>> I realize that my earlier post was somewhat selective in the >> information presented. After all, Dragons too seem to be interested >> in cross-House liasons (Jenicor & Pel, Aliera & Mario, etc). However, >> Dzur seem to be less careful about having these liasons and letting >> people know about them, and sometimes less careful about preventing, >> well, you know. >> >> It occurs to me that in /Sethra Lavode/, Khaavren may well see Illista >> for the first time in 700 years or so, recalling to him, no doubt to >> his great embarrassment, his own youthful cross-House lust. Perhaps >> he will be prompted to seek forgiveness from Piro, who, after all, is >> not much older than Khaavren was at that time. > > > I think the taboo is not sleeping across the tracks > but marrying/hybridizing across the tracks. I don't > recall anyone being shy about noting the former. Don't we learn, in Teckla, when Vlad talks to Cheryl about her former job as a prostitute, and Vlad mentions that to dragaereans, prostitution and sex itself is viewed very differently. I'm not quite sure how to articulate it, except that to dragaereans sex is entirely separate from marriage. Of course, using a sort of contrary logic, if the taboo WERE for sleeping across the tracks, how would a house of prostitution work in the Organization? Would some of the "tags" be Jhereg, others Teckla, etc., etc. We never learn anything that would support something like that, so I'm inclined to agree that the taboo is more marrying and hybridizing rather than sleeping.