[Quick~]

Quote

I definitely think it's no accident that SE has Kruppe echoing Karsa's catch phrase. But I wonder if the echo is to give the reader a sense of what Kruppe is about to do, i.e. kick some ass

that was very much the entire feel I got from that little passage, especially when combined with the part asking whether K'rul had really seen him "dance". It seemed to signify that we were going to see Kruppe really do what he does best.

[Sinisdar Toste]

after re-reading the prologue, i've come to stand in the camp that kruppes going to be the "narrator" per se of TtH, with the last bit of the epilogue focusing on the little group by the fire again.

and i can't wait to see exactly what kind of dancing kruppe is best at.

[magicrealist]

I'd like to add some input about the third member...

I'd like to remind people that in GOM Raest mistakes Hood for K'rul. K'rul is hooded... I think the theory that K'rul is the third member makes a lot of sense.

Also, i don't know if i remember correctly, but isn't Vorcan always seen wearing a mask without marks? Just food for thought. For the fellow who asked for a crazy theory.

Another crazy theory:

Let's say the third member is Hood. Could the approaching figure be Paran, and could this be the deal Paran made with Hood? Just some more food for though.

My predictions for the novel.
I belive we will see the Tryant return to Darujistan. Will it be Coll, Cutter possibly? It would be quite ironic if cutter was the Tryant considering the 2nd seguleh was speaking about him in that famous dialoque. I belive the main conflicts will resolve around the seguleh and the teblor. If this is true that would seriously KICK ASS!!! A seguleh army paired with the Anomander Rake, Hood, St...ect alliances vs an army of teblor led by Karsa and the Crippled God...

One last food for thought, imagine a huge ascendent battle: Lady Spite, Traveler vs Lady Envy, Anomander Rake. How kick ass would that be??

[Gwynn ap Nudd]

All in all the first part seems the most intriguing. Seeing the inside views of Dragnipur makes it clearer that it will be broken this book or next (but that was my impression previously anyway). More Kruppe and K'rul (and Duiker?) looks good to. I could do without Karsa and his ten year old kids though - that's a story arc I'm not looking forward too (heck, I skip the first book of HoC when rereading).

To go back to Chainsaw's comments about the carraige not containing the fourth member of the meeting, I agree. The woman is at first terrified of the fourth arrival and then relieved at the arrival of the carraige. This does not make sense if they refer to the same person. A guess would make the two arrivals Rake and Ganoes.

For few random thoughts: The usage of the word mitigate is odd. The look the hooded one gives the dead dog seems to reflect Hood's feelings on the freeing of the Deragoth (assuming Hood is the hooded figure). The entire meeting could be more about the souls contained in Dragnipur/breaking Dragnipur than anything to do with the Crippled God. Which also gives Edgewalker something to mitigate, assuming he's the one who imprisons powerful types all over shadow.

I'm sure both the man and woman are people who have played a part in the story so far, and from the sounds of it the woman is about to be returned to life so I expect she will play a further part. A crazy theory would make her Daseem's daughter or Felisin Paran.

[Silencer]

Edgewalker might be the person who imprisons some of the people in Shadow, although certainly the majority of Dragons came from Ano (as Edgewalker was "committed elsewhere" at the time).

It is possible that the carriage wasn't Dragnipur, but the only other one I can think of would be the Trygalle (which would work with either Paran or Kruppe).

I'm actually looking forward to the Karsa storyline now...I don't know why, except maybe because I've been reading HoC/have a suspicion that he might die....

[Candybars]

I am sorry if this has been brought up before, I tried reading the whole thread, but I need to get to work and stopped at 6 or something...

Any ways, I really think that the man and woman from the beginning of the prologue are more important than first thought. The man stated that whenever he saw a storm coming, he sang all the louder...

could he be the boatman from NoK??? He certainly fits the bill as far as singing in the face of storms are concerned...

Also, I believe that the woman is some sort of Trygalle mage. I immediately thought of that when we hear the carriage coming and she mentions that her ride is here. Maybe the Trygalle look after their own more than we first imagined.

Or maybe I am full of crap

[sundered]

Murrin;266507 said:

The problem with the idea that there are five is that the priest says there are four--that one more completes the group. Since he can't have any sort of genuine knowledge of it (Erikson went out of his way to say this wasn't one of the repeating events), then this was a sort of premonition on his part, a feeling that four was the "right" number--it gives a suggestion that fate is involved. And after that, Erikson's not going to have the man's statement turn out to just be a load of nonsense by having five at the meeting instead.

This got me thinking about the twins Oponn, what ever happened to them? Could they have lost there way/memory

[Mentalist]

Candybars;268377 said:

I am sorry if this has been brought up before, I tried reading the whole thread, but I need to get to work and stopped at 6 or something...

