# Quetzal the enigma *The Urth list — 2 messages, 2 voices, 08 Mar 2003* > Exported from an unofficial mirror of a public mailing list. Copyright > in each message remains with the person who wrote it. > Email addresses are obscured as `user at host`, the form the original > archive published. This file was rebuilt from parsed fields rather than > retained headers, so it is faithful in content but not byte-exact. --- ### Lisa Schaffer-Doggett *08 Mar 2003, 23:47* I have two things to say here and the are more musings out loud than anything. The first is this: If Green is Urth (or Ushas) what does that say about Quetzal's dying intentions? The second is a quote from Graves: "The most familiar icon of Agean religion is therefore a Moon-woman, a Star-son, and a wise spotted Serpent grouped under a fruit-tree - Artemis, Hercules and Erechtheus. Star-son and Serpent are at war; one succeeds the other in the Moon-woman's favour, as summer succeeds winter, and winter succeeds summer; as death succeeds birth and birth succeeds death." "There are as yet no fathers, for the Serpent is no more the father of the Star-son than the Star-son is of the Serpent. They are twins, and here we are returned to the single poetic Theme." The White Goddess p. 388 I can't help but think of the way that Krait in SS is essentially Sinew. Is Quetzal also Silk? Or even Typhon? ('"You thought me dead when I was only dry"' Sword p.137) He certainly knows a lot of the history of the Whorl and its making and a lot about Typhon. Don --- ### Jeff Veyera *09 Mar 2003, 04:14 · follows Lisa Schaffer-Doggett* Don wrote: I can't help but think of the way that Krait in SS is essentially Sinew. Is Quetzal also Silk? Or even Typhon? ('"You thought me dead when I was only dry"' Sword p.137) He certainly knows a lot of the history of the Whorl and its making and a lot about Typhon. Teflon replies: I think Quetzal's knowledge is a result of spending decades in close proximity to the Ayuntamiento, who clearly had this knowledge. I don't see any similarity between Quetzal and Silk---Wolfe makes Quetzal quite distinct from anyone else, whereas Krait is a very idealized Sinew. I think Wolfe's making another point here regarding identity---Krait is Sinew as Horn wishes him to be; Sinew is Sinew, period. It's no wonder Horn and Sinew clash constantly, and no wonder Horn feels closer to Krait. It is interesting that Horn can overlook Krait's inhumanity and misdeeds, at least to an extent, but cannot forgive Sinew. Then along comes Silk with his "love everybody" stuff; Horn's children cannot believe this elderly flower child's wandering about calling himself Horn. That's my read, anyway. Teflon93 ---