On Tue, 2 Sep 2003, Steven Brust wrote: > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "roger n. tospott" <rone at ennui.org> > To: "SKZB List" <dragaera at dragaera.info> > Sent: Monday, September 01, 2003 10:15 PM > Subject: Re: Great Weapons > > > > Philip Hart writes: > > On the subject, I would like to once again assert that Morrolan's taking > > Blackwand into the Paths, when he fully expects to be staying, is an > > annoying flaw in _Taltos_, which if anyone can explain away I'd be > > grateful. > > > > Just an oversight on my part. I completely forgot that, when going into > great danger, someone who owns a powerful artifact that might save his life > will naturally leave this artifact behind. What was I thinking? While it seems like setting myself up as Job to continue the argument, Morrolan, to quote someone I tend to agree with, "fully expects to be staying." The main use for Blackwand I can see would be to slay all the Gods and destroy the control system of the Paths so he could walk out alive. As it happens, he makes no use of Blackwand per se. I suppose that on the other hand in extremis M could have given BW to Aliera, who no doubt would have been an acceptable substitute. That likely refutes my main objection, which is that he was depriving the good guys of one of their main weapons against the J. Of course A would have insisted on staying, as he should have foreseen. On the other hand, no doubt the Gods could have shipped Blackwand back to Sethra somehow (some way that wouldn't have worked for the Orb...) in that case, and perhaps suitable wielders of BW abound... I'm still somewhat skeptical.