Nuvali
03-15-2001, 04:48 PM
I really don't mean to continue pushing the topic, but it intrigues me. I spent a great deal of time thinking about this while I was in the Badlands. Last night, while in the library, I decided to write some of it down.
<Nuvali places a scroll on the table. Just as soon as he does, a piece of paper falls out. It looks like a lengthy itemized bar tab. Nuvali grumbles with a reddened face, and quickly sweeps it up.>
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Thoughts on Tenebrion: Averting the Ambiguity.
An Editorial by Nuvali
Rats and scavenger birds serve a purpose. With great resolve, they eat, only exhibiting a slight degree of hostility when their "space"--albeit small and forgiving--is invaded. Nonetheless, they can be a nuisance to the heaviest of fallers. And so we kill them.
Dare I say that a rat's meat is too tough to enjoy, and a scavenger bird is much too bitter for my liking, but still... we kill them. Whether to prohibit their fluffy and feathery little heads from further advancing into the orifices of fallen friends, or to just practice our latest stroke with our newest 5 iron from Smythus...we kill them. It doesn't mean we don't appreciate their fine work. It doesn't mean we disrespect their job as carrion. It doesn't even mean we misunderstand them. I mean...really...what is there to misunderstand about a rat and a scavenger bird? Little. Our relationship with the rats and scavenger birds is about as uncomplicated as it gets.
Needless to say, we--not as a universal culture of these islands, but more as a "we" of some realized facet of imagination that is normally shared by many--tend to seek out the "complicated." Complications spark the intellect. Complications unite those who wish to resolve them. Complications are what give us a sense of purpose. But the danger in any complication, unfortunately, is that, by its nature, it can be unnecessarily forged and punctuated by an overwhelming need for self-affirmation and purpose, and subsequently is provided by our own whims.
So where did the conflict really start with Tenebrion? When and where did it get complicated? And are those complications appropriately more sophisticated than our relationship to rats and scavenger birds?
Point 1: Some exiles invade Tenebrion's Keep. He protects his house like anyone else would. Nothing very complicated about that.
Point 2: We learn that he is experimenting with Purgatory, but he only feels inclined to share fragmented tidbits of information about his work. Nothing complicated there, either. It is not abnormal for an individual to withhold his/her research from the general public.
Point 3: He takes great interest in killing exiles to the point where they cannot be raised, and even goes a step further, and tries to prohibit their souls from departing. Like a rat feeding on fallen flesh, Tenebrion seems to want a bit more. Nothing complicated about that, or, at the very least, he can't be condemned for wasting any part of what he kills.
Point 4: Tenebrion allows Brae and Kira to be wed in his Keep. Immediately following the ceremony, he unleashes a large brigade of guards to dispatch everyone. Now... this may appear complicated, but let's really analyze Tenebrion's track record: he perpetuates ambiguity. He is a master of creating division, and let me explain how.
The best way to get something from someone is to offer something in return. An exchange. The interesting part of this exchange is that he is able to captivate people into giving him purgatory pendants which he subsequently uses in ways that only *he* is aware of. At the same time, to complete the exchange, he gives a sword of souls which, again--and very ironically--is something that only *he* knows anything about. While all of this is going on, he enhances our divisive natures by not clarifying what he is using the pendants for, by not explaining the nature of the swords, and by performing ambiguous acts (an example of which I will touch on in a moment) that creates fear and paranoia. The result is evident: some people want to invade; some people want to empathize with him; and some people just don't care. It's crucial that he maintains this division--this complexity--so that on one hand he has people who will trade the purgatory pendants with him, while on the other hand, he can be guaranteed a fresh supply of invaders (i.e. bodies/souls) for his other experiments. Tenebrion could very easily block our entrance to his home, but he makes it difficult enough to spark our curiosity. At the same time, he keeps his front door (normally) closed to give the impression that he doesn't want us to enter--thereby symbolically enforcing the notion that he is "protecting" his keep.
Again, it's only as complicated as we allow it to become. How ambiguous is the fact that he invites a wedding to take place in his home, and then tries to kill everyone involved? There's nothing complicated about it. It's normally called a "trap". And, yet, there are those who try to rationalize the event, thus legitimizing the ambiguity, and reinforcing our divisiveness. Back to square one.
Now, here's the paradox... the real kicker. By me writing this, and you reading this, are you and I just perpetuating the same kind of complexity? I mean... I could be wrong about all of this, right?
So where to go from here....? I suppose the answer lies in our inherent need for conflict. We need to sustain a sense of purpose, and Tenebrion appears to be doing a wonderful job of providing that no matter what your stance is on the subject. Unfortunately, we need to ask ourselves if perpetuating this complex relationship is worth the possible final price: losing purgatory, and/or losing our minds.
But instead of focusing on speculations concerning Tenebrion's fascination/experiments with Purgatory and our souls, maybe we need to take a step back and investigate our own objectives on this matter. This should not be a debate about "otherness". It should not be a debate about the assumption of "loathing" those things which we don't understand. It *should* simply be a discussion on whether we want to feed the rats, or grab our favorite 5 irons and start practicing our strokes. Because no matter what every individual stance might be, the rats have long since made up their minds on the matter. And they are united....
