunters and crew.
• Alcohol. We have two prime alcoholics in the MBotF, ignoring Ursto and Pinosel: Banaschar and Hellian. One is the Demidrek and the other is from Kartool. Both were witness to the leftovers of D'rek's massacre of its priests in Kartool. Grizzin Farl gets everyone hammered and is no stranger to beer nor wine.
• He's the Stone that Sleeps to the Jaghut. I know that this harks imagery of Burn, but Burn is more oriented toward Tennes, Warren of the Land, rather than D'riss, the Warren of Stone. D'riss and D'rek are connected by Mammot in GotM, Fiddler in his description of Nok's hex from Kartool, and the fact that D'rek is a Worm that tunnels through the earth.

I'll start checking out Fall of Light again soon too to see if anything in particular stands out.

Edit: I'll also point out that there is a thread in the The Cripple God forum where a few of us are looking at clues about connections between the Forkrul Assail, Morn and Capustan. I would like to note that Callows is nearby, where Envy speaks to K'rul about the 'two chambers of the heart' model for K'rul's warrens. It is also home to the Thousand Sects of D'rek. I find it curious that the Edur massacred the denizens of Callows roughly around the same time that Kartool's Temple of D'rek was massacred. Also, the fact that there are a thousand sects of D'rek make me think that D'rek being a sort of "shattered" god is plausible.

Edit 2:

Quote

'I push away, by my presence alone, the wolves among my kin, who would sink their fangs into this panting flesh, if only to savour the sweat and blood and fear.' The Azathanai watched his companion studying him, and then nodded. 'I hold the gates, friend, and in drunken obstinacy I foul the lock like a bent key.'

If Togg and Fanderay are an Azathanai d'ivers, I feel like this has a lot more meaning considering the influence they had in the final battle, siding with the Forkrul Assail because of their war-influenced notion of justice against humans. Moreover, this scene is very Banaschar-esque, in my opinion. Silchas Ruin even questions how drunk he actually is.

Edit 3: There is also the tapestry that Grizzin gifted to the Citadel: one of the Dog-runners and a queen of sorts with a snake of fire coming from her bloodied hand. A later scene has Orfantal and Rise Herat together in Grizzin's room. As the scene goes on, the fire in the hearth gets too hot, alluding to the fact that Olar Ethil is likely listening in on the events within the Citadel. The scene directly after is with Grizzin and Rise Herat, and they discuss the tapestry. Grizzin then stares into the fire and begins to explain how the Dog-runners came to worshiping Olar Ethil as a many-faced god of the flames. He mentions that Olar Ethil stands between the Dog-runners and their earth goddess, Burn. He mentions how all fire is connected to the earth and that gods view the world through the eyes of serpents.

This post has been edited by Pherikus Nul: 23 May 2019 - 08:30 PM

[worry]

Yah, you're definitely in trouble. One of the main rules is don't make 3 good posts in a row. That's why I never do it.

[Pherikus Nul]

 worry, on 23 May 2019 - 09:58 PM, said:

Yah, you're definitely in trouble. One of the main rules is don't make 3 good posts in a row. That's why I never do it.

LOL that makes me feel better, thanks.

I started going through some of the Esslemont content that is involved with D'rek, the first being when Kiska sees Tayschrenn jump into a volcano to go talk with the Worm of Autumn. This quote between the old woman and Kiska has me thinking about Grizzin Farl's description of the tapestry from FoL where he explains to Rise Herat the relationship between Burn and Olar Ethil:

Quote

Screaming still, she nearly threw herself in after him, but a strong hand grasped her cloak and yanked her away. She fell on her back and found herself looking up at an old woman, bent, hair a thick ropy nest and eyes bright circles of milky white. 'Doan do that,' the old crone snarled at her crossly, shaking a crooked finger.

'Don't do what?' she gasped, completely shocked.

'Doan yell like that to wake the dead. Hurts the ears, that does.'

