On Tue, 29 Mar 2005, Joy Jennifer Nicholson wrote: > If the Cycle is stronger than the gods, then WHAT is the Cycle? Did > it exist before the creation of the empire, but in another form? Is > it like a law of physic? Is it sentient? The Cycle is a fairly specific artifact/force of nature. It drives the Empire. The existence of the Empire, in some mystical fashion, helps protect the world from incursions by the Jenoine. If you're not a citizen of the Empire then the Cycle has no hold upon you at all. To my mind, that makes it rather less than a law of the universe. If the Gods didn't create it themselves, then it may be some piece of Jenoine technology that they adapted to their own purposes. Ultimately, we have to shrug and say "Too little data."