Jag <agrajag at dragaera.net> writes: > Kana is a Dragon. Zerika is a Phoenix. One way for the > Cycle to change from Phoenix to Dragon is for a Dragon-led > army to lead a rebellion against the Emperor. Thus, I do > not think the Orb can completely defend a Phoenix > Emperor(ess) against an attacking Dragon army as that might > disrupt the Cycle. No, that's how you *test* if the Cycle has changed (see FHYA Chapter 24 (page 367mmpb)). No one can change the Cycle themselves (see Vlad's comments when he sees the big wheel in _Taltos_). Since we're back on the topic of the Cycle and Orb, back when we were debating whether Adron ever was Emporer I was unable to find a quote I needed. Now, thanks to David's book search feature, I've finally found it: FHYA, Chapter 25 (page 386mmpb): : It had never occurred to [Sethra] [...] that, of the two : possibilities -- the Cycle still pointing to the Phoenix, : and Tortaalik guiding the Empire toward disaster -- both : could be true. While not as unambiguous as I'd like, it certainly strongly implies that the Cycle has not yet turned at this point, even though Adron is certain it has. --KG