On Thu, 23 Jan 2003, Alexx S Kay wrote: > > I think that one has to posit a limit on Great Weapon manufacturing > capability, if only because the Empire *did* beat the Serioli. Plus > the allegation that there are only 17 of the things. What form that > limit takes, I couldn't say. I agree that possessing large quantities > of them would have given the Serioli a hard-to-beat edge. I think our only source for N_gw = 17 is Vlad, which makes it nearly worthless, but I agree that there must be some reason N is small. But to the right, the ability to build a GW implys (to misquote Sethra) many other skills. > > I brought up the point of "unwilling to use soul-destroying weapons" > because there's no particular evidence that basic Morganti weaponry > can't be mass-produced. But such weaponry is clearly not > "user-controlled" in regards to destroying souls. [At least in > non-Serioli hands -- it just now occurs to me that they might be > able to control them better...] Don't think this is clear - maybe Vlad just isn't clued in on the Elder Sorcery toggle. > > > But if one wants to argue within Brust's framework here for why the > > Serioli got wiped out, I think one would have to suspect the gods > > (or the Cycle) played a leading role in the "cleansing". > > Well, according to Sethra, the Serioli themselves blame the gods. > Given the lack of any denial, I'd rank that higher than a suspicion. >From my point of view there is a moral difference between 1) The gods start the Empire, the Empire expands, bye bye Serioli. 2) The gods start the Empire, the Empire expands, the Serioli respond by building Blackwand and destroy a few attacking Dragon battalions, the gods take advantage of the Jenoine regrouping to zap into the world and take out the leading GW-makers and -wielders, bye bye Serioli. I had 1) as my view from what Sethra says, but 2) seems more likely to me now. Either way the gods are responsible and the Serioli are right to blame them more than the Empire, but it affects the way I feel about Veera and Co. - Philip