originally posted by Sundancer
I have been puzzling for some time about a throwaway line of Janny's (in her FAQs I think) about the other worlds beyond the worldsend gates. Each one had different characteristics and presumably suited different types of people who chose not to abide by the compact on Athera.
She talks in some detail about Marak and the southern gate, and noted that she says that anything returning through the gate would need to be accompanied by wisdom (not the exact wording). So we have (technological knowledge/)power with wisdom to temper the use in thinking about the consequences.
It led me to wonder about hints for the other worlds, and parallels with the compass towers in Ithamon, where the north tower is Wisdom. Did people lack this particular character (or choose not to express it) - and therefore go to that world? it doesn't fit perfectly, but it's a thought. (It requires the concept of travelling north to reach the worldsend gate from the other world - bear with me).
From Dascen Elur the brothers travelled west through the red desert, which required much endurance and they had to treat each other with compassion or they wouldn't have made it - they come through the east gate (travelling west)- and the west tower is compassion (or 'cos I'm a pedant - it could be the east tower which is endurance - that is also honour). Can't say there was much compassion shown generally on Dascen Elur, tho' we see it at its worst. So what tendency do the people fleeing through the east gate have, and what do they need to learn in order to balance it to a higher vibration? Are the princes and princesses typical?
There's a prince (in Child of Prophecy) who refuses to go, he determines to continue and fight. Is there an element of selfishness in those who go? It fits the idea of lots of little islands well separated where people can be inward-looking and not have to deal closely with 'them' - look how long Rauven took to act to prevent the extermination of the Karthish and the war between the two peoples. Maybe they are starting to learn compassion??
But selfishness on its own might be expressed in a different way, like power is expressed through technology, I'm just a bit too slow to get there.
How would you balance the tendencies in other worlds against grace and endurance? Grace is so all-encompassing a concept to me, it encompasses all the others and is more.
Janny, I guess it's too much to hope you'd say whether I'm way off the mark? Or to drop a hint to enrich the discussion?
All in due time…