I've two topics to cover: one on the subject of ells,
one on a subject relating to Paths of the Dead, which
I'll give spoiler space for since I myself only
recently acquired the books, and others may be as far
or farther behind than I.
On the matter of ells, and the spelling of Morrolan's
name: In Yendi, paperback pg 78, Devera tells the
currently dead Vlad that Aliera ("Mommy") and "Uncle
'Rollan" are worried about him and trying to revivify
him. Perhaps the spelling change is indicative of a
pronunciation change. Perhaps there is some
significance to the position of the syllables "rollan"
or "rolan" within the word: two ells, and whatever
pronunciation that implies, if it is at the beginning
of the word or name, such as with Rollander or the
abbreviated Uncle 'Rollan; one ell and whatever
pronunciation *that* implies if it is in the middle/at
the end of the word or name, such as with Morrolan.
Or maybe this suggests that it doesn't actually matter
if you use one ell or two.
Perish the thought. It must mean something.
The other case of mysterious numbers of ells in Yendi
is Wellok. Or is it Welok? It depends upon if you look
at the map or the text. In all of the text, Welok is
spelled with one ell, even outside Yendi (he gets a
mention in Taltos, paperback pg 104. My Brust books
are dog-eared have all sorts of underlining and notes
in the margins--as if I meant to write papers from
them). But the map says Wellok.
Which might be an argument for Brust receiving
entirely oral material from Vlad, transcribing it
without ever seeing the names written in any language,
and then being given supplemental maps later (and
Paarfi's works yet later than that).
Or, in another reality, it might be a result of
someone else drawing the maps for the book. The
signature, as best I can make it out, is "Marschall."
My other question pertains to a contradiction between
Taltos and Paths of the Dead (not about the actual
Paths, of course! I understand those change :) so I
will add the spoiler space in here:
D
E
A
T
H
(S?)
G
A
T
E
F
A
L
L
S
I was inspired to reread the Vlad books to compare
portrayals of Morrolan. (I was surprised to find that,
even though Dean Pamlar :) says in the preface to Five
Hundred Years after, "The mode of speech ... does not
represent, so far as can be determined, any actual
mode of speech, past or present. It is taken from a
popular anonymous play of the period, Redwreath and
Goldstar Have Traveled to Deathsgate*," yes, to some
extent, Morrolan really does talk that way.)
(*There seems to be a continuing confusion over
whether or not "Deathgate" contains an s. Is it
possessive? Is it plural? Is there some Dragaeran
construction that is neutral about plurality and
singularity, similar to the manner gya is neutral
about gender? Does it matter if you're using it
literally or an an expletive?)
In rereading Taltos, I came across an interesting
glitch in Morrolan's history. On page 98 of the
paperback, he tells Vlad, "As you approach Greymist
Valley, sorcery becomes difficult. From the time you
reach Deathgate, it is impossible.... I was at the top
of the falls with Zerika, holding off some local
brigands while she made her descent. If I could have
used sorcery, I would have."
Which doesn't jibe with Paarfi's telling in Paths of
the Dead at all.
In the first place, she didn't so much "make her
descent" as take a flying leap, but the one phrase
could substitute for the other, especially if one did
not wish to refer to the Empress's actions with such
an undignified description.
In the second place, Morrolan wasn't there. The title
of Chapter 27 mentions that he very nearly met Zerika
and her entourage--he sees four or six riders in the
distance (in fact, there are 5, but they are so
distant he cannot make them out) but decides not to
bother them, as they do not seem inclined to attack.
Morrolan and those he travels with continue on their
way South, while Zerika continues North to Deathgate
Falls. Those present at Deathgate Falls when Zerika
leaped, two chapters later at the end of 29, included
Piro, Kytraan, Tazendra, her lackey Mica, Orlaan or
Grita, Wadre, and his band--the brigands Morrolan
spoke of--but not Morrolan himself!
Is Paarfi wrong? Did Morrolan meet Zerika then after
all, and defend her descent, then part ways with Piro
and co and make his way South to his ancestral home
after the battle? Why would such a thing have been
omitted from the accounts Paarfi based his novel upon?
Or, if the accounts accurately reflect Morrolan's
presence, why would Paarfi, a historian, choose to lie
and claim Morrolan was absent?
Is Morrolan lying? He is trying to convince Vlad he
knows all about Deathgate Falls; a little "I was
there" could go a long way to shutting Vlad up... but
isn't it a little excessive to falsely claim to have
been at such a historic moment? Couldn't he have
claimed to have come up with a funereal procession, or
something?
Did Zerika, by any chance, descend the falls twice,
with brigands at her heels both times, and Morrolan
present on the second occasion?
Or is it a screw-up?
Master Brust? Didja once mean for Morrolan to have met
Zerika and co, and defended her descent and change
your mind, forgetting Morrolan's claim in Taltos?
In the third place, and perhaps this lends credence to
the idea that Morrolan was lying to Vlad to prove his
point, how would Morrolan have used sorcery against
the brigands even if he were at that battle? It was
the Interregnum. Ordinary sorcery as Vlad knows it at
that point in time, in Taltos, would be out of the
question. Pre-Empire sorcery? Maybe. Except Morrolan
had been busy studying witchcraft for a couple hundred
years, which is something else entirely. I doubt if he
had made any serious foray into Pre-Empire sorcery,
having only been aware of the Empire since Teldra
found him.
~Juliette
=====
~-~-~-~-~-~-~
"When they say that people should bring things
to their relationships, I hadn't thought that meant
that one person should keep a sword in her torso
and that the other one should turn into a car."
--Elena, on "Revolutionary Girl Utena"
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