<< _If_ the Closing affects swimmers and ships alike _and_ Belintar knew the secrets of negating the closing while swimming _then_ it follows that his secrets would be effective in helping ships defeat the Closing, no? >>
I don't see why that follows at all. It's entirely consistent with the premises that Belintar's technique works only if you are swimming and/or only affects approximately man-sized objects. Furthermore, unlike Dormal's ritual, it might be something that only a powerful HeroQuester can do, making it less useful to the majority of people. It might even have been a one-use power that he gained in his earlier life.
I don't know whether any of these things are the case, but they demonstrate the point that just because an extraordinary individual like Belintar could do something, doesn't prove that anybody can. Of course, it doesn't prove they can't, either.
Forward the glorious Red Army!
Trotsky
------------------------------
Powered by hypermail