[Dreydin]

Just wondering if anyone else thinks that Fiddler is a Shield Anvil, and of what god. The scene that makes me ask this is at the end of the book when Hedge asks QB to send Sirryn(sp?) to someplace with eternal torment after killing Trull, they ask fid to not pity him. to me this seems like when itkovian took on the t'lan imass' pain in HoC. any one else seem to think that?

[caladanbrood]

Nah, I think it was just because Fid assumed that the Edur (Rhulad and Trull) were bad guys, and the Letharii (Sirryn) was the good one. He didn't know anything about Trull's history, after all.

[Gem Windcaster]

There is more to Fid than meets the eye, though. It will be interesting to find out what.

[Lord of Salvation]

I thought Fiddler was the Soldier of Life in High House Light.

[the corinthian]

hmmm, when he played his fiddle and spoke the names of the dead it was quite shield anvily, like carrying the grief of the army to be released and all, i mean i dont think he is one but the similarities are there

isnt he still mason of death

[Dolorous Menhir]

I reckon he is the Soldier of High House Life also.

the corinthian;193676 said:

isnt he still mason of death

That was Whiskeyjack, in GotM.

[MrXIII]

I think I'd be a little dissapointed if fid turned out to be anything like that.

[Dawndeath]

MrXIII;193695 said:

I think I'd be a little dissapointed if fid turned out to be anything like that.

Second that. Fid should stay Fid. Because that's who he is...

[Flawed]

I think its way past Fid just being Fid now.

He was a Bridge Burner, one of the few left of the Ascended company. He returned back to Rakaru to complete the song. So it began and finished with him. He became something else again after crawling through Ygahtan ( Spelling! )

He has travelled more warrens then most mortals alive. His visits to the Azath. His purification by Beak. His natural talent for Sniffing things out. He has the Deck of Dragons in his bonce. On and on it goes.

The chap is one mean mortal. even without the possibility of him being Soldier of this or Mason of that.

How he hasn't ascended himself is in its own right odd.

However he is one of my favourite characters and one that i feel will be important in the end.

Having now been cleaned and purified by Beak i wonder what that will now do? It could be just that, and they are now all squeaky clean and pure, but things rarely happen in the series just because.

Just so.

[Richard]

I doubt fiddler's a shield anvil for two reasons. Firstly although he's seen and done a whole host of amazing things he's always been just a soldier/sapper. Second at the end of the Bonehunters, after they've finished the song an imass walks in on them and calls Braven tooth a shield anvil. Or at least Braven tooth was the one to acknowledge the title.

So the song in the Bonehunters could be Fiddler returning the souls of the fallen to the shield anvil so he can give answer to them. Braven Tooth being the shield anvil. Also this could explain why Braven Tooth re-names so many recruits and why those names always say something about the person. (Skulldeath for instance or Limp for a more obvious one. I wonder about captain Kindly though.)

Fiddler is an awesome character and probably my favourite of the series. Now he's got Hedge back I can imagine he's going to be really dangerous to be around. Plus I can see the cards coming out a bit more now. Hedge'll want to win some money of the the bonehunters and he's going to need Fid for that.

[mot]

I've been looking at Fiddler as 'thrice blessed', meaning he admits to changes made by the first Raraku visit, then there was the Tanno song, and now there is purification by Beak. His association with the ascended Bridgeburners also brings up a question. In DG or HC, I can't remember which, Mappo is talking to an elder who tells him that the Nameless One and the Tanno cult used to be affliated with each other "the left and the right hands" but that one of them went astray. It is later implied that the Nameless Ones went astray. Now the Nameless Ones are associated with the Azath, thus of balance of power. It would seem that the Tanno do the same thing, since Kimloc's song is given after knowing of Fid's background. The new role of the Bridgeburners as guardians suggests that they are meant to play a preserving/balancing role in the convergences up ahead. Paran, a Bridgeburner is master of the deck and is headquartered in the Azath at Darujistan. The Bridgeburners, in the form of Hedge and QB, preserve the Refugium, and inadvertently demonstrate that an Azath stabilizes a realm, and of course it is Fiddler who preserves the Edur population. Thus, does the Tanno song mean more than simply a thank you, representing instead the purpose of a cult established to preserve and stabilize, kind of like the Nameless Ones? And if so, are the Bridgeburners then, the Tanno representatives? One last thing, the Tanno song reminds me of the Tanu Mongolian Throat Singers.

