Saturday, November 8, 2008

Tanis vs. Qurong: The Dekker Mystery

*SPOILER WARNING!!!*

If you've ever read the Circle Trilogy by Ted Dekker, you'll know the names of the two characters in the title. Tanis, Firstborn of Elyon's children, hero of the Colored Forest, first to fall to wicked Teeleh's tantalizing fruit and water. Then there's Qurong, strong and mighty leader of the Horde, Desert Dweller, father of Chelise, and quite possibly Thomas of Hunter's greatest enemy (besides Teeleh, of course). Between these two men lies a conundrum: Tanis and Qurong appear to be the same person. Or, at some point in Qurong's life, he was Tanis. How does this work out? There are a few things in the story that indicate Tanis and Qurong are the same, yet other things that speak to the contrary. For one, Qurong's daughter Chelise MUST be older than sixteen, because sixteen years elapsed between Black and White. Assuming Chelise was born post-Fall rather than pre-Fall. Is there a way to reconcile these differences? I believe there is.

First, IS Tanis and Qurong the same? Well, at the end of Black, Tanis succumbs to Teeleh's tempting and partakes of his fruit and water. Immediately, Teeleh's dark army attacks Tanis, ripping him to pieces. There's no way he survived, given what Thomas saw. Yet, he exists as Qurong. Did he really die? Or perhaps he was revived as the wicked ruler of the Horde in order to further Teeleh's purposes. Here is my theory:

Tanis = Qurong

There's no mistaking the fact that Tanis became Qurong, and may yet become Tanis again. However, Tanis and Qurong are very different people. They are the same, yet not the same. This is in accordance with Paul's idea of the "new creation". When Adam fell at the very beginning in the Garden, he ceased to be the old, perfect Adam that he once was. He was now a fallen man, prone to sin, wicked in every way. He was still Adam, and yet at the same time he wasn't. This is how it is with Tanis/Qurong. When Tanis fell, he became Qurong, but they are not the same. If Qurong was to drown willfully in Justin's red lakes, he would become Tanis again, having died to the disease and made new in Justin. But until that happens, Tanis and Qurong will remain the same, yet different.