[Crow Clan Baby]

Fiddler's a Bridgeburner. The BBs have all ascended, and are in High House War. Fiddler, however, has the unique distinction that he's also a Bonehunter. And not just any ordinary Bonehunter, but the one who turned the omen, and so effectively gave them their name. The Big Daddy of the Bonehunters.

There's a definite bigger role going on behind the scenes, which Fiddler himself seems almost oblivious to most of the times. Paran is Master of the Deck, but maybe Fiddler isn't in a House but a Hold?

Rationale? The BHs are now active on Letheras, the Holds are stuffed full of characters from or on Letheras, Brys is in a Hold so we know that contemporary characters can fit in, and being an unfamiliar structure would explain away all of the apparent confusion with ease.

So based on that: Fiddler as a counterpart of Paran but in a Hold rather than a House, anyone?

[SiriusL]

Aptorian;223990 said:

???

He's a good sergent and he can handle himself in a fight. That doesn't make him Dassem Ultor. Contrary to what we see in the book there's a lot more to being a field commander than looking grim and pointing once in a while.

When I said field commander, I meant someone who's on the ground fighting with the troops, not a general or higher level captain who's rather behind the scenes.

Sure, WJ was probably better, and Dassem Ultor had the distinct advantage of being able to kill anyone in the world, but Fiddler's up there. Who would you rather have leading your squad in an invasion through the woods and swamps? Fiddler or Whiskeyjack?

[Dolorous Menhir]

Fiddler would reject a position such as Master of the Deck. Paran was hungry enough to accept it, but Fid, he would turn it down. For that reason alone I think this is implausible.

Cougar;223957 said:

I thought Fiddler was the Soldier of HH Life, no evidence just a gut I think.

I always liked that idea too, but like you I have no evidence to back it up, except that it's a nice fit.

[Mentalist]

PShaw!!!
Paran accepted it, cuz otherwise his insides would've boiled and.. well, bad things would have happened... Need I recall once again a famous dialogue between him and Raest in hte Finnest Azath?

Also, I'm still not convinced that either bridgeburners or Bonehunters are the company card of HHW... I still think it's the Perish, who replaced the Grey Swords.....

[Abyss]

Dolorous Menhir;224023 said:

Fiddler would reject a position such as Master of the Deck. ...

You're assuming he has/had a choice, or even knew about it. The Azath/Deck/Whatever is this all powerful force that treats gods like chess pieces... if it were playing a double blind game, why would the pieces necessarily know it?

- Abyss, gamesmaster (meaning played chess once or twice)

[Lisheo]

Back in DG, when the witch throws the cards at Kalam in rage, they hit him and then they arrange themselves in a valid pattern. That doesnt mean he is a MotD material. Same with Spindle, he could do some readings. I think Fiddler probably just had potential to be a mage or something. We cant jump to MotD conclusions just yet. Paran doesnt look like hes going anywhere.

[Skywalker]

Dolorous Menhir;224023 said:

Paran was hungry enough to accept it, but Fid, he would turn it down.

kud13;224039 said:

PShaw!!!
Paran accepted it, cuz otherwise his insides would've boiled and.. well, bad things would have happened... Need I recall once again a famous dialogue between him and Raest in hte Finnest Azath?

Yup... I remember this discussion between Gruntle, Paran, and Quick Ben where they basically talk about how it is time for mortals to take the gods to task and to basically act as hall monitors at divinity high.

I think that was when Paran decided to accept his MoTD post, Gruntle resigned himself to being Mortal Sword to Treach, and QB... well, continued being QB and treating Hood as his shaved knuckle in the hole.

[Cougar]

Abyss;223982 said:

A position in a House and a position in a Deck reading are not the same thing.

etc...

I appreciate this, if you read my post it says, no evidence just a gut feeling, you sarcastic kitten

I just feel like Fiddler fullfills a soldier archetype and this seems to lend itself to a position in a house, due to his undeniable vitality and surviveability my thought was life.

Cards Shmards - even though I agree with what you are saying it doesn't necessarily follow that since he was drawn this card it rules out the possibility of him fullfilling, or having filled that position at some stage.

And don't bother with that brain eating nonsense, I've been reading these forums so long it would be about as nourshing as one of Buggs soups.