'Sorry.' She leapt to her feet. 'But he jumped! He-'

'Yes, yes.' The old woman waved dismissively. 'That's what the most powerful of them do. Doan worry y'self. He'll be back. Or … he'll be dinner for the Worm!' and she chuckled, shuffling off.

Kiska followed. 'Dinner! You mean … down there … it's down there?'

'Oh aye. Down there. Far enough. Coiling and churning eternal. The Worm of the Earth. A worm of energy, it is. Fire and flame, molten rock and boiling metal. Ever restless. And a good thing too! Else we'd all be dead!'

'I'm sorry — I'm not sure what you mean.'

'Never mind. Make y'self useful. See that bucket?'

Kiska peered into the shadows. 'I think so.'

'Well, fill it and follow me!'

Emphasis mine. I particularly like this connection. Whereas Olar Ethil sees herself as a node between the Dog-runners and Burn, perhaps D'rek becomes a node between Olar Ethil and Burn. Perhaps an interaction in the Kharkanas trilogy motivates Grizzin Farl to take on such a duty? *tinfoil hat*

This post has been edited by Pherikus Nul: 24 May 2019 - 03:10 PM

[Pherikus Nul]

Starting to go through DhL for clues, but it is proving a little more difficult for two reasons: I don't have access to a searchable version on my computer nor the internet and I haven't read the PoA trilogy in its entirety yet, (though, it is on my list, give me a few months.)

But a reddit post this weekend caught my eye that brought up the intro scene in DhL with Tayschrenn in Kartool. In the scene you see a few prisoners get executed. Particularly, one prisoner, a heretic -- a follower of the Queen of Dreams, gets eaten to death by flesh eating beetles. This scene harks back to the prologue of the Bonehunters with Helian and Banaschar. I was wondering if D'rek's connections with flesh eating beetles, the description of D'rek as ancient, the description of D'rek as having many faces (one of which is retributive), D'rek's dislike of the Enchantress-followers (Queen of Dreams), and the spiders. To me, the spiders represent Ardatha's encroaching presence and I am wondering if there exists any particular rivalry between Grizzin Farl, T'riss and Ardatha in the Kharkanas trilogy?

Another thought I had has to do with the Liosan. It is mentioned a few times throughout the series that the Liosan are drunk on Forulkan notions of justice after the Forulkan Wars. The Liosan also come to be out of the remnants of Urusander's Legion from the Forulkan Wars and get their pale skin blessing by T'riss. Would Grizzin Farl (as D'rek) dislike the Liosan for their obsession with the ways of the Forulkan? In fact, if Grizzin Farl is the God of Justice of the Forulkan (Rynthan), would Grizzin Farl also be the God of Justice of the Liosan (Serkanos)? And since the Liosan's power is eventually derived by the proliferation of K'rul's sorcery by T'riss, would it not be far to say that Grizzin Farl would be pissed off at the Liosan as well? Would this not cause a sort of tension between the two Azathanai, Farl and T'riss, which, assuming that D'rek is a remnant of Grizzin Farl, also be a cause of tension between D'rek and the Queen of Dreams?

