[Dragaera] Tukko

[Jonathan Carey, CHRL via Dragaera]

I would like to pose a question to the readership.  Before I do so, I’d
like to make a couple statements in advance:  1) I’ve been reading Paarfi,
so apologies if my wording is less than concise. 2) it is assumed that
Steve knows a bunch that, like a stage magician, he won’t reveal to the
audience in order to preserve the entertainment potential of the stories he
does us the honour to write; and what he does NOT know is left deliberately
vague to allow him a certain creative leeway when authoring subsequent
stories for our consumption.


That being said, I would like to see what theories you all can come up with
regarding Tukko, based on the line that I have just had the pleasure to
read, wherein discusses with Sethra their preparations in advance of the
arrival of Kana’s forces at Dzur Mountain.  The preparations be it
understood, to protect against the Jenoine, not Kana.


“And what of the Gods? Have they done all they can? (Tukko)
“They can do nothing until the crisis is at hand.” (Sethra)
“Yes,” said Tukko. “At which point, no doubt, they will be helpless.”
Sethra chuckled.  “That *is* their custom, isn’t it? But you know they
are *more
tightly bound than you are*.” [my emphasis]
“That is as may be, madam,” said Tukko severely.  “But you know that I
prefer not to discuss my own condition.”


What do you all think these last statements of both Sethra and Tukko could
mean/imply etc?

My take is that Sethra’s statement is so obvious (if Tukko were as he
appears to be, to wit, a mere mortal) that it makes the saying pointless,
even for Paarfi.  The comparison of Tukko to the Gods only makes sense if
Tukko is, was, or had the potential to be, one of their ranks.  In short,
he is probably similar to Sethra in at least one regard: ie, that he could
be a God, but chose not to be, because he, like Sethra, did not wish to be
constrained in whatever way the Gods are.


At least one of these constraints, I think, is the fact that Jenoine can
detect them if they manifest in/on Dragaera, which is why the Gods don’t do
so during the Interregnum (out of the certainty that the Jenoine would
detect their presence).  And, by extension, if they can’t manifest, then
most of their power to act in that plane would also be curtailed.   So, it
seems, they have to act, at least on Dragaera, through intermediaries and
agents.  This would be annoying for someone like Sethra who, I think,
either prefers to be in the thick of things, or perhaps doesn’t trust
others to do so on her behalf, or both.


Otherwise, Tukko’s response seems to indicate a bit of a sore spot in
Tukko’s psyche; it could be that he was a God, but was kicked out and/or
prevented from manifesting in the Halls of Judgement—or perhaps he was/is a
God, but decided/accepted/was forced to change in such a way that he could
inhabit Dragaera without attracting the attention of the Jenoine—perhaps
this change required that he become bound to Dzur Mountain, which, while
limiting his ability to manifest elsewhere (simultaneously?) removes one of
the key aspects of Godhood (without removing his overwhelming power, and
most importantly, his ability to use it directly in the defense of
Dragaera).  So that, while he is bound, like a genie in a lamp, or perhaps
more accurately, like a soul in a phylactery, such that if the item is
destroyed, so too should he be, it is nevertheless a binding of a different
sort than those which constrain the Gods, and so he is at once more limited
and yet more free than they are.


If that is all correct, then the obvious question is: what exactly happened
in Issola?  Why could the Gods manifest there but not at other times? My
answer is this:  there was a real threat; and so failing to manifest
because their presence would be detected would be like securing the
henhouse after the fox has been and left.  Furthermore, they were not as
vulnerable then as they were at other times:  there was the Orb, the
Necromancer, Sethra (with Iceflame), Blackwand, Pathfinder, most if not all
of the Gods, and unbeknownst to many until it was too late, Godslayer.
Which is not to say that no forces were held in reserves; certainly
Nightslayer could have been called up at that time, and presumably other
Gods guarded the Halls of Judgement.

So.  What do you guys think of the statements re: Tukko’s nature?

Regards,

Jon Carey, B.A.(Hon), CHRL, CHRP