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<DIV style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-FAMILY: Calibri,sans-serif">It's possible Grafton is seeing things. There is obviously "someone" operating as the third border guard / Leader, but only Grafton seems to think they look similar. Confusion on his part? He also seems to change his assessment of this individual ... sometimes the third border guard / Leader looks only reminiscent of his father, sometimes very similar ... Grafton doesn't recognize the man on the posters right away either.<BR><BR>Ever see the movie Cypher? (Spoilers) A guy finds himself in increasingly odd circumstances, trapped in an ever growing conspiracy, and then he ultimately figures out he was orchestrating the whole thing all along; he had given himself an amnesia-inducing treatment so that his previously laid plans for world domination could come to fruition without any interference. Including his.<BR><BR>I get this vibe from Grafton. At the beginning of the novel, he knows nothing about the country. By the end, he is getting its highest award, speaks the language, is a member of the secret police, etc. Almost like he was a tool all along of the country's plan to oust the Unholy Way.<BR><BR>This makes sense in regards to Volitain and the "treasure" as well. Are we supposed to believe that one hundred years' worth of treasure hunters didn't think to look in the chimney? I think Martya and Volitain made up the story and planted the treasure, in order to add to the "game" Grafton has to play / solve. This makes sense also considering how quickly they enlist his help in their scheme. Within an hour of meeting them both, Grafton is brought in on the treasure hunt.<BR><BR>Definitely Evil Dead 2. That is one mean, murderous hand, most of the time. Only Grafton sees its nice side.<BR><BR>Not sure who the ghost owner of the hand is, but there is a type of juxtaposition between her and the man in black. A white, helpful, sometimes friendly female character on the one hand, and a dark, sometimes terrifying male character on the other. And both ghosts.<BR><BR>Another question: are we supposed to know who the heck the girl with the red pen is? </DIV></DIV>
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<SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-FAMILY: Calibri,sans-serif; FONT-WEIGHT: bold">From: </SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-FAMILY: Calibri,sans-serif"><A href="mailto:automatthew@gmail.com">Matthew King</A></SPAN><BR><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-FAMILY: Calibri,sans-serif; FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Sent: </SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-FAMILY: Calibri,sans-serif">12/8/2013 12:18 AM</SPAN><BR><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-FAMILY: Calibri,sans-serif; FONT-WEIGHT: bold">To: </SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-FAMILY: Calibri,sans-serif"><A href="mailto:urth@lists.urth.net">The Urth Mailing List</A></SPAN><BR><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-FAMILY: Calibri,sans-serif; FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Subject: </SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-FAMILY: Calibri,sans-serif">Re: (urth) The Land Across Discussion (Spoilers!)</SPAN><BR><BR></DIV>More questions:<BR><BR>* Why does Leader look like Grafton's father?<BR>* Why don't people in the Land Across see Leader, a.k.a third border guard, under normal circumstances?<BR>* Why does Leader recognize and embrace Graft-on?<BR>* Should we know what girl the hand belongs to?<BR>* The Addams Family OR Evil Dead 2 ?<BR><BR>_______________________________________________<BR>Urth Mailing List<BR>To post, write urth@urth.net<BR>Subscription/information: http://www.urth.net<BR></BODY></HTML>