| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Modest Minotaur |
Posted - 14 Apr 2014 : 21:29:41
The following contains SPOILERS from The Sentinel by Troy Denning. Definitely do yourself a favor and read it before continuing on.
He’s back! He of the Unsleeping Eye, The Vigilant One, The Great Guard, The Watcher, so on and so forth… Helm lives – how wonderful! And who knew he was a goat the whole time. Sounds silly, but how the event occurred - the emotional and spiritual transcendence of the novel characters – was done so masterfully that the experience almost made me tear up. And now Helm walks the Realms again and the world feels all the more restored (even though Toril itself is literally coming apart at the moment).
However, I remain totally befuddled with Peox the goat, who or what it is, and how the creature relates to Helm the god. From what I gathered, Helm was seemingly trapped within its coarse hide for the last 100 years. Or perhaps Helm was the goat waiting to be restored by the right individual? It was obvious to everyone that the Watcher’s essence dwelled in beast somehow – the same beast that feasted on the tissue of corpses when it could. Regardless, the characters in the novel were just as perplexed with the goat as I was which makes me feel better about my life. It’s definitely a fun mystery that leaves me yearning for more clues about this brave and bizarre creature.
Did anyone have any different takes on Peox the goat? I feel like Peox’s story and place in the Realms is up for introspection and I’m curious about other readers’ take. |
| 13 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Tanthalas |
Posted - 20 Apr 2014 : 21:10:36
Eh, I didn't get the impression that Helm spent the last 100 years hiding in a goat.
If anything, I'm more inclined to believe that he was only in the goat recently waiting for Kleef to arrive, especially considering that one of the characters in the book mentions that the goat was only thrown out of the castle recently because it started making too much noise. |
| Eltheron |
Posted - 16 Apr 2014 : 21:05:32
I guess. I thought the goat was an exceptionally random plot element that made little to no sense.
Distracting, even.
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| Caolin |
Posted - 16 Apr 2014 : 20:56:49
I think we can all agree that it's a fun topic to theorize about. It was written in such a way that it leaves a lot of room for interpretation. |
| Eltheron |
Posted - 16 Apr 2014 : 20:22:22
Interesting theory.
I'm just pointing out that it's total and complete speculation to suggest that Helm's divine essence was inside the weird goat or that it was Helm's avatar.
No magic light or energy directly came out of or from the goat.
I agree that it was associated with Helm in some way, but we don't really know what that goat was.
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| Modest Minotaur |
Posted - 16 Apr 2014 : 19:49:38
I totally agree with Caolin’s interpretation. And I mean that’s all it is right? Because the author never explicitly tells us what the connection is between Helm and the goat, it’s up for interpretation and that’s why it’s fun to analyze and the point of this scroll. From the details already illustrated by Caolin and because to me it seemed like Helm’s essence was unlocked and coalesced directly from the goat when activated by Watcher (after Kleef’s epiphany), it’s not a leap to gather Helm was somehow directly associated with Peox. However, I also can appreciate what you (Eltheron) got from the scene and CAN see where you’re getting that Peox may have represented the spirit of vigilance or some divine metaphor/analogy because it’s reasonable enough and that’s your interpretation. |
| Caolin |
Posted - 16 Apr 2014 : 18:09:08
I don't have the exact quotes. But it it was said in the novel that the goat had the same blue eyes as the jewel in Kleef's sword. The goat also had the image of Helm's eye on it's back. SO it's not too far of a leap to think that the goat was an avatar of Helm. And that doesn't mean that Helm WAS the goat. It just meant that's where his divine presence was residing. |
| Eltheron |
Posted - 16 Apr 2014 : 17:07:30
I never got the impression that Helm was "inside" the goat, or some kind of avatar. For one thing, the goat is still around for a short while after Helm returns.
Helm is described as returning by light that coalesces into his form. I'm not sure where you're getting that Helm was inside the goat.
The goat might have represented the spirit of vigilance in some way (as a comparison, Odin's raven Muninn represents memory). Perhaps in the Realms "goat-headed" would mean something similar to our real world "bull-headed" (in the sense of holding fast to a given course of action regardless of whatever else is happening).
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| Thauranil |
Posted - 15 Apr 2014 : 13:59:33
I couldn't help myself. I read this scroll without reading the book first. But I am glad to that hear that one of my favorite gods has been resurrected. |
| Caolin |
Posted - 15 Apr 2014 : 03:07:10
Yes remnants of Mystra's divinity possessed a bear and survived the Spellplague in that form. An ingenious way to hide IMO. So it makes complete sense that Helm did the same thing with remnants of his divinity. To me this is the most simple and most plausible explanation. |
| sleyvas |
Posted - 15 Apr 2014 : 02:24:35
Oh, I haven't read the novel yet, I'm just pointing out that recently the gods find themselves stuff in places that we wouldn't expect them. In the example of Mystra, I don't believe we'd assume that the original Mystra was a bear. Why assume that the original helm was a goat (or maybe I'm misreading the interpretation)? |
| Modest Minotaur |
Posted - 15 Apr 2014 : 01:15:54
Caolin – It could definitely be that simple. But because the goat was presented as such a bizarre and intriguing personality, it makes wonder if there was a deeper, unforeseen association between it and Helm. Or maybe that’s just me digging. I just can’t help but wonder how he got from losing a duel and dying to becoming imbued with Peox – especially considering their location. It’s also interesting to note that both he and his chosen became part of love triangle that was somehow associated with Cyric. I’m probably thinking too far into it – but its fun.
sleyvas – Yes? I’m not totally following the meaning of your contribution as I’m not arguing it was bad that Helm was a goat or that he is the only deity to have an odd avatar. I’m attempting to explore the context and meaning of the goat in relationship to Helm as it 's not transparent in the novel.
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| sleyvas |
Posted - 14 Apr 2014 : 23:25:26
Ummmm.... Mystra was a bear.... |
| Caolin |
Posted - 14 Apr 2014 : 23:07:42
I originally assumed that Helm was just using the goat as an avatar like Cyric did with the dead tree. But you bring up a good point. The text can be read in a way that presumes Helm was trapped in the goat. |
