Bloodlines
I spent the afternoon reading out of the Book of Ti'ana.
I have to say, the Myst Reader has saved me in times of struggle. Along with Marcus Aurelius' Meditations, it provides light on things for me.
D'ni Born. D'ni Bred. The Myst Reader, I think, is better than a religious text when it comes to helping me see the traits in human beings.
Ok, so I'm at my desk, with the large volume open in front of me, reading about how Anna gets down into Cavern, how she learns how to speak D'ni in a short time (20 weeks if I recall correctly), how Veovis, at every single turn tries so desperately to reject Anna, while all the while Aitrus is so fascinated by her. Well, anyways, I could go on forever about the story, but when I came upon reading of Ghen's birth (Aitrus and Ti'ana's son), things became rivetingly clear to me.
OK, now let's just get this straight...Aitrus was a great man, very studious, very driven, a Master of the Guild of Surveyors, then a Grand Master in the Guild of Miners. The man never stopped. Anna (Ti'ana) was highly intelligent, a very driven woman in her own right as well. She had amazing strength while going through all of the trials that her life placed upon her.
Now, here we are, I'm sitting reading about the moment that Ghen first appears in the world. A very normal child, but here is where the bloodline diverges.
Aitrus died in the great Fall of D'ni. All that is left is Ti'ana and Ghen, who in her infinite wisdom after the fall of D'ni, Ti'ana takes Ghen back to the surface to live.
Ti'ana did all she could to help Ghen, however, he would hear none of it. Ghen, like Veovis, swore up and down by pure D'ni blood. However, Ghen, the hypocrit that he was, was not of pure blood. He was a half-breed at best that was sneered at by all of the other D'ni children as he grew up in the dormitories of the Guild of Writers before the Great Fall.
If you've ever played Riven, you know Ghen and you know him well. Psychotic would be a kind word to use, hypocritical, narrow minded, self-centered, ego-centric, malicious, oh, the thesaurus doesn't have enough words to describe how odeous he was. It was like Veovis had come back and had been cross-bred with A'Gaeris (the vile individual who was directly responsible for the fall of D'ni) to walk the earth in one singular body.
So, on one end, we have Aitrus, son of a noble man, who was an individual of strong work ethic, strength of character and strength of heart. However, on the other end, we see his progeny, who was someone of vile character, weak mind and lack of heart.
How does this happen in people? That you can have a father of such strength and a son of such weakness? How is it that the genetics don't shine through, or if they do, how is it that the example of the father to the son doesn't come through or is not learned from?
Interesting and very fascinating.
My progenitors are of intelligence but they lack strength of heart, but here I am with enough strength of mind and character to build armies. To turn things that are lackluster into things of amazing beauty and resound.
Why does that happen? Why is it that the world is like this? Is it environmental? Is it education? Or is it the sum of all of the parts.
I think I'll be fascinated by it for the rest of my days, this portion of humanity who does not achieve their goals even though they have the genetics to fall back on.
Amazing and very fascinating.
Oh well. Looking at Ghen through the eyes of a person who has played the games and read the books, to see someone like that in real life and be presented with it is absolutely mind-bending. However, thank goodness I delve heavily into the culture of my people. It has given me such clarity and the insight to know what to expect or how to understand a person like that.
Rand and Robyn...and especially RAWA, thank you.
I have to say, the Myst Reader has saved me in times of struggle. Along with Marcus Aurelius' Meditations, it provides light on things for me.
D'ni Born. D'ni Bred. The Myst Reader, I think, is better than a religious text when it comes to helping me see the traits in human beings.
Ok, so I'm at my desk, with the large volume open in front of me, reading about how Anna gets down into Cavern, how she learns how to speak D'ni in a short time (20 weeks if I recall correctly), how Veovis, at every single turn tries so desperately to reject Anna, while all the while Aitrus is so fascinated by her. Well, anyways, I could go on forever about the story, but when I came upon reading of Ghen's birth (Aitrus and Ti'ana's son), things became rivetingly clear to me.
OK, now let's just get this straight...Aitrus was a great man, very studious, very driven, a Master of the Guild of Surveyors, then a Grand Master in the Guild of Miners. The man never stopped. Anna (Ti'ana) was highly intelligent, a very driven woman in her own right as well. She had amazing strength while going through all of the trials that her life placed upon her.
Now, here we are, I'm sitting reading about the moment that Ghen first appears in the world. A very normal child, but here is where the bloodline diverges.
Aitrus died in the great Fall of D'ni. All that is left is Ti'ana and Ghen, who in her infinite wisdom after the fall of D'ni, Ti'ana takes Ghen back to the surface to live.
Ti'ana did all she could to help Ghen, however, he would hear none of it. Ghen, like Veovis, swore up and down by pure D'ni blood. However, Ghen, the hypocrit that he was, was not of pure blood. He was a half-breed at best that was sneered at by all of the other D'ni children as he grew up in the dormitories of the Guild of Writers before the Great Fall.
If you've ever played Riven, you know Ghen and you know him well. Psychotic would be a kind word to use, hypocritical, narrow minded, self-centered, ego-centric, malicious, oh, the thesaurus doesn't have enough words to describe how odeous he was. It was like Veovis had come back and had been cross-bred with A'Gaeris (the vile individual who was directly responsible for the fall of D'ni) to walk the earth in one singular body.
So, on one end, we have Aitrus, son of a noble man, who was an individual of strong work ethic, strength of character and strength of heart. However, on the other end, we see his progeny, who was someone of vile character, weak mind and lack of heart.
How does this happen in people? That you can have a father of such strength and a son of such weakness? How is it that the genetics don't shine through, or if they do, how is it that the example of the father to the son doesn't come through or is not learned from?
Interesting and very fascinating.
My progenitors are of intelligence but they lack strength of heart, but here I am with enough strength of mind and character to build armies. To turn things that are lackluster into things of amazing beauty and resound.
Why does that happen? Why is it that the world is like this? Is it environmental? Is it education? Or is it the sum of all of the parts.
I think I'll be fascinated by it for the rest of my days, this portion of humanity who does not achieve their goals even though they have the genetics to fall back on.
Amazing and very fascinating.
Oh well. Looking at Ghen through the eyes of a person who has played the games and read the books, to see someone like that in real life and be presented with it is absolutely mind-bending. However, thank goodness I delve heavily into the culture of my people. It has given me such clarity and the insight to know what to expect or how to understand a person like that.
Rand and Robyn...and especially RAWA, thank you.
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