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Re: Bahl'al, The Watcher, Unlife, etc
Posted By: Phil (static-64-65-138-250.mspcovdsl.eschelon.com)
Date: 4/16/2003 at 2:19 p.m.
In Response To: Re: Bahl'al, The Watcher, Unlife, etc (Loki)
Mine, however, is supported by
1. the idea that no one else is ever directly or indirectly named as being able to raise Thrall
2. the fact that there are Thrall in M2
Though the evidence I am about to present has been presented several times in this discussion, it does not seem to have struck the appropriate chord. So, I will play your game of logic, Loki, based on your holy texts to make this point.
Having learned Balor's greatest secret, the reanimation of the dead, Soulblighter passed on this knowledge to his evil human associates so they could build him an army...
-Ghast Description, Cast of Characters, Myth II Manual
According to this quote Balor's greatest secret was the reanimation of the dead. Soulblighter also learned the secret of the reanimation of the dead and passed it on to his associates.
Possessing or characterized by life anew.
-Reanimate, Def. 1, Merriam-Webster Abridged Dictionary
Since they're dead, thrall, wights and ghasts don't have to breathe.
-Thrall Description, Cast of Characters, Myth II Manual
This quote defines the "dead" as a set including but not limited to thrall, wights and ghasts. Thus the reanimation of the dead in Myth would be the giving of the characteristics of life anew to that which is in the set the "dead." It is stated explicitly that Balor (you remember him, big guy, metal suit, horns...) and implicitly that Soulblighter and his associates possessed this ability. As only the entire set of the "dead" is mentioned with regards to the secret of reanimation, and no specific components (e.g. Balor's greatest secret, the reanimation of the thrall) are mentioned, Balor, Soulblighter and Soulblighter's human associates possessed the secret to reanimate the dead and everything that would be considered part of the "dead" set, including Thrall. By your rules, this must be a fact.
Moreover:
One of Soulblighter's most successful experiments with reanimation...
-Soulless Description, Cast of Characters, Myth II Manual
This quote states that Soulblighter was successful in reanimating soulless, however because the quote mentions the reanimation of soulless as one of Soulblighter's most successful experiments and not Soulblighter's only successful experiment there must have been other successful experiments with reanimation of the dead. While no other examples are mentioned, this implicitly supports the fact that Soulblighter had the ability to reanimate the entire "dead" set.
Furthermore, while it is true that Bahl'al searched for the dream of unlife in Si'anwon, it is never stated anywhere that Bahl'al found the dream of unlife or that the dream of unlife can be used to reanimate the dead. It is also true that thrall are called Children of Bahl'al, however it is highly unlikely that Bahl'al gave literal birth to each individual thrall. "Children" can be a simplistic euphemism for any number of relationships. Using these two facts to state that Bahl'al had the ability to reanimate thrall requires the same assumptions and leaps of logic on your part that you accuse others of using haphazardly. The fact is, it is not expressly stated anywhere in any of the "holy texts" that anyone besides Balor, Soulblighter and Soulblighter's human associated knew the secret of the reanimation of the dead.
As for Tyr, Bahl'al is only mentioned to have been at the city in a thrall flavor text from Myth II. The Watcher is mentioned as having been there by the Journal Narrator. In fact, the name Bahl'al in never mentioned by any character in either Myth or Myth II. There is no evidence that any character was familiar with that name. For an example of this phenomenon please reference this quote:
...once known as the Messengers of Culwyeh, a name now forgotten by all but the most devout pupils of Necromancy, these miserable creatures seek only release from their hellish existence.
-Wight Flavor Text, Myth II
This quote clearly proves that it is possibly for us, the players, to know an ancient name that any character we are likely to encounter in Myth or Myth II would be unaware of. And while it is not direct evidence that Bahl'al is the Watcher (something I'll concede is not made crystal clear, but which I chose to believe anyway) it is an explanation for why two names for the same character might be used in reference to the same event.
-Phil.
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