My other part and parcel to this analysis is -- again, assuming that D'rek is a fragment of Grizzin Farl -- how would D'rek evolve into the God as he/she is in the main series? This leads me to think about the pervasiveness of the shards, rubies, and diamonds of the Glass Desert and Wastelands on the Lether/Kolanse continent. We have evidence that the Rent at Morn is the same Rent that is connected to the destruction of the Forulkan's God of Justice in a war with the K'Chain Che'Malle that leads to the rebellion of the Nah'Ruk (see: The Crippled God section has a thread on Capustan). There are also theories that Kurald Galain was once on the Planet Wu and that K'rul, using his Warren chops, encapsulated it like he did with Jakaruku in the MoI prologue, turning it into what is now called the Imperial Warren. We have evidence of Omtose Phellack actually being on Planet Wu as well, namely the Azath Tower in FoL with the Seregahl also being in Letheras which is where Scabandari deposits Silchas (see Midnight Tides prologue). That is, Planet Wu is the same planet as the events of the Kharkanas Trilogy and that the Kharkanas we see in DoD and tCG is just an Imperial-Warrenization of the original Kharkanas. So, would it be problematic to conclude that the shattering of the Forulkan God of Justice (Grizzin Farl as Rynthan) wasn't just localized to the Glass Desert? Many mentions of this nameless god only claim that the shards of the Glass Desert are what remains of this shattered god, but it never says that the shards were limited to the Glass Desert. What if it is the case that other shards existed on other continents, one such shard existing on Kartool that eventually worshiped such a shard enough for it to attain Godhood once again as D'rek? I feel like this might be supported by the fact that Callows on Genabakis had 1,000 Sects of D'rek, each with their own rituals and what not. Do we also not get a mention that the D'rek worm that eats and is killed by Spite is only one of the smaller ones?

I also wonder, if you allow me, if the other mentions of insects in the books are reference to this shattered god. What about the scene of capemoths in Deadhouse Gates? What if the rhizan or bhokaral are actually other clusters of this d'ivers, shattered god? Was Mammot not a Priest of the Worm of Autumn and his pet, Moby, a soletaken, the "winner" of the Path of Hands (edit: thinks they are the winner when in actuality just become the guardian to Tremelor)?

*tinfoil.*

EDIT: Just also want to point out that D'rek has a lot of temples. There's the one on Seven Cities that Heboric, Cutter and crew visit. There's Kartool. There's Callows in Genabackis, there's the D'rek Monastery on Malaz Island along with a temple in Jakata and Malaz City itself (if I'm not mistaken.)

This post has been edited by Pherikus Nul: 28 May 2019 - 02:08 AM

[Pherikus Nul]

Me again. SPOILERS FOR DEADHOUSE LANDING ** SPOILERS FOR DEADHOUSE LANDING ** SPOILERS FOR DEADHOUSE LANDING ** SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS BELOW!

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I've gone through some of DhL's Tayschrenn scenes and just wanted to pull some quotes to lend some strength behind my idea about D'rek. From his first scene in Chapter 2, I find the descriptions of the pits interesting. They kind of remind me of the Forkrul Assail quarries that Silchas Ruin showcases to Kettle in Midnight Tides.

I like this paragraph:

Quote

He and Koarsden took their seats near the front. Across the pit floor of jagged stones and gravel, dotted by bones, the day's Overseer of Justice, an older priestess whose name he could not recall, also rose and bowed her shaved head. Tayschrenn acknowledged the bow.

The rising rows of stone benches gradually filled, and he was surprised by the size of the crowd; he wondered if today were a feast day or a lunar observance of one of the minor titular gods subservient to D'rek, such as Poliel, Beru, Burn, or Hood. Koarsden had fallen into conversation with one of the elderly priests, and inwardly Tayschrenn shook his head. Typical of the man; he seemed somehow able to get along with everyone.

I get that they are execution pits, but the Overseer of Justice just rings my Forkrul Assail bells. I also like the implied hierarchy of D'rek over some of the other gods, particularly Burn. I also like the constant use of 'stone' imagery in Kartool. It isn't hard to argue that D'riss is associated with D'rek. I would argue that 'stone' is also associated with the Thel Akai, of which Grizzin Farl appears to be in the Kharkanas trilogy, and is called the Stone that Sleeps by the the Thel Akai.

Right after, we get more into D'rek.

Quote

'No. An interloper. A priestess of that meddling enchantress.'

Tayschrenn was quite surprised. 'Reall? The Queen of Dreams? Proselytizing here? Rather impudent. Still ... ' and he put the tips of his fingers together and touched them to his chin, thinking. 'It does set one to wondering. How does one capture the priestess of a goddess who claims to be able to predict the future?'

