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Archenland_Knight
At the Bird and the Baby
Alliance: The Written Word
Last Visited: 04 Sep 2010
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Posted: Wed Oct 18, 2006 7:08 am |
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Lumber in Narnia
This is a simple thread, not much deep thought to it. But it occurred to me a few moments ago while answering questions for the "Guessing Game" thread.
Two questions were asked: "Is it alive?" and "Is it made of wood?".
That got me thinking: Even in our world, a tree is a living thing. But in Narnia, it is more so. The trees are the bodies of dryads. However, I notice that there are also an awful lot of things made of WOOD in Narnia.
For starters, there are bows and arrows. There are spears. There are also tables and chairs. Then there are ships like the "Splendor Hyalide" and "The Dawn Treader". (If I ever own a yacht I want to name it "The Dawn Treader".) In the days of High King Peter, ship building and voyaging were evidently common, so there would have been many ships. And then of course, there are BEAVER dams. Did mister beaver just chew down trees that had gotten on his nerves in the past.
Beaver:
"This'll teach you to make all that noise every time the wind blows you over grown two-by-four you!"
Tree:
"Ow!. Stop it you lousy rodent! That hurts! HEY! Cut that out! AAAEEEEIIIII! cough hack gasp"
Then there is the question of winter. In LWW, there had been a 100 year winter, but even in other times, winter came every year. They needed firewood, right? Or did they have coal enough to keep warm?
So the question is, "If the trees were talking trees, where did they get their lumber and firewood?" I mean, did they make tables and firewood out of old friends, or what?!?!?!?
So, are there non-talking trees in Narnia? Do they get lumber from Calormen, assuming the trees there don't talk? DO the trees in Calormen have dryads that are just dormant? Do Narnians rely on dead trees? (That would still be creepy if he/she had been a friend before. And I don't think there would be enough of them.)
I know Narnians only eat non-talking animals, but the books never explain about where they get their wood. Any ideas?
Willow, perhaps you have special insight into this.
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ladygreensleeves
At the Bird and the Baby
Alliance: The Written Word
Last Visited: 20 Aug 2010
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Location: nose in a book!
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Posted: Wed Oct 18, 2006 8:27 am |
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I have no special insight...all I can think of is that just as there are "dumb" beasts in Narnia, which must be treated with care but can still be used for food, there are "dumb" or non-alive trees there too.
But I don't really know...and I'd never thought about it before!  Crazy.
Maybe they import all their lumber from Archenland.  Just kidding, of course.
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Spirit of the Willow
Student and Scholar
Alliance: The Magic
Last Visited: 29 Aug 2010
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Location: <3 Home at last. <3
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Posted: Wed Oct 18, 2006 11:26 am |
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Well, since I was addressed specifically, I'd better add my insight or else.
I am slmost absolutely certain that there were trees which were not awakened. I would tend to think of it as being similar to the Ents and the Huorns, and the regular trees in Middle Earth . . . but that the dryads and hamadryads are more numerous than the Ents were . . . in the Third Age anyway.
But also, I think that they would not completely avoid using the wood from dryadic and hamadryadic trees. I think that they might be able to use the wood from Talking Trees if they waited for the trees to die a natural death.
It's true that this doesn't produce as good of wood in normal trees . . . but maybe there's something different about Talking Trees.
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Archenland_Knight
At the Bird and the Baby
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Last Visited: 04 Sep 2010
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Posted: Wed Oct 18, 2006 3:30 pm |
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Oh, Willow. So reasonable. So ... ACCURATE! What am I supposed to do with that?!?! It ties up all the ends. It explains EVERYTHING so NEATLY. Good grief. That would just kill this thread right here by SOLVING the MYSTERY! Sigh. No fun at all. 
But good old Lady G!!! She's left me somewhere to go. Now, this was supposed to be a quick response...but when I started typing ... well ... a story sort of HAPPENED! I would have erased it...but I LIKE this story. So, I'll leave it.
Lady G:
Archenland can't export talking tree wood anywhere anymore. Grab a Pepsi One and some popcorn, send the kids/little siblings to bed, and let me tell you why.
Remember the Southern Pass through which Shasta/Cor, Bree, Aravis and Hwinn came into Archenland? Remember how as they traveled, it gradually went from sand and rocks to grass and then to forest?
Well, long before Jadis was queen of Narnia, ALL of that used to be heavily forested area, extending many miles into what is now desert! The tallest Oaks and Cedars grew there. There were wonderful pines that were perfect for pulping into paper. It is very warm there, and the region produced beautiful mahoganies and ebonies. There were many different types of soil, so all these trees of dazzling variety grew together in a relatively close grouping. Nowhere else in the world did so many different trees grow together. And nowhere else were all the trees so lush and strong and tall.
