At what point does the Snarl's weakening prison become an issue

[Kodra]

I don't believe that any one of the gates individually contains the god-killing embodiment of chaos, so I have to wonder at what point the weakening of the gates will start to allow the Snarl to break free from it's prison. I mean, no one wants to see that I'd imagine.

Part of me wonders if the Order, the Linear Guild, and Xykon aren't at one point going to have to work together against the Snarl.

Or more likely all work independently against the Snarl, trying to kill each other in the process.

[NeonRonin]

I'm not sure it will become an issue until the story takes us in the direction of another Gate. IF it does. And it probably will.

[Scientivore]

I don't believe that any one of the gates individually contains the god-killing embodiment of chaos, so I have to wonder at what point the weakening of the gates will start to allow the Snarl to break free from it's prison. I mean, no one wants to see that I'd imagine.

No sooner than when it's good for the story and no later than when they're down to the last one.

[KSA]

To paraphrase J. Michael Straczynski, the weakening prison will become a problem when the plot demands it.

[Lord Zentei]

Consider that all five rifts were without gates when the order of the squiggle was adventuring. The infrastructure of the universe won't neccesarily fail immediately when the gates do.

[evileeyore]

Consider that all five rifts were without gates when the order of the squiggle was adventuring. The infrastructure of the universe won't neccesarily fail immediately when the gates do.Exactly.

The Snarl doesn't have much reach outside the gates. Indeed the rifts will slowly grow, I expect the Snarl has been working on Lirian and Durokan's Rifts all this time... and now it has Soon's Rift to work at.

Eventually it can probably undo the knots tying it in place.

[Roupe]

:xykon: "What is it with you crazies, Are you trying to destroy the world?"

[Jawajoey]

Consider that all five rifts were without gates when the order of the squiggle was adventuring. The infrastructure of the universe won't neccesarily fail immediately when the gates do.

Yeah. All the gates just kept the rifts from growing. We don't even know how much more they need to grow before they become a serious problem, even after all the gates are gone. However, its pretty safe to assume that the universe is able to survive for long enough for the gates to be resealed


One thought: What's to stop more rifts from opening? The original ones just appeared over time, why wouldn't more show up? Note: That doesn't really affect Xykon's plan or anything, it's the gates and their power to seal the rift that could enable Xykon to take over the world; the rift itself is useless and dangerous.

[Roderick_BR]

I read somewhere, I don't remember where exactly, that if at least 3 (more than half) of the portals are intact, the rifts won't grow fast enough to be an issue, and they can be rebuilt without problems (although with a probably very high cost)

[Tyrmatt]

I seem to recall a wizened old man dispensing plot points who specifically stated that the sudden added strain on reality could be enough to snap it and release the beast.
But of course, everything is powerless with plot to fuel it. Rich will do it at the exact right time probably in a giant splash page which will serve as a giant fold out ending for the penultimate book or something. Seriously, it'll be awesome :D

[Saithis Bladewing]

It's certainly possible that the destruction of the last gate could trigger a sudden strain on reality leading to a break large enough for the Snarl to escape from. But who knows.

[Emperor Ing]

If there is a crack in the bottle, the wine will drip.
If there is a crack in the fabric of reality, the snarl can break through.

[happyturtle]

And even while the snarl is imprisoned, when will we see it start to reach out and kill people again? I suppose that Dorukan's gate is covered in the rubble of his dungeon, allowing the Snarl to expand the rift, but not making it likely that any people will wander within reach. Lirian's gate, in the middle of a burnt forest in the elven lands, wouldn't attract any tourists. But now we have a rift right over a populated city. Will it start snacking on hobgoblins now?

[Dave Rapp]

The world didn't end as soon as the rifts started forming, so it's doubtful that it will end as soon as the gates are all gone. But the plot isn't about stopping the gates from being destroyed, it's about stopping Xykon and the Forces of Evil from taking control over a gate and the Snarl. Stopping The Snarl itself won't even be an issue until it actually needs to be stopped.


But now we have a rift right over a populated city. Will it start snacking on hobgoblins now?

Keep in mind that Soon's rift was tiny. If the Snarl could fit through a rift that small, he probably would have already slipped out through one of the larger already-opened gates.

[Setra]

When V says the right four words.

[kirbsys]

Take two balloons. Put a hole in one. Blow it up. Air slowly leaks out andthe hole gets bigger. NOw then take another balloon. Fill it up. Then poke a hole in it. It'll pop. So maybe the Snarl's Prison is a bit like that, where the sudden weakening of it will eventually cause him to break out because the overall strength greatly decreases each time a gate is destroyed.

[Green Bean]

One thought: What's to stop more rifts from opening? The original ones just appeared over time, why wouldn't more show up? Note: That doesn't really affect Xykon's plan or anything, it's the gates and their power to seal the rift that could enable Xykon to take over the world; the rift itself is useless and dangerous.

A similar thought: What's to stop more rifts from closing? The Order of the Squiggle sealed them before, so it's clearly possible with mortal magic (albeit powerful magic). Perhaps the OotS's next challenge is twofold; stop Xykon and find someone capable of resealing the gates?

[Megalomaniac2]

It's also possible that the Snarl will NEVER get out... Shojo indicated that if enough of the Gates fall, the Gods will simply undo the world and make a new one rather than have their lives threatened.

[Meshakhad]

I doubt that the destruction of all five gates would be enough to cause the Snarl to break out. However, what could happen is that with all five gates destroyed, the Snarl starts to have a local influence, destroying the area around it.

[Mewtroid]

I dunno. My guess is that there'll be some time left after all the gates are gone, but the gods will no doubt have their finger on the button when that happens. The only thing that's certain is that somebody had damn well better get to work on rebuilding those things. Wasn't Lirian's gate destroyed a couple of years ago? You'd think that in all that time, someone would have fixed it. Since the gate was destroyed, the "no interference" clause would have been nullified, right?