Dragaera

Who is Zerika's current lover?

Mon Jul 19 13:59:27 PDT 2004

Does _Sethra Lavode_ contain any revelations about Laszlo and his
metaphysical history?


At the close of the Interregnum, Laszlo is, at a guess, in his thirties.
Don't quote me on it if you know better. :-P

Anyway, no matter how old he is, he can't be alive in Vlad's time some 250
years after (give or take). 

Verra does grant long life (immortality?) to her priestesses if we believe
Paarfi. There's no record (unless there's something in Sethra Lavode, which
I've not read yet) of her doing that for lay people.

Zerika implies that she recognizes her current lover by his soul. She tells
Vlad "He is an Easterner because that is the House in which his soul
resides". 

I originally took this to mean that, like Vlad, Zerika's lover was a
Dragaeran soul of a previous love who incarnated into an Easterner. Once she
learned this fact, they just naturally took up where they left off.

Paarfi doesn't directly contradict this reading. (Again, taking into account
that I'm not aware of whatever revelations Sethra Lavode holds.) Zerika's
quote above could simply mean that she found out some time after _Viscount_
that she and Laszlo were "old souls" that had been lovers in past lives,
accounting for their inter-racial attraction. 

In any case, it seems unlikely that Laszlo is her current lover unless there
is some odd magic at work or some strange interaction occurs when a
Dragaeran incarnates as an Easterner, giving the Easterner a much longer
lifespan than normal. I wonder how Vlad would react if he received proof
that, rather than living 60-80 years, that he was destined to live more like
600-800 years.