Greg Rapawy [mailto:grapawy at yahoo.com] > I would say two things: > > (1) Your theory doesn't explain why Devera already > knows people who haven't met her yet. (Mommy, and > Uncle Vlad, and Uncle 'Rollan, for example.) > > (2) I think your theory runs up against Occam's Razor > in that it requires us to assume things about > Dragaeran reincarnation and ensoulment (i.e., that > Verra *can* do what you describe) not yet known from > the sources. Also, if you modify your theory to > respond to my first point (by postulating, for > example, that Verra has instructed Devera about the > people she will one day come to know), I think the > complexity problem becomes acute. There's an old, old story (from Plato?) that souls waiting to be incarnated know everything there is to know in heaven and on earth, but that just before they are born, an angel presses a hot coal to their lips, sealing in the knowledge and preventing them from sharing it. Thus, if for any reason you were to encounter such a soul before their birth, they would in fact recognize you and your relationship to them. I've never read the primary source, that's why I'm a bit hazy on it, but it was a prominent plot point of Roderick MacLiesh's Prince Ombra, which came up in the discussion about Fantasy a few weeks ago. Great story. I heartily recommend it, even if it is a bit dark for an eleven year old.