#radiscussion

Hi Anon! Don’t worry – your English is practically perfect in every way!

When it comes to Wargals, there’s not actually that much we know before Morgarath brainwashed them into the killing machines we’ve gotten to know in the main series. The most information we have can be found in the prequels. For the sake of clarity, I’m going to describe everything we know based on what they were like before, during and after Morgarath.

Before Morgarath

All of our information on the Wargals before Morgarath comes from Tournament at Gorlan and Battle at Hackham Heath. For this, I’m going to include the Wargal’s actions shown at the beginning of Morgarath’s control over them, as it says that he hadn’t gotten complete control over them by Hackham Heath and their ancient customs sometimes seeps through.

Before Morgarath, the Wargals were a recluse race that was broken into tribes. Each tribe had their own chieftain and – if the tribe structure is similar to ours – elders who would help pass on their customs and stories. Because of this, they had fierce familial ties and felt death and loss intensely. They lived in caves in the Mountains of Rain and Night and were carnivores. While they communicated mainly through thoughts in their hive-mind, they could also communicate through different toned grunts and they even had songs.

Wargals were known to be peaceful in general but could be incredibly savage and brutal when provoked. For example, Norman was able to live peacefully with them for years as long as he kept to himself, but they had violently rebelled against King Prescott when he tried to turn them into an army but lost control of them after a drunken phase.

After Morgarath

In the first few books of RA, Flanagan describes the Wargals as one minded, senseless killing machines. They are mainly fearless with their biggest weakness being horses, and they can take multiple hits before succumbing to their wounds.

Physically, they are quick but incredibly clumsy and prefer to fight with their hands but will also use weapons like axes, maces, clubs and swords. They are also capable of fighting strategically and independently, as shown with the death of Dirk Reacher in BB. Some of them are bred specifically for their size, strength, and savagery, as Halt notices a special unit of Wargals attacking the right flank in his retelling of his meeting with Daniel in LS.

As far as social hierarchies are concerned, they are a highly hierarchical group but only in the same way that the military is strongly separated by ranks. A few times it is made clear that one Wargal may have more power over others or capable of more independent thought than those in the common ranks.

Post Morgarath

After Morgarath’s defeat in BB, it’s difficult to say whether they returned to their previous ways of living or not. They are described as child-like and purposeless, which isn’t what they were like before. This could be because of two reasons: Flanagan wrote the Wargals before he had fully fleshed out their society, or that the Wargals were so connected to Morgarath for so long, that a significant amount of their minds had lost the ability to function without him. Remember, it is possible that the majority of Wargals at that time weren’t alive in a time without Morgarath. And without their tribal chieftains and elders to help them process and learn their ways, the Wargal hive-mind would have been metaphorically lost. I’m not actually sure if they could ever recover from it – especially if all of their elders and those who lived before had already died.

 Sorry this took so long to answer. It was a really good question and I honestly don’t know why it took me so long. Like always, I hope you guys liked and understood all of that! Join in on the conversation by either sending us an ask, or by reblogging this analysis and tagging it #raanalysis with your thoughts. Do you have questions or thoughts on future analysis? Please send us an ask or submit it to us.

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Hi thebutterflyranger! Thanks for the question – it definitely led me on a bit of a goose chase!

Before we get started, I just want to point out that this post will discuss various modern and historical drugs and addictions. This blog does not encourage the use of illegal or dangerous drugs and if you have any concerns about drug addictions or would like more information, I would recommend that you talk to your doctor or your local drug addiction service. Stay safe my friends.

In the world of addictions, there are many different ways why someone may either be drawn to an addiction or to continue in their addiction, but they can basically be broken into two types: physical and emotional. For example, physical addiction to smoking is connected to how the body reacts to it and the effects it has on the body. Usually once the physical desires are taken away, such as through nicotine patches, a person will find it easier to quit as the physical connection is broken. Someone with an emotional addiction either started their addiction or remains in it because they have turned it into a coping strategy. Smokers wanting to quit who have an emotional addiction will be able to stay off it for a bit until something comes up, like stress or grief or even anger and frustration. As Psychologytoday.com points out, “When emotional suffering is caused by the intolerable conditions of life (tragedy), a quick ‘fix’ offers immediate satisfaction and escape from misery… Unfortunately, over time the brain of [an addict] adjusts o the continuous consumption … and instead of [taking it] to feel good, the person ends up [taking it] to feel normal”. If a drug is taken as a coping mechanism, then it doesn’t matter how ‘harmless’ or ‘scary’ it may be. It just begins this dangerous cycle unless processed and replaced with another – healthier – coping mechanism. Fortunately for Will, his addiction was physical. He took it for the physical effect on his body not the emotional support it gave him. In addition to this, he didn’t keep revisiting it or having a desire for it when Evanlyn was taken or after their return to Hallasholm.

