I started reading the prequel to Robert Jordan's (James Oliver Rigney, Jr.) the Wheel Of Time (WoT) series. I've already read the 11 main books. He died too young and I'm sure he had a lot of stories left to tell. As I was reading, a thought and possible idea for a TG fan fiction occurred to me.
A short, quick and incomplete background for those not familiar with the WoT universe. There is an 'energy' source called the "One Power". Very few people can 'touch' and 'use' the One Power. Using the One Power is called 'channeling'. The One Power is divided into 2 halves called "saidar" and "saidin". Men who can channel inherently use saidin. Women who can channel use saidar. It's an automatic thing.
What would happen if a male inherently channeled saidar instead of saidin? Given the social structures in place, would the Aes Sedai, sorry too lengthy to explain, still kill or 'gentle' that male, or would some of them try to accept that person as Aes Sedai and all that would imply? Of course there are possible, maybe probable, physical and mental changes involved in using something that is totally female in it's nature.
Whatcha' think?
Brenda
I don't know the books you mention
but as you seem to be so clued up, why don't you have a go? If you're nervous of posting, get one or two trial reads first.
God luck.
Angharad
Angharad
Power is power...
I must confess I too am ignorant of the stories to which you refer, but from what I have read/heard/seen, power is power.
Whether it be the power of information (holding something over another - using information to further one's own ends, such as insider trading etc) or whether it is an ability, the wielder of said power is governed by his or her own instincts or influences.
If that person is influenced towards self gratification, then that is generally termed as black, but if that person is honest and wholesome (yes, there may be one or two about), then that is usually referred to as white.
Whether the power to which you refer is gender specific or not, may well have an effect, but surely, they way in which it is wielded is down to the individual isn't it?
I'm not trying to cast aspersions on your idea, but to throw some further thinking your way.
Have a go.
As Ang says, chuck it at a few people first and see what they think, or perhaps you could take the idea and change it enough to make it your own, there seems plenty of scope there.
Good luck
NB
Power is power...
Absolute power corrupts…; absolutely. I think it’s a
great idea for us to get to watch it change him slowly.
You should do it with due care to an even greater power
than the one source in this universe - copyrights.
Sarah Lynn
I half agree
in the material world yes, in the metaphysical, it's different and often dualistic or as in the Qabalah, force and form, which balance to give the middle pillar. Here the male essence is seen as force or vice versa, whilst the female is seen as form, enabling the force to become something, but they need each other to be in balance.
Energies can feel very masculine or feminine, be they generated or amplified by people, places or even ideas. It isn't a conscious thing, it's just how they feel to the recipient, and that can be different depending upon the individual. But if you go to a temple of Apollo it feels very different to a temple of Aphrodite, just the energy never mind the buildings, as do stone circles used keyed into Lunar energy as those which are Solar.
Angharad
Angharad
I half agree too
But it's not what the power is, it's how its used, which is what I see as important.
Both Apollo and Aphrodite were Gods and whilst they may have had different abilities, it's what they chose to do with those abilities that made them either good or bad.
Brenda was considering whether or not the power that her 'hero' was to wield would manifest as it did in the other men and centre itself around fighting - a warrior spirit if you like. On the other hand, it may manifest itself by making him more gentle.
I do not disagree with the masculine and the feminine, but what is done with it. There are good witches and bad witches, good sorcerers and bad sorcerers, both male and female.
I feel we may be coming at this from two completely different angles here where I think that regardless of whether the power is one gender or the other, it depends upon the individual how it is used, where you are stating that one if different than the other.
I don't disagree with that at all and no, I don't know how being able to use a feminine power would affect him.
NB
Universe Clarification
Wasn't it Jim Henson who said, "Without faith, I am nothing," after all? No, wait, that was God. Sorry, common mistake to make...
Reversed
Saidin is the male power and Saidar is the female, although it would seem to be the other way around because saidar seems like a harsher word. Ah, yes, the Red Ajah -- the man haters of the WoT. Geez, what is it about about women with power? The Bene Gesserit, the Aes sedai, and the Sisters in Terry Goodkind's universe all have major attitudes and superiority complexes. Of course, those universes were all written by men ....
Ro"Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony."
Mahatma Gandhi
"Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony."
Mahatma Gandhi
Saidin, Saidar
Well, there is one TG character, Arang'ar, or something like that. She is one of the Forsaken, who the Dark One caused to return to life as a woman. She channels saidin, so it seems to be the spirit, not the body that determines the kind of channeling. A man channeling saidar is unheard of in the WoT, so I think that you'd violate the rules of the universe if you tried it.
