: So I'm reading along, nothing too myth-related happens,
: when all of the sudden, a certain name jumps out at
: me: Rhia. This sounds remarkably close to the Trows'
: (is the plural 'Trø'?) ancient city of Rhiannon, and
: lo and behold, two or so lines down, there it is. Here
: is the exact passage, on page 112: "Your name is
: Rhia?"
: Again she started walking, passing through a strand of
: long-needled pines, sturdy and straight.
: "Rhiannon is my full name, though I don't know
: why. The trees call me Rhia."
Rhi'Anon, as I recall, is actually a name from some culture's mythology (Irish, maybe?). So if two different people came up with the same name, don't be too surprised.
Besides, in Myth the name refers to a city, not a person, so drawing any conclusions from this book is a stretch.
: Waaaaait a minute, TREES? I don't know if this is simply
: me, but does this not scream "Forest Giants"
: to you? But then again . . . why would they call her
: Rhia and not her full name? Maybe it is too painful to
: hear the name of the entities who "poisoned the
: soul of iron".
Heh, I think the bit with the trees is just a fantasy writer waxing poetic. Besides, even if the character is being literal, trees that walk and talk are hardly unique to Myth. There have been Ents since the Lord of the Rings, and probably since before then, too.
: And now a little more background. Turns out that there
: used to be giants in this land, with skin like
: "that of rocks". Uh oh . . .
: "rock-like" skin? I somewhat remember a
: quote, possibly even flavor text, that describes Trow
: skin as "rock-hard" or "stony".
Eh...easy coincidence. Besides, Trow are actually made of stone, not just stone-skinned. Also, if Rhiannon is the Trow-like character, shouldn't she have stony skin?
: Think about this, then: Weren't the Oghres close
: relatives to the Trow? But here's another catch . . .
: the giants in this book were almost entirely hunted to
: extinction, which is quite similar to the Oghres. We
: need a geneaology flow chart, or something like that.
: This stuff is incredibly confusing.
Oghres actually were made extinct, like the Callieach. Anyway, extinction of a race is something else hardly unique to Myth. And the Oghres, as far as I can tell, didn't have "stony" skin.
: After a little more traveling, they meet a 'little'
: giant, Shim. His description matches that of a Dwarf,
: and it's almost scary how much he talks like one as
: well.
Dwarves certainly aren't giants, not even "little" giants. And just about EVERY fantasy novel out there has dwarves!
: In this land (Fincayra), there are the Seven Great
: Treasures, most noticeably Deepercut, a magical sword
: which can bestow great powers to the person in control
: of it. *ahem* Balmung, anyone?
And just about EVERY fantasy novel out there has a magical sword! (Heck, that probably began with King Arthur and Excalibur.)
: This book just leaps out at me as a Bungie inspiration. I
: welcome feedback, yet I pray that I don't start a
: massive theory debate that would rival those of
: Forrest and the others. Good luck, can't wait to see
: what you crazy kids make of this . . .
Seems to me that you've found a few similar elements and pasted them together. Trust me, this is what most fantasy fiction is like. They all draw their inspiration from a few big sources, namely things like Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings and fantasy games like Dungeons and Dragons. Don't think too much of it.