Any ways, I really think that the man and woman from the beginning of the prologue are more important than first thought. The man stated that whenever he saw a storm coming, he sang all the louder...

could he be the boatman from NoK??? He certainly fits the bill as far as singing in the face of storms are concerned...

Also, I believe that the woman is some sort of Trygalle mage. I immediately thought of that when we hear the carriage coming and she mentions that her ride is here. Maybe the Trygalle look after their own more than we first imagined.

Or maybe I am full of crap

Lol, that's a NICE catch, Candybars, have some rep..
That's true, we must keep in mind ICE's characters too... I mean, the woman may be someone we'll see in RotCG....

[Vengeance]

Or it might be the mage that was with the first carriage that paran found. The one that was supposedly sacrificed at the alter in the underworld.

[Vengeance]

You know I was rereading the prologue of RG in the store the other day and I came across a scene that I hand not fully looked at. I don't know if this has been touched upon elseware or not. But the scene was Killy coming to the tear in KM and there was standing Rake. She questions Rake and he tells here that since Edgewalker is else where he will help her cleanse the realm. This seemed a lot more important after I read the prologue of TOH. I just can't seem to get the right touch for the idea.

[The Dark Wanderer]

Having read the prologue almost as soon as it appeared (much thanks), I decided to wait and consider it before posting something. That was a mistake as nearly all comments I wanted to make have been said. Two though seems to be missing. We have Kruppe and K'rul in a bar in the last scene which is fine and Kruppe gets up to tell a tale. I'm wondering if maybe this is the tale recounting the time between MoI and TtH as we can assume that something's happened in the intervening years. Also as to the identity of the third person, I wonder if it could be either a) a Bridgeburner who survived and are now living/running Krul's bar (it seems highly likely we'll run across some of not most of them) or Gruntle (again assuming he's still around) although I cann't remember his exact description (damn lending of books) or c) someone else fairly important from MoI , but I can't come up with any more obvious candidates.

[Tiger_sword]

Seams a bit too old to be Gruntle but its not impossible I guess

[Pallol One Eye]

I don't think it is Gruntle unless he is in disguise. Kruppe mentions a grey haired bard earlier in the section and quotes his lyrics to the grey haired person who shows up, and gets a response from that personage as well.

My thought is what does an ex imperial historian do in his spare time, perhaps its Duiker who shows up.

[Aptorian]

Could be buke, mr. sparrowhawk.

[Skywalker]

The Dark Wanderer;268733 said:

We have Kruppe and K'rul in a bar in the last scene which is fine and Kruppe gets up to tell a tale. I'm wondering if maybe this is the tale recounting the time between MoI and TtH as we can assume that something's happened in the intervening years.

Um... Kruppe and K'rul are not in the bar. We know that Kruppe was in the bar earlier, but is probably now asleep, since the fire and "An empty plain beneath an empty night sky" sounds like his dream world where he first met K'rul.

That said, I can imagine the first quarter of the book being Kruppe's recap of all that's happened between the end of MOI and the start of TtH. At least one significant event did happen - Kruppe visited Paran in his Azath house and after a snack, prodded him to travel to Seven Cities... (we saw this from Paran's flashback in tBH)

The Dark Wanderer;268733 said:

Also as to the identity of the third person, I wonder if it could be either a) a Bridgeburner who survived and are now living/running Krul's bar (it seems highly likely we'll run across some of not most of them) or Gruntle (again assuming he's still around) although I cann't remember his exact description (damn lending of books) or c) someone else fairly important from MoI , but I can't come up with any more obvious candidates.

It can't be Gruntle since Gruntle was never described as gaunt or grey-haired.

My money is on the grey haired individual being Duiker. Could be a retired BB though...

[Mentalist]

Aptorian;268794 said:

Could be buke, mr. sparrowhawk.

I though he went all "inner beast"-like, following the battle of Capustan... somehting about him being unable to get any closer to the ground...

[Sinisdar Toste]

so soon? it took treach ages to forget he was once a man, could be that the trauma hastened the process but i would think that buke wants to get in touch with gruntle and stonny.

[Aptorian]

The last we saw of Buke was in his bird form. The POV said something in the lines of him giving away to the pain and losing himself.

But I still say he was made by K'rull and as such, I'm sure the EG can summon him, perhaps just to take his pain away and let him spend his remaining days in a certain Inn.

[Vengeance]

On a perch keeping the pigeons at bay......

[greenteam]

i'd like to think 1 of the old guard as the Grey-haired gaunt old man......someone like toc the elder...maybe he found out bout toc younger's death....reason for him to be in pain and sad....possible he too writes poetry and songs.........