On Fri, Feb 21, 2003 at 12:03:32PM -0500, Teddywolf wrote: > Steve Simmons wrote: > > > My first rule in reading anything Sethra says is 'Sethra lies.' . . . > Well... Sethra may lie by omission from time to time but so far I can't > think of a single time she's lied by commission. And as Kiera she's > never lied about anything by commission to Vlad. > > I think that Sethra is somebody who won't directly lie. Indirectly is > another story, but directly no. She considered the secret of her dual > identity to be less important than Vlad's life and less important than > the life of the old lady Vlad was helping out in Orca. . . . Hmm. I think manufacturing a second identity (Kiera) and using it to manipulate Vlad into being the weapon she needs counts as a direct lie. She specificly said 'This is what Vlad was trained for' at some point (OK, I quoted from memory, but if it's not exactly correct it certainly gets the sense of what she said.) Heck, when she says 'My name is Kiera', it's a direct lie. Just because the deception is important (which I agree with, by the way) doesn't mean it's not a direct lie. > . . . Sure, she has a > very fearsome reputation and I wouldn't be at all surprised if that's > been built up in large part so the reputation does the work for her > (and incidentally doesn't reveal that she's actually a pretty nice lady) > - after all, a legendary general known to be a soft touch could get all > sorts of trouble. I don't get the impression in any way that Sethra is a pretty nice lady. Yes, she likes her friends and tries to do well by them. But manipulating a third party into deadly situations isn't the mark of a nice lady or of a soft general. A good general shows no hesitation in throwing her troops and others into dangerous situations. But Vlad didn't volunteer. He's been manipulated and manuvered all the way. It's clear that she has a specific purpose in mind for Vlad and has invested a lot of time in him. He's a valuable tool that she takes good care of. And he had very little choice in being made into that tool. She's been forging and honing him all his life, which isn't exactly the mark of a soft touch. And none of that is in any way the mark of a softie. One of these days Vlad is going to figure out how thoroughly he's been manipulated by Sethra. That day will be interesting as all hell. Hmm... it wouldn't suprise me if Lady Teldra forces the issue. She was obviously aware of part of it while incarnate, and as of the end of Issola her priorities have probably changed. Yet more reasons to look forward to future books. :-) Steve