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Originally posted by Krafus



Oh, and as for Wulfgar, I believe he's either Lolth in disguise, or her mortal champion in disguise. The real Wulfgar certainly seemed determined not to be reborn, and if he'd made the choice to return, I believe Salvatore would have shown him growing up the same way he did with the rest of the Companions. And the way he was described as hulking and shadowy when he arrived, and Guenhwyvar's initial reaction to him� no, I can't believe that's truly Wulfgar.

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Originally posted by CorellonsDevout
Guen's initial reaction to him could be explained by the fact she was startled, and she almost lost Drizzt, so she's wary of anyone coming up, though granted she was overjoyed to see the other companions. Wulfgar had also been gone from the Companions for many years even before their deaths, so Guen could just feel a greater "distance" with him.

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Originally posted by Tanthalas

I don't think that being especially powerful is a requirement to become a chosen.

At least Erevis Cale, Drasek Riven and Malik never seemed that powerful to me. I'm guessing that the Seven Sisters also weren't born super powerful either.

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Originally posted by Richard Lee Byers

I basically agree with Tanthalas. A Chosen's gifts may take time to develop fully, and even when they have, they won't necessarily be gifts that are all about blowing away the bad guys on the battlefield. (You'll see how I handled two different Chosen when you read THE REAVER: THE SUNDERING BOOK IV, as I hope you will.)

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Originally posted by Krafus


Oh, and as for Wulfgar, I believe he's either Lolth in disguise, or her mortal champion in disguise. The real Wulfgar certainly seemed determined not to be reborn, and if he'd made the choice to return, I believe Salvatore would have shown him growing up the same way he did with the rest of the Companions. And the way he was described as hulking and shadowy when he arrived, and Guenhwyvar's initial reaction to him… no, I can't believe that's truly Wulfgar.

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Here are my three scenarios:

1) It actually is Wulfgar. This is the one I think most likely and I think Bob made things ambiguous just to watch us all speculate and debate. We are told that Wulfgar made his choice to go back to Tempus and he "disappears under the waves." This would obviously imply that he took the path to Tempus and was gone. However, Bob never gave any detailed explanation of how that worked. Maybe he had to swim down to some cave. Maybe he had to be under for a certain amount of time. Maybe he had to go underwater and then concentrate on Tempus. We simply don't know. Wulfgar has been known to be a bit impetuous, and to change his mind, so I don't see it as out of character at all for him to start to go one way then suddenly change his mind, walk out of the water, and go to join the Companions.

In the most recent interview Bob points out that Breunor's journey is meant to answer all the questions that fans would be challenging, and what I essentially did challenge in my earlier post, about the realism that some of them would choose to go back to Drizzt after having lived a full and good life. Since Wulfgar and Breunor esssentially shared similar initial feelings about going back, detailing Wulfgar's journey would have been very similar to Breunor's and Bob likely didn't feel that it would have added much to the book. Also, by holding out one of the characters he could do what he did and have a nice little zinger of a surprise at the end.

2) The Wulfgar that appears at the end is a doppleganger Wulfgar. This would be the second most likely scenario in my mind. In this scenario, Wulfgar does choose to go back to Tempus. The Wulfgar at the end is an imposter, likely created by Lolth, to sow chaos within the group. If this is the case it would clearly explain why their was no journey shown for Wulfgar...he never took one because he chose Tempus. It would appear that Guenwyvar might sense the imposter, being a magical creature, yet she clearly believes it to be Wulfgar. Then again, if the imposter is created by a Goddess, she could likely mask it so that it's undetectable.

I don't personally find this scenario to be very good. If Lolth can create a perfect duplicate, she could have done that long ago and on any occassion she wanted to manipulate Drizzt. I also don't like it because it craps on Wulfgar. Yeah, yeah, Catti-brie says there is no wrong choice and nobody would resent him for choosing to go to Tempus and his rest. Well, the Companions might not resent him, but many readers would and I don't think Bob wants that sour taste in people's mouthes about Wulfgar.

3) It is Wulfgar who appears at the end but he's been controlled/brain washed by Lolth. This is both the least plausible and the least paletable to me. The major issue I have with this is that it's a riff on what's already been done before. Wulfgar has already been taken to Lolth and then given to Errtu for torture. I'm not interested in seeing Wulfgar taken yet again by Lolth. It's stale and lame. Additionally, it would reflect very negatively upon Meliekki and Tempus. She blocked all four of the companions from going to their proper rest and gave them a choice. To think that another God/Goddess could swoop in and steal their soul as they have made the decision to go to their rightful God and abduct it doesn't seem plausible. So what Meliekki is going to look at Tempus and be like "sorry Tempus, I know I kept one of your deciples from you, and I was going to let him go to you, but darn it, Lolth jumped in and took him." Tempus is going to respond and be like "Oh well, #%%+ happens."

