Lord Foul's Bane (Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever): 1 (The First Chronicles: Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever)

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A mysterious and hostile creature that inhabits and, to a certain extent controls the Sarangrave Flats and the swamp Lifeswallower. it doesn't directly serve Foul but is just as evil.—- The Strategist: Played with. Troy's very good — but Fleshharrower's army is so much more powerful that it (almost) doesn't matter. A physician from the "real" world, Linden is a driven and dedicated healer but is haunted by the ghosts of her past, particularly witnessing her father's suicide at age 8 and pulling her dying mother off life support in her teens. After moving to Covenant's home-town, Linden has a run-in with the mysterious old beggar who may or may not be the Creator, and subsequently joins Covenant in being transported to the Land. Like Covenant, Linden is forced to wrestle with outward manifestations of her own demons, but eventually manages to find her own strength and becomes a hero of the Land in her own right. Thomas Covenant. Arguably one of the most famous names in fantasy, but not all who know it love it. Whether it is due to the Covenant character himself, or simply as a response to the series as a whole, readers find themselves often divided in their opinions: Some love it, some hate it. But few dismiss it. And it should not be forgotten that The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant had a profound impact on the genre at the time; effects that can still be felt today as authors like Steven Erikson continue to write fantasy that is both brave and ambitious; fantasy that is not written to simply please the masses. A Haruchai warrior, one of the foremost of the Bloodguard, Bannor is Covenant's near constant shadow during the First Chronicles. Bannor is a man of few words but unflinching honor, and as a leader of the Haruchai he is one of the most skilled warriors to walk the land. After the disbanding of the Bloodguard, Bannor joined the Ramen in the plains of Ra, and there encountered Covenant one last time, though he refused to enter Foul's Creche.

Their given names are also very close to Semitic words. "Jehannum" sounds like "Jahannam," the Islamic concept of hell, "Herem" can mean "utter destruction" in Hebrew (it refers to irrevocably giving something to God) and "Sheol" is the realm of the dead in ancient Judaism. Lord Foul's counterpart, the mysterious being who created the Land and its world. May or may not like to hang around on Earth disguised as an old beggar-man. The title character and main protagonist of the series. Thomas Covenant was a successful author who contracted leprosy, leading to the loss of two of his fingers, his wife leaving him and taking their infant son, and subsequently descended into a downward spiral of self-loathing and alienation from his fellow human beings. That was about when he got nearly hit with a police car and somehow translated into the alternate dimension known as the Land, where he found himself thrust into the position of a champion against the local God of Evil, Lord Foul the Despiser (due to his resemblance to a legendary hero and possession of a white gold wedding ring, in the Land an object of great power) — and promptly decided he'd have none of that, christening himself "the Unbeliever" and declaring the whole thing was nothing but an elaborate hallucination. Covenant is a notorious cynical Jerkass and consistently unpleasant character, though (very deep) down inside he possesses the true potential to " save or damn" the Land. He saves it.

Planet of Hats: The Haruchai are easily the hattiest race in the Land, with all of them seeming to be relatively minor variations on the same personality. Justified because the only Haruchai to show up in the Land in the first place are elite warriors who are products of the same intense training regime; the Haruchai homeland (and by extension, the bulk of their population) is never seen. Fellow author, Steven Erikson who wrote the Malazan Book of Fallen series, praised Donaldson and listed him as one of his influences. [2] I Have Many Names: Each Raver has three names that apply to him alone; the name he understands for himself ( Moksha, Turiya, and Samadhi), the name the people of the Land call him (Jehannum, Herem, and Sheol) and his Giant name (Fleshharrower, Kinslaughterer, and Satansfist). That's not counting names they steal from the people they possess. Magic Knight: As a Lord, Mhoram would have been required to demonstrate mastery of both magic and war, and he showcases both skills many times across the trilogy. In a world where the good guys favorite toy seems to be the Idiot Ball he's a refreshing breath of rationality.

