the good, the bad and the ugly

[Caelan Arendor]

In Christian doctrine followers of evil, adherents of the fallen angel Lucifer, are not rewarded after death but are instead cast by the devil himself into eternal hellfire. In this way, Satan appears almost as God’s instrument of judgment, rather than granting the apostate—whom Christian doctrine calls the “sinner”—any form of reward or postmortem joy for following him. Where, then, lies the logic in this? 

 

Here I find striking parallels to our own epic: the Dark One is portrayed in the text as the ‘Father of Lies.’ His promises are never sincere; even the most faithful followers are tormented, betrayed, or destroyed the moment they falter or become expendable. The motif reveals that in the service of the Dark One no true reward exists—only exploitation and ruin.

 

I will try to sift out some examples and present them to you for evaluation at the appropriate time.

 

I have to reread about Alviarin (who ist tormented by Shaidar Haran), Galina Casban (captured by the Seanchan and left to her fate), Jaichim Carridin and many many more...