On Feb 15, 2006, at 12:36 PM, Howard Brazee wrote: > Jon_Lincicum at stream.com wrote: > >>> I don't think fertility is an urgent need here. She might have >>> long term plans of returning to mortality. But she probably has >>> lots of long term plans of a grander nature. >> >> One other point to consider--even if Sethra were still alive, she >> would be well past the age of Dragaeran menopause. >> >> By a factor of at least 10,000 I would say. >> >> > She probably avoided it - but I wonder how long the bad times last > with normal Dragaerans. > > But thinking about it - how does aging work? Do old Dragaerans > stay vigorous until they have a quick decline? > Menopause should be early enough so that you stick around long > enough to rear your children. But can a post-menopausal Dzur > fight effectively? I suspect yes. Most elven myths have them > virtually immortal. Old age might be like cancer - killing them > relatively rapidly. Humans historically began to bear young at age 15-16. With menopause 30 years away, many of the children would be having children while their mothers remained fertile.