I have been fascinated with everything Greg ever wrote about Arkat and have even run/played several characters who followed him.
I think that Harry's thoughts here are pretty much on the money. Except for the illumination thing - Arkat was illumined from the beginning of the story proper and that the quest was to destroy the deceiver and free the oppressed minds (although this last phrase is arguably propaganda).
In my view, the only ones (exceptions will no doubt spring up like Pythonesque conformists) connected with him who don't feel betrayed by Arkat are the ones who followed him devoutly through all the stages transformation. It is doubtful that the core group thought of themselves as traitors. Instead, a 'higher' calling was felt by all, inspired by their charismatic leader-by-example.
Harry, I love the quote from Nietzsche - wasn't that used in the X-Files? Very emotive. Mulder was only saved by his deep relationship with Scully. Maybe if Arkat had had a relationship on that level the story would be carried on into the eighth season too. Or has it already gone that far? Parallels between Mulder's abduction and Arkat's apotheosis spring to mind. (sorry for the spoiler to those who didn't know)
Matthew
-----Original Message-----
From: Grawe, Philipp [mailto:pgrawe_at_...]
Sent: 01 May 2001 12:15
To: HeroWars_at_yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: why is everyone so down on Arkat?
From: <gamartin_at_...>
> Arkat gets a pretty heavy bad rep out of HW so far, although does
> appear to be in part a mixed message. Why is Arkat called the
> Deceiver, and what do people have against him to have so slandered
> his name?
I got the impression from some writings (can't remember which, was it Gods of Terror?), that Arkat, in some cultures, is even confused with Gbaji. This may be in a literal sense or it may be in the sense that he went so far in his quest to kill Gbaji that in the end there was little difference between them. Either way, the name the Deceiver fits the bill.
He's the classic example of someone who started out trying to achieve something for a common good and got so caught up in his quest that he lost sight of all else, to the point of giving up his humanity. To the Heortlings he's "the man who gave up his humanity to beat his enemy". To them, I guess, it's a step too far.
I've always had a vaguely soft spot for Arkat (not that I know too much about him), he always struck me as more of a tragic figure than a figure to be despised. I mean, in his quest to prove that Nysalor's illumination is evil and wrong, he became illuminated himself.
"He who fights with monsters might take care
lest he thereby become a monster.
And if you gaze for long into an abyss,
the abyss gazes also into you." -Nietsche
Harry.
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