[Significant spoiler for _Orca_ as well.] --- "Davis, Iain E." <feaelin at kemenel.org> wrote: [quoting rone:] >> I think it is unlikely that Verra would allow the >> blood of another goddess to enter Morrolan's >> bloodstream. > Depends on what her...agenda actually is, concerning > him. And...she may not have been involved. > > (doing this from memory, forgive misses) we know: > > Kiera gives the blood to Vlad and asks him to keep > it "for a while". > > When asked what it was, she says it is the blood of > a goddess. > > That Vlad eventually uses it to help Morrolan. > > I don't recall anything else that was "spelled out". In _Orca_, after Vlad learns that Kiera is Sethra, he says that he is still upset about the way he was recruited to rescue Aliera. He also asks about the blood, adding that he has figured out who the goddess is, and Kiera says that she doesn't know much about it herself -- just that it was necessary that he have it. It is possible that when Vlad says that he has figured out who the goddess was, he is referring to information that he has (and we don't) that points to someone other than Verra. It is also possible that he is guessing Verra, and that Kiera knows he is wrong but doesn't correct him. But nevertheless I think the most likely explanation is that Vlad thinks it's Verra and Kiera is tacitly acknowledging that. I also think rone's point regarding Verra's possessive or jealous nature is a good one. > There is something vaguely Yendi-like about the way > the blood is given to Vlad 3-4 years before he > needed it. :) When Pel does something in Chapter 2 that bears fruit in chapter 16, that's impressive, because Pel was thinking ten moves ahead. When Verra does it, that's not impressive -- she's just traveling in time. I would consider Pel sneakier than Verra, and probably than most (if not all) of the rest of the Lords of Judgment. Compare his deftness with her blunders in _Phoenix_, and note the concern among the gods about his schemes early in _Paths of the Dead_ (assuming he's the Yendi they refer to). This is similar to the Necromancer being "better than" Verra at necromancy in _Issola_. Doesn't mean he'll win in _Viscount_, of course. In fact, as this is historical fiction, we know he'll lose. The only question is whether he'll succeed in landing on his feet in the new regime. -- Greg __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now. http://mailplus.yahoo.com