Oudeis Posted October 24, 2014 Report Share Posted October 24, 2014 The library which Raoden discovers bringing that one Hoed to the pool so he can find peace. It was a place with no slime, no AonDor lights, no magic plates. A place where Elantrians did not practice AonDor, it seems. First, isn't that odd? Not necessarily the first thing you'd expect. In their most holy place, why was this talent, which you'd expect them either to revere or take for granted, forbidden? Or at least eschewed? "Because religion" is the easy answer. I wonder if there's more to it... Second, Raoden practices AonDor there til Kingdom come. If the Elantrians chose not to practice there for some actual reason, could there be bad repercussions of his violation of this policy? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moogle Posted October 24, 2014 Report Share Posted October 24, 2014 The WoB on this is: JoshWhy was AonDor forbidden around the pool ascent? If the pool is the essence of AonDor, why can't the power be used near it?Brandon SandersonDid I... it doesn't say that it can't be used, it's just forbidden there.Mi'chelleWhy is it forbidden?Brandon SandersonRAFO. I'm going to go to dinner, guys. Also notable: THE POOLSo, this is a SLIGHTLY contrived mechanic, and I realize that. I let Raoden off easily by having him simply choose not to be dissolved by the pool.Partially, I did this simply because I couldn't think of a better way to get him out of it. In addition, however, I think it fits the form of the novel. The pool represents giving in—though it's giving in to peace instead of pain, it is still an admittance of defeat. I've mentioned over and over that the pain has no power against one who doesn't give in to it. I don't see why the peace should be any different. If you can resist one, then you can resist the other.Besides, the image of Raoden bursting from the pool in front of Galladon and Karata was too good to pass up.I'm honestly not sure what the pool is or how exactly it fits into the theory of this magic system. It was added as a plotting devise, as mentioned earlier, and therefore was never tied directly to the cosmology or theoretics of the world. When I do a sequel to this book, I think I'll try and find a way to tie it in. For now, however, it's kind of a loose thread. The only thing I know for certain is what I mentioned above. Just like the pain of an Elantrian, I think the peace offered by this pool is a supernatural force. It has something to do with the physical form of the Elantrians. RAODEN VIEWPOINTSIt was essential to this chapter that I establish that Raoden can catch glimpses of what's happening around him. I went to a lot of work to get him into place above the city where he could make the connection, looking down on Elantris and the outer cities. The pool, actually, simply grew out of my need to find a way to put Raoden on the slopes of the mountains near the ending of the book. I like how it turned out in the final story—it added a dimension of mysticism to the Elantrian belief system, and it worked very well into the plotting I had developed. My only worry about it is that it was too far away from the Elantris, but we'll talk about that later. Based on this, I suspect that it was entirely cultural, at least originally. Brandon may have changed his mind later as he added Shardpools to the cosmology. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oudeis Posted October 24, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 24, 2014 I don't know why it amuses me beyond measure that a RAFO is followed immediately by "I'm going to dinner." It's like the Sanderson equivalent of dropping the mike. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
missionaryofgod Posted October 27, 2014 Report Share Posted October 27, 2014 I don't know why it amuses me beyond measure that a RAFO is followed immediately by "I'm going to dinner." It's like the Sanderson equivalent of dropping the mike. Maybe he just said that because he did not have an explanation for himself yet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oudeis Posted October 27, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 27, 2014 Mi'ch and Josh are actually real-life friends of his, so I assume it was more casual than that. Or it could be your explanation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
High prince of geeks Posted November 24, 2014 Report Share Posted November 24, 2014 What I find interesting is that in there holy place their is a large librar,there is already a city library. And it seams to strangely link up to the magic of the world, which are based primarily on your knowledge of them. What does this tell us about their culture. If there were only books about the Aondor in there I would understand, keeping knowledge of your power out of easy reach would make sense. But there was also books on ancient epics history and probably much more. It, in my mind, seems strangely linked to the magic systems of their world which seem to work mainly off just understanding your powers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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