But left only helps if you don't understand yourself enough to know that whatever spell is effecting you is in fact an effect being put on you. It shows you falsehoods, but doesn't help with understanding yourself. Center doesn't help you recognize falsehoods, but does imply that it's user should be wise enough to see through them regardless.
I think a lot of people are more interested in the fact that left lets you know about unnatural mental effects that you are under, rather than what actually makes sense as a solution to the puzzle. Because the puzzle is not about recognizing falsehoods, it's about being able to overcome an obstacle or adversity.
So this is assuming that these tests are organized by the Resist, Overcome, Endure phrasing. That this is the Overcome test.
The idea that its Resist, Overcome, Endure, is
convenient, but it also leads to exactly what you're saying here, where you take a test that says
To know Truth is to spurn Falsehood.
To spurn Falsehood is to know Falsehood.
And say its not about recognizing falsehood
is kinda off. On some level, what you're saying here, has locked onto a specific interpretation of these three tests' structure and is ignoring the test text right in front of us.
Which is not how Thungni operates, directly from what Snorri has said when he realized they were going in circles with Karstah before they set out.
Resist. Overcome. Endure.
What Rune best embodied that? Was it even referring to just one Rune? Perhaps it was both and several other explanations before it.
It feels like an age before you come to a decision.
You tentatively reach for the leftmost ingot and pull it from its resting spot.
"Those born from Stone," could only mean the Dawi of course, and of the three Runes, you reckon that it was the most accurate. Your folk did not need the Stone to endure, for all that it did help, nor did you believe you were all so limited, metaphorically speaking, as the other Rune. Perhaps there was just a smidge of bias leaking through, but the Dawi only grew more mighty with age, wiser with every battle, and like the metal you shaped, hardened after every blow endured.
Also we have this statement about endurance from Snorri here, which I think throws the idea that there's a predictable Resist, Overcome, Endure order here into confusion. Its worth noting here that the rune we picked in Warding could have been used for all three concepts, as well.
Let's go over it again for everybody's sake. Why are we here? To earn the Hammer, which also implies us earning being Thungni's Heir or close to it, based on Snorri's own recent musings. The two plaques, the prior tests, and that statement, imply that Durin either knew this combo already or could have figured it out.
What are we being asked to do? Build the Combo, Dawi, using three runes, each one picked from a specific test. That immediately places some constraints on us.
It has to have a theme, a high concept, that can represent the Dawi as they are (at the very least). That means the themes of each Rune have to contribute to that high concept in some way. Left, Center, and Right all have imagery and themes that can work with this; Snorri performed Left when he caught what was happening to him and then reinforced his own will. He then went and rallied his retainers, which is similar to what Right does, and the "Get stronger in the face of fear" is an image many
many dawi have done. All three could work thematically, but there's significant debate to be had over which is the best theme, I believe.
However.
We need a Combo that has both mental and physical effects because Dawi are not purely their physical stats, muscles, or suchlike. This immediately disqualifies Center, in my assessment, because its purely physical in what it does to the user, even if it reads the user's mental state to determine when to activate. We may be able to correct that in our choice of Stone variations, but why assume a Stone variant will have mental effects when its basically physical through and through, right?
We are also constrained by our previous pick - we need runes whose effects align with the Effect of Worldly Warding. Fortunately, all of these should play well with Worldly Warding. However, when we go into Stone, we will be restricted by the pair of runes we've picked so far a lot more than we are now.
Why are we being asked to do this? Because as Snorri and others have mused, taking up the Hammer means taking up Durin's place - being able to carry forward his work and have a mindset Thungni considers worthy. That does not mean a mindset exactly *like* Durin's, only that Thungni would consider the challenger worthy to wield the Hammer.
Lets evaluate what the tests have said to us in their full texts so far.
To claim the Hammer is to claim the seat of one Lost.
To claim the seat of one Lost is to claim Understanding.
To claim Understanding is to understand the Stone and those born from it.
To understand the Stone and those born from it, is to know thus:
Resist.
Overcome.
Endure.
To claim the Hammer is to know Truth.
To know Truth is to spurn Falsehood.
To spurn Falsehood is to know Falsehood.
To know Falsehood is to understand the Self.
Resist.
Overcome.
Endure.
To claim the Hammer, the challenger needs to understand Stone and those born from it, to know Resist, Overcome, Endure. To claim the hammer, the challenger must understand the Self. And to claim the Hammer, the challenger must know/have/be a third thing we don't know yet and will hear about in the Stone test (presumably).
So thematically, with a Rune that helps you endure and be honed through experience and age, to resist harm and overcome danger through those things, we're left with a choice. Do we want to add an image of; a person who becomes stronger when they become afraid and are faced with adversity, or a person who can share their bravery and lead themself and others into fearlessness, or a person who is brave and clear enough of mind to spot unnatural sources, to that idea?
All of these have to do with Overcoming or Enduring or Resisting, much like the first test.
Right or Left work well I think when taken in this thematic lens.
