On Wed, 20 Aug 2003, Steve Simmons wrote: #On Sun, Aug 17, 2003 at 07:31:59PM -0500, Rachel L. Ruhlen wrote: # #> That explains how _Orca_ navigate. What about the pirates from Elde #> Island/Greenaere? They don't have the handy Orb link. # #If the Polynesians could do it over much larger distances, the Orca #can do it. Polynesians could see the stars. In and near the Dragaeran Empire, the Overcast (Enclouding, to Paarfi) blocks them out. That's (presumably) why the Serioli, who are native to the world and were there before the Overcast, call them "the small >>invisible<< lights". # Let's also note that Legend Has It that the various Dragaeran #tribes actually contain genetic material from the animal they're named #after. If orca can navigate at sea, Orca should be able to too. Now THAT I really like! -- Mark A. Mandel http://world.std.com/~mam/Cracks-and-Shards/ a Steven Brust Dragaera fan website #*Gads*, I loved writing that last sentence. I can well imagine! :-) -- Dr. Whom, Consulting Linguist, Grammarian, Orthoepist, and Philological Busybody a.k.a. Mark A. Mandel