and if the cycle *had* turned to dragon he would have succeeded. the cycle did indeed turn, but it was a decadent phoenix, and phoenix was still up... end of the 17th cycle is a double whammy o' phoenix. andy > > > On Wed, 5 Nov 2003, David Silberstein wrote: > > If Adron thought the Cycle had turned, *why* would he have wanted to > > use Elder Sorcery against the Orb? It should not have been necessary; > > his military victory would have proven that the Cycle had turned, and > > he would have gained the Orb *legitimately*. > > He was in a hurry to fix Tortaalik's mistakes before they exploded - he > wasn't sure that T would in fact yield facing military defeat - he didn't > actually have an army capable of taking the Orb anyway. > > > Regarding Skinter, now: During the Interregnum, the Empire (by > > definition) did not yet exist. And thinking as a Dragon, it is force > > of arms that will determine whether the Empire *will* exist, and who > > will be in charge once it does. > [lots of indiscriminate snippage] > > To my mind, Skinter's rise is perfectly acceptable - his continued > opposition to Zerika after she returned with the Orb is not. He's > obliged at least to take her claim to the throne seriously. > > And the events at the end of _TLoCB_ seem to indicate that Skinter's > going beyond the pale still further. Adron acted out of provoked rage > in an exigent situation, having accomplished great things for the Empire. > Skinter's not comparable. >