Final Quest #14

Well- I think that it makes best sense or me if I think of it from Winnowil's perspective. She talked about 'the great jest'-- that worlds die. And the elves are immortal. They could outlive the planet itself-- esp if they accomplish their goals of a.) surviving as a species and b.) surviving as individuals and reclaiming their ancestors' way of life.

The story hasn't really emphasized that connection so far-- which I think is a shame since it was well set up in Seige and would be a very logical explanation for Timmain's goals and actions. If the only true and long term future for her people is to leave the world and be self sustaining in their ship.

Redhead Ember wrote:

Here's a thought; if Cutter being injured - as on the cover - is not a result of getting attacked by the wolves, could it be the "funguys"?

I thought, the Cutter on this poster is just exhausted and passed out. The last few times we saw him, he really looked kinda worn out

Suppose you're right.
Dunno why I want him to be actually injured...

But wasn't he bleeding on the cover, with cuts or something? I don't think he was shown as having cuts in these previews, but who knows, maybe we just haven't seen anything close-up.

Edit: Ok, I just took another look. Yeah he's got some cuts but it doesn't look too serious. He probably got all those cuts from scraping against trees and generally being a complete animal before Filcher found him.

They look to me like scratches from running through bushes and stuff.

It seems like Future Quest finally will take a turn for the better ("die Kurve kratzen).

I think the reason Cutter is freaking out is because he senses he's preggers on top of all of this soul sharing stuff.

Right. Because Skywise slept with Timmain-- so naturally Cutter would be pregnant! Now it all makes sense!

He's hormonal!!!


In the next issues we'll see Cutter gorging on ice cream with raw meat stirred in.

I'm going to make a story prediction-- a real one.

I bet.... Skywise gets Timmain pregnant. Timmain gives birth to Jinx-- but dies. Maybe she sacrifices herself somehow (that seems her style) and somehow Skywise dies too. Being dead, Timmain's spirit reintegrates into Cutter (with his permission-- since her whole catchphrase is 'it's all about choice')-- to become Tam/main! Tam/main raises their baby, Jinx-- but is bereft the whole time. Jinx seeing the sadness, mindwipes Tam/main's memories of Cutter's life. Having forgotten about Tam- despite finding herself in a new body (which I guess would t be that upsetting for a shapeshifter), Timmain finally leads the elves into space. Jinx, unable to handle what she has done to her dadmom, stays behind. She mindwipes herself to forget. Eventually, Timmain remembers Tam (maybe from watching the scroll or mind melding with someone) and goes back for his/her/their daughter.

I bet Timmain's death is what gets Cutter to accept his/her identity. Maybe he does it for Skywise.

I think you're right, Lunakat, about Timmain dying. Well, part of me just hopes for it as well , and I know it's awful, but i just don't like Timmain as a character at all. But I do think legitimately it would make sense for her to die and during childbirth would be kind of perfect. Because I don't think Cutter would be able to just accept himself otherwise.

I am not seeing Skywise die though, honestly. It would shock me. Why do you think he would?
Is this because of Futurequest and because he's not shown around? But Leetah isn't either. I can see Jinx mind wiping Cutter though, for all sorts of reasons.

I think Skywise dies-- because otherwise why would Cutter be so sad? And why wouldn't Skywise be standing there with him saying 'we need to get my daughter?' And... If Skywise were alive-- how could he have let Cutter leave the planet without Jinx? And how would he not have counseled Jinx so that she didn't mindwipe herself and disappear? Or just explain to her what's up with Cutter so that she didn't mindwipe him in the first place.

I think-- if Cutter is the dadmom she mindwipes- then Skywise can't also be around, because he would have tried to prevent any and all of those things from occurring (mindwiping momdad-- mindwiping herself-- running away-- elves leaving without her). He's already said he can't bear to leave anyone behind-- can you imagine him leaving his own daughter-- when he can fly anywhere to pick her up and has Sunstream for a homing device?

Ok, makes sense, perfectly.
Is Future Quest supposed to be canon btw? I know Jinx is. But I don't remember what's been said about the other stuff...

Also, I guess if all this were to happen then I guess Cutter becomes immortal. Or Timmain cancels out his wolfblood. Which would be funny, considering she was the one that put it there in the first place for all of them

Yeah-- but she put it there as part of a dangerous gamble to help them adapt to the world they were stuck in... not because it's inherently beneficial beyond helping them survive. In fact, it's been very destabilizing for the Wolfriders-- even though it made them what they are-- to the point of needing almost ten generations before the elves found internal balance in their natures. The early Wolfriders, who had closer to 50% wolf in them, were really messed up. Same with the wolves who had a lot of elf. And it's still causing them conflict. The elves don't need it to survive anymore-- like Moonshade pointed out, there is an alternative way to live and get by. At this point, I think it's about culture and tradition more than anything else. Except for some  at this point, I think it's about culture and tradition more than anything else. Except for some else likes like Stongbow, Who may just have too much of it innately as part of their nature that they can't function any other way.

Honestly, they should portray some kind of inherent advantage, because at this point the conflict is passé. I could see the appeal of being part of the world, it's very comforting to exist as part of a complex web, but if you really think about it, elves are just an invasive species at this point. Preservers only stay in one general area, and trolls occupy a completely different niche, but humans already had the whole "endurance predator primate" thing covered.

