> Presumably, the Athyra heir takes over. > You didn't think that only one Emperor could rule per reign, > did you? What would happen if an emperor was killed before > the minimum term? Considering that the few examples of rulership that we have all seem to consist of the lifetime of a single emporer/empress, that's exactly what I've been thinking. Remember, we're talking mystical processes at work here. The Throne hasn't been shown to be hereditary in any sense that we would normally think of the word. In fact, it's not very clear at all how the Heir of any particular House is chosen. In any case, with very rare exceptions the Orb protects the life of the Emperor/Empress. It's no great stretch to imagine that it also protects the health of its owner as well. If the Orb allows its holder to die, then that's a sign that the Cycle has turned. By example from the Paarfiad, Tortaalik had been in office far short of what you're calling the "minimum term". I don't have the book to reference but I'm fairly certain his reign was a pretty short one by Dragaeran standards. Despite this, the Orb moved to Adron once it had determined that the Emporer was dead beyond all recall. It didn't seek out the next Phoenix in line. It sought out the heir of the next House in line. Basically, I see a lot of evidence that the Cycle changes when the sitting Emporer dies or abdicates, while I've seen no evidence that the Throne is passed from one Emporer to another within the same phase of the Cycle.