At 16:01 04/01/2005, Scott Schultz wrote: >So, I ended my latest re-read of the Vladiad by finishing Issola yesterday. >After the discussion about what might happen to Vlad if he was attacked >post-Godslayer, I was tuned into a conversation that took place between Vlad >and Sethra. > >Sethra implies that it's nearly impossible to kill the wielder of a Great >Weapon. She accounts for Morrolan's death in Jhereg as a combination of >surprise, sorcery and bravado. She goes on to say that even if Morollan had >not been revivified that Blackwand would have continued to guard his soul. >She finishes by saying that Blackwand (whom I think we could probably >consider to be a sorceror in its own right) was capable of doing a lot more >than it did and the Jhereg assassin was a fool. > >Baritt not only died to a Jhereg assassin, he died and went to the Paths. >However, he also hid Pathfinder, essentially seperating himself from it. He >may have forfeited its protection by doing so. Perhaps he even have had a >"falling out" of some kind with it and lost the privelege of wielding it. >That would help explain the concealment of it. "If I can't have you, nobody >can..." Hmmm... Baritt was alive when Aliera was recovered from the Paths. >Some time after that he hid Pathfinder and then was killed. Aliera felt that >Pathfinder had been trying to come to her. Pathfinder's journey may have >begun at the end of _Taltos_ rather than at the beginning of _Dragon_. Once >it "divorced" Baritt he hid it rather than help it travel to its preferred >owner and the rest of _Dragon_ and _Yendi_ unfolded as a result. I think the operative word in Sethra's comment was "weilder". For a Great Weapon to be of use, it must be with its owner. Do we have any instance of a GW doing anything while not unsheathed? >Digressions aside, that just shows that Baritt probably does NOT qualify as >an exception to Sethra's "rule" that Great Weapons will do everything in >their power to protect their owner. This is reinforced at the end of >_Issola_ when Vlad "gloats" over the fact that Iceflame and Pathfinder are >powerless to affect the Jenoine because penetrating its defenses would mean >risking destruction of their respective owners and they would not allow >that. Godslayer, on the other hand, was designed for cutting through sorcery >and has no such qualms. However powerful Iceflame, Blackwand, and Pathfinder >are at their magical abilities, Godslayer is actually a superior weapon in >comparison to all of them. I digress again... > >Whatever happens to Vlad in Adrilankha, it appears that he's safe from >physical harm and probably from magical harm as well. Whereas Morollan and >Blackwand suffered a sorcerous sneak attack, Godslayer would simply nullify >the spell when it landed. I still wonder it it will work while sheathed. -- Regards, Pete pgranzeau at cox.net