Steve Simmons wondered aloud to the group:
> In the process, she took a motherless
>Easterner with ownership of an ongoing business and turned him into
>a thief, a thug, and a cold-blooded multiple murderer.
Is it not that Kiera expressed regret that Vlad wanted to get into the
beating-people-up business, but got him the gig anyway? Beyond getting him
the job at the gambler's (wozname), she didn't get him offered "work", and
he took his territory himself, though she helped him defend it. Vlad made
himself a force in the Jhereg; for what Sethra has used him for, it would
have made no difference whether he was a bouncer in a shereba bar or the
don of South Adrilankha.
In fact, from Vlad's earliest memories, Kiera's been nice to him, as you
would be nice to a child, and then nice to a young adult, as you might be
to someone who reminds you of someone you used to be friends with a long
time ago.
Off the top of my head, I can't remember where Sethra said she was grooming
Vlad. Did she say she was grooming him for something specific, or was she
just grooming him? There is, I think, a difference between using someone,
and using someone who is a friend and protege. It is in the job
descriptions of the latter to help their friends and mentors, and the aid
is not unilateral.
--
"Chary is the Alpha and the Omega. He is the walrus (koo-koo-kachoo). He
walks down stairs alone or in pairs and makes a slinkety sound. He knows what
evil lurks in the hearts of men. He knows when you are sleeping; he knows
when you're awake. He's Batman. He'll be back."--Jerry Franke
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