I remember when Nynaeve and Rand Al'Thor were linked with ter'angreal when they were trying to cleanse saidin. Saidin and saidar were incomprehensible to each other, and nearly polar opposites: saidar was smooth and flowed like a river -- a woman needed calm to wield it, and saidin raged like wildfire and had to be wrestled to gain control.
I Don't know if Robert Jordan's estate would permit a fanfic, either. Somehow, I don't think that it would. Why not create your own fantasy universe? The Wheel of Time world, although incredibly detailed, has a lot of similarities with other fantasy universes. Terry Goodkind's Sword of Truth universe is remarkably close to it in many respects.
Although he'd been expecting to die for quite a while, Robert Jordan was doing well until he died unexpectedly. He was determined to finish the last book, a huge one, and left a lot of notes and plot outlines. Thank you, Robert! His widow has already chosen a pretty decent writer to finish it.
Aardvark
"Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony."
Mahatma Gandhi
"Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony."
Mahatma Gandhi
Arang'ar
I'd forgotten about that character.
A little background, in the 'Age of Legends', saidin was 'untainted' and males who could channel did so without going insane. Halima was a male who could channel strongly and became a supporter of the 'Dark One' (DO), think 'the Devil'. Those strongest, male and female, channelers who supported the DO are referred to as 'the Forsaken'. Halima was one of the Forsaken. Halima 'died', I forget how, and the DO was NOT pleased, I forget why, and he returned Halima to life but as a woman, named Arang'ar, and not as strong a channeler as when she was Halima.
You're right in that it appears to be the spirit that determines whether a person channels saidin or saidar. So if a physical male is born but with a female spirit, and they could channel, then they would presumably channel saidar.
I too STRONGLY doubt that Jordan's estate would give permission. However, fanfics are written all the time for different copyrighted universes and as long as no money is exchanged, I've never heard of a legal issue made over it. But then, ....
Brenda
Basis
Edeyn Hannah Blackeney
Legal Issues
There have been legal issues over fanfics, for sure. The Star Trek universe permits them because they dovetail so well with the Star Trek films and series. I think they reason that it's free advertising. So far, I've only seen one Star Trek takeoff film, a pretty darn good amateur work called Star Trek Aurora, made with Poser and Cinema 4D. It's a work in progress and maybe about 30-40 minutes of it have been made so far.
Most of the print authors feel otherwise. I know for a fact that Orsen Scott Card and John Norman don't permit it. I found out about a month ago that John Norman, who is still writing Gor novels (!), has directly contacted at least one Gor fan site and told them to take down Gor fanfic. A bunch more, like JK Rowling, don't like them either and have sometimes taken legal action. They may be flattered (occasionally, if it's half-way decent), but consider it copyrighted material in competition with their own work, and therefor taking money from the authors. Just because someone writes something and doesn't take money for it does not mean that it isn't covered by the copyright laws. Fair use is more limited than many think.
By the way, I think that the Zhor universe is reasonably safe and could be ironclad safe with a few minor modifications. For obvious reasons, the average Gor fan is highly unlikely to cross over to Zhor -- heck, Zhor was created because Gor didn't deal with the issues Overlord wanted to explore. The similarities are mostly common to other universes; the details came 99+% right out of my head; there are significant differences, especially the central "gimmick"; it never refers to any Gorean terms, people, or cities, and the few details that are close to Gor, some of which well may be common to other universes, can be changed easily without undue harm to the story, but it is still a little worrying. I'd be honored to exchange email with The Man who led the counter-revolution to the anti-male feminist revolution of the 60's and 70's, but it would really suck to have the subject matter concern the removal or modification of Warrior; something that took me a lot of angst and effort to create.
Aardvark
"Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony."
Mahatma Gandhi
"Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony."
Mahatma Gandhi
*blink*
Edeyn Hannah Blackeney
I'd love to ...
... see it. Although that universe has its problems -- RJ seemed to pull new powers out of his hat every time I turned around and discovered a new woman in each book, more powerful than any in thousands of years, again and again, I loved it. I made it through book 9, and decided to wait until the series was finished before I bought any more.
Aardvark
"Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony."
Mahatma Gandhi
"Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony."
Mahatma Gandhi
Well, now...
Oh, and yes, I reversed Saidar and Saidin -- it's been awhile since I read the durn books!
Edeyn Hannah Blackeney
Absolutely!
I'd love to read it!
Brenda
Don't need my permission :)
But if you think you do, you've got more. Please, do post it. How's that? :)
- Erin
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
Gotta dig it out
Edeyn Hannah Blackeney