On Wed, 29 Sep 2004, Howard Brazee wrote: @> > I wonder what the sign that the Cycle has turned might be when there is @> > a peaceful transition between Orca and Teckla... @> @> Are there peaceful transitions between houses? Have there been times @> when a ruler in a house dies and instead of his in-house heir taking @> power, power has been transformed smoothly and without rancor? @> @> It's easy to imagine that all houses have fought (even if just @> politically) to keep control just a while longer. According to Paarfi (in an area and about a subject where Paarfi can be trusted to be speaking as accurate as he ever does), the present-day Phoenix to Dragon handoff occurred peacefully and smoothly. (Whether it resulted from Zerika's death is unknown, but see,s unlikely.) As for historical ones, they're somewhat less likely to become a topic of conversation. (The power was handed over peacefully and then nothing much happened for the next four thousand years. And then the good part with violence started!)