Argrath and his buddy the Devil

From: Arkat_at_aol.com
Date: Sun, 16 Jun 1996 10:00:56 -0400


In a message dated 96-06-15 22:40:13 EDT, Dave Pearton wrote:

> Indeed the Monster empire was led by Sheng
>Seleris (1) so the events _must_ occur after the LBQ.
>
>

Incorrect. Sheng Seleris was killed at the Battle of Gardint in 1708 (KoS pg 36). Since the Final Battle against the Monster Empire happened in 1725 (as described in Part 7 of Agrath's Saga), he could NOT have been leading the Monster Empire.

I'd also like to bring to everybody's attention pg269 of KoS in the "In Closing" section where the author has concluded that the confrontation with the Devil probably happened during Argarth's LBQ.

Someone also earlier pointed out that Argrath's LBQ was different than the normal LBQ because of the deeper quest to get Sheng. Indeed that is true but that doesn't mean he couldn't have confronted him on the Home when he got back to the level of the normal LBQ (the Underworld). I know that Sheng only took two steps and was back in the world of the living (KoS pg 33) and that Argrath followed him. But that doesn't mean they got to the land of the living at the same time (remember the Sun did not actually accompany Orlanth to the world, he went his separate way) nor does it mean they couldn't have stopped after the first step to fight the Devil and then continued on if Argrath was indeed with Sheng.

On the other hand...it is aesthetically pleasing to have the Devil as the leader of the Monster Empire. However, I cannot subscribe to this belief because Part 7 of KoS says nothing about the Devil being the enemy. In fact, the object of Argrath's wrath here is indeed the Red Moon itself!

Also in the Argrath and the Devil story (pf 232 KoS), nowhere does it mention Argrath's performance of the Dragon Move (pg 38 KoS) which is clearly noted in Part 7 of Argrath's Saga. And Part 7 of Argrath's Saga, conversely, makes no mention of the Spider Spirit mentioned in the Argrath and the Devil story. However, we know where the Spider does appear...the LBQ.

I firmly believe that it was during the LBQ that Argrath confronted the Devil and that the Argrath and the Devil story was just a Myth to explain the deafness or seeming disappearance of the gods.


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