> > > 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. __________________________ I seem to recall it somewhere being said that there is no quicker way into obliteration than to touch another's Great Weapon (at least, when the someone is the person for whom the Weapon is destined). It's a vital safeguard that prevents the wielder being killed out of greed for the power that s/he carries around on her/his hip. I believe, though it's never been explicitly stated, that it's also very difficult for the wielders to even separate themselves from a Great Weapon, much less have someone else touch it. This would explain not only why Morrolan takes Blackwand (I mean, soulmates are together no matter WHERE they are in relation to each other--that's part of the definition of a soulmate: A person who is attached to another person's soul, with the obvious implication that the soul is all but inseperable from the body of the other, and therefore, the two are always together). I think that, given the pointlessness of leaving Blackwand behind, it's pretty much explained why he took it along, and furthermore, why it was never mentioned as a problem. If it was going to be a problem, leaving it behind would probably not do too much to prevent it. Jon _________________________________________________________________ The new MSN 8: smart spam protection and 2 months FREE* http://join.msn.com/?page=features/junkmail