K Kuhn wrote: >Possibly related - does anyone else get the feeling that Dragaeran >society doesn't really seem to fit a belief that they can tell who a >reincarnated soul once was in a previous life? Like, if that's the >case, why was Norathar picked as Dragon Heir because she was an e'Lanya, >rather than because she was the reincarnation of the last Dragon >Empress? Similarly, why was Aliera Dragon Heir because of her Dad, >rather than because she was the sister of Kieron the Conqueror and >Kieron hadn't shown up yet? Maybe that's the reason I've always >wondered if Aliera or Sethra hit Vlad with a gullibility spell when they >told him that he once was Dolivar, and Dragaerans really can't tell who >someone was in a previous life, they just know that reincarnation >happens. In which case, creating raw Chaos might definitely be related >to being an Easterner. > >(BTW - does anyone know of any textevd that 'souls' have to be >reincarnated in the body of one of their line? If not, the LoJ really >should have taken advantage of that and reincarnated some of their more >able souls into the body of an e'Kieron to get that ability in future >versions). > I think it would help to remember that Vlad hangs out with some exceptional people. Aliera telling Vlad he's a reincarnation of someone else's soul (as accurate as that assesment may be) doesn't seem to be the kind of thing that most other Dragaerans would be likely to buy. Aliera and Sethra believe it, but in the world of Dragaera, it's difficult to get any more atypical than Sethra and Aliera. Certainly the concept of the soul, reincarnation and the undead are matter of mechanics to Sethra, The Necromancer, Aliera, and other uber-powerful folks, but they get little more than lip service from most other nobles. (And lets not even begin to talk about all the superstitious Teckla beliefs). Besides, like most political bodies, the Houses go with what keeps people currently alive happy, and don't give much consideration to what some long-dead soul might have to say about things. Majikjon