The Dragons of Athera (Janny Wurts) [Spoilers]

[dekket]

As I have mentioned on previous threads, I am currently in a re-read of the entire The Wars of Light and Shadows series (to date) by Janny Wurts.
I also mentioned I would keep a look out for references to the Great Drakes (Dragons) of Athera.

The first detailed mention of the Great Drakes I have found is in The Ships of Merior, in the chapter entitled Trust. Asandir is explaining to the s'Brydion brothers why their culverin is forbidden, by explaining how the Drakes brought the Fellowship to Athera, and about the Compact with the Paravian races.

Specifically

Before them had lived the greater drakes, creatures of a vast and wild beauty, but ancient in clever intelligence. From the riddle of Ath's deepest mysteries, they spun dreams that Named, their unbridled ambition to expand the living fabric of the cosmos. Theirs was a deeply mistaken belief that higher mastery could be theirs for the taking. But they forgot, in their pride, that the Creator founded the birth of the world in compassion. In the end, the fruits of the drakes' making escaped their control altogether.

Asandir then went on to explain the drakes intent, and of Ath Creator sending the Paravians to redeem the drake spawn. With the Paravians being slaughtered, the Drakes drew the Fellowship to Athera, and bound them to save the Paravian races.

But I have extracted the paragraph above specifically because it says something that I had missed on all my previously readings of this book.
I had believed that the drake dreams had spun the spawn (the Seardluin, the Khadrim, the Wyverns, the iyats, etc) by accident. I had always thought that (similar to the dead dreaming dragons contained by the Grimwards) it was the unconsious, half formed desires of the dragons accidently made flesh.

Actually, the creation of the Methuri was explained earlier in this book in the chapter IV. Convocation.

The matrix mapped an origin Verrain had studied only in ancient test: here, in spikes and jagged angles, he experienced the leaked bits of storm charge that had displaced half-formed beings from the thought-shaped, neither-realm of the drake dreams. In twists and snagged knotworks, he saw anomalies that to this world were half demon, half monster, change vibration and emerge to rampage and slay. The original methurien were creatures deranged by pain, animate conciousness torn into breathing life from an existence of shadowry apparation

It was probably this earlier chapter that made me believe all drake-spawn were created by accident.

But, as Asandir revealed to the s'Brydion in Trust, the original drake-spawn were created on purpose, in attempt to expand the living fabric of the cosmos.
The drakes had wanted to create Seardluin, Khadrim, etc. But then they could not control their creations. And the Seardluin (ultimate killers that they were) began to prey on the drakes own young.

The Paravians had been sent to Athera by Ath to save the Dragons from a danger of their own purposeful creation.

And when the Seardluin started slaying the Paravians, the Drakes, in remorse for their actions, summoned to Fellowship (masters without parallel in unbridled destruction) to save the Paravians by destroying the drake spawn.

But anyway, I have started this thread so that we can all comment on any insights that we may come across into the Dragons of Athera.

 

[Grimward]

Interesting find, Dek, and great idea for a thread.

The way I read it, the Drakes don't (anymore than humans) control their own dreams. The difference is that their dreams have formative and destructive power that allows the content to be...

Haven't found any references in Grand Conspiracy yet...

 

[dekket]

Originally posted by Grimward

The way I read it, the Drakes don't (anymore than humans) control their own dreams

Grimward, I was always under the impression that the Drakes couldn't control their dreams. However, Janny wrote:

Theirs was a deeply mistaken belief that higher mastery could be theirs for the taking.

If Drakes could not control their dreams, what then gave rise to the mistaken belief?
And also

their unbridled ambition to expand the living fabric of the cosmos

Could an uncontrolable act warrant unbridled ambition?

 

[Clansman]

Dek, I believe that you are a philosopher. I am beginning to share your view that the Drakes could control their dreams and even intend to create the horrible things that they did, not knowing what the results would be. Could unbridled ambition lead to an uncontrollable act? Ambition is the key word, and the Drakes appeared to want to do what they did.

