> I strongly suspect that the Orb will go to whichever person of > the correct house manages a coup, unless the Emperor personally > resigns in an orderly transition. > > Of course, if you have the support of your House, your chances of > a successful coup are much higher, thus the whole Heir business. I don't understand how anyone can actually launch a successful coup against an Emperor able to use the Orb, which I believe gives one the ability to fry anyone linked to it. Perhaps the link is the result of a simple spell, leaving a psychic marker that the Orb recognizes. This would explain how backwater Tecklas are linked - and possibly how Heirs are recognized. Then if say Adron were concerned he was about to get a lightning bolt downloaded over his link he could just remove or mask it temporarily. On the other hand, in a sorcerous fight it would be too easy to delink an opponent (or the main goal of the fight, in which case Vlad should have mentioned this to us in say _Taltos_). Or say the Emperor. - On the subject of the Orb, it's smart enough to scan anyone under it for truth - it ought to be smart enough to scan everyone within 100 meters for a fixed intention to off the Emperor, which would make the end of _FHYA_ an autocoup...