"Scott Schultz" <scott at cjhunter.com> Sent by: dragaera-bounces at dragaera.info 06/28/06 10:37 AM To <dragaera at dragaera.info> cc Subject RE: How? >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. Well, there are at least some indirect references to Mario's continued activities (The Demon mentioning to Vlad that they would hired Mario but for the time limitations, etc etc) But at the most basic level, yes. We have not actually seen Mario do anything, except in /FHYA/. (And while Paarfi is sometimes questionable as a source, the murder of Tortaalik is an important enough event that it's unlikely that there is too much liberty taken with the bare facts of the assassination itself...) >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. Paarfi is of the opinion that Aliera's body is sent to the Paths while her soul was wrenched from her body. He says so in /FHYA/. For whatever that's worth. What exactly happens to Mario (aside from being teleported away from the Palace during the disaster) is not mentioned. I think it's safe to assume he, at least, did not have his soul and body separated--but who knows? Maybe he *did* end up in the paths, and had to convince Verra to let him out as an undead or something. (Which might explain why he's been so hard to find lately--he secretly stalks Adrilankha by night, feasting on the blood of Teckla, terrorizing the citizenry and... well, maybe not.) I've always thought it would be interesting to have a Vlad book narrated by Mario. Maybe that would clue us in? >Steve likes to leave hooks to build other stories onto. That and to make >people like us speculate about things like this. *heh* I think I read in an interview someplace that he likes to read the speculation. If that is the case, then I'll be happy to attempt to provide him some entertainment by speculating--as renumeration for all the entertainment he's given me. ;-) >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. This is not Science Fiction. It's not *exactly* fantasy, either, but either way, there is no need for our author to explain the hows and whys of every little thing. A little mystery adds to the charm. (And provides speculation fodder. Mmmm tasty.) Majikjon