[Abyss]

I acknowledge all the points made re what Fid has experienced, but think he's not ascended, and he's not occupying a position in any house - Life, Light or otherwise. And he's been around enough Ascendants by now (Gothos, Shadowthrone, Icarium...) that someone might have noticed (wait... did Iccy or Mappo address him as 'Soldier' at some point?).

At least, that is, until Cuttle POV description of watching Fid make his drum verged on near worship of this legendary 'last of the sappers'. If this sentiment is widely held in the Bonehunters, he might be on track now - moreso than 'just' dying and joining the other BBs.

The fiddling in Malaz city at the end of TB bothers me tho' - he clearly seems to have a purpose, but it's not made clear what it is.

As for the Trull thing, there were heavy emotions running there - QB had just prevented Fid's squad from massacring the Letherii and Samar accompanying the Chancellor, and then they find Trull dead, Hedge in full blown mourning, and QB sends Sirryn to some awful place Hood uses as a waste disposal, screaming all the way.

- Abyss, fiddles while dinner burns.

[Danyah]

Fid has an affinity with HHL, namely his divinations. As for occupying a permanent position in a house, I think it's invitation only. Karsa is the only one occupying a position he has denied.

[Abyss]

Relatedly, do i have to trot out the 'position in a Deck reading does NOT = position in a House' explanation again?

- Abyss, hates to redundantly repeat stuff redundantly.

[Mulch]

Fiddler is far more than mortal, he is on the verge of being an ascendant.

He went through Raraku, the azath, the fires of Y'gatan, the tanno song and the purification of beak.

compare this to Gesler and stormy being ascended merely going through tellan's fires and you have to concede that fid almost ascended too.

[Danyah]

Ascendent, yes, possible. Soldier of HHL because he got the card once and he reads the Fatid. Very unlikely.

[Abyss]

Stormy and Gesler went through a warren dragons use as booster shots. Fid's just lived through a bunch of fncked up situations without dying. If that alone were grounds for ascendency, there would be entire continents of annoying ascendents running around on the basis of every war ever.

Fid has some natural talent for hunches that translates to an affinity for the deck, and he's a damn good sapper and soldier. The potential for ascendency is there, esp due to his affiliation with the BBs who have already ascended (and hell, he WAS the link to the Tanno song), but he's not an Ascendent himself, not yet.

- Abyss, keepin' the Fid-man down.

[Gem Windcaster]

Well, there's still a question wether the alive Bridgeburners are ascendants. Or on the way to become ascendants. They could be you know. And it is due to alot more than just having an affinity for survival - there's a reason they have survived after all. What that is can be argued though. Myself, I am voting they are already ascendants.

[Mael]

Dolorous Menhir;193683 said:

I reckon he is the Soldier of High House Life also

It is quite possible that he could be both. The term Shield Anvil is an old term for a person serving a specific god of the Holds and Soldier of HHL is a term for his serving a specific purpose in the deck of dragons. It is entirely possible for a person to hold both positions.

It may be that Fiddler holds the position of Solder of HHL (which i agree with) aswell as being a specific Diety's (most likely the Queen of Dreams or some other diety associated with HHL) shield anvil. I do believe that Fiddler is now a Tanno Spirit Walker (after his events in BH) and also agree that QBs vehemance behind his telling fiddler not to Pity the bastard that killed Trull was more then just his trying to get an old friend to understand his actions. Fiddler seems to possess many of the qualities associated with a shield anvil.

[BridgeBurner]

Richard;193949 said:

I doubt fiddler's a shield anvil for two reasons. Firstly although he's seen and done a whole host of amazing things he's always been just a soldier/sapper. Second at the end of the Bonehunters, after they've finished the song an imass walks in on them and calls Braven tooth a shield anvil. Or at least Braven tooth was the one to acknowledge the title.

So the song in the Bonehunters could be Fiddler returning the souls of the fallen to the shield anvil so he can give answer to them. Braven Tooth being the shield anvil. Also this could explain why Braven Tooth re-names so many recruits and why those names always say something about the person. (Skulldeath for instance or Limp for a more obvious one. I wonder about captain Kindly though.)

Fiddler is an awesome character and probably my favourite of the series. Now he's got Hedge back I can imagine he's going to be really dangerous to be around. Plus I can see the cards coming out a bit more now. Hedge'll want to win some money of the the bonehunters and he's going to need Fid for that.

Legana Breed named Stormy as a Shield Anvil, not Braven Tooth.


@Abyss: Fid wasn't a damn good soldier. Remember him always losing his sword?

He's a damn good sapper though...