Maximilian Wilson <wilson.max at gmail.com> writes: > On Wed, 23 Mar 2005 12:39:30 -0500, Steve Simmons <scs at di.org> wrote: >> If Vlad wants to return, the threat of Godslayer alone will probably be >> sufficient to stop most assassins. > > Sure. Probably not any of the good ones, though, since you normally > don't figure on the target fighting back anyway. The Jhereg were > willing to go after Sethra Lavode in Dzur Mountain during the > Dragon-Jhereg war, at least until she destroyed a number of assassins. > (Heh heh heh.) I think Godslayer makes a better _pretext_ for backing > off than an actual defense--it would probably have to be pretty much > as Scott Schultz suggested, the Demon waking up to find Godslayer > pointed at his eye. > >> If Sethra Lavode, the Empress, Morrolan and Aliera announce they will >> avenge Vlads assasination by wiping the Council and their successors to >> the third iteration, The Organization will likely swallow hard and agree >> to leave him alone. > > I can't see it happening exactly that way. If you _could_ involve the > Empress like that, perhaps it would work, but I don't see her doing > that and I don't see the threat of Morrolan, Aliera, and Sethra alone > cutting it. (Sethra would have to leave Dzur Mountain, where a lot of > her reputation/power resides, to do it.) Although I _can_ certainly > see Morrolan and Aliera wiping out a couple of Council members if Vlad > gets rubbed, they're not personally a threat to the Organization as a > whole. (Unless Morrolan declares war in an official capacity, with > armies and stuff. Then I'm not sure.) The Empress could be. Side-track: I'm sure that, if Sethra were willing to be a guarantor in such a deal at all, the way she'd implement her part would in fact require her to leave Dzur mountain, as you say. But it got me thinking about Sethra's powers. Do you think that, if she really wanted to, she could cause any square block she chose in Arilankha to explode / dissappear / turn into amorphia / otherwise destroy everybody there? I'm reasonably sure she could, if she wanted to. She just *wouldn't*, under most circumstances; it's too indiscriminate for her tastes. -- David Dyer-Bennet, <mailto:dd-b at dd-b.net>, <http://www.dd-b.net/dd-b/> RKBA: <http://noguns-nomoney.com/> <http://www.dd-b.net/carry/> Pics: <http://dd-b.lighthunters.net/> <http://www.dd-b.net/dd-b/SnapshotAlbum/> Dragaera/Steven Brust: <http://dragaera.info/>