Tad Williams, Shadowmarch, Prelude

One of my favourite things at the TWMB are the threads of the massive Memory, Sorrow and Thorn group reread, which mostly happened before I joined the board.

So I am all the more excited to participate in a similar project now - this time we’re tackling Shadowmarch.

And the more, the merrier, so if you’ve been meaning to reread Shadowmarch, come join us! Or even if you’re reading it for the first time, and want to discuss it with someone (in that case, I and hopefully my fellow Mantis..es?...idae?...moderator-like beings?,  will make sure spoiler warnings are added where needed.)

We’re doing three chapters a week, and we’ve just started the second week, so not too much to catch up on yet - but you’re also always welcome to comment on older threads.

from The Bonefall Oracles

Tad Williams, Shadowmarch, chapter 2

I’ve long had a nagging suspicion in the back of my mind that the names of the gods in Shadowmarch (mentioned so far in my reread: Perin, Erivor, Kernios, Zoria) are based on real mythology, and I think I found a few of them now:

Perin, the lord of the sky. Perun is the god of the sky in Slavic mythology.

Just skimming this article now, but so far I've found: Erisvorsh (God of the storm, wind and thunder. He is an aspect, name, or associate of Perun.) Zorya (Zorya is the goddess of beauty, virgin associated with war and with Perun.) Kirnis (Tutelary deity of cherries.) Zosim (I think there is a Zosim in Shadowmarch?) (Tutelary deity of bees)

Not a god, but the name Ynnir reminds me of Ymir, but I'm too tired to read much and try to puzzle out a connection.

(Come join our Reread at tadwilliams.com/forum!)

“You seek this castle’s mirror-twin, far in the haunted north, the great fortress of the immortal Qar.”

I always assumed it meant it was a mirrored, but otherwise identical version of Southmarch castle, but with the description of the hall, that doesn’t make sense. So I guess it’s supposed to mean “a creepy, distorted twin” - aren’t there supposed to be creepy, distorted versions of reality behind mirrors?

Other suggestions during the discussion:

Sahi: “Or maybe like twin cities, you know those cities that make some sort of pact, only with mirrors?”

@derharlekin: And yes, I thought that the mirror-twin castle, Qul-nar-Qar, is not a literal twin, but more like......the equivlanet of the Southmark castle. How such a building would look like in the dark and magical lands up north, compared to the sunlight lands. 

(Come join our Reread at tadwilliams.com/forum!)