So what sort of drug could have caused this? Before we get into a list of contenders, we need to outline what we know of warmweed. This way we know what we’re looking for. Warmweed is described as a bundle of dried herbs and is taken orally. It creates warmth in the user and has an almost immediate effect. Some of the side effects include loss of interest to live, loss of memory and ability to problem solve and think independently, and the person’s ability to connect to those around them. It requires a slow and gradual weaning of the drug over time to stop the addiction and withdrawal symptoms includes seizures.

While you are right that Methamphetamines are similar - they raise the body’s temperature and can cause hyperthermia - it also increases the user’s perceptions and talkativeness and is either smoked, snorted, injected, or swallowed in a pill. These are things that we don’t see in Will’s behaviour or in how he describes it. Other drugs – such as amphetamines, cocaine, and monoamine oxidase inhibitors – can also create this effect. Our biggest issue is that all of these drugs are modern and are not dried herb-like. They also had similar heightened side effects instead of the dulling that Will displayed. But what caught my attention with this is that they are able to inhibit the body’s ability to regulate its temperature, which got me thinking: what if warmweed didn’t create heat but instead took away the person’s ability to feel the cold? If this is true, then a whole new range of drugs are available.

The most obvious one to me was opium. Originally grown in Ancient Suma (modern Iraq), opium soon spread to Ancient Egypt and was traded across Europe for centuries, only reaching China in 400 AD. Opium is a pain suppressant and is known for causing the body to relax and for the user to feel intensely happy. If Will took something like opium, then allowing the body to relax and stop contracting with the cold could allow him to feel warmer as the blood would be allowed to flow freely through the body. Opium, however, does also cause drowsiness, confusion, nausea, constipation, and slowed breathing – some of which we don’t see in Will. Opium is also harvested as the sap of the opium pod and has a latex-like consistency – again, not the dried herbs given to Will.

The next contestant is called Wild Lettuce, or Opium Lettuce, due to its painkilling properties and similarities to opium (although with far less side effects). Wild Lettuce grows throughout Europe, North America and the Middle East, and was used during the medieval period as an anaesthetic and sedative for surgery. While the most potent part of the plant is through its sap, its leaves have been used for the same effect, albeit with vastly minimized effects.

The last contender is a plant called Henbane and was often used in Viking beer before hops or barley became popular. It was also used as the base of a drink the Vikings would consume before going into battle and turning into a berserker. In addition to this, it was also widely used as an anaesthetic and its leaves could be consumed to get the desired effect. It was also strongly psychoactive, however, although I’m not sure in which way. Some psychoactive drugs – like cocaine and LSD – have a strong heightening effect where it impacts their senses and perceptions of the world. Depressants and opioids, however, are more focused in their effects and can dull the user. If this is the case, then we may have found our drug.

There are a few other drugs out there that I looked at, such as Hemlock and Belladonna (although they are poisonous, they were also used in small amounts as anaesthetics and sedatives), but these were the only ones that I felt ticked the most boxes. I honestly think that Henbane is our best bet, but even that has a few question marks around it. It is also possible that such a drug doesn’t exist and Flanagan created a fictional drug to serve the plot.

Like always, I hope you guys enjoyed it! Join in on the conversation by either sending us an ask, or by reblogging this analysis and tagging it #raanalysis with your thoughts. Do you have questions or thoughts on future analysis’? Please send us an ask or submit it to us.

If you are interested in becoming a RA Analysis writer, let us know! We’d love to have you :)

Hi Anon friends! Thanks for the excellent question! There are a few reasons why Castle Gorlan was destroyed.

