just an odd thought i pulled outta the old wazoo tonight while rereading taltos there is a scene where vlad is having a sarcastic conversation with his current boss about his first 'job' and what he can and can't do. don't hit him in his flat, near his wife, temple etc... loiosh hisses at the boss during the exchange, prompting vlad to be startled at what the little lizardbrain was picking up from him (p. 106 in my paperback (ace fantasy, march 1998)..... it is aliera's contention that actual animal dna is incorporated into 'humans' and because easterners don't belong to houses they wouldn't have this dna, the jen enhanced their psychic abilities instead... so. our dear assassin would be lacking this very necessary component to do well in a house. enter the witch's predilection toward gathering a familiar. what does he get? loiosh. who has the proper genetics and inherent characteristics to succeed in the jhereg, because he literally is one. i'm guessing that mr. brust is very literal about animal genetics influencing individual behavior and creating a coherently behaving house. i'm pararectaling that the link of the witch's familiar is a 2 way street and that vlad has assimilated some of loiosh's traits just as loiosh picked up stuff from him, thereby giving him the genetic history consistent with his soul. his soul *knew* it didn't have the proper dna in this body and did an end run around with witch-craft to get jhereg dna into the mix in some manner. i'd guess since vlad doesn't know who he really is, its an unconsious pull that did it, much like his recognizing kieron later on in the paths of the dead. caveat emptor on this idea, as i'm not sure how it interacts with the house anyone can buy into..... but perhaps having purer jhereg 'genetics' allowed vlad the talents to have his meteoric rise in the jhereg... and those same pure 'genetics' along with his 'human' soul and eastern body forced him into actions that pushed him morally past where he could be and abide within his chosen profession and house. andy