New to the list, but definitely not new to the books... I don't know if this has been covered on this list (if it has please give me the mssg # because I couldn't find it.) Pure speculation follows: Is Ibronka name of one, two, or three people? Roanna's companion, Vlad's grandmother, and a third that Vlad dates. Noish-pa never says that his wife died, only that he "lost" her. "Lost" doesn't always mean "died". Vlad "lost" Cawti and she is very much alive. Vlad never mentions ever meeting her. Could this be the reason that his father refused to bring Vlad to see his grandfather until Vlad was 5? I'm not intimating that Vlad is half-Dragaeran. His Eastern reactions to teleportation, stature, and ability to grow facial hair almost completely preclude it. (Yeah, I'm hedging my bets...) What if Noish-pa had a thing for one particular "elf" and ... There is also the Ibronka that Vlad dates (dragtime: "Vlad dates Ibronka (Tl 174)). Is Ibronka is a very popular name among Easterners and Dragaerans? (Which conflicts with the concept that there are different popular names, i.e. Mario and one other that eludes me at the moment, which are "Dragaeran(s) with an Eastern name.") I doubt very much that Noish-pa would marry and have children with a woman with a Dragaeran name. Is Ibronka another Dragaeran with an Eastern name? It doesn't seem likely that she would rise in the eyes of other Dragaerans with an Eastern name. Mario is well known, but not highly regarded except for his singular talent, and that talent is not universally acceptable. So do we have one individual? No. Vlad can't even patronize a Dragaeran brothel so would probably never date one. Two? Possible. When talking about Vlad, Noish-pa says "your grandmother", but when talking about the uprising, Vlad refers to his grandmother and Noish-pa says "that is when I lost Ibronka." Noish-pa doesn't mess around with wrong words (usually). What say you?