thanks a very good anology *clap clap*
I like him.
I dislike him.
thanks a very good anology *clap clap*
Well, he's not human, so he's not governed by our rules of attraction. Besides, there's bisexual humans.Originally Posted by Cai
yeeees, but arkan is a little odd
He's an Elidhu - all Elidhu are "odd" to humans. Ardina has worked to overcome this, but Arkan hasn't. Gender doesn't matter to them, nor do human "morals", or human ideas of time, for example. And if you think he's strange just because he doesn't mind what gender his lovers are, then...we'll just have to agree to disagree, I guess.
Yes...all of that is probably true, but in my mind I blame him. lol. I just don't like him. Ahh well.I think he has black hair. I think Alison described it as "dark/black plaits". So dark hair in braids. (lol...Arkan, our little femmy-man.)
And, Criselle, I courteously disagree.I have a fascination with Arkan. To me, what redeems him harming Maerad is that he never intended to. Arkan isn't human -- therefore, I don't expect him to think and feel and act like one. Thus, I don't think he's governed by our laws of Right and Wrong.
(Okay, I don't want to put this whole thing in a spoiler tag, and since we meet Arkan in the Riddle, everyone reading this should've read it by now. So, suffice to say, Riddle Spoiler Ahead!)
In response to some of the things you blamed on him:
1. Him killing Dharin. He didn't kill Dharin, he sent the Jussacks after them. Which amounted to the same thing, I suppose, but he didn't know that Dharin would be killed. And even if he did, he probably thinks of humans as flowers. Do we care if we kill a flower? No--there's millions of flowers, and they die in a few months anyway. To Arkan it's the same. Humans are gone so quickly (at least they appear to be, for an immortal), so what's the big difference if their life span is shortened twenty years? What's twenty compared to a millenium-- an eternity? Nothing.
2. Maerad losing her fingers. Maerad went North to ask the ancient tribe (I forget the name) to decipher the Treesong. She willingly chose to go North. She got captured by the Jussacks-- yes, on Arkan's order-- but it was the Jussack's fault, not Arkan's, that they didn't tend to her and make sure she didn't get frostbite.
3. Cadvan's "death". Well, since Cadvan didn't die, it didn't really affect Maerad much except for solidify her decision to search for the Treesong. (Yes, it caused her grief...but without that, she wouldn't have grown as a person. She needed that grief to mature.) Also, if Cadvan had never "died", Maerad and him probably would never have reconciled completely. I'm not saying that Arkan helped, necessarily, but at the same time he didn't try to hurt Maerad.
I suppose you could argue that if Arkan didn't exist, none of this would've happened, but I'm just saying that Arkan didn't intentionally do any of this.
(I'm not condoning his behavior, I'm just...I don't know, I suppose I'm trying to explain it.) He doesn't understand humans, because he isn't and never will be one. Therefore I don't blame him for his actions. In a way, he's like a child. You can't judge a child by the same rules you'd judge an adult by. Children don't understand certain things, and therefore are excused. I.e., if a child pushed their sibling and the sibling landed in a fire or something, you'd, I suppose, yell at the child for a bit-- but you wouldn't expect the child to fully comprehend how dangerous a fire is. BUT, if an adult pushed someone into a fire, there would be consequences. Adults are expected to know these rules-- children aren't.
Humans are expected to know these rules-- Elidhu aren't.
Also, one more thing-- About Arkan making Maerad miserable, once again, his intent wasn't to make her miserable. He tried to please her. But YET again, he's Elidhu-- he doesn't understand of her need for human comforts and human loves. He thought she'd prefer a palace to a cave, so he made it into a palace. He thought she'd prefer an illusion over the truth. Which she didn't-- but that doesn't make him the one who's at fault.
And:
Maerad loved him. Part of what made her miserable was her own feelings about him, which he did to some extent manipulate-- but he never created them. The feelings were in her already. And the blame lies with no one on that.
Also, in his way, he loved her. But a lack of understanding on both sides just made her miserable and him feel betrayed at the end. Which, once again, you can't blame either of them.
But this is my opinion, and you're entitled to yours.
(Sorry about the rant.)
He is such a different type of charecter...he isn't evil, he isn't good, he just does things for himself, I guess, and not for the good of the world or anything. He is so apart from it all. Ardina is too, but she is more involved then Arkan, I think. A very interesting charecter.
LOL, and that's ok. I wasn't saying that you should like him... Well, maybe I was. But it's fine agreeing to disagree, like Sirkana said about the whole bisexual thing.
yeah see i blame him because he makes everything so confusing in the relationship that maered ends up torn between whats right and what he wantsYes...all of that is probably true, but in my mind I blame him. lol. I just don't like him. Ahh well.
He is such a different type of charecter...he isn't evil, he isn't good, he just does things for himself, I guess, and not for the good of the world or anything. He is so apart from it all. Ardina is too, but she is more involved then Arkan, I think. A very interesting charecter.
See, I don't understand how Maerad could "love" him, considering his Elidhu mentality on...everything. Could anyone, in good conscience, really love someone who considers the people you care about as mere blips on his radar? I don't feel like someone who lacks humanity could ever deign to have love for anyone, other than themselves, because they're the only things that last.
I do see what you mean, FieryTopaz. Maerad is Elidhu, but human too. Could she really love and live with someone who had no human values, who was entirely controlling?
Despite this, I do believe Arkan is capable of love, just not in a way that Maerad could live with or, at the moment, understand. They could, possibly, have a short romance, but because of their differences I think it would quickly fall apart.
i agree....there would be a possibility of a romance, but more of desire than anything. for example, they can scarcely hold a conversation without getting into an argument. arkan would insist he's right, and maerad would just get frustrated. no healthy, strong relationship can all be about the sex. cross-species romances don't generally work, but in maerad's case (since she is half elidhu) she would feel an attraction towards arkan. her elidhu-self would be content, but her human side would be caged to the point of insanity. i think that's why maerad left him in the first place; she was caged and so needed to get out.
done ranting
I can agree with all of that. I think I had forgotten how Maerad's Elidhu background might make her even more susceptible to Arkan. Not to mention, desire's pretty powerful; I mean, who has never been swayed by a pretty face/body? It's hard to avoid getting sucked in.
(Especially when you don't particularly WANT to avoid it)
Yeah...mind you sometimes people can have completely different opinions on whether someone is handsome/beautiful or not...
off-topicness
oh well. I'll just say that I have one problem with the puzzle thing...you said that nothing else can ever fit. I think there is one piece that can. And that piece has a name beginning with "C"...!
Haha so true
i dont mind arkan..i mean at some points i just wanted to throw something at him but i dont hate him
i agree that because he's an elidhu hes not subject to the same sort of "rules/morals" as humans are
as far as him loving maerad..i dont doubt he did/does in some form, but to me it seems like a different kind of love..he desires to have the treesong back and that might have something do to with his desire for maerad; and as far as maerad loving him..i believe that part of her loves him (her elidhu side) but her human side doesnt...
anyway..enough rambling..besides what do i know...lol
I think I agree with you Kiaga...though Ardina helped her escape Arkan, and she discovered how to shapeshift, thus using her Elidhu powers, while escaping. So perhaps some of her Elidhu self is against Arkan...?
Me confused.
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