Just finished reading _The Lord of Castle Black_. I'm way behind on messages, because I've been avoiding reading them until I was finished. Here's my initial thoughts and then I'll go read the other messages and find out 10 other people have already pointed this out. Overall, I am now willing to admit that I was slightly disappointed by the predictability of _The Paths of the Dead_. Now that I have read _The Lord of Castle Black_, I am no longer disappointed. I feel that the predictability was set up on purpose to offset the contrast. That devious Paarfi. I'm very worried about Piro. I have the consolation of knowing at least that any offspring of Piro & Ibronka & his crowd (if they survive to reproduce, which I seriously doubt at this point), is not Mellar because Mellar had no Tiassa in him. I hope Khaavren never regrets his reaction though. I would esteem him less if he backs down -- too predictable. As I recall, _Viscomte de Bragelonne_ had some tragic events, including the death of d'Artagnon's son. I'm really worried about Piro. Next, a few specifics. Zerika's Easterner lover named Laszlo rang a bell. Sure enough, there's a Laszlo in _Brokedown Palace_. I concluded he can't be the same guy. That Laszlo is King Laszlo who was crazy. I was willing to overlook the age issue, because assuming her Easterner lover is the same we hear rumors about >from Vlad (not necessarily a safe assumption, I am aware), he's lived a long time, and we have some hints that Easterner witches can live as long as Dragaerans. Maybe longer. So, I speculate that her lover may be a descendant of Miklos. The first time Tazendra used the new & improved Orb, she nearly blew herself to smithereens. The first time Oidwa the Tsalmoth used the Orb to prove to Morrolan that it was back, she attempted to start a fire and succeeded with no remark and no unintended effects. That struck me as inconsistent. Finally, how did Paarfi come to know what transpired among the Gods in the two conversations reported? In _The Paths of the Dead_, Zerika was present at all conversations which he discussed, and I vaguely remember some clue somewhere about Paarfi having conversations directly with Zerika. This time, Devera was there for the first conversation, but slipped away for the second. I suppose she could have stuck around & listened in, but I don't see why she had to sneak like that. Were the Gods going to refrain from saying something just because of her presence? I don't find that likely. Admitting the unlikely possibility that Paarfi got information from Devera about the first conversation, how did he get the dialogue for the second? Now I'll go read the discussions that have probably already occurred about this. Rachel