On 12/14/05, Jon_Lincicum at stream.com <Jon_Lincicum at stream.com> wrote: > > Davdi Silverrock <davdisil at gmail.com> wrote: > > > >In this case, there is textev for the crossbreedness accusation: > > > >Sethra Lavode, infodumping to Norathar: "To be blunt, I received word > >that you were a bastard. I'm sorry, but that's what I was told. [...] > >I was further told that your true father was not a Dragon." > > Ah yes. That seems quite clear. Still, I think it's plausible that other > Jhereg are indeed full genetic members of some other house (likely > Teckla for the most part, but there could be some disgraced Dragons, > Dzur, Lyorn, etc). Each House has their own standards for behaviour > and someone (like, oh, say, Kragar) may get booted from their House > for violating those standards, and find the prospect of being a Jhereg > preferable to being a Teckla. I am inclined to doubt that there are such examples. If someone is a full member of the House, then their genes should indicate that, and they ought not be expelled - if their behavior violates civil norms, then there ought to be civil punishments. It's hard to imagine behavior that violates House norms, yet not civil norms. Which is why Kragar being a crossbreed (or something else that doesn't fit into House genetic norms) is far more likely than him "merely" giving commands that no-one listened to (which isn't even incompetence, per se). > >> Perhaps. But then, with the Empire (and apparently the cycle) broken, > >> they simply may not have stopped to consider that it might be important. > > > >Yet *after* the Empire is restored, Zerika is said specifically to > >have been the only member of her House. No alleged "unheralded" > >Phoenix were even hinted at. > > Well, afterwards it seems like she's been pretty busy being > Empress--which (unlike her immediate predessesor) > occupies a great deal of her attention. Yet in all of the sections about Zerika trying to gain the support of the other Houses, it would be highly important to note that "the unheralded Phoenix gave her their support", or something similar. As I've said, I'm almost entirely certain that that indicates that there are no such thing. Since she bears the Orb, it would be rather difficult for her to forget that they exist.