- The Tower
- The Poems A chronicle in metaphor of Osgog’s descent through the earth and into the realm of the dead. An unnatural crossing that resulted in “The Incident,” and created a rift between worlds through which something black escaped; a rift since closed, but with a weakened seal that would break again but for the vigil of the dead who keep it, and through which still trickles the black pollutant like an inked prophecy of a deluge to come.
The poetry is an attempt to convey Osgog’s thoughts and experiences, including the change he underwent. I believe his exposure to the blackness altered him fundamentally, as The Black Water does to those who touch it, and this change is revealed as his feelings move from awe, to fear, to understanding, and then to love, with him relishing this gift of “endless moonlight” in an endless night.
I believe the poet could actually be Osgog himself, though I recognize the quill we found does appear to be connected with a poet from the village.
1. The Shadow
The shadow, loosed into the realm of the living, became aware of the poet’s fascination with it, aware of his focused attention as he labored over his lines, and responded in kind with its own curiosity — the proverbial abyss gazing back at him (see The Boatman’s comment: Words can bring you too near to a thing and it can be dangerous). I don’t think the shadow engulfed and trapped him (or some piece of him) out of pure malice, but rather out of greed for the attention. And we know now that the shadow can be hurt, because it fled from the pierce of a raven’s beak.
If the poet was indeed Osgog, then the thing that escaped was his him, albeit changed, and with a small piece of his humanity left behind as the shadow’s plaything.
1. The Function
I believe the tower may not have been simply a watchtower, but possibly also played a direct role in Osgog’s delving: perhaps a drill, or some other contrivance that afforded him passage through the earth (his dad is Mons, after all). This theory is supported by the rumors and fears of a darkness in the region. It could be that the tower was ground zero for the incident, i.e. the creation of the rift. I wonder whether we’d find evidence of this if we searched the tower again, specifically for a basement or anything below ground.