I can see where you can make a case for any of the three scenarios, but if it's either #2 or #3 I'll be very disappointed in Bob's choice.

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Originally posted by BEAST

Being a Chosen isn't always necessarily about a reward for past accomplishments or present prowess.

I think it could be more about a future mission or purpose.

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Originally posted by The Red Walker

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Originally posted by BEAST

Being a Chosen isn't always necessarily about a reward for past accomplishments or present prowess.

I think it could be more about a future mission or purpose.

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Duuuude............your on the internet......what's up with all this logic and thinking out stuff?

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Originally posted by Renin

I wonder about the actual souls that should have been born in the bodies the CotH were placed in.

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Originally posted by Mirtek

Less sundering in it than I expected, although the prophecies about the fate of Netheril or Anauroch concern me a little.

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Originally posted by Eilserus

Heh, this just occurred to me, but Zaknafein should have been reborn as a chosen so he can hook up with Drizzt and company. That would make for some fun reading about those two chain-sawing through monsters. The question I always had was is he in Lolth's domain or in Arvandor? He did state he was at peace, and you wouldn't think you'd find that with the Spider Queen.

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Originally posted by Odyrus

Regis is 100% more interesting. I'm excited about his character. I really hope at some point he crosses swords with Artemis. Now wouldn't that be ironic!

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Originally posted by Kyrel

I haven't read the Companions yet, so I obviously can't comment on any details. I am, however, going to comment on my oppinion of bringing the Companions back to the Realms. In short I'm not a fan of it.
I have enjoyed most of the different Drizzt books that have come out. I've liked most of the characters, though some more than others. Drizzt's apparent death at the end of Threshold took me by surprise, but ultimately I was quite fine with it, as frankly I believe that the character has been taken as far as it can be taken, without continuing down the path Drizzt had begun down over the span of the last three books. Personally I would have liked to see where this character development would have taken the character. I'd have liked to see a Drizzt Do'Urden with a shattered moral code, and a more "grey" perspective on the world around him. I'd have liked to see where things might have gone, if he had continued traveling besides Entreri and Dahlia. But alas, thus is apparently not to be now.

As for bringing back the rest of the Companions, I have to say why oh why do that?
The Wolfgar character had gone through a full life over the span of the series already. He'd been a leader of the combined tribes of Ice Wind Dale. He'd been young, he'd grown up. He'd been an adventurer, and he had been mentally broken. He'd even become married and a father. He should have been left alone.
Katti Bri was a somewhat interesting character, and I wouldn't have objected to seeing the character character continuing down the path as a Wizard, as she was liable to do, prior to dying. Her death was somewhat cheap to me, but not every character need glorious ends. She should have been left for dead, and as a memory to Drizzt, if he had been allowed to survive and continue to evolve as a character.
Reggis was never very interesting in my eyes, and I'd have preferred for him to remain dead on general principle.
Finally Bruenor. This character had virtually just gotten the most epic possible send-off possible. He'd been a King. He'd reclaimed Mithral Hall. He'd found Gruntlegrym. He'd become a legend to the Dwarves of the North. He was growing old. And he went out while being imbued with the essense of his God, fighting...was it a Balor or a Pit Fiend? Can't remember. Regardless of which, his ending was spectacular and epic. Writing anything further about this character will contribute NOTHING to it, except that it is liable to cheapen the legacy.

From a business perspective I can follow the idea. But frankly, IMO these characters should have been left dead. Threshold should have been rounded up differently, and then you'd have had the potential for further Drizzt books staring a new cast of supporting characters. Or Entreri could have been moved into position to continue a new line of books which might feel somewhat similar, but which would have allowed for a new spin on the kind of story we've been getting with Drizzt. Hell! Why not take the opportunity to create some new characters for a new era in the Realms?

Ultimately I've read enough good reviews of The Companions that I'll probably end up buying it, just because it's reviewed to be a good read on it's own. But frankly, I disagree with the idea of resurrecting The Companions of the Hall, even if they are "reskinned" in a manner of speaking.


/Kyrel

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