Scott Ingram wrote: > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "David Silberstein" <davids at kithrup.com> > To: "Brust list" <dragaera at dragaera.info> > Sent: Sunday, December 29, 2002 3:12 PM > Subject: Re: The Jhereg > > > On Sun, 29 Dec 2002, Scott Ingram wrote: > > > > > > > >----- Original Message ----- > > >From: "Peter H. Granzeau" <pgranzeau at cox.net> > > >To: "Brust list" <dragaera at dragaera.info> > > >Sent: Sunday, December 29, 2002 9:54 AM > > >Subject: RE: The Jhereg > > > > > > > > >> At 03:48 12/29/2002 -0500, Casey Rousseau wrote: > > >> >S > > >> >P > > >> >O > > >> >I > > >> >L > > >> >E > > >> >R > > >> > > > >> >S > > >> >P > > >> >A > > >> >C > > >> >E > > >> > > > >> >F > > >> >O > > >> >R > > >> > > > >> >T > > >> >H > > >> >O > > >> >S > > >> >E > > >> > > > >> >W > > >> >H > > >> >O > > >> > > > >> >H > > >> >A > > >> >V > > >> >E > > >> >N > > >> >' > > >> >T > > >> > > > >> >R > > >> >E > > >> >A > > >> >D > > >> > > > >> > > > >> >- > > >> >P > > >> >O > > >> >T > > >> >D > > >> >_ > > >> > > > >> >Peter H. Granzeau wrote: > > >> > > > > >> > > The situation of the Phoenix puzzles me, and Chapter Eighteen > > >> > > of _The Paths of the Dead_ don't help me a single bit. > > >> > > Parthenogenesis? > > >> > > > >> >There has been at least one mention of a person changing gender, > (Drien, > > >> >right?) Other possibilities exist, not least of which is (though I > > >> >don't think we've discussed it) the Aliera method. > > >> > > >> Huh? Wozzat? > > >> > > >I think he's referring to the old > > >journey-to-the-paths-of-the-dead-with-a-staff-and-resurrect-the-heir > method. > > >As was done with Aliera. > > > > > > > Or possibly the old have-one-of-your-parents-be-a-god(dess) method. > > OH GOOD POINT!! > Nobody has dared to suggest that Aliera is less than pure-Dragon, yet she's > half-god(dess). > I gather the child of a Dragarean (yes spelling is wrong) and a God results > in a pureblood Dragarean. > Yep, that's one possible out. > Or, perhaps the Dragaeran prejudice about having mixed Houses does not apply to children of Gods. After all, the problem seems to be with mixing Houses, and Gods exist outside of the great Houses, so mixing with a God is OK because the bloodline is not "contaminated" by another House. It might have to do with every house but the Jhereg having animal genes mixed in by the Jenoine. Which would mean that Gods who are "just" ascended Dragaerans (Morrolan mentions some Gods are just that in _Phoenix_) would have to breed with Dragaerans from inside their House, but Verra, being a prior servant of the Jenoine, is exempt because she has "pure" Dragaeran genes. Or Verra may have Dragon genes mixed in as well. Or Aliera may just kill anyone who insults her for being a mixed breed. She's touchy enough about being short. Or the author may just not have really have a solution in mind at all, and so we'll never know for sure.