This is random - well, maybe not so random, because kathleen's post sort of got me thinking in this direction - but I've honestly never understood the whole 'worlds die' or whatever conflict. I realize the WoTM will eventually die, but do they know when or something? It's never felt like there was any kind of urgency - yes, maybe the planet will die eventually....and there are those who are immortal, after all....but, really, why hasn't there been more exploration of other planets shown as an option for settlement? As it stands now, the whole thing is so weird, because there's this weird sense of those elves that are just 'attached' to the WoTM, while others are in favor of going somewhere else, but the where is not discussed. It sounds like they just want to do some Star Trek style exploration using the palace as the enterprise but never really stop anywhere to live. Hell, even the enterprise had a base, though. So I just don't get it.
I mean, doesn't it make sense to go out and explore the solar system first, maybe some elves go in the palace and find other places that are desirable, come back, and maybe like Sunstream can do a big old open sending to everyone and go, Ok, we have the following options, and just let them decide individually if they want to come along or not?
The whole thing has just always felt just very abstract to me. When Winnowill wanted to do it, I was thinking it was a crazy plan not just because she was a genocidal jackass, but because, like, Where the hell did she even want to go? Was there an actual place? And what about now? They've had the palace such a long time and it only sounds like they've taken it out a few times for a joyride and that's it.

So I guess I'm confused about this theme which is supposed to be important but is still really vague. Does anyone know exactly what is going on with this ongoing issue at all?

The long term solution is to travel through space, though- isn't it? Because they are immortal. if they don't die-- then they will outlive any planet... like the High Ones did the homeworld.

We only have the High Ones word for that!!!

Not really-- that's just common sense. And it isn't even what they said. It's just... any planet they inhabit is going to eventual die on them, unless they die out first as a species. They live for centuries-- they sort of have to think long term.

Oh come now, planets last a very long time too. The elves can't settle on another world because hundreds of thousands of years later they might have to move? That's excessively long-term thinking.

Yes, but planets live for millions, if not billions, of years. I really don't see any problem with living on one until it's done and moving on to another one. A space ship, even a magic one, has so much less room in both the literal and metaphorical senses. Plus it has to constantly search for fuel/air/material. Great method of travel but I'm less sure about it as a permanent home.

Going back to Jink for a second, she grew up on the traveling Palace, not Abode. She tells of finding scrolls and such left by the Neverending as a child. I don't know if this affects your speculation or not.

That would fit very much in line with High One New-Age pomposity, though. "What is the point of setting down roots when this planet will die in a mere three billion years? Ah.... All is fleeting... The beauty of fragility..."

When I think about from her pov though... Timmain has been very patient. She and her friends, after travelling for however many millions of years through space, crash on this planet-- and everyone she knows (people who have survived for eons) dies very quickly. The few survivors she escaped with lost the ship they came in and all their powers-- and gave birth to kids... who then perished quickly in a dangerous environment. She realized she had to do something drastic or they would all die out-- and rationalized that, with their powers gone and their ship both lost and dormant, they would probably never escape again anyway. So she resigned herself to staying her, and to her children staying her, and gave them a mortal tie to the world. In doing this, she gave them death-- but also life.

Then, she was unable to reverse what she had done to herself-- and forgot who she was for hundreds of thousands of years. The whole world changed-- her people and human beings evolved... and finally she was called back to herself. Her children had survived. And here they were! Boy was she proud of that! But she had to retreat to turn the scroll and educate them so that they could learn to use the ship again. She did it immediately. And over the course of some years... maybe three or four... they revived the ship, she taught Rayek to use it, and he and began to regain the old powers of her people that were lost. Things were looking good, when- bang! Rayek pulled shenanigans.

Then, she had to wait another set of centuries, hanging out with depressed Cutter-- hoping the Palace would return for them. They got their ship back-- but she had to watch her people die again, which much have sucked. Still... her children survived. They had to learn, all over, how to control the spaceship, because the one guy that could do it was out of commission. Still... things were looking good. The ship was working again. Rayek got stable and came back, and... bang! Winnowil crashed the ship.

So then they had to go to war. And then she had to wait some more to see if the ship could be recovered even and put back together. And she had to fight Winnowil. But she did. And they put the ship back together. And Rayek was gone (because he had to contain Winnowil)-- so then she had to retrain everyone who was left to use this ship. And that took fifty years. And here were are.

And now-- they can get off the planet. They have the ability to contact every elf in the world and summon them. The ship is working. She has her powers. Her children have their people's powers back.. the only problem is some of them just aren't sure this is the right thing- because of that mortal tie to the world that she gave them.

I could see her being a little impatient at this point-- and feeling like, let's go already! You know... before anything else goes wrong. Cus it's kind of a risk not to, considering what's happened in the past on this particular world. I mean-- should she hang around for another million years or so, just because they can, and risk something bad happening and them never being able to leave again?

Eh, I kind of feel like the elves haven't been reproductively successful enough to be invasive. Alien, yes, but it's like dandelions, or the imported sort of violets (at least in my part of Illinois) -- the only places they're at all invasive are lawns. They grow here and there in forests, at the edges of prairies, but they don't take over the ecosystem so they're the only thing growing there. When I briefly did restoration work with a group at the local forest preserve, we didn't bother getting rid of the occasional dandelions or violets we ran across, because they weren't shading out or choking out other plant life -- not like, say, garlic mustard or european buckthorn or multiflora rose.