> > But don't read this email unless you've read all the > > Dragaeran novels, as > > there are spoilers for most of them below. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > 4. When the Empire was founded, Kieron was, well, > > Kieron, Vlad was Dolivar, > > > have had a sex change, so was Aliera Drien? > > > > Maybe, but it seems pretty misleading to refer to > Drien as a contemporary if gya was really a sibling. > Then again, Vlad has heard plenty of misleading > statements. In this case there shouldn't be any > intention to mislead him since the information should > be fairly easy to find. Any other thoughts on who she might have been? I briefly toyed with Zerika the First (hair color, it's weak). Just because Zerika was a Phoenix doesn't necesarily mean she wasn't Kieron's sister, either, as there appear to be two ways to be a Phoenix: Have Phoenix parents, or the Cycle can take matters into its own hands, so to speak (pg 179 of the ppbk "The Paths of the Deads"). > > 5. Maybe you all can help me out with my mapping > > project. On page 290 of > > > Teldra: Perhaps fifty leagues from Covered Springs, > > in the southwest corner. > > > > In the southwest corner? What the heck does that > > mean? Is this just Paarfi > > > not, then in the southwest corner of _what_? > > I think he means from the village at the southwest > corner of Southmoor (the closest point to Adrilanka). Mmm.. I didn't think of that one. I very nearly think you are correct. Thanks. > > 6. Is Grita Ibronka's (much) older sister? Consider > > I think she definitely is. Excellent; I feared I was very nearly displaying tendencies of the House of Yendi on that one... > > 11. Having recently watched the first four seasons > > of "The Sopranos" > > back-to-back-to-back-to-back, as it were, I find > > myself wondering: Where > > are the strip clubs in Adrilankha? Maybe strip > > clubs only exist where > > looking is legal, but touching is not, and in places > > where touching is > > legal, why would you pay just to look? > > > > Well, this could very well be the reason. Then > again, you could just as well say "where are the belly > dancers, the snake charmers, the gladiatorial combat?" > The entertainments favored by a culture can differ > based on historical events. If no one thinks of doing > something, it won't be around even if it would be > popular. Just think about yo-yos. Like I said, the question arose from comparing the Sopranos to the Jhereg. Sure they have brothels, but all in all, compared to us, I'm just suprised at how asexual Dragaerans are. Perhaps it's due to the fact that there doesn't appear to be much different between the sexes. Then again, I recall there is a brief mention by Paarfi of the inevitable rape that accompanies conquest (sorry, can't remember which book it was in, so I don't have text--I just checked the Booksearch, and there are no matches for "rape", so it was almost certainly "The Lord of Castle Black"). Bryan