Warning: This contains spoilers. I am convinced that there is an in-joke concerning "The Society of the Porker Poker". If you want to try and get it yourself, go read chapter 8 again. More spoiler space for those who want a chance to get it for themselves. Actually, there are also spoilers for the in-joke in Athyra, described in the thread which starts here. http://dragaera.info/cgi-bin/ezmlm-cgi?1:msp:2606:cochbdgmlakmnipkcbbf So you might want to stop if you haven't read _Athyra_ either. OK here we go, for reals: As I was reading the description of the members of the society, I noticed that the names and descriptions seemed very familiar somehow. I suddenly realized that the numbers (3 men, 4 women) matched up with the Scribblies. Looking closely at the names (and sometimes, the House), I realized that that they were warpings of one sort or another for those of the Scribblies as well, and the descriptions matched those from "The Book of Seven Wizards" (see thread linked to above for complete details). So here is my complete analysis: Stagwood (Tsalmoth) - Nate Bucklin, since obviously a "buck" is a "stag"; with furthur confirmation that he went off to be a bard (Nate Bucklin is indeed a musician). Flute (Hawk) - Patricia Wrede. This is a little more tenuous but I think the name is derived from Wrede -> Reed -> Wind instruments -> Flute. I wonder if she did indeed leave the Scribblies because of the bickering? Mialand (Lyorn) - Kara Dalkey. Not only is her middle name "Mia", but her degree in Anthropology corresponds to the Lyorn historical archivist function. Also, it states that she moved to "Lottstown", an iron center, which makes me think of Pittsburgh (a steel industry center), and Ms. Dalkey even wrote a novel called "Steel Rose" which is set in Pittsburgh. Lewchin (Issola) - Emma Bull. Note that she is described as being "tall", which matches her Seven Wizards epithet (She Who Is Tall). And now that Steve has let slip her middle name, I see that even that corresponds - "Lucinda" -> "Lucia" -> "Lewchin". Also, she is shacked up with Shant, which also makes sense; see below. Shant (Dzur) - Will Shetterly. I think that "Shant" is a humorous inversion of Will's name, perhaps poking fun at perceived obstinancy. ("Yes, you *will*" / "No, I *shan't*" - get it?) Also, Shant's description includes green eyes, which also matches the Seven Wizards (He Whose Eyes Are Green). And of course, Shant is with Lewchin, just as Will & Emma are married. Piro (Tiassa) - Steve Brust. At least in the Society he is - I don't think any aspect of tPotD is autobiographical. I also note that it is he who takes issue with Shant's suggestion, and immediately begins to bicker. While I have no idea if Will & Steve are like this in person, I have had the honor to observe a rather lengthy discussion which included these two on rasfw, concerning the origins of the American Civil War. [1] I am not sure how one derives "Piro" from "Steven Karl Zoltan Brust" (or any manipulations thereof), and I rather think at this point that the name might be an homage to Neal Stephenson's "Snow Crash" (H*iro* + *P*rotagonist => Piro). Zivra (House Unknown at this point) - Pamela Dean. This is the most tentative identification yet, given that Zivra is blonde and Pamela is the Wizard "She Whose Hair is Red", but again, in this case, I think her character and relationship with others in the society is more important than the physical characteristics. I wondered if Zivra *meant* "dean" or "red" or "red-haired" [2] in some language, hence the search that found Robert Sloan - and it turns out that the Piarran analogue of Zerika is in fact named Zivra. So there you go. Finally, there is the name of the society itself. "Porker Poker" is a pigsticker, a sword of poor quality. "Scribblies" is from "scribble", poor-quality writing. Nevertheless, the pen *is* mightier than the sword, and the one group is but a shadow of the other... [1] The thread starts at: http://groups.google.com/groups?threadm=a84sot$ih8$1@panix3.panix.com [2] Incidentally, "piros" is Hungarian for "red", although I don't think that is necessarily significant.