Koarsden chuckled. 'Good question. The goddess is false, of course. Only in D''rek can one see daily demonstration of truth in th eworld. And that truth is the cycle of death, decay, and renewal. Rebirth and Return. Such is the balanced double face of D'rek. Destruction and Creation.'

Isn't Grizzin Farl suspect about T'riss at the end of FoD (or at the beginning of FoL)? Just a paragraph later:

Quote

As the most minor of the punishments began -- thieves haing their hands eaten away before their eyes by the especially virulent grubs the priesthood bred -- Tayschrenn reflected on the hoary old litany supplied by Koarsden. Yes, D'rek alone of the Elder faiths -- and D'rek was among the most ancient -- emphasized that enduring truth: that out of death came life, and that each was thus necessary to the other. The ill-advised worship of Hood came closest, but in the eyes of those who embraced the teachings of D'rek it represented at best a half-measure, or mistaken turn. A wrong path, if one would. Death was not an ending, nor a destination. Rather, it was a doorway. A doorway into transformation and service to th enew generations to come. The merest glance to the world around should convince anyone of that. the leaves fell, but were renewed. Out of rot and decomposition emerged new life. Such was self-evident. so did D'rek bear two faces. The male of destruction and the female of fecundity.

Lots to unpack here. First, D'rek is of the most ancient religions, above Hood and Burn. Yet, D'rek is not mentioned in either of the first two Kharkanas novels. More over, we get the mention that death serves as a transformation. If Grizzin Farl is killed as the God of Justice for the Forkrul Assail, he won't just take the wrong turn into Hood's notion of death. Instead, Grizzin Farl, being an Azathanai, would be transformed in service of new generations. Moreover, even though D'rek is often seen as a female in the Book of the Fallen, here we get the D'rek as both male and female. We know that Elder Gods of the Azathanai type are able to switch genders.

I'll quote more from this scene if I have to, but the word 'justice' comes up again. Moreover, the punishment for the Enchantress's heretic is to be covered with insects and eaten alive. Insects eat people is something out of the shattered God of Justice's playbook and we see it in DoD and tCG with the shards, rubies and diamonds eating the Ribby Snake.

Now, let's move on through the book a bit more. In fact, let's just fast forward to Tayschrenn meeting D'rek.

Quote

'He's awake,' a male voice said from the dark.

'Yes, yes,' a female voice answered, impatient and dismissive.

He decided to ask them what was happening. He drew a breath and exhaled, moving his tongue and trying to speak. All he heard was a dry rasping and animal-like growling.

'He's dying,' said the male voice. 'Isn't that him dying?'

'No, it's not,' answered the female voice. 'Water,' she commanded, 'water for our guest.'

A short time later water suddenly poured over his face from the total darkness and he gasped, spluttering, trying to swallow without drowning.

'Enough, water!' the female voice commanded once more. 'I apologize,' she said. 'We get so few visitors down here.'

'Where,' he managed, croaking, 'where am I?'

'Far below your island, little man. Very far indeed.'

'Who ... who are you?'

'What?' the man answered, incredulous and angered. 'Who among all the ancients do you think?'

'Now, now,' the woman said. 'He is disoriented after his ordeal. Light, I think. Let light be our answer.' Multiple hands clapped, brusquely.

While Tayschrenn watched, straining his eyes in the absolute black, tiny pinpoints of a greenish-bluish light blossomed to a glow. Here and there, all about, they multiplied by the thousands and thousands, until he made out an immense cavern, vaulted far above and boasting many tunnel entrances, and facing him two giant snake-like entities, each emerging from a different tunnel, titanic, each as large in scale as the tower of a fortress to him. One bore the upper portions and features of a human male, the other a female.

And Tayschrenn, the sceptic and doubting scholar, forced his agonized and punished limbs to move, and he rose to his knees, bowing before the pair, murmuring in awed reverence, 'D'rek ... '

'Well, I should think so,' huffed the male portion.