Book

Based on what Hackham Heath, Duncan wanted Gorlan to be demolished to prevent Morgarath from having a potential headquarters back in the Kingdom. This makes sense as all of Morgarath’s resources and sources of income are attached to Gorlan. Even with a new Baron instated in his place, Morgarath could still overthrow a Baron and receive a strong backing when he re-entered Araluen. In addition to this, there was no way for Duncan or anyone else to know if Morgarath had hidden anything to aid in his usurpation, such as weapons, documents, army resources (like training resources, saddles, armour, stables, etc.), and records, as well as any other hidden passages that he may have created and treasure he may have hidden. Remember – Morgarath left with only what he could get others to carry. There would have been a lot of stuff he left behind. This was the only sure fire way that Duncan could be sure that Morgarath wouldn’t return with the same strength he had when he left.

Symbolism

Medgar Evers once said that “You can kill a man, but you can’t kill an idea”. In many ways, this is true. When Morgarath left, there were still many Barons that were either supportive of him or not completely against him. While it would have been easy to put another Baron into Gorlan, it would forever be seen as a symbol of rebellion and be a constant reminder to his potential supporters of who Morgarath was/is.

Historically

I wanted to include this section because I think Flanagan was inspired by some historical events and I also think that we can always learn from the past (btw, this is about to turn into a bit of a history lesson – just to let you know).

Two events really stand out to me when it comes to destroying an enemy’s architecture. The first one is from Ancient Rome and the Siege of Carthage. Carthage – the capital of Northern Africa – was a common enemy of Ancient Rome and was laid siege to around 149-146 BC. It was the key event in the Third Punic War (a series of wars between Carthage and the Roman Empire). It started when the Carthaginians grew restless after Rome’s lack of military support when part of Carthage’s lands were being annexed by the Numidians and they decided to declare war on Rome. After a hard-fought victory, Rome decided to not only plough the city into the ground but, according to various historians, they also sowed salt into the ground to prevent anything from growing there again. This is because cities – especially capitals – are established due to their proximity to water, fertile land, and trade routes. If you truly want to destroy a country or nation, you prevent them from using the natural and human resources needed to rebuild. In the same way, Castle Gorlan was strategically located to make the most of the natural resources around it. That’s what made it so prosperous. Razing it to the ground ensures that, like Carthage, nothing can continue to grow there or be rebuilt.

The second event is more recent: Germany post-WWI. This event explains why another Baron couldn’t have just taken over. Germany was a powerhouse in Europe before WWI in the same way that America and China are powerhouses. During the early 1900s, however, there were quite a few powerhouses in Europe, and all of them were waiting for the perfect time to display their power and dominance over the others. This came when the Arch-Duke of Austria Franz Ferdinand was assassinated by Serbian extremists. One thing led to another and it wasn’t long before the different powerhouses chose sides and began flaunting their dominance. Unfortunately for Germany, America decided to get involved after the Lusitania, a British cruise ship that was accused of carrying guns and ammunition despite having no evidence for the fact, was torpedoed by a German submarine – killing 128 American passengers. With a last boost from America, the Triple Entente won.

As the strongest and wealthiest of the countries on the Central Powers, Germany was unfairly focused on in the Treaty of Versailles and was made to not only pay reparations to the Entente but to sign the guilt clause, or Article 231. This stated that Germany would accept responsibility for starting the war and causing all of the damage made to Europe and supporting areas. Not only did this aggravate the German populace, it also put them in massive debt. The reparations was equivalent to US$442 billion today and they were also required to limit their military, making the nation incredibly vulnerable. The nation was broken, but not destroyed. You know who fixed it? Adolf Hitler. Germany went from debt-ridden poverty to being even stronger than they were before WWI. Through limiting their opponent, the European powers actually ensured that they could rise again. If they had been more lenient in the Treaty, Germany would not have suffered so much and would have not motivation to go to war a few decades later. If they had been harsher, Germany wouldn’t have been able to survive. Duncan is in the same scenario – if he leaves Gorlan as is, then it is possible that Morgarath or another leader would be able to bring it back to its former dangerous glory. His only option was to destroy it. It was the only way he could be certain.

Like always, I hope you guys enjoyed it! Join in on the conversation by either sending us an ask, or by reblogging this analysis and tagging it #raanalysis with your thoughts. Do you have questions or thoughts on future analysis’? Please send us an ask or submit it to us.

If you are interested in becoming a RA Analysis writer, let us know! We’d love to have you :)