The reader will be aware that the upcoming release of the modest work of historical fiction known to some as _Lord of Castle Black_, inexplicably separated into the second volume of three for reasons no more of interest to me than the minor natterings of patrons about the cost of the very paper upon which I do not currently write, has undoubtedly generated much interest and indeed averice among those readers who are aware of it; and in light of that interest many will have chosen to peruse the first portion of the complete work already in their possession as a means of refreshing their memory and recalling to their minds the events, passions, and tensions of the time to which the esteemed author has done the honor of transporting them. In light of that fact and in appreciation of the synchronicity that finds my own person involved in such an enterprise, and not unmindful of the honor that accompanies such a diversity of personality and interest being focused even for a short period upon a similar matter, indeed nearly an identical one (albeit such a claim not taking into account minor variations of printing), I have taken it upon myself, unworthy though I may be, to share some of the additional nuances and kernels of that which I will call, to be brief, "Paarfi-truth", in order to necessarily distinguish it from that which we call truth in the normal course of our lives and indeed the normal course of history. For it cannot be denied that the esteemed author Paarfi has expressed the sentiment that these notebooks, which we have had occasion to peruse due to the services of the reknowned Brust himself and the generous operations of Glorious Mountain Press, by which I mean what may be more familiarly known as Tor, are in fact a work if not of fiction than perhaps one in the form of a notebook or workbook detailing a minor portion of history in order to faciliate the construction of a much larger and even more impressive, though presently insubstantial, work. As such we must wonder whether events, as described in these notebooks, bear the relation to absolute fact that the events depicted in the much larger work, after all necessary research was in fact completed, would have demonstrated. Indeed, certain commentators have brought to light a small number of supposed contradictions between the notebooks of Paarfi, a noted historian, and the autobiographical ramblings of one "Vlad Taltos", a Jhereg of questionable means and even more questionable morality, and by his own admission one who would refuse an honorable duel in favor of a knife in an alleyway. In my effort to understand and resolve these discrepencies, without meaning to imply or create any manner of blemish upon either the noted historian or the, ah, surely quite tolerant assassin, and in making use of the noted analogies to the works of one Dumas, likewise a publisher of historical accounts drawn >from notebooks, whose existance I have chosen for the sake of brevity neither to question nor impugn, I have come to the following conclusions: 1) In that the character of Milady in Dumas did not exist in the original source works; 2) In that the character role of antagonist within the framework of _The Pheonix Guards_ is filled by an analogy of Milady, whom I shall refer to as Milord; 3) In that the character role of antagonist within the framework of _20 years after_ is taken by "Son of Milady"; 4) In that the character role of antagonist within the framework of _500 Years After_ is taken by a character whom speculation indicates could plausibly be described as "Daughter of Milord"; 5) As the role of antagonist for the heroes in _The Paths of the Dead_ is filled by a character named Orlaan; 6) As the actions of this Orlaan demonstrate a congruence with the character previously known as Grita, aka Daughter of Milord; 7) As the actions, possessions, and a certain coincidence of names imply a congruence with a particular Athyra wizard who shall go unnamed, but who takes a prominent role in the adventures of one "Vlad Taltos"; 8) As the unnamed character is gyaself a powerful wizard, worthy of a certain amount of respect and wariness; 10) And as the unnamed character might well have objected to his portrayal as a villian; 11) As the dramatic nature of the works provides an opportunity for a certain symmetry of gender; that is, 12) That the character of Milady is taken by one Milord; 13) and the character of Son of Milady is taken by one Daughter of Milord; 14) and that the interests of continuity demand a shared antagonist; 15) I conclude that the character of Grita, aka Daughter of Milord, and indeed the character of Milord as well, are fictional; that is, inserted by the author or translator for dramatic effect and to impose a sense of unified opposition and generate tension within the framework of the more limited perspective offered by these minor notebooks when considered along rather than as part of the completed work; 16) I further conclude that the character of Orlaan was adapted >from the historical character who shall remain unnamed despite rumors of his demise; 17) And finally, I conclude that the purpose of this adaptation was to provide dramatic continuity from the original two works, while being a transparent strategam to evade criticism from less popular historians who would prefer the strict confines of actual events in the safe obscurity of their papers, whereas a more publically known figure must by necessity be more circumspect in his treatment of the powerful. In summary, the character of Grita never existed, but was inserted by Paarfi as a dramatic device. The character of Loraan, whom we encounter while following Vlad, fills the historical role of Orlaan, and while Paarfi is aware of this, he chooses (perhaps for reasons suggesting a most personal fear for his safety) to alter the gender and name of the character in order to provide a continuing role for his fictional antagonist Grita. I like this explanation much better than "Ooops". Of course, the next book out may very well demolish the whole theory. -- Matthew Hunter (matthew at infodancer.org) Public Key: http://matthew.infodancer.org/public_key.txt Homepage: http://matthew.infodancer.org/index.jsp Politics: http://www.triggerfinger.org/index.jsp