There was something bothering me about this line of thinking, and I just figured out what it was. Paresh could not have "read Paarfi" and then embellished the story he told Vlad, since the Khaavren Romances weren't yet written at the time the conversation takes place. (According to the preface, we're into the rule of Norathar by the time of "Sethra Lavode" about 100-150 years after the events in "Teckla" where Paresh tells his story.) Now, this does bring up the possibility that Paresh may have, in fact, influenced Paarfi's version--though why Paarfi would take writing advice from a Teckla is a question that would need answering if this is the case. And I have suspicions about Paresh's likelyhood to survive 100 years living the kind of life he does, anyway. If the Jhereg haven't killed him by the turn of the cycle, he's likely to have ended up on the executioner's star for treason. Majikjon (Ooo! "Executioner's Star" needs a wikicites article. I'll have to go do that. Thanks for making me think of it.) On Paresh, Paarfi, and Aerich: It's also possible that the two stories are not related at all, or that Paresh has read Paarfi and is embroidering his history with details from the stories. While we might chuckle to think that the real-life Aerich was less cool-headed than his literary counterpart (Paarfi is, after all, a purveyor of romance novels), Paresh also says that his attacker tried to blast him with sorcery, with he adroitly dodged. This doesn't fit in well with Aerich, who isn't much of a sorcerer per the novels, and IIRC Tazendra's kidnapping takes place during the Interregnum. Perhaps the "daring Teckla teases the arrogant lordling" theme is common enough that Paresh and Paarfi both adopt it from a common source, whether or not the basic details are true in Paresh' case. IMHO, this is a case where Steve is teasing us. Much like the conflict between Morrolan's and Paarfi's accounts of the Zerika's descent from Deathgate. I don't know that it necessarily has a deeper meaning; maybe He does it just to be contrary. Max Wilson -- Be pretty if you are, Be witty if you can, But be cheerful if it kills you. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://dragaera.info/pipermail/dragaera/attachments/20051114/f2415856/attachment.htm