If Tsalmoth focus on one goal, and ruin the empire in pursuing it, and Vallista rebuild, and Jhereg make the loans ,that fits. But this for some reason struck me when the rest of the cycle didn't. I always assumed that when Morrolan was talking about the Dragon/Jhereg wars, and how he mentioned that "It was the reign of the Phoenix, and the Jhereg got hit much more hard because the Dragon was next in line to rule" or some such, I always assumed it was something mystical, concerning the cycle. I'm sure that this is the case; but mystical things frequently have their manifestations in corporeal reality. Whomsoever is next in line for the throne has the most influence of all the houses, possibly (depending on what point the current reign is at) even more influence than the reigning house itself. *smacks forehead* Jon _________________________________________________________________ MSN Premium with Virus Guard and Firewall* from McAfee® Security : 2 months FREE* http://join.msn.com/?pgmarket=en-ca&page=byoa/prem&xAPID=1994&DI=1034&SU=http://hotmail.com/enca&HL=Market_MSNIS_Taglines