On Tue, 14 Mar 2006, Scott Schultz wrote: > > The moral basis would be having won. Also, I'm kinda skeptical about > > there being such a thing as a Council of Princes that decides this > > sort of issue. If you've got the Orb orbiting your, uhh, orb, then > > everyone else can stick it. > > I'd buy that except for the events of _Viscount of Adrilankha_. Zerika was > not automatically accepted as Emperor just because she showed up with the > Orb. She had to negotiate with the Houses just as Kana was doing, and the > issue of her Easterner lover very nearly lost her the support of the > traditional-minded Houses like House Lyorn. Extraordinary circumstances, esp. the intra-House swap (notice everyone assumes the Dragon get the Orb, in accord with the one-Emperor view). Not a safe basis for speculation. Zerika had pressing matters to deal with and needed to be diplomatic. I imagine she could have just started brain-frying the Heirs of Houses who opposed her if need be. > Possession of the Orb doesn't automatically qualify you to be the Emperor. Unclear, or begs the question. [...] > In other words, the Orb doesn't have a "Cycle detector" that causes it to > automatically move to the next Heir when the Cycle turns. It moves when it's > reqlinquished by the current emperor and claimed by the new emperor. That > means that when Emperor X relinqishes the Orb to Heir Y, that the Cycle had > turned to House Y for some measurable time period already. No, X could be ahead of the Cycle. Remember the possible distinction between Orb- and Cycle-emperor. > If Adron had waited, allowing Loudin to assume the Throne, then he would > have been tacitly admitting that the Cycle had not turned. No. You just asserted the Orb has no Cycle detector - a switch would mean nothing. The Cycle presumably doesn't care who in the House is Emperor under the multi-emperor hypothesis. Incidentally, in the archives I present a variety of explanations for why the attempt on Tortaalik might not have been usurpation. > > Emperor X dies in his sleep. Lackey X+1 comes in to empty the chamber > > pot, sees the score, takes the Orb, starts sending out orders. > > Jamiss' story suggests that this might, in fact, be possible. However, the > Houses would refuse to support such a candidate for Emperor and ultimately > the pretender would lose the Orb to the rightful Heir, presuming that s/he > was audacious enough to actually try and hold onto it. Holding on to it would likely be taken as evidence of being the rightful Heir - and having it would go a long way toward holding it, assuming it doesn't have a Heir detector, since it's a powerful artifact that makes the wielder invulnerable, or nearly. Note that Paarfi says the Orb has an Heir detector, and Aliera tries to claim it in her father's name.