>For one >instance the Seorli( I believe ) in "Dragon" which >Morralon took after about Spellbreaker/Godslayer/Lady Tledra. If you're asking whether the Serioli in question was talking about Godslayer, then the answer would be a qualified "yes". I say "qualified" because he referred to "Remover of aspects of divinity" as something that didn't fully exist yet. To the Serioli, the Great Weapons were "people" in their own right. The following quote from _Dragon_ is telling: --- "Good day to you", said Morrolan, adding a sound at the end that we either the cough of a man with Juiner's Lung or the name of the Serioli we faced. "His name - your pardon - the Easterner's name is Vlad Taltos, the Jhereg is called Loiosh." "You don't mention the fourth, because we've met already; but why do you leave out the fifth? Because she is not altogether here?"... ...Morrolan said "Who is the fifth?" "Who indeed?", said the Serioli, nodding sagaciously as if Morrolan had said something wise. --- Given subsequent events, it seems the proper way to look at this exchange is that the Serioli, who evidently treated each Great Weapon as person in its own right, is interpreting Morollan's question as "Who is the personality template of Godslayer?" If you prefer, "Whose soul provides her personality?" Notice that the Serioli refers to Godslayer as "she" from the beginning. This all would make perfect sense to someone whose sense of time seems to have no trouble encompassing the past, present and future simultaneously. At this point in the exchange, he doesn't know that Morollan and Vlad have no clue about Godslayer. When Morollan is confused and Vlad has no objections when the Serioli says "But maybe I'm giving away secrets..." then he tries to explain in terms that they'll understand. >Another how did Mario get out of "the paths of the dead" b/c >Aleria was trap there as was the "orb" >and Sethra became a vapmire. On the one hand, keep in mind that officially we don't know anything about Mario. He may well be dead and reincarnated. Mario's reputation was based on his success at murdering the Emperor. His name is invoked in the name of lost causes. "Might as well hire Mario to do it." Nobody seems to actually know how to get hold of him. If he's "worked" since the Interregnum, it hasn't been reported to us except as rumor and speculation. He may not exist at all except as a legendary boogey man. Presuming that Paarfi is dependable on this point, we also know that Sethra was attempting to save him at the same time as she attempted to save Aliera and the Orb. The Orb arrived in The Halls of Judgement. Aliera's soul did not. Mario is a question mark. Assuming that he's really out and about (Steve apparently once suggested that Mario had shown up to visit Aliera "off-stage" just before a scene in, I think, Yendi), then he didn't escape the Halls - He never arrived there at all. Indeed, the strain of trying to put the Orb into the Halls while putting Mario and Aliera someplace outside of the Halls at the same time is likely what resulted in the loss of Aliera's soul. <speculation>Aliera's body ended up in the Halls while her soul got trapped in a field, probably on the same spot that Mario landed.</speculation> If true, it would also answer the question from a while back as to where Verra got a body to put Aliera's soul into later on. >Also while Dereva was (presumely) that >dragon during the fight with Jenione, was she the same one who was (I >blieve) either upset or "it" reconzie Vlad when him and Dark Star went >to reunited Aleria to the land of the living. Maybe, but there's no way to know. I suspect not, if only because it was more concerned with impeding their progress. Whether it had its own agenda or not, it was an obstacle that was overcome only because the Cycle had Dragon rising. If the current reign had been anything other than Phoenix, I believe that meeting would have had a significantly different outcome. No way to tell, though. >Third: Do not miss understand I love Brust and the writings of Paarfi >but to one such as my self they are too ambugious, and sometimes >cliff-hangers. Steve likes to leave hooks to build other stories onto. That and to make people like us speculate about things like this. *heh* >Such as the window(s) in Dark Star's tower, how did Verra >get it there was it already a Logical answers go out the window when you're talking about a gift from the Gods. It just "is". The how's and why's are pretty much irrelevant. >um what did the Demon and so-and-so ( >sorry I forgot) a place where gods meterializes and the special portals >( the cave where Zekia/ Ziva inmuge from the "Halls of Judgement" I think you left out part of this sentence. Care to re-phrase?