This of course, made the area perfect for LOGGING!! Some enterprising young Archenlanders realized they could make a KILLING by logging this area and selling the wood to both the Narnians and the Calormen! So, they formed a corporation, named themselves, "Partners", got contracts from merchants in both lands, hired some lumberjacks, and started felling trees.
Imagine the Partners' surprise when the trees objected! It turns out every tree there was a TALKING tree. EVERY ... LAST ... ONE of them! They had actually been cultivating the area themselves. They had intentionally built what they considered the perfect Tree Village, where trees of every type could live and grow and be happy. “We have a place that is just for trees,” they thought. “No one will ever separate us now!” But, in the end it seemed the plan had backfired.
Of course, they appealed to the loggers to stop. This merely resulted in increased logging. There was no pretense being made by the loggers that this was "Aslan's Will" or any such nonsense as in LB. No, these loggers insisted that "Aslan is a fantasy for foolish old women and children." Instead, they all insisted that Sons Of Adam had the right to use any creature of Narnia, talking or not, as they saw fit. “Sons of Adam are the true rulers of the world,” they insisted. “It is ours to do with as we wish.”
Well, the trees weren't going to take this lying down. They begin to organize resistance. They attacked lone loggers and small parties. They sabotaged equipment and campsites. They dug up roads and trails to make them impossible to use. They also managed to recruit some centaurs and beasts to their side for the on going struggle.
Meanwhile, the loggers hired mercenary soldiers from among Adam's sons and from among the dwarves. Things would have gone badly had the loggers managed to secure the services of giants, but they were both terrified and revolted by giants, and wanted nothing to do with them.
As you can imagine, situation continued to escalate, until finally one day a full-blown battle broke out. Very quickly, it became apparent that the loggers were loosing. The trees and centaurs were simply too powerful for them. But this was not to last long.
The Partners assumed that if they didn't make use of these trees, then someone else would, and they had already decided that if they couldn't have these trees, then no one else could either! With that decision, they employed their most barbaric weapon. Disgracefully, they called it "Aslan's Breath". Aslan, of course, would never have approved their using it on his beloved trees. People from our world would have called this vile concoction "Greek Fire".
Obviously, the devastation was great. The Partners’ soldiers deployed the weapon using an array of catapults and trebuchets. In an instant, the tide of the battle was turned. The forest was filled with flames. Everywhere you turned the fire was raging. The trees were ablaze, and many of the centaurs and beasts were caught in the inferno. There was no escape for them. Their agonized screams could be heard from just about anywhere on the battle field.
But it seems the hearts of Adam's sons are not as hardened in that world as in ours. Or perhaps, the scream of a dryad is something few men's hearts can hear and remain cold. For whatever reason, many of the mercenaries heard these screams and suddenly realized what they had done. They immediately became sorry for what they have done. One by one they fell to their knees, or sank to a seat and whispered, “Dear Aslan, please don’t let this happen.”
The trees also seemed to realize their mistake. They believed they could defend themselves without any help. It was a matter of pride to them. They had built this paradise for trees and they believed they could keep it. They were the grandest trees in all the world, after all! Travelers came from miles just to walk among them! "Why, surely we can handle these puny creatures," they had said to themselves.
Now, they realized the truth. Now, when it was almost too late, they finally called out to Aslan to save them, or if not them, at least their seeds.
Suddenly, from out of the desert came the coldest wind that had ever blown in Archenland, colder by far than any of the icy winds from the north. Those standing around felt frostbitten at it's touch. And then the rain began. This was no ordinary rain. How any rain could be that cold without becoming snow or sleet was a mystery to all who felt it, and all had to seek SOME kind of shelter immediately.
The few remaining fighters huddled into the nearest remaining tents and encampments. Fighters who had been trying to kill each other moments ago were now huddled inside the same tent or lodge, sharing blankets and coats to stave off the frigid cold.
Now, the rain drops WERE becoming frozen, but not as flakes. Instead they were chunks of ice colder than anyone had ever imagined. As they hit the burning trees and pools, they evaporated into a strange vapor. Soon this vapor permeated the forest! Had you been in it, you could not have seen half a foot in front of you. And yet it kept falling, harder and harder, faster and faster, until it was a torrent of the coldest substance that had ever fallen in Narnia.
Now, someone from our world and our time might have recognized what was happening. Miraculously, what was falling from they sky, in a dense cloud of tiny chunks, was what we call "dry ice". Frozen CO
2
!
This not only cooled the flames, but removed all oxygen from them as well. The few trees still alive, while unbelievably COLD, could still breathe just fine. They didn't NEED oxygen. CO
2
was fine with them!
