On Mon, 14 Nov 2005, Scott Schultz wrote: > Something to keep in mind though - The end of the Great Cycle and the > appearance of the Reborn Phoenix was not an event related to the death and > rebirth of House Phoenix. This isn't clear to me. > It was an event related to the death and rebirth of The Empire. Given > that, I can't see how Zerika I could possibly be a Reborn Phoenix. She > was simply First. Maybe Z_0 was a sport - the first Phoenix. Maybe the Orb contains the magic whatever-it-is needed to produce a Houseworth of Phoenix out of one, and Z_now will when the time is right use it - say as her last act as Emperor. Maybe Z_0 was the last of her tribe, all the rest of which perished establishing the Empire or creating the Orb, which was designed to make new Phoenix with the side benefit of sorcery. Maybe the Phoenix are the living embodiment of the Cycle.