'Thank you,' said the female, and she clasped her tiny hands together. 'Now, our time is short. We spare you, Tayschrenn, as your sentence was unjust. We are not without mercy, as you see.'

He bowed again, touching his head to the floor before him, and discovering it to be a sea of writhing beetles, roaches, centipedes and silverfish.

He attempted to disguise his shudder of revulsion.

'We shall send you back to the temple,' said the male.

'Yes,' nodded the female. 'And we ask that you carry a message. A warning.' Her voice hardened as she continued, 'Elements within the priesthood are advocating new directions for the cult and we are not pleased -- is that clear?'

Tayschrenn bowed once more. 'Quite. I am honoured by your trust, and --'

'Yes, yes,' the male cut in. Aside, to the female, he murmured, 'He cannot remain much longer.'

She nodded. 'Indeed, Tayschrenn, the chemicals injected into your system are abating and you must go. Frankly, the atmosphere here within this cavern is poisonous to you, and so we shall dismiss you. Farewell, and good luck.'

He struggled to his feet, is head bowed. 'My thanks, Great One.' Even as he spoke, a strong ammonia stink assaulted him as he inhaled, making him cough. This air, he realized, was that of underground caves where those who wandered within soon expired for lack of breathable gases.

Male and female entities waved their dismissal and his vision dimmed. As they disappeared it occurred to him that the female's lower quarters curved to the left as they disappeared into a tunnel, while the male's curved to the right. The two, it seemed, might be the opposite ends of the same entity. A great dislocation assaulted him as he moved through a Realm he did not recognize, which he realized must be that of Elder, and unavailable to him. The vastness and depth of puissance he glimpsed in passing was beyond his imaginings. Then it disappeared in a sudden, disrupting shear.

****

The cavern lay dark and empty but for the uncounted millions of squirming insects.

'There is a strength in him,' said the male voice into the darkness.

'There will have to be,' answered the female.

'K'rul seems to think he may be the one.'

'Yet another candidate,' murmured the female sadly.

'Someone will have to succeed.'

'Perhaps,' allowed the female. 'Perhaps not. Change comes to us all.'

'I will not just step aside,' affirmed the male.

'No,' agreed the female, her voice hardening. 'Neither will I.'

This interaction is key, I think. First, they call themself an ancient, mention that the sentence was unjust (in the following scene, justice is brought up once again), and then the two mention K'rul. How many Gods/Ascendants in the entire series, other than Azathanai or Kallor or near-god Ascendants, have mentioned K'rul? I realized this is a nod toward Tayschrenn becoming T'renn, but I still find it curious that D'rek is so ancient yet not mentioned by any of the other Azathanai in Kharkanas. Moreover, the Warren they port Tayschrenn through is Elder. Another curiosity. Again we get more insect imagery, which makes sense because D'rek is a giant Worm Mistress of Decay, but it's always worth mentioning.

Later, we get this.

Quote

The wizened mage rolled his eyes to the sky. 'Oh, dear Ascendants. Just get rid of them! Push them away. Whatever.' He fluttered a hand to the door. 'Demonstrate to me that you are worth to be shown the secrets within.'

Tayschrenn blinked blearily in his exhaustion, taking this in. Of course I've driven them off before! Many times! But they'd just returned. Again and again. Like a stinging cloud of insects. Yet this mage claims this would be the last time ... Very well. I'll drive them off all right!

This is just straight up imagery of the shards, like with Mappo before he gets to Icarias in tCG.

God damn, that was a lot to type up, but I hope it helps my case. There are serious connections between D'rek and Grizzin Farl.

One last little fanboy thing I would like to point out: if D'rek is a shard of Grizzin Farl, that means D'rek is a step-parent of Errastas, a parent to Sechul Lath, and grandparent of Oponn.

EDIT: Also found this little nugget, https://forum.malaza...howhat-is-drek/

This post has been edited by Pherikus Nul: 28 May 2019 - 02:12 AM