: But that is all speculation on your part =). It never
: mentions anything about Balor's response to Myrdred in
: the intro's to the levels. It basically states that
: Alric was captured by the Deceiver, and later on as
: Alric recounts his story, that Balor interrogated him.
: Myrdred could have received nothing more then a pat on
: the back for Alric's capture. Why reward someone who
: is bound in servitude to you anyway(or so Balor
: thought)?
Well, it's pretty clear that being bound to Balor still leaves lots of room for personal agendas. What with Soulblighter skulking around, Shiver and the Watcher clashing, and Ravanna sliding through the night on incomprehensible missions, Balor would have had to be brain-damaged to think he had total control over these guys. You're a Black Company fan; you know the kind of political jockeying the Taken could do. I think it's a good bet that that carries over into Myth.
And, beyond that, there's the simple question of ability. Some servants are more useful than others. Whether Myrdred wins praise, tangible rewards, or simply becomes slightly more trusted and relied upon by Balor, it's always in his interest to please his boss.
I don't know that Myrdred was specifically gunning for a "Henchman of the Month" award, but even if he held sole responsibility for Alric, he still came out ahead. Thanks to him, Alric's army was destroyed, the Nine's leader was out of commission for a period, and Balor was able to interrogate him. That's gotta be good for something.
: The narrator mentions the Head is an enemy of Balor, I
: believe. He also states the Head is an enemy of the
: Fallen Lords, but that is true to Myrdred in some
: cases as well. But the Head also could be an enemy of
: the Fallen Lords, especially Damas and Myrdred since
: they were allies of Connacht.
I doubt The Nine had any independent way of verifying The Head's opposition to Balor. They didn't even know when he'd lived or what his position had been. He must have told them he was Balor's enemy, and they (and the narrator) accepted that as fact once he helped them off a Fallen Lord.
And Damas and Myrdred were the only mentioned Fallen Lords The Head *didn't* overtly work against. Hmm...
: If the Head is Moagim, then he has a perfectly clear
: motive: help the guys fighting the guy who beheaded
: you. Maybe he thought the essence of the Leveler would
: return to him once Balor was killed, considering he is
: the reason the outcome of the Great War ended the way
: it did(even with his betrayal, the Legion could never
: had come back if Madrigal had been sacked)and he would
: be considered the greatest hero of the Age. Moagim's
: execution makes it a possibiliy he was beheaded during
: it, and at Muirthemne, so it was probably buried there
: as well. The narrators mention on a few occasions the
: Head being the enemy of Balor and the Fallen Lords,
: and Moagim would be an enemy of them. Mainly
: speculation, but so is your theory.
But Moagim wasn't killed by Connacht; he was killed by the forces of a nameless hero who died either immediately before or immediately afterwards. Connacht came a thousand years later. And Moagim was killed at Ilium, not Muirthemne. Of course, all this info came in Myth II, but it *is* definite canon--and before Myth II, we didn't know Moagim died in a way which suggested he might have been beheaded.
And surely a former Leveller would be reasonably dedicated to the Dark? He wouldn't work its ruin on a personal grudge against the man who killed him and whose mind has been practically erased by the Leveller. Or, if he returned to the Light, he wouldn't then turn around and cause civil war. And why would Moagim have a grudge against Shiver?
--SiliconDream