Soon the fire was out. The former enemies emerged from their shelter, and most of them realized what they had done. Most of them finally comprehended the horror of it. Their hearts were sickened by what they had done.
But not the Partners. They began shouting orders to attack! Their former soldiers glared at them in anger, furious at what these men had caused them to do.
In minutes, the Partners were on the ground, hands tied behind their backs, and nooses around their necks. Just as the ropes were being thrown over the branches of the few trees that could still support them, a sound stopped everyone in their tracks.
The sound was a song, and it was a cry. It was an order, and it was a call. But mostly, and those who heard it never forgot this, it was a
roar
. The sound was followed by the sight of a new beast walking among them. No one was quite sure from which direction it had come, but there was no mistaking what it was. It was a lion.
The lion walked up to the Partners with the nooses around their necks. They were terrified. "Hang us! Hang us!" they cried. "Hang us before this hideous creature devours us." But another growl from the lion silenced their cries.
Everyone else was on their knees, bowing to the lion. They knew who he was. And then, two of the Partners did as well.
"These men have done terrible things," the lion said in a low voice that carried to every part of the forest. "But if you do this, you will be as they are. I have given Archenland a king. Let him mete justice to these men. As for the two that have come to know me..." with this he went to the two Partners that were on their knees ... "consequences in this world you will still have to face. But know that one day, on a hill in Narnia, I will pay the price for what you have done here. When you arrive in my country, all will be forgotten."
Then he turned to the few remaining trees. "This tragedy was avoidable. It was brought about by your own pride. You said to yourselves, 'We will gather the finest trees, and make the finest soil, and together we will be the most glorious trees in all the world. We will make a name for ourselves, and no one will be able to scatter us.' But now you see the results of your pride. This was why I could not intervene earlier. I could not step in until your pride was broken. Many of your brothers and sisters now lie in ashes because of it."
"Hear me well now. I could scatter you by force. I have done such things in other worlds. But you have learned your lesson. You do not need for me to do this. You will do as I now ask."
"Remove from your perfect garden what little fertile soil is not poisoned by the vile concoction of the Partners. Scatter it to every part of Archenland and Narnia. All of you, beast and men and all manner of creatures, assist them in this task. And then, those few of you who will still bear seed, never again allow one to grow here. Carry them far and wide. Scatter them, and let them grace all of the Northern lands."
With that, the lion walked away. Later, no one could quite agree on which direction he had gone. The culprits were taken to the king. He imprisoned in the dungeon all the mercenaries who had fought for the partners. But, as part of their punishment, they were eventually sentenced to yearly carry the seeds of the few trees who had survived the battle to all parts of Archenland and Narnia. It was hard traveling, and many gave their lives. But not one complained or said that the sentence was unjust.
The partners were beheaded with the blade of an axe. The king had wanted to spare the two who had repented, but feared that if he did so, every criminal would pretend to repent before Aslan to escape his fate. Finally these two partners assured him that they should meet the fate of the other partners. “After all,” they said, “We have somewhere to go.”
The king also ordered that from that day forth, any man found felling a talking tree in all of Archenland would have his head removed with the blade of an axe. This edict stood until all the world passed through the stable door before The Great Lion.
So you see, Lady G, Narnia can't import talking tree logs from Archenland.
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Last edited by Archenland_Knight on Thu Oct 19, 2006 5:58 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Spirit of the Willow
Student and Scholar
Alliance: The Magic
Last Visited: 29 Aug 2010
Joined: 06 Sep 2004
Posts: 5040
Location: <3 Home at last. <3
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Archenland_Knight
At the Bird and the Baby
Alliance: The Written Word
Last Visited: 04 Sep 2010
Joined: 17 Aug 2006
Posts: 2330
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Posted: Thu Oct 19, 2006 5:56 am |
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Willow: No, of course you don't need to appologize, though I'm fairly sure you were joking when you asked that.
No, I was just in one of those moods where I felt like being completely and totally unreasonable just for the fun of it! I hope that doesn't happen to me on election day, because then I might do something stupid.
Glad you liked the story, though.
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ladygreensleeves
At the Bird and the Baby
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Posted: Thu Oct 19, 2006 6:44 am |
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Very nice, Arch!
I don't suppose there's any point in bursting your bubble by saying that I was suggesting they import non-talking tree wood from Archenland (
are
there talking trees there? Apparently there are, but you can't fell them...but what about non-talking trees?...never mind).  Just kidding. I enjoyed that little imaginative burst very much indeed. Thank you! 
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| The time now is Thu Sep 09, 2010 4:39 am ... All times are GMT - 8 Hours
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for the story! Very amusing.