: Only problem with this is, according to known history,
: the Tain was only used once before it dissappeared, by
: Connacht against the terible race of the Myrkridia.
: (And yes, that part is textually supported).
: Hrm... I wonder about the implications of that. How much
: was the Tain used *after* it was stolen? And how did
: the barbarians know about it, where to get it? Did the
: Smiths hire them to steal away their magic creation,
: and then invoke it to escape Connacht?
I don't think any of the Smiths survived, given the large number of humanoid skulls in the Tain platforms. And since all non-Myrk remains were incorporated into the platforms, I think all the unknown creatures must have entered the Tain during the lifetimes of the Myrkridia; that is, when Connacht possessed the Tain. Which means they got in on their own. If the Tain connects to the subterranean burrows of the spiders, as I suggested, then they may be fellow inhabitants of the tunnels, unknown to the surface world; if the Tain caverns are part of a separate universe, then they're most likely the natives of that reality. Hell, maybe they're Pfhor. (Afterthought--they may even have evolved in the Tain; perhaps time ran even faster inside immediately after the Tain was constructed.) In any event, they were probably drawn to the known Tain caverns by hunger or curiosity when the Smiths and the Myrkridia appeared. Having gotten creamed by the Myrkridia, the survivors fled and shunned the known caverns thereafter (although not completely; remember how the narrator feels like he's being watched?).
It would be interesting to know whether the Summoner revived any of the skulls other than Myrkridia. Perhaps he reanimated a few of the Smiths, or the unknown beings, as well.
Do you think Connacht might have staged the theft of the Tain? If the influence of the Leveler was already working on him, he may have hidden it away, claimed that it was stolen, and then kept it around until he gave it to Soulblighter.
--SiliconDream