Cougar: buckles on crash helmet for good measure.

[Abyss]

Lisheo;224212 said:

Back in DG, when the witch throws the cards at Kalam in rage, they hit him and then they arrange themselves in a valid pattern. That doesnt mean he is a MotD material. Same with Spindle, he could do some readings. I think Fiddler probably just had potential to be a mage or something. We cant jump to MotD conclusions just yet. Paran doesnt look like hes going anywhere.

It's abundantly clear early in the books that there are ample deck readers of various lebvels of talent all over the place. That scene with Kalam was a reflection of Kalam's significance and the merchant's wife's minor talents, not any particular affinity of Kalam's for the Deck.

My point is that Fid COULD just be a minor Deck reading talent, BUT, we've been saying for a while how there may be more to Fid than meets the eye, and now i'm wondering whether he's the Azath/Deck's own shaved knuckle in the hole, hidden in plain sight. Oponn was afraid of him, and we've only seen Oponn be afraid of Rake.

- Abyss, bets he rigged that scorpian fight too!

[Coco with marshmallows]

Abyss;224281 said:

we've been saying for a while how there may be more to Fid than meets the eye,

He's a transformer.
basically, the Malazan equivalent of Hot Rod? a mid level (power-wise) character who'll get maxed out by a maguffin(QB/random ascendant) and end up battering Unicron(CG)?

[Sinisdar Toste]

i would like to throw my chips down on the side of fiddler as soldier of high house life. he is the penultimate survivor. which is why i love him so much. and i can only see him dying in the very last lines of book ten.

[Dolorous Menhir]

There were some dark hints that Fiddler was something special in DG. I think when he is travelling with Icarium near the end, Icarium remarks or thinks on the matter. Can't remember anything specific though.

[bubba]

Master of the Tiles???????????

[Veilside]

Bubba;224573 said:

Master of the Tiles???????????

Isn't that the Errants role?

[Gem Windcaster]

I don't think Fiddler will replace Paran. Because that's what he would have to do - replace him. But it's possible that whatever the Azath is planning for Paran, Fid is a big part of. Maybe Fid will the be champion of High House Deck of Dragons (High House Paran). :heyhey: Okay, so maybe that belongs in the crazy theory section, but so's the switch theory.

[Mentalist]

master of tiles?
Interesting, of course, but to be honest, out of all possible candidates following the eventual demise of the Errant at the hands of Genoes Paran, i see Bottle as most likely to take up the tiles and to direct the Holds along with the DoD againsthe the CG....

[Lisheo]

Bottle and Paran vs the CG... That would rawk. But Bottle shows no affinity for the tiles that I can remember.
And wouldnt he become Paran's master then? Isnt the deck just a kind of spin-off of the original tiles? I always assumed the Eleint Hold evolved into the Deck of Dragons everywhere except Lether.

[Sinisdar Toste]

hmm i dont think the eleint hold evolved into the deck of dragons, cuz the deck is more like the cedance of tiles in lether, which also move around and adapt to the hold pantheon. the eleint hold, i assumed is pretty much done for cuz the eleint are so endangered, like the ice hold. this is also supported cuz the errant was the 'master of the tiles' and paran the 'master of the deck'

[Mentalist]

Well.. out of all the characters, Bottle is the only one that's even aware of Holds... and can tap into their magic and all that...

As for the Dragon Hold=DoD, no that's not the case, as Rahakramer mentioned, DoD reflects the new balance of power b/w ascendants following the rearrangement of magic into warrens by K'rul....due to Gothos' ritual, the rearrangement had no efect in Lether, so themagic there stayed in hte form of Holds, and, htus so did the Tiles.......
Since in the Tiles, Dragons were major players, along with the Jaghut, they had a Hold of their own. After the Tiste invasions, and the unmentined event that sealed SD, they lost their power, so were not important enough to get a new House for themselves in the Deck....

[Dolorous Menhir]

kud13;225083 said:

Well.. out of all the characters, Bottle is the only one that's even aware of Holds... and can tap into their magic and all that...

An interesting statement. Quick Ben and the population of the Letheri continent immediately come to mind. I think you're on shaky ground with this one.