[Dravon]

When Mappo is talking with Ardata, he refers to her as the godess of subtle underliing Webs or somesuch that connect all things. This to me implies Fate/Destiny, go google "Greek mythology Fates" you will find a very direct corilation between them. And if you think about it would make since for her to be commected to spiders if she is the one adminorstraiting "the web" of life.

[Monoch Ochem]

My guess, fan_83, is that Soletaken and Diivers might have some affinity to Togg and Fanderay. I doubt however, that they could (or would want to) compel anyone just because s/he's Soletaken or Diivers. They are aspected to War more than mere abstract beastial traits.

If T&F had some dominion over beings just because they are S or D, they should be able to assert some control over the Soletaken Eleint....which I seriously doubt.

[Dravon]

potsherds said:

Ok, I can't argue with the human concept of lives and life's path as a series of interconnected strands i.e., a web. But try not to confuse the Wu pantheon/mythology with old Earth myths. I don't think Erikson ever tries to take so directly from old Earth ideas.
But whether or not Ardata is connected in some way to fate or destiny, I really don't think she's the QoD.

Accually SE seems to have barrowed fairly straight from greek and roman mythology, at least in regards to Chaos and Darkness. In greek mythology (atleast from my basic uderstanding of it) in the beginning there was chaos and Darkness was born from it, Nyx (aka Motherdark), then pretty much everything else is born from darkness. Even time itself is said to be born from darkness, Kronos the greatest of all titans. But wether SE used human mythology or not, i dont think it takes away from his writing at all and the way he turns things to make it his own shows his talent. And as for Ardata, no i dont think she is the QoD either=)

[Sir Thursday]

Monoch Ochem said:

OK...Cotillion called Mogora one of Ardata's; to which Mogora veers and scrambles away. Mogora is specifically referred to by Ardata as having erred in using her power to heal Mappo...an error she later mitigates when she considers the implications. Recall all those falling strands of spider-webbing and the little spiders at their ends? The same sebbing that later cucooned Mappo and left those scars? Spider-goddess magic.

The realm that Mappo found himself in had lots of clumns arranged in a spider's-web formation. Moreover, I seem to recall Ardata being called Mistress of Spiders, or some such thing....might have been Spite.

So Ardata is undoubtedly aspected to spiders. I wonder if we're confusing her with the QoD who is the goddess of divination.

Now that you mention this evidence it seems much more clear why I originally made that assumption, but then inexplicable changed my mind.

BTW, someone gave me negative rep. points for "The Address"...consider me suitably chastised. On a related note though, how about a cross-media Brit Sci-fi nickname for Ganoes Paran? (GP is The Doctor, after all )

Sir Thursday