Felix Eisen <felixeisen at yahoo.com> Sent by: dragaera-bounces at dragaera.info 06/13/06 09:12 AM To dragaera at dragaera.info cc Subject Re: Loraan, souls, and the Paths of the Dead > Regarding those emerging from the Paths: > > Zerika IV: a special case, the last Phoenix, had to bring back the Orb, yadda yadda. > Vlad Taltos: Easterner, didn't belong there, one escape only, next time you'll have to stay. (Your familiar shares your fate, of course.) > Aliera e'Kieron: a 'special case', given the ability to leave the Paths by her mom, the goddess Verra. > Morollan e'Drien: wasn't supposed to leave. Apparently infused with the blood of a goddess, which permitted him to escape as a real > living guy. > > To our knowledge, no other has been 'allowed' to escape as a living individual from the Paths of the Dead; even Sethra Lavode had to come >back as undead. Not one of these people has really been "allowed" to leave by the gods. Each one of them had a reason why the Paths could not hold them in. I contend that no intervention by the gods was made to "allow" them out in any of these cases. Vlad&Loiosh: Are not Dragaerans, hence their blood was not Dragaeran, therefore not bound (or bindable) by the Paths. Zerika: Had the Orb. Which "Has some power, even here" according to Verra in /Taltos/. Lets her leave alive, despite her Dragaeran blood. Aliera: Her mother is a goddess, hence her blood is half-goddess. The Paths cannot hold her. Morrolan: Trickery with blood transfusion on Vlad's part gives Morrolan the same immunity that Aliera enjoys naturally. The only one of these that had full Dragaeran blood when she left was Zerika, and she had the Orb (and through it, all the power of the Greater Sea of Chaos) helping her. If this does not actually make her a goddess, it comes as close as a normal mortal can, methinks. Majikjon