I think that Janny has intended a deeper meaning here. Think of the great things that humanity has created. Not one is pure or perfect, because everything we have done has a negative side. Some are patently obvious, like aerosol spray cans. But take for instance great accomplishments of engineering. The Hoover dam was one such, and it delivers power to all sorts of people in the US southwest. However, the ecology of the river it dams (the Colorado, I believe) has been forever altered, at least as long as the dam stands. Improved nutrition, better medicine, and standards of living have increased population, at the expense of natural habitat and the creatures that live there, and is the world better because of it? Few would argue that it is. The one environmental catastrophe that no one ever talks about is human overpopulation and its impact. This is not to say that humanity should not strive for better health and lower infant mortality, but we should also strive to limit the size of our civilization, at least until (or unless) we move into Space.

I have barely scratched the surface here, but humanity's interaction with the natural world is a theme in fantasy that stretches back to Tolkien (at least) and it is a major theme in The Wars of Light and Shadow. I think that the Drakes are an example of a very human kind of hubris, and Janny intends us to explore how our pride made us think we could make the world better by chopping down forests, building amazing machines, and expanding our domination of the planet, when we never considered the consequences of doing these things. The Drakes obviously did not consider the consequences of their actions.

Just a thought or two.

 

[Grimward]

Could an uncontrolable act warrant unbridled ambition?

I agree with Clanny (and actually wrote the same until I reread his post): say rather that unbridled ambition led to an uncontrollable act (or several, unless all of the methuri, seardluin, iyats, etc. were created at the same time from the same collective dream....a little foggy on whether this was one dream or many at the moment).

And maybe the Dragons do have an ulterior motive, although we haven't seen enough of Seshkrozchiel and her brethren to know the difference yet.....

 

[dekket]

Originally posted by Clansman,

Dek, I believe that you are a philosopher.

And here I was thinking I was a chemist. But I do suppose it does say Doctor of Philosophy on the parchment hanging on the wall behind me.

But I am now wondering if the Drakes started off with dreaming up nice, safe, things (which we haven't heard about, as they are harmless) to begin with, expanding the fabric of creation. However, in their arrogance, they came to lose control of their gift (of dream creation), which brought the monster (Seardluin, Khadrim, etc - which we have heard about, as they are dangerous) into the world.

 

[Clansman]

How about Asandir and the adolescent dragon in the snippet released earlier this year (beware of spoilers if you haven't read Stormed Fortress):

Janny Wurts Chat Area

Click on Arc IV: Initiate's Trial, and then under Fourth Snippet.

Where would the genesis of the drakes be, if one is a mere adolescent (not knowing their lifespan). Seshy is around, but I am not aware of her having mated. Do the drakes come from off-planet, or off-plane?

Curious.

 

[Grimward]

Meant to post this sooner, but got distracted....

I'm voting for off-planet, Clanny. No quotable reason I can immediately place my finger on, but their awareness of multiple planets and seeming immunity to the laws of the balance just seem to suggest a non-Athera origin.....

 

[Clansman]

but are they not part of Ath's design, and like us pathetic humans, managed to mess it up with their dreaming?

Perhaps their origin is Atheran, but their current abode is off-planet. I keep wondering about those North and West Gates...

 

[dekket]

I would expect that the drakes have visited the splinter world's (through the World's end gates) at least, as in the Grimward in Fugitive Prince, the constellations matched those of Arithon's homeworld. But as the drakes are larger than the gates, they must have their own means of travelling to other worlds.

I also wonder if Athera's moon is habitable?

Or if there are any more drakes hibernating beneath the mountains?

 

[Clansman]

I keep wondering about those North and West Gates...

Oooops. Meant "North and East Gates...", because we know that the West Gate leads to the Red Desert and the ruins of Mearth, and thence to Dascen Elur.

 

[dekket]

Looking forward to the arrival of my copy of Initiate's Trial, to see what a sorceror and dragon can get up to together in this book.

 

[dekket]

As I have now finished reading Initiates Trial, there will be spoilers.

The North Gate leads to the refuge of the great drakes, and is guarded on the other side by a dragon, who should stop drakes returning to Paravia.

Great Drakes apparantly don't have a gender until they reach a certain level of maturity.

Great Drakes hibernate in entirely sealed stone chambers, in a slumber that can last centuries.

A drake can hold onto a Sorceror throughout the course of its hibernation, which is something a corporate sorceror would not be able to survive.