Hi everyone and Mark and Rion,
Mark A. Mandel wrote on Sun, 9 Jan 2005 10:08:20 -0800 (PST)
>The orca is an Earth species, also known as the killer whale.
Mark, I do not think we know this. We do not know exactly
what the orcas Vlad sees in Phoenix look like. Can't you see
the first Easterners looking at something in the water and
saying hey they sort of look like orca and act like them too?
They did not see any icebergs though.
orca
"Off to the left, the side I was on, a pair of orca surfaced for
a moment, then dived. I kept watching, and it happened again,
somewhat closer, then yet a third time. They were sleek and
graceful; proud. They were very beautiful."
...
"Yinta said, 'Those were shorttails. Did you notice the white
splotches on their backs? When they're young they tend to travel
in pairs. Later they'll gather into larger groups.'
'Their tails didn't seem especially short,' I remarked.
'They weren't. They were both females; the males have shorter
tails."
The Book of Taltos, Phoenix, Lesson 2, page 193
Mark A. Mandel wrote on Sun, 9 Jan 2005 10:08:20 -0800 (PST)
>The dzur is apparently something like a panther, possibly black ("Dzur stalks
>and blends with night" -- Cycle poem).
...
Mark, I agree with the intro to Dzurlord that the dzur is more like
a tiger. Definitely black with yellow eyes.
dzur
"He heard a snarl off to his left and stepped back, alert. He
found himself staring into the yellow eyes of a dzur, about thirty
feet away from him. Five hundred pounds of black death."
Brokedown Palace, Chapter 3, page 46
Internet says Siberian tigers are the largest living cats in the our
world. They weigh between 400 to 650 pounds. The panther weights
around 130 pounds.
On tiassa
"They passed more statuary. When they reached the tiassa, which was
poised upon its hind legs, wings outspread,"
The Paths of the Dead, Chapter the Twenty-Ninth, paperback, page 318
Mark A. Mandel wrote on Sun, 9 Jan 2005 10:08:20 -0800 (PST)
>We also know things, or have ideas, about some of the other creatures,
>including a really weird description of the tsalmoth from Steve himself by
oral
>tradition. I don't have them handy.
lazarus wrote on Mon, 18 Aug 2003 17:59:56 -0700
>On the other hand, I definitely remember talking to Steve about these
>critters at a con in Mississippi, and he described the Tsalmoth as "a
>large land oyster" who would spend months or years climbing a tree,
>then climbing out on a limb, then waiting to drop on a large prey
>animal moving beneath it. If it missed, it had to start up the tree
>again.....
SKZB on Dzurlord, the Crossroads adventure book:
Steven Brust wrote on Tue, 19 Aug 2003 01:24:06 -0700
on a subject: House Animals
At 08:05 PM 8/18/2003 -0700, Hans Schweitzer wrote:
> >http://www.mojoworld.net/sil/treats/dzurlordintro.html
>
> >Check it out. I'm rather surprised at how my guesses went. Another note,
> >for gloating factor, is that I figured a bear had to be in there somewhere.
> >Only one I had no clue with was the Iorich and the Jhegaala, and hey, that
> >ain't bad.
>That introduction was informative.
SKZB> Not, however, canonical, as far as I know.
Steven Brust wrote on Wed, 20 Aug 2003 13:54:25 -0700
At 01:30 AM 8/19/2003 -0700, lazarus wrote:
>>On Tue, 19 Aug 2003 01:24:06 -0700, you wrote:
>>
>>
>>Am I remembering correctly, that you described the tsalmoth as a giant
>>land oyster?
SKZB> Actually, a six-foot diameter snail.
SKZB> However, I was not being entirely serious.
Steven Brust wrote on Tue, 2 Sep 2003 23:43:47 -0700
From: "roger n. tospott" <rone at ennui.org> wrote on Monday, September 01,
2003
> Steven Brust writes:
> At 01:30 AM 8/19/2003 -0700, lazarus wrote:
> >Am I remembering correctly, that you described the tsalmoth as a giant
> >land oyster?
> Actually, a six-foot diameter snail.
> However, I was not being entirely serious.
>
> Well, can you give us an estimation on how serious you were?
>
>
SKZB> I'm delighted to be able to give you an answer to this question.
SKZB> The answer is no.
So, Rion, good luck! Maybe Steven is ready to make some decisions
on what some of the animals look like or maybe he isn't. Of course,
even though Steven may approve the artwork or the introduction to Dzurlord
that does not mean it is canonical and he cannot change it later if he
needs to. We can always blame Paarfi. Or we can blame Vlad, Piro,
and Captain G'aereth. Or maybe it is all Dolivar's fault. I blame
Kieron the Conqueror, blind as he always was. Kieron almost took the
orb remember.
Rion, here is the whole Cycle,
"The Cycle
Phoenix sinks into decay
Haughty dragon yearns to slay.
Lyorn growls and lowers horn
Tiassa dreams and plots are born.
Hawk looks down from lofty flight
Dzur stalks and blends with night.
Issola strikes from courtly bow
Tsalmoth maintains though none knows
how.
Vallista rends and then rebuilds
Jhereg feeds on others' kills.
Quiet iorich won't forget
Sly chreotha weaves his net.
Yendi coils and strikes unseen
Orca circles, hard and lean.
Frightened teckla hides in grass
Jhegaala shifts as moments pass
Athyra rules minds' interplay
Phoenix rise from ashes, gray."
Yendi
Bye.
Linda G.