[littlemanpoet]

Originally Posted by Formendacil

I get it... and I'm not TRYING to make things more difficult... but there seems to me to be a contradiction here.

Roy dreaming as Raefindan IN THE SAME MANNER as Raefindan dreaming as Imrazor implies that Raefindan exists in Middle-Earth, quite apart from Roy, just as Imrazor existed, quite apart from Raefindan.

However, all indications thus far have been that Raefindan IS Roy- but in Middle-Earth. Take away the dreamer and you are left with... nobody. Raefindan cannot exist without Roy, since he wholly and totally is Roy- he has no other history or memory AS RAEFINDAN from prior to when Roy and he begin to coexist- whereas Imrazor (or so my reading seemed to imply)- though his experiences are wholly shared and experienced by Raefindan- existed on his own, with his own history and memories, prior to when Raefindan first started dreaming him.

Does that make sense?

Yes.

However, I think you're forcing distinctions that need not exist. Let there be the 'logic' of mythic unities rather than the 'logic' of distinctions. With the logic of distinctions, you can choose to interpret it the way Formy does, or the way Celuien does. But with the logic of mythic unities, you allow the story to live and the paradox to remain, and see what the story shows.

My understanding of the story has matured as I've written my posts. That's the nature of rough drafting. There are things I would have written in earlier had I known them. I'm not sure whether I want to say that Raefindan had an existence in Middle Earth prior to finding himself before the gates of Minas Tirith, or not. So I won't. I'll leave it a mystery. No, make that, I'll leave it a Mythic Unity. Because I think that mythic unity is what I, and we, are shooting for with this. And if that creates all kinds of new questions, there's a certain thread I can refer you to.....

Oh, and on a sillier note, I must take offence at your calling transubstantiation a "Roman Rite" doctrine. You do a great disservice to the Eastern Rite Catholics. And certain Anglicans.

Here I was trying to be considerate. I can't win.

Just remember, we are all of us rough drafting, and we may stumble and post things that we will say "No, that doesn't work" later. But in the meantime, let the story live. Don't try to analyze it to death. You run the risk of killing the story.