On Thu, 10 Mar 2005, Scott Schultz wrote: @> The problem I have with the idea of Verra being Vlad's mother is that it @> doesn't fit what we know of her personality. She makes no bones about Aliera @> being her daughter. The gods have different relations with Dragaerans than @> with Easterners (when they bother with them at all) but I don't see why @> she'd treat differently with Vlad than with Aliera (and Devera). For that @> matter, Vlad's father, who rejected all things Eastern including religion, @> seems like an unlikely candidate to attract the attention of a goddess who @> would then pretend to be a normal person long enough to court him, marry @> him, bear his child, and pretend to die. Noish-pa would be a lot more likely @> candidate for that sort of treatment. The only motivation that Verra could possibly have for doing all this was to produce a specific person, Vlad. Vlad has enough unique characteristics to make this a worthwile idea. And Vlad's father being areligious would just make him an easier target, since he wouldn't be able to recognize any signs that might exist that she was a goddess. Also, keep in mind that pretending to be a mortal for a while isn't as much of a strain for her as it might be for someone who can't be in more than one place at a time. And we don't /really/ know that Vlad's mother is dead or "dead"; he said that his father told him different stories about what happened to her at different times. She might not reveal that information to him because doing so would change his behavior in undesireable ways. Or because of caprice. Or for a hundred other reasons. @> Besides, having a goddess for a mother would just about be crossing the line @> between "believable" (we're talking fantasy after all) and "unbelievable". @> It would pretty much brand Vlad as a munchkin at this point. Uh, you're talking about a character that has the Issola spoiler stuff, plus the nigh-invincible swordfighting technique, plus the ability to nuke anything he wants if he's pissed enough, plus Loiosh, plus two different kinds of magic when most people only have one, plus friendsship with the most powerful beings in his fantasy world. And /this/ is the point you pick to start worrying about his power level? Making a character powerful or well-connected doesn't make him a munchkin. Giving him no flaws and no weaknesses does, and having Verra for a mother would not reduce his existing flaws and weaknesses one iota.