Okay, here's my take (my two cents) on GWs. 1) A Great Weapon is different from a regular Morganti weapon in that a) it is vastly more powerful b) its sentience is on another level (a Morganti is just feral and murderous, whereas a GW can be calculating as well) These two differences and their implications (notably, that they can act according to their own agenda, given the opportunity, and that agenda is not just drink all the souls you can) seem to imply that each GW is imbued with a soul. However, I would argue that the Serioli smiths put in a good number of failsafes. Morganti weapons were created to make the idea of war so horrible that no one would ever partake in any, ever again. This obviously doesn't work in reality, but I think the same idea was behind the use of the Great Weapons as well as the idea that this world would need some defense against the Gods (among whom you will find the Jenoine--they ARE gods of a sort) So, A Great Weapons also 2) has an agenda of its own, possibly built in by the Serioli. 3) A great weapon, as one of its failsafes, has a certain key to its use. That key is an external soul, that wields this weapon. PF only seems to work to its full potential when Aliera takes it up. It seems to want to get to her, as well. BW, I don't know about all that much, but I would imagine that, given certain clues, he was *meant* to wield it. Iceflame is wielded by an undead soul, but still an external one. By the way, in the Vladiad, I think _Taltos_, Iceflame is described as being a weapon of such power that only the Orb and Godslayer are its equals. Now, another interesting point to bring up is this: why are all the Great Weapons swords (a possible exception is Iceflame, again, but it is a long dagger, which is essentially a short sword)? Is the orb a GW? Anyone who's been involved in weapons practice knows that a sword is a nicely rounded weapon--but sometimes, a sword just can't compare, or isn't the right tool for the job. A staff, for instance, can do things that a swordsman wouldn't have a chance against. However, I would imagine that a GW has to have a blade on it, therefore, is it possible that a GW could take the form of a glaive, or a spear, or something of the like? Anyway, back to my point. The essential requirements for a GW seem to be: 1) a greater sentience (probably a soul, destined to be bound to the specific weapon) 2) a particular wielder 3) possible other parts, like Spellbreaker. Ah whatever, I'm just repeating myself. :) Jon <html><DIV> </DIV></html> _________________________________________________________________ Add photos to your messages with MSN 8. Get 2 months FREE*. http://join.msn.com/?page=features/featuredemail