It is all about being warlord---you can not be warlord and emperor--until aleria was found, morrolan was the heir aparent to the dragon throne--if you remember one of the reasons that aleira became so interested in genetics is that she herself wanted to not be emperess and to be warlord, therefore she was looking for norathar to replace her as heir---no dragon wants to be emperor they all want to be warlord --you can not do both. jaa >Matthew Hunter said: > >> I confess that I am still puzzled as to why Aliera's soul was >> sufficiently valuable to be retrieved from the Paths by such >> extreme and unprecedently measures. > > She *does* have some fairly impressive family connections... > > -Rick