>If this speculation is true then your argument above gains some >weight, but it was still a mistake not to cut off his head. Presumably >building a new body--if possible--would have taken enough time to >allow them to shine Mellar, which is better than having Morrolan back >in action immediately. True. That's the trouble with speculation. Especially because if we go outside of the story into the real world, the real reason is more likely that Steve wanted Morollan to die and be unrevivifiable for a dramatic chapter ending, but he needed him to be only temporarily unrevivifiable in order to finish the story. Hence, physically untouched but sorcerously prevented from revivification. (The frosting on the cake is the great scene where Vlad does his Bad Cop act on the sorceress.) Getting back into the story universe again, there's another possible explanation. Inter-House politics can be a tricky thing and there are limits to what each House can expect to give and take. The parties that ordered the killing of Morollan may have wanted to shine him permanently but in a fashion least likely to draw retribution from House Dragon. (This is certainly why it was a normal killing and not a morganti killing.) A dead Morollan might incur the wrath of his family and friends. A mutilated and desecrated Dragonlord, on the other hand, might be an affront to House Dragon in general. We can even combine these theories. House Jhereg knew ahead of time that Blackwand would protect Morollan's soul. They didn't want him permanently dead, just put him out of the picture for a few days. Under the assumption that his friends would find a way to break the anti-revivification spell (or that it would be dropped by the sorceress at the appropriate time) they deliberately avoided causing him any undue physical harm. It just turned out that his friends moved too quickly and effectively for the plan to come fully to fruition. Speculation is a wonderful thing. You can justify almost anything as long as there aren't many facts to muddy the waters. ;-P