White Gold Wielder
Chapter 6: Part One — Six: Winter in Combat
by Donaldson, Stephen R.The chapter opens with Covenant and his companions finding temporary respite on a coastal shingle, where the milder climate offers a brief reprieve from the harsh winter. Covenant awakens to the unsettling sight of a growing ice spit extending from the glacier they had left, signaling the relentless pursuit of the arghuleh. The First confirms the threat, estimating they have until the next day before the creatures reach them. Despite their exhaustion, the company quickly prepares to depart, with the Giants showing resilience and determination, while Linden remains visibly strained by the journey’s toll.
As the group moves southwest, Covenant and Linden walk alongside the sleds, taking advantage of the bare ground. Covenant attempts to gauge Linden’s condition, but their progress is soon interrupted by heavy snowfall, forcing them to ride the sleds. The First navigates the treacherous terrain with ease, leading the company through the storm. When the snow clears, Covenant reflects on their mission to stop the Clave and extinguish the Banefire, a goal that fuels his anger and resolve. The thought of the Ranyhyn, now lost to the Sunbane, deepens his determination to confront the Land’s corruption.
Days pass as the company traverses a desolate, snow-covered plain, haunted by an unshakable sense of being hunted. Linden’s health-sense detects an unnatural unease in the winter landscape, though she cannot pinpoint its source. Eventually, they ascend into a mountain range, where the terrain becomes less severe, offering hope for faster progress. Covenant identifies the area as the Northron Climbs, a familiar landmark that suggests they are nearing Landsdrop, the boundary between the Lower and Upper Land—and the edge of the Sunbane’s influence.
The chapter concludes with the company gaining elevation and optimism, despite the lingering threat of the arghuleh and the unknown dangers ahead. Covenant’s recognition of the Northron Climbs renews his sense of purpose, as the group presses onward toward Landsdrop and their ultimate confrontation with the forces of the Sunbane. The mixture of hope and foreboding underscores the chapter’s tension, as the companions brace for the challenges that lie beyond the mountains.
FAQs
1. What evidence suggests the arghuleh are still pursuing Covenant’s company, and what does this reveal about their nature?
Answer:
The growing spit of ice extending from the glacier toward the company’s camp indicates the arghuleh’s relentless pursuit. The First confirms this by stating, “the arghuleh remain intent upon us,” despite the distance covered. This persistence reveals key traits of the arghuleh: their unnatural endurance, their ability to manipulate ice as a weapon or tool, and their single-minded hostility. The chapter emphasizes their threat by contrasting the company’s exhaustion with the arghuleh’s undiminished pursuit, underscoring their role as a relentless force of winter.2. How does the physical environment mirror the psychological states of Covenant and Linden in this chapter?
Answer:
The shifting landscape reflects the characters’ inner turmoil. Initially, the milder coastal climate offers Covenant a fleeting sense of thaw and peace, mirroring his hope for respite. However, the discovery of the arghuleh’s pursuit and the subsequent trek into a barren, snow-cloaked plain parallel his resurgence of anger and determination to confront Revelstone. Linden’s unease is mirrored by the “featureless white expanse” and her inability to articulate the “obscure disaster” she senses—a physical manifestation of her strained nerves and unclear premonitions. The environment thus externalizes their emotional arcs.3. Analyze the Giants’ resilience in this chapter. What specific details highlight their cultural values and morale?
Answer:
Despite exhaustion, the Giants demonstrate remarkable resilience rooted in their cultural ethos. Pitchwife’s recovering “light of attention and humour” reflects their valorization of spirit and camaraderie. Mistweave’s pride in future songs underscores their tradition of storytelling as motivation. The First’s leadership—her keen sight and pace—exemplifies their competence and duty. These details reveal a culture that prioritizes perseverance, collective memory (through songs), and purposeful action, even in adversity. Their morale is not just physical stamina but a deeper commitment to their quest’s significance.4. What strategic shift occurs in Covenant’s mindset regarding Revelstone, and why is it significant?
Answer:
Covenant shifts from passive endurance to active determination, embracing Linden’s idea to “Stop the Clave” as a moral imperative. He internalizes this goal, seeing it as a way to honor the Giants’ sacrifices and “make their service mean something.” This is significant because it marks his transition from reacting to Lord Foul’s designs to asserting his own agency—using anger as fuel for a specific, disruptive action against the Banefire. The chapter frames this as a pivotal moment, linking his personal resolve (“eagerness to reach Revelstone”) to broader thematic stakes of resistance.5. How does Linden’s health-sense contribute to the chapter’s tension, and what limitations does it present?
Answer:
Linden’s health-sense amplifies tension by detecting an “obscure disaster” in the winter’s unnatural forces, yet failing to pinpoint its source. This creates dramatic irony: the reader senses impending danger, but its form remains unclear. Her inability to articulate the threat—despite perceiving its “uneasiness”—highlights the limits of her power in ambiguous or nascent threats. This limitation mirrors the company’s broader vulnerability; even with her unique senses, they are still at the mercy of an environment that may be shaped by hostile, unseen forces like the arghuleh or Lord Foul’s influence.
Quotes
1. “In the water, a spit of ice was growing out from the cliff—from the same point at which the quest had left the glacier. It was wide enough to be solid. And it was aimed like a spear at the company’s camp.”
This quote marks a pivotal moment of tension as the company realizes the arghuleh (ice creatures) are actively hunting them, transforming the winter landscape from a passive challenge into an active threat. The imagery of the ice “spear” underscores the danger’s precision and malice.
2. “But the Giants had shed the worst of their exhaustion. The light of attention and humour in Pitchwife’s eyes showed that he had begun to recover his essential spirit.”
This passage highlights the resilience of the Giants, contrasting their renewed vigor with the looming peril. Pitchwife’s humor symbolizes hope and camaraderie, key themes in the group’s dynamic amid adversity.
3. “He began to think about his purpose more clearly. […] He could not hope to take Revelstone by surprise. Lord Foul surely knew that the Unbeliever would come back to the Land, counted on Covenant’s return for the fulfilment of his designs.”
Here, Covenant’s resolve crystallizes as he accepts the inevitability of confrontation with Lord Foul. The quote underscores the novel’s central conflict and Covenant’s strategic shift from evasion to deliberate defiance.
4. “Somewhere in this wasteland, an obscure disaster foregathered. But she had no idea what it was.”
Linden’s unease captures the chapter’s mounting suspense and the pervasive uncertainty of their journey. The “obscure disaster” foreshadows unseen threats, reinforcing the tension between perception and hidden danger.
5. “Unless we’re completely lost, this should be the Northron Climbs. […] When the company reached the cliff…”
Covenant’s recognition of the Northron Climbs injects a rare moment of geographical certainty and thematic significance, tying their physical journey to the Land’s lore. The truncated mention of Landsdrop hints at the impending transition into Sunbane territory, a critical narrative threshold.