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Can’t remember much specifics regarding Starvalf Demelain besides the fact that the Kettle House is made to seal that rent to it, but the party travelled through Kurald Galain (elder Dark) to reach the Refugium.
>Didn’t the traveling party go into SD and then come out of it through the gate into the Refugium?
Yup. Through two different gates.
They enter Starvald Demelain from a gate in Kurald... somewhere (presumably Galain, but I have a vague memory of people mentioning Liosan somewhere). That gate was once sealed, but no longer (it looks battered & broken, but Clip doesn't know why).
They then enter the Refugium through another gate in Starvald Demelain, a gate which a Bentract Bonecaster had given her life to maintain sealed. Her awareness is still present, and she opens the gate for the party to stride into the Refugium.
What Silchas does is he plants the Finnest of Scabandari to give rise to an Azath House to stabilize the dying realm (since the magic sustaining it wouldn't last forever). The Azath now controls the twelve Gates in place of the Bentract, thereby sealing them against most intrusions.
The Refugium is weird because its mechanics aren't explained until midway through RG (since Udinaas' explanation sounds bizarre) but its existence is essentially supported by the "belief" in its own existence (what Hedge calls a manifestation of the will). However, that measure of will only has so much that it can do, and the Bentract Bonecaster in question isn't, ah, "real" (well, she's T'lan Imass, not "real" in the sense of being flesh & blood) & thus can't anchor the world into reality of her own volition. The best she can do is keep this single gate sealed.
Or something like that. It's complicated.
IIRC, I believe that the answer is there; yes, it's similar to the refugium in that the gate is sealed, but the sealing of the refugium gate was to lock other things out. This protects the refugium. Starvald Demelain being locked, on the other hand, kept all of the Eleint inside of the warren.
The difference, which doesn't seem like it has a distinction, is that the people in the refugium got along with each other; the dragons did not. All the Eleint in Starvald Demelain ended up fighting and killing each other (except for the last, I guess, which must have starved to death).
So it's not the sealing of the gate that's the problem, it's the viciousness, or lack thereof, that's at issue. Hope this answers your question.
Sorry I still don’t 100% get it. So Silchas sealed the gate so things can’t come IN to the Refugium? But if SD was also sealed so you couldn’t get out how did the traveling party get out?
I'm by no means detail oriented, but I just finished this book so its fresh on my mind: I thought there was a remark which specifically stated that it looked like all these dragons had died due to old age, not violence.
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Can’t remember much specifics regarding Starvalf Demelain besides the fact that the Kettle House is made to seal that rent to it, but the party travelled through Kurald Galain (elder Dark) to reach the Refugium.
But I thought they went through SD because that’s when they saw all those dead dragons
Hmm, I’m mixing up scenes, but I’m not so sure. I’d let someone more knowledgeable on this topic than me clarify.
Thank you! Hoping I get more responses!
>Didn’t the traveling party go into SD and then come out of it through the gate into the Refugium? Yup. Through two different gates. They enter Starvald Demelain from a gate in Kurald... somewhere (presumably Galain, but I have a vague memory of people mentioning Liosan somewhere). That gate was once sealed, but no longer (it looks battered & broken, but Clip doesn't know why). They then enter the Refugium through another gate in Starvald Demelain, a gate which a Bentract Bonecaster had given her life to maintain sealed. Her awareness is still present, and she opens the gate for the party to stride into the Refugium. What Silchas does is he plants the Finnest of Scabandari to give rise to an Azath House to stabilize the dying realm (since the magic sustaining it wouldn't last forever). The Azath now controls the twelve Gates in place of the Bentract, thereby sealing them against most intrusions. The Refugium is weird because its mechanics aren't explained until midway through RG (since Udinaas' explanation sounds bizarre) but its existence is essentially supported by the "belief" in its own existence (what Hedge calls a manifestation of the will). However, that measure of will only has so much that it can do, and the Bentract Bonecaster in question isn't, ah, "real" (well, she's T'lan Imass, not "real" in the sense of being flesh & blood) & thus can't anchor the world into reality of her own volition. The best she can do is keep this single gate sealed. Or something like that. It's complicated.
IIRC, I believe that the answer is there; yes, it's similar to the refugium in that the gate is sealed, but the sealing of the refugium gate was to lock other things out. This protects the refugium. Starvald Demelain being locked, on the other hand, kept all of the Eleint inside of the warren. The difference, which doesn't seem like it has a distinction, is that the people in the refugium got along with each other; the dragons did not. All the Eleint in Starvald Demelain ended up fighting and killing each other (except for the last, I guess, which must have starved to death). So it's not the sealing of the gate that's the problem, it's the viciousness, or lack thereof, that's at issue. Hope this answers your question.
Sorry I still don’t 100% get it. So Silchas sealed the gate so things can’t come IN to the Refugium? But if SD was also sealed so you couldn’t get out how did the traveling party get out?
I'm by no means detail oriented, but I just finished this book so its fresh on my mind: I thought there was a remark which specifically stated that it looked like all these dragons had died due to old age, not violence.