The Gods of Pegāna · Chapter
Of the Thing That Is Neither God nor Beast explained
The prophet Yadin, doomed by the gods to seek wisdom, journeys into the desert and prays to Hoodrazai.
What happens
The prophet Yadin, doomed by the gods to seek wisdom, journeys into the desert and prays to Hoodrazai. He is carried by three flamingoes beyond the worlds to the Rim, where he encounters Trogool, the Thing that is neither god nor beast, which turns the pages of a great book of all that was and will be. Yadin prays for Trogool to turn back a page, but Trogool refuses, and Yadin is returned to the desert. The chapter explores the limits of knowledge and the inexorable nature of fate.
Themes in this chapter
The Limits of Human Knowledge
Yadin's quest for wisdom leads him to Trogool, who reveals that the book of fate cannot be altered, underscoring the boundaries of what can be known or changed.
Fate vs Free Will
Yadin is doomed by the gods and his prayer to Trogool is denied, illustrating the dominance of fate over individual will.
Characters to notice
- Yadin
The prophet doomed by the gods to seek wisdom; he travels to the Rim of the Worlds and confronts Trogool.
- Hoodrazai
The god to whom Yadin prays; sends three flamingoes as messengers to carry Yadin beyond the worlds.
- Trogool
The Thing that is neither god nor beast, sitting at the Rim of the Worlds, turning the pages of the book of all that is and was.
Key passages
“Seeing that wisdom is not in cities nor happiness in wisdom, and because Yadin the prophet was doomed by the gods ere he was born to go in search of wisdom, he followed the caravans to Bodraháhn.”
Realizing that cities lack wisdom and wisdom does not bring happiness, and because the gods had destined him before birth to seek wisdom, the prophet Yadin traveled with caravans to Bodraháhn.
Sets up Yadin's doomed quest and the futility of seeking wisdom.
“Trogool is the Thing that is neither god nor beast, who neither howls nor breathes, only It turns over the leaves of a great book, black and white, black and white forever until the end.”
Trogool is a being that is neither divine nor animal, making no sound or breath, and simply turns the pages of a vast book, alternating black and white, endlessly until the final page.
Introduces Trogool as the cosmic force behind fate and time.
“Though the whirlwind of the South should tug with his claws at a page that hath been turned yet shall he not be able to ever turn it back.”
Even if the whirlwind of the South tried to claw back a page that has been turned, it could never be reversed.
Trogool's declaration that the past is immutable.