On 10 Mar 2003, Jag wrote: @> > > > >Spoiler Warning: these questions assume fairly complete knowlege of @> > > > >most of the Vlad books. @> > Vlad is able to heal himself with trivial effort using LT (wonder how long @> > he'll be nine-fingered [by the way, is this a LotR reference? - if so note @> > that the ring conferred long life]) - something Aliera (a noted medic) and @> > Sethra (and Verra for that matter) couldn't do. I would guess he can fix @> > up his telomeres or whatever is involved in aging with a little effort. @> @> I'm AFB and its been a while since I read _I_, but wasn't the ailment in @> Vlad's arm caused by magic? I look at it as the making of Godslayer is @> similar to the moment earlier in _I_ when he broke the glammer on him.. @> that he was mentally linked with Spellbreaker and thus able to use its @> abilities on himself. In case that wasn't clear, I think the only @> reason Vlad was able to cure his arm is because it was caused by magic @> and Spellbreaker/Godslayer tends to disrupt magic. I dunno if that'd hold up, unless the magic were still present there holding the wounds open. It seems like once the damage is done, the magic would be over with. Although maybe I'm being mistaken in trying to apply physical rules to magic. Speaking of which, the fact that Spellbreaker is part of Godslayer must be significant in some way. Presumably this means that the sorcery that Spellbreaker consumes/disperses/nullifies[0] is the same stuff[1] that powers the Gods, albeit on a smaller scale. [0] Tangent: what exactly is Spellbreaker doing when it breaks spells? Magic does seem to obey the laws of conservation[2], so what's happening to the power that Spellbreaker absorbs? [1] Tangent two: I wonder how Spellbreaker/Godslayer/Teldra would react to pre-Empire sorcery or witchcraft? I don't recall an incidence of this in the books offhand. [2] Tangent three: Souls, we are told, feed Morganti weapons[3]. What happens if you don't feed a Morganti weapon for a long time? Does it encyst itself like a bacterium and become dormant? Or would it crumble to dust? How long can a Morganti weapon go between souls? Do they have other ways of nourishing themselves when souls are not available? (Are they solar powered? Eco-friendly soul-eating weapons? We already know they're good at recycling.) Does the number of souls consumed relate to the "strength" of the weapon[4]? [3] Tangent four: how sure is it that souls consumed by Morganti weapons are really gone forever? Could they be extracted from the weapon later by some process? The Mysterious Case of Mr. Loraan makes me wonder, even apart from Vlad's "Jewel of Judgement" experience in Issola. [4] Tangent five: Are there Morganti weapons that are not sword-shaped? I'm imagining a Morganti staff, mace, or axe. It might be that the cutting or piercing aspect is necessary (and the latter is nicely symbolic, if we're talking about vampiric weapons).