> On Wed, 9 Jun 2004, Damien Sullivan wrote: > > > I had not thought of that. But doesn't Sethra tell Vlad > he's the only > > one to know both of her well? > > Sethra lies. A lot. E.g., _FHYA_. > I wouldn't think of it as a lie in this case. If Aliera knows, it's probably because Sethra told her or Aliera caught her out somehow. To Aliera, Kiera is nothing more than a Dragon in Jhereg's clothing. Vlad, on the other hand, views Kiera as a person in her own right. He had known and looked up to Kiera for half his life before he ever met Sethra. Given Kiera's reputation in the Jhereg, it's quite likely that Vlad is the only person she's ever been close to. The books have made it clear that while Kiera is widely admired as the most accomplished thief in the Empire, that NOBODY wants to be associated with her for fear of tainting their own reputations. Vlad, of course, is the sort of person who defies convention at every turn so he has no problem at all in not only being Kiera's friend but in letting people know about it. In that sense, Vlad probably IS the only person to ever be close friends with both aspects of Sethra. I suppose it might be doubly gratifying to Sethra that she managed to eventually become friends with Vlad on her own terms. It's difficult to say given that Sethra is sort of the ultimate roleplayer. I wonder if we'll ever see a story where Sethra starts to lose track of the difference between the two identities and begins treating Kiera as a separate personality. If Vlad was faced with a decision as to which friend would live and which would be subsumed, I wonder which he would choose?