Quirky Miniboss Squad: Defied, by Word of God. Donaldson designed them to be essentially interchangable, and seems to dislike it when fans ascribe certain skills or personality traits to any one of them. Demoted to Dragon: The Ravers actually predate Foul's arrival in the Land; they were its reigning supreme evils for a while, until Foul showed up and the Ravers were drawn to him like moths to a flame. Of course, seeing as personality-wise there's little difference between Lord Foul and a Raver, they still get to do pretty much what they would have done anyway except with a more powerful patron, so they're generally content in their servitude.

Cavewights

The Storyteller: They love telling and hearing stories. When Covenant tells them the story of their missing people, they nearly swear fealty to him on the spot.

Single-Minded Triplets: And on the (rare) occasion that more than one Raver is in the same scene, they're prone to talking in creepy unison and/or carrying on each other's ideas in conversation. Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: Yeah, he wants to destroy the Elohim (and everything else) but given what he's been through (losing his lover, being forced to keep skurjs imprisoned for all eternity) it's kind of hard to blame him.Lord Foul's Bane is a 1977 fantasy novel by American writer Stephen R. Donaldson, the first book of the first trilogy of The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant series. It is followed by The Illearth War. Action Girl: Not unusual for Giants; most Swordmainnir (professional Giant warriors) are women, though the First is the only Swordmain in the Search. The Dragon: They are Foul's top lieutenants. Since there are three of them and they act essentially as equals, that makes them Co-Dragons Viles are an extinct race who spawned the Demondim. They were non-corporeal, but nonetheless very powerful. Initially a proud and gifted race, they were led into self-hatred and despair by the Ravers. They were eventually destroyed by the Council of Lords, under High Lord Loric "Vilesilencer".

Heroic Sacrifice: By the end of the second trilogy, he resolves to give Foul his ring and let himself die, since the broken Law of Death will allow him to remain forever as a barrier between the wild magic and the Arch of Time. Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: She breaks the Law of Death to allow Lord Kevin Landwaster to be resurrected, which just made things worse. Far worse. I Have Many Names: And they're all unpleasant. As a sampling, there's Lord Foul the Despiser, The Gray Slayer, Fangthane, A'Jeroth of the Seven Hells, and Satansheart Soulcrusher. The Haruchai just call him Corruption, which for them is pretty damned horrible. The last series implies that of these, A'Jeroth is his original name, as other immortals are seen to use it. Dark Magical Girl: Elena's not evil, but she's got... issues. Much like her biological father, she's precariously balanced between greatness and evil, and being rather more proactive than he is she falls off the edge.

Sealed Inside a Person-Shaped Can: At the end of The Last Dark, Covenant imprisons Foul inside himself. Along the way, Covenant attempts to come to terms with whether or not to believe in the reality of the Land. He also attempts to redeem himself for his outrage against Lena by commanding one of the Ranyhyn, the wild, free, and intelligent horses of the eastern Plains of Ra, to do homage to her yearly. Members of the Ramen, a tribe of humans who dedicate their lives to care and protection of the Ranyhyn, are awed to see their equine companions under Covenant's compulsion and agree to assist the quest on the last leg of its journey. Their representatives are led by Manethrall Lithe. Two Stonedownors born and raised under the effects of the Sunbane; Sunder is a Graveler (who can manipulate the energies of the Sunbane) and Hollian is an eh-Brand (who can predict its phases in advance). Though both are initially suspicious of Covenant and Linden, they're eventually persuaded that something is terribly wrong with the Land and form a resistance against the Clave. Oh, and they fall in love with each other, too. The Dividual: The three Ravers are more-or-less interchangeable, less three distinct character and more one evil creature that has three independent sections. Word of God notes that they were brothers together, became Ravers together, and entered Foul's service together, resulting in their being essentially no differentiation between them in terms of ability, personality, or rank.