On Wed, 16 Oct 2002, Ruhlen, Rachel Louise (UMC-Student) wrote: >After the discussion about why didn't Blackwand kill Loraan? I >happened to be reading Taltos and noticed that Vlad did not actually >see Morollan kill Loraan with Blackwand. Vlad is knocked over, and >when he gets back up, he sees Loraan lying on the floor with a wound, I think the wound is described as a long slash across his chest, "as >from a cut from a greatsword", which is either evidence that Blackwand hit him at *some* point, or is part of the misdirection. >and Morollan standing over him with bloody Blackwand. Here are 3 of >the many possibilities: >1) Morollan killed Loraan with Blackwand but as discussed previously >this didn't eat his soul for whatever reason. >2) Morollan stabbed Loraan with Blackwand right after he already died >(either by Morollan's non-Blackwand carrying hand or by someone else's >hand). Morganti & Great Weapons only take the soul of a living person. Slashed, not stabbed, but OK. Note that others *were* coming to Loraan's rescue right then, which is why Morrolan wanted to flee so precipitously. >3) Someone else killed Loraan and Morollan's sword was bloody from all >those other Athyra he just killed. Maybe Loraan expelled his *own* soul from his body, just to keep it >from the danger of being eaten by hungry Blackwand! But why can't he be revivified from that, I wonder? 4) Maybe one of Morrolans spells that got through (perhaps witchcraft rather than sorcery, which Loraan my not have been expecting) caused the physical damage that is described, without (as you say) Blackwand ever actually touching him. >I suspect that for whatever reason, SKZB wrote that scene that way, >and then chuckled evilly to himself as he thought of ways he could >use that, and poof we have the plot for Athyra. I bet Steve chuckles evilly *all the time*. Especially when reading this list.