lazarus wrote: > On Wed, 29 Sep 2004 06:01:03 -0600, you wrote: > >>Mark Englehart wrote: >> >>>And as I recall in Jhereg Vlad informs us that the longest a House >>>can hold the throne at a time is 17 to the 17th power. That puts >>>it way outside the lifetime of a single emperor. >> >>Depending on what unit of time he was referring to, I don't remember. > > It's a big freaking number. > > 827,240,261,886,336,764,177 > > I don't remember, how many days in a year on Dragaera? > > It's got to be either days, hours, or minutes. Or even seconds? If I remember correctly, the numbers Vlad gives are 17*17 (289) for the minimum (in years) and 17*17*17 (4913) for the maximum, again in years. My take on what happens on when the Emperor/Empress dies before the Cycle turns is that the orb goes to the next in line of the current ruling house. If we believe Vlad, then the Cycle takes a minimum of 289 years to turn. If an Emperor/Empress dies within this minimum (say, after only 50 years) or dies at some point past this minimum, but the Cycle hasn't turned (say, after 500 years), I believe that the orb goes to the next person in line within the current ruling house. Also, even if there were a period of insurrection during which the orb is not circling over anybody's head, sorcery should still work; what caused sorcery not to work during the Interregnum was not the lack of a ruler, but rather the fact that the orb was in the Paths of the Dead, and it is the orb that channels the Great Sea of Amorphia, not the Emperor/Empress (that would be exhausting). While we're on the subject, I've had a pararectal notion that the house of the Phoenix doesn't get to rule twice in a row (at the beginning and then at the end of the Cycle), just for being at the top and at the bottom of the poem describing the Cycle. Since we know in hindsight that the Cycle had not in fact turned, I think that Adron's spell would have failed to take control of the orb; as it was, it succeeded in confusing it. I think its natural inclination once Tortaalik was dead would have been to head for Loudin/Vernoi. Adron was betting the cycle had turned, and thus would be able to grab the orb, but even Paarfi describes the orb as not willing to go to Adron (by way of his proxy, Aliera). I think the way the Great Cycle of the Dragon makes itself known (since this is the first time all Houses have held the orb 17 time each) is by the period of turmoil that follows the decadent Phoenix giving way to the Reborn Phoenix, but this all happens within the same reign. If we could see the Wheel of Destiny (uh, I mean, the Cycle), I don't think we'd see two Phoenix depictions. If all this pararectal ideation holds up, it provides some slim evidence of the multiple rulers per reign I discuss above. Going back to the Teckla reign (or republic), I would think that the mystical nature of the Cycle can more or less predict who the electee is going to be; once the Teckla President (or whatever they call him) is elected, and goes into office, the Cycle has turned. Although I guess if there's always French Revolution-style violence on the way to the republic, then the Orca reign ends with the gruesome beheading (or Starring? That would be kinda evil...) of the Orca ruler. I wonder what the sign that the Cycle has turned might be when there is a peaceful transition between Orca and Teckla... Jose -- Jose Marquez \ Cthulhu 2004 jhereg69 at hackwater.com \ Why vote for http://www.hackwater.com \ the lesser evil?