[the_old_crowd] Re: The Ax

[silmariel]

Sort of Spoilers for The Dark Crystal

Carolyn said:
>Pleased to see Carolina posting again after so long - never apologise 
for the wicked Spanglish!

Good to hear from you again, also.

I'm so glad I want to thank again TOC for inviting me so long ago, I've been 
able to lurk in here and so get in touch, I just can't cope with HPfGU 
volume, since last year I've turned into an online game (a MUD) only 
administrator (I mean, we are 10 in the staff, but no one else wants that 
particular work) and game developer (game system and world building) in spare 
time.

<g> Not apologising, exactly... I'm quite happy that my english level is high 
enough for me to communicate in this list. But I know how easy 
misinterpretations get in the way, so I wanted to warn.

Talisman:
> Thanks for throwing me a lifeline, Silmariel.

I owed you one since... Time Travel and The Uber Kitchen <g> I really needed a 
specific lenguage to address time travel - was the first time I talked of TT 
not in mi language and just felt like the more I tried to get understood, the 
more I got drown in muddy waters - and you provided me one.

End of Spoiler Space

Talisman:
> We know Rowling draws freely from many stories.  Prior to HBP's
> release (can't recall where) someone suggested the theory of the
> separately stored soul, noting an old folktale (Chinese?) where an
> evil wizard hid his soul in an egg that had to be found and smashed
> before he could be killed. (Which I actually think I've read, but
> had forgotten.)

>  If you know of  stories where having a soul dab gives extra rights
> with regard to the rest, that increases the likelihood that Rowling
> is using this idea.

A bit of background.

I've read/seen/roleplay more fantasy, terror, and sci-fi than is healthy, and 
I tend to just grab form multiple sources and mix genres. That's why I called 
it 'story device', no idea where it could came from, so I've been thinking 
about it.

Potential sources:

-The Dark Crystal

	I know there are lots of examples of interlaced souls, but this one is clear 
cristal. Not brothers, or clones, nor parallel universes, or heirs 
interlaced, just a splitting case by case of an entire species in two. What 
happens to one happens to the other.

-Vampire: The masquerade

	By means of Diablerie -you keep feeding from a fellow vampire till he dies, 
mental battle included- you can absorb a vampire's 'soul' and part of his 
powers. There's no limit to the number of times you can do this, but that 
'souls' are not destroyed, they live within you. In fact, some beings can 
overpower you with time, or battle against each other for the control of your 
body.

	And the one who gets the control does not get a half prize, as to say, 
instead of it brings his full powers and mental mark, is his new self, with 
all the implications, aura included. <Till the next change>

	They are not very original when grabbing from sources, for what I know. Shame 
I long lost my first edition of the game, it contained a long list of 
bibliography/films.

-Your usual heroine in a castle

	Don't remember where I've seen this one, it feels so generic... a beautiful 
(they always are) heroine set in a castle or ancient manor where she is more 
or less subtly transformed in a present copy of a (usually) former Lady long 
ago dead.

	Our heroine can be a descendant of the family, or just -by pure chance- has 
the looks of the Lady. When the Lady is just trying to posses her, is't 
applicable here, but we also have the opposite case, that the 
'transformation' the heroine suffers makes her able to act as a curse breaker 
where others just can't or usually pay with their lives.

Mix a bit with Hx and you've got it.

> My only lingering concern would be, why not just have Harry destroy
> them all?  He could be the official Hx whacker, rather than make
> anyone else die to do it.
>
> But, Rowling can make as many magical rules as she likes, so there
> may be "some reason."

Giving I don't get too conviced by her explanations sometimes -so you can't 
protest if *I* make a lame excuse-, it can be explained, considering:

-Voldemort has gone where no known wizard had adventured before, and in this 
case I don't count multiple Hx but providing Harry the scar. 

-Harry was under that protection I've never quite understood in CoS, and that 
could enter as a factor.

As DD didn't knew if it was Harry's link or his mother's protection... I mean, 
probably the case is unique and DD didn't exactly knew how could turn the 
events in case he tried, so he didn't. Also, being Harry's scar an (almost? 
don't want to be in L.O.O.N's Black List) unheard case, I supposse there was 
no by-the-book knowledge to apply, nor easy means to stablish exactly what 
the scar meant or implied.

> Talisman, musing: hmmmm, even in this scenario, it's become Harry's
> job to get the Hxes, so Snape can be safe, for awhile. (Tucks black
> arm bands back into embroidery basket.)

That's the best side-effect...

Silmariel