Subject: (urth) Abaia and the Claw

From: Jeffrey Lefstin <jeff.lefstin at stanfordalumni.org>
Date: Mon, 18 Apr 2005 20:22:46 +0000

The recent discussion of what role Abaia plays in the new Urth prompts 
me to note the interest Abaia seems to show in the Claw.

Recall that in the beginning of CotC, Severian revisits the dream he 
had when he shared Baldanders's bed, and says:  "Then very suddenly, I 
who had been blind before understood why it was that Abaia had sent me 
this dream, and had sought to enlist me in the great and final war of 
Urth."

Well thanks a lot Sev;  care to enlighten the rest of us?  Here's my 
guess:

Severian's recounting of the dream differs from his original 
description, inter alia, in the use of the words AZURE, SAND-GARDEN, 
and TALON.  Anyone familiar with BotNS would immediately think of the 
Claw if given just those three words.  Perhaps Abaia seeks to enlist 
Severian because, in addition to foreseeing that Severian will become 
Autarch, Abaia foresees that Severian will wield the Claw;  Severian 
only realizes this after he learns that he possesses the Claw.

A connection is directly referenced when, at the end of CotA, Severian 
muses on where the Claw might draw its power from.  He there speculates 
that the power of the Claw comes from Abaia & Co., who, having seen 
Severian's destiny, "found me again, and thereafter my course was 
twisted by the Claw."

In UotNS, the power of the Claw is shown to come from Sev himself.  But 
Abaia's interest in the Claw remains.  Idas, Abaia's minion, ransacks 
Severian's cabin looking for "something so small it might have been 
concealed in the collar of a shirt."  While Severian is ready to 
torture Idas in order to get Idas to tell him what it was, I think it's 
a no-brainer for us that Idas was trying to find the thorn that will 
become the Claw - what else is there?
Maybe then Idas is trying to prevent the Claw from coming into 
existence;  though the thorn got a drop of Severian's blood when he 
first found it, I read Apheta's explanation ("It was saturated with 
your blood") to mean that the thorn did not become the Claw until 
Severian jammed it good into his finger.
That takes place, of course, when Severian tries to use it to revive 
the steward.  Whom Idas has killed trying to find the thorn.  So Idas, 
in trying to prevent the Claw from coming into existence, is actually 
the reason it comes to be....

---

From: thalassocrat at nym.hush.com <thalassocrat at nym.hush.com>
Date: Tue, 19 Apr 2005 17:41:16 +0000

On Mon, 18 Apr 2005 20:22:41 -0700 Jeffrey Lefstin 
<jeff.lefstin at stanfordalumni.org> wrote:
> ...In UotNS, the power of the Claw is shown to come from Sev 
himself. 
> But 
>torture Idas in order to get Idas to tell him what it was, I think 

>it's 

That's interesting, but didn't Idas say she was actually searching 
for Inire's letter endorsing Sev as Autarch to the Hierogrammates? 
I don't recall the exact details. Somehow I got the impression that 

the plan might have been to substitute somebody else for Sev at the 

trial - which is kind of what happened in the end.

---

From: Matt Tillman <tillmas at verizon.net>
Date: Wed, 20 Apr 2005 15:32:50 +0000

>trial - which is kind of what happened in the end. 

Actually, Idas said that she found the letter and burned it.  However, 
she never claimed to be doing it so that Sev wouldn't make it to the 
trial.  However, it was shortly after Idas ransacked his quarters that 
Gunnie told Sev not to worry that "The Autarch" had been found and was safe.

-Matt

---

From: Jeffrey Lefstin <jeff.lefstin at stanfordalumni.org>
Date: Wed, 20 Apr 2005 17:43:28 +0000

> trial - which is kind of what happened in the end.
Something else as well, at least according to Severian:

Sev: "What were you looking for?"
Idas: "Your letter, the one that the aquastors of Urth gave you for the 
Hierogrammate.  I found it and burned it there in your own stateroom."  
Her voice held a note of triumph now.
Sev: "You would have found that easily enough.  You were looking for 
something else too, something you expected to be hidden.  In a moment 
or two I'm going to hurt you very badly unless you tell me what that 
was."

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From: studio at studiobl.com <studio at studiobl.com>
Date: Fri, 22 Apr 2005 12:41:36 +0000

Hmmm...part of a plant that, when infused with human blood, has healing 
powers.  Sounds kind of Neighbor-ly.  I wonder what the Neighbor held 
to Horn's forehead when he was restoring him--a thorn?

Also: a conciliator brings together two opposing sides--like animal and 
vegetable?  Could the Conciliator somehow be linked to the idea of a 
human/plant hybrid?

Brian Lovely

Studio bl
http://www.studiobl.com

---

From: Stanisław Bocian <sbocian at poczta.fm>
Date: Wed, 27 Apr 2005 14:23:22 +0000

Friday, April 22, 2005, 9:42:41 PM, studio at studiobl.com wrote:

ssc> Also: a conciliator brings together two opposing sides--like animal and 
ssc> vegetable?  Could the Conciliator somehow be linked to the idea of a 
ssc> human/plant hybrid?

I would rather associate Conciliator with Paraclete

Paraclete

 [Old & mod. French paraclet from ecclesiastical Latin paracletus from
 Greek paraklUtos advocate, intercessor, from parakalein call to one's
 aid, formed as PARA-1 + kalein to call.]

1. Christian Theology. A title of the Holy Spirit, esp. as an advocate
or intercessor. ME.
† 2. (paraclete.) gen. An advocate, an intercessor. M16–E18.

-- 
    Stanis³aw Bocian

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