--- Mark A Mandel <mam at theworld.com> wrote: > On Tue, 16 Mar 2004, Sean Whalen wrote: > > # Definitely not. The Great Cycle of the Phoenix > #(the first Great Cycle) ended when Cherova > abdicated > #in favor of Tortaalik. She was Empress during the > #Reign of the Athyra, Cycle of the Athyra, Great > Cycle > #of the Phoenix. When Tortaalik became Emperor he > #began the Reign of the Phoenix, Cycle of the > Phoenix, > #Great Cycle of the Dragon. I'll try to cite these as best I can without the books. If anyone is reading them now or has them available I'd welcome any additional support. This is >from the beginning of _The Phoenix Guards_, both the date given by Paarfi and the description of Tortaalik coming to power in the first chapter and maybe elsewhere. > # There are not two reigns of the Phoenix during a > #cycle, despite what the poem at the beginning of > most > #books appears to some. There are not two Phoenix reigns, one decadent and one reborn, per cycle because Zerika I was the only reborn Phoenix before Zerika IV. This is mentioned in descriptions of Tortaalik's desire not to become decadent like all the others (which would be impossible if the standard were first one emperor to be decadent then another to be reborn) in _The Phoenix Guards_ and _500 Years After_. It might also be in _Phoenix_ or _Teckla_. > Textev for all this, please? __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail - More reliable, more storage, less spam http://mail.yahoo.com