<Nuvali places a scroll on the table. Just as soon as he does, a piece of paper falls out. It looks like a lengthy itemized bar tab. Nuvali grumbles with a reddened face, and quickly sweeps it up.>
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Thoughts on Tenebrion: Averting the Ambiguity.
An Editorial by Nuvali
Rats and scavenger birds serve a purpose. With great resolve, they eat, only exhibiting a slight degree of hostility when their "space"--albeit small and forgiving--is invaded. Nonetheless, they can be a nuisance to the heaviest of fallers. And so we kill them.
Dare I say that a rat's meat is too tough to enjoy, and a scavenger bird is much too bitter for my liking, but still... we kill them. Whether to prohibit their fluffy and feathery little heads from further advancing into the orifices of fallen friends, or to just practice our latest stroke with our newest 5 iron from Smythus...we kill them. It doesn't mean we don't appreciate their fine work. It doesn't mean we disrespect their job as carrion. It doesn't even mean we misunderstand them. I mean...really...what is there to misunderstand about a rat and a scavenger bird? Little. Our relationship with the rats and scavenger birds is about as uncomplicated as it gets.
Needless to say, we--not as a universal culture of these islands, but more as a "we" of some realized facet of imagination that is normally shared by many--tend to seek out the "complicated." Complications spark the intellect. Complications unite those who wish to resolve them. Complications are what give us a sense of purpose. But the danger in any complication, unfortunately, is that, by its nature, it can be unnecessarily forged and punctuated by an overwhelming need for self-affirmation and purpose, and subsequently is provided by our own whims.
So where did the conflict really start with Tenebrion? When and where did it get complicated? And are those complications appropriately more sophisticated than our relationship to rats and scavenger birds?
Point 1: Some exiles invade Tenebrion's Keep. He protects his house like anyone else would. Nothing very complicated about that.
Point 2: We learn that he is experimenting with Purgatory, but he only feels inclined to share fragmented tidbits of information about his work. Nothing complicated there, either. It is not abnormal for an individual to withhold his/her research from the general public.
Point 3: He takes great interest in killing exiles to the point where they cannot be raised, and even goes a step further, and tries to prohibit their souls from departing. Like a rat feeding on fallen flesh, Tenebrion seems to want a bit more. Nothing complicated about that, or, at the very least, he can't be condemned for wasting any part of what he kills.
Point 4: Tenebrion allows Brae and Kira to be wed in his Keep. Immediately following the ceremony, he unleashes a large brigade of guards to dispatch everyone. Now... this may appear complicated, but let's really analyze Tenebrion's track record: he perpetuates ambiguity. He is a master of creating division, and let me explain how.
The best way to get something from someone is to offer something in return. An exchange. The interesting part of this exchange is that he is able to captivate people into giving him purgatory pendants which he subsequently uses in ways that only *he* is aware of. At the same time, to complete the exchange, he gives a sword of souls which, again--and very ironically--is something that only *he* knows anything about. While all of this is going on, he enhances our divisive natures by not clarifying what he is using the pendants for, by not explaining the nature of the swords, and by performing ambiguous acts (an example of which I will touch on in a moment) that creates fear and paranoia. The result is evident: some people want to invade; some people want to empathize with him; and some people just don't care. It's crucial that he maintains this division--this complexity--so that on one hand he has people who will trade the purgatory pendants with him, while on the other hand, he can be guaranteed a fresh supply of invaders (i.e. bodies/souls) for his other experiments. Tenebrion could very easily block our entrance to his home, but he makes it difficult enough to spark our curiosity. At the same time, he keeps his front door (normally) closed to give the impression that he doesn't want us to enter--thereby symbolically enforcing the notion that he is "protecting" his keep.
Again, it's only as complicated as we allow it to become. How ambiguous is the fact that he invites a wedding to take place in his home, and then tries to kill everyone involved? There's nothing complicated about it. It's normally called a "trap". And, yet, there are those who try to rationalize the event, thus legitimizing the ambiguity, and reinforcing our divisiveness. Back to square one.
Now, here's the paradox... the real kicker. By me writing this, and you reading this, are you and I just perpetuating the same kind of complexity? I mean... I could be wrong about all of this, right?
So where to go from here....? I suppose the answer lies in our inherent need for conflict. We need to sustain a sense of purpose, and Tenebrion appears to be doing a wonderful job of providing that no matter what your stance is on the subject. Unfortunately, we need to ask ourselves if perpetuating this complex relationship is worth the possible final price: losing purgatory, and/or losing our minds.
But instead of focusing on speculations concerning Tenebrion's fascination/experiments with Purgatory and our souls, maybe we need to take a step back and investigate our own objectives on this matter. This should not be a debate about "otherness". It should not be a debate about the assumption of "loathing" those things which we don't understand. It *should* simply be a discussion on whether we want to feed the rats, or grab our favorite 5 irons and start practicing our strokes. Because no matter what every individual stance might be, the rats have long since made up their minds on the matter. And they are united....