: Alric would still be the leader of the Avatara. He would
: only command the other Nine, which are subordiant to
: him anyway. Alric is a powerful Avatara. He defeated
: that shade in "Out of the Barrier" So he
: must be more powerful than the average Avatara.
Sorry, I think I've misunderstood your theory. I thought you claimed that there were quite a few Avatara, whom Alric represented just as the other members of the Nine represented different races. If what you're actually saying is that Alric simply commands the rest of the Nine and they command the individual forces, then that sounds reasonable to me. I would point out, however, that Alric's leadership over them seems to be relatively weak; that's why they're called "The Nine" instead of "Alric and the eight guys who work for him." I agree with Forrest that they were probably all equals before the war, perhaps kings of different areas, and that recent circumstances (like the conquest of their kingdoms) have placed Alric in command.
: Where did it say that Shades wanted to become Shades?
This is from the Shades' Myth II flavor text:
ì...Turquine so mistreated his subjects that even his personal guard abandoned him... he agreed to endure the indescribable tortures of the Fallen that he might have his revenge."
: Just because you are born into a race doesn't mean you
: can't be something else. All people born into berserk
: culture are not necessarily berserks. One person out
: of 1000 could have the intelligence to become a wizard
: (though he'd probably be the weakest magic user of the
: Nine)
True.
: Hey, myth's world resets itself every 500-1000 years.
: What, are there military acadamys? Probably not. The
: best way to gain tactics is experience. And only the
: strongest survive in warfare.
Also true in general, but not to the point that, say, the best authority on berserk warfare has to be a berserk. A military genius whose specialty is archery, but who's spent twenty years fighting alongside berserks, is going to know how to manage them. It might often happen that the guy who's best at commanding a type of unit is that unit, but I don't think generals would be chosen on the assumption that that's always the case.
: Maybe fir'bolg are innately better archers (better sight,
: better nerves, etc.) So humans were trained as
: warriors.
What I was asking was why there would be one member of the Nine to represent the fir' Bolg and another to represent human bowmen (as you seemed to be suggesting) when, as of TFL, no humans have been trained as archers yet?
: Ah, see I didn't know about J-men become Herons until I
: read the journal entry for Redemption just now.
I'm just wondering--why don't you have the game? I mean, you make great arguments, but you're kinda handicapping yourself by not having the game you're talking about. Plus, we're all here because we think it's one of the best games in the world. So go get it! Sell your house and your parents to get the game and the fastest possible computer to play it on and a solar/coal/geothermal power station which guarantees no blackouts or power surges.
: Yeah, maybe a couple, but then its unlikely that the
: Legion will see them. Perhaps they were part of the
: royal guard that got killed at the Gate of Storms.
It's just strange they're never mentioned, that's all. Given the military value of Avataras, I would think if there was any possibility that a potential Avatara was living in the Province, Alric would be sweeping the population for signs of magical ability, and training anyone he could find.
: Here, I have absolutely no proof whatsoever, but I put
: this idea forward. There are 9 legions, each one
: commanded by one of the Nine. One legion, known as The
: Legion, is the group of hard-asses that gets sent to
: the most dangerous places. Sadly, their Nine guy died
: in the first 14 years. They are commanded jointly by
: all other Nine. And by their own captain (such as a
: warrior captain and a fir'bolg captain) Now, during
: the course of the 15th year, Alric's legion was
: eradicated by the Deciever and Alric is resuced by The
: Legion. It's logical for The Legion to be ruled by
: Alric.
: When Crow's Bridge starts, this is what it's like: One of
: the Nine is dead. There is one of the Nine present
: each at Bagrada, Seven Gates, and Stair of Grief.
: Alric is heading towards the desert to get the armor.
: Someone is at Tyr, most likely. And maybe another one
: is trying to stop whoever is at Avon's Grove. And
: another is trying to hunt down the Watcher. That
: leaves... 1 of the Nine at Madrigal. That is Rabican.
As you say, unprovable, but also undisprovable. 'Specially since there wouldn't be Nine of them any more. But "We all know the battle for Madrigal will decide the fate of all the Northern lands, and that if it falls we will soon have nowhere to retreat but the ocean." I really don't think most of the Nine would be out doing other things while their capital was in such peril. As for evidence against your specific suggestions: I think they'd mention if one of the Nine had already died at the beginning of the journal; Alric probably wasn't sent off by the Head until after Rabican's victory, since that was what really won the Nine's trust in it; there isn't anyone at Bagrada or Seven Gates yet because we learn in "Force Ten from Stoneheim" that the western armies are only now moving toward those passes, almost a month after the victory at Madrigal; and if any of the Nine had been at or near Avon's Grove, they would have figured out what was done with the bodies and, most likely, the common soldiers would have found out. Obviously these aren't invincible rebuttals, but still.
I should point out that I quite agree with you that avatara may be from extremely varied backgrounds, and that the Nine probably did have different fighting styles and represented different areas and were skilled at managing different units. I just don't think it was as explicitly ordered as you suggest, with each of the Nine commanding and being a different type of unit.
--SiliconDream
