>If Vlad's son (in question) took over the series >would it still "The Vlad Series". I say this because Vlad... >...is an eastner. If Vlad Norather became the primary hero/narrator, then I can't see how it could be considered the same series. It'd be something new using the same setting. What difference does it make that Vlad's an Easterner or not? >With >the GW the gods might said hime back like Sethra but how does that work? >Your soul goes to the _Halls of Judgement_ not your body? Taking these questions in reverse order - When a Dragaeran dies, his or her soul (so we have been told by people who should be reliable) hangs around for three days. After the third day, the soul departs and the body can no longer be revivified. If a body is preserved properly, the soul can apparently remain connected to it. I'm inferring this based on the description of what happens when a body is carried to Deathsgate and the fact that the trip in the pre-teleport age was a long one. Khaavren took an entire year off in order to do it the "traditional" way. In any case, whether the soul remains or is somehow summoned back, when the body arrives at the base of Deathsgate Falls and decomposes, the soul is released. The soul of the deceased then takes whatever physical items it requires from its body and faces the challenge of the Paths of the Dead. The original body is left behind, though it seems clear that the souls in the Paths and the Halls have a body of some sort that can be harmed and even "killed". Now, as for the Gods sending Vlad back - It wouldn't happen, or at least not like it would for a Dragaeran. Easterners don't go to the Halls of Judgement when they die. We don't know what happens to them. Vlad was allowed to leave the Halls in _Taltos_ because he didn't belong there. That is, his soul didn't belong there. Morollan, who was also alive, was unable to leave because his soul DID belong there. Aliera could leave because the Halls had no hold over her. Does it matter that Vlad's soul was originally a Dragaeran soul? I'd say "no", based on Morollan's example. If Vlad's soul was still Dragaeran despite being born into an Easterner or if all souls are the same regardless then Vlad could not have left the Halls of Judgement. It's always possible that the Lords of Judgement allowed Vlad to leave on principle and prevented Morollan from leaving on principle. My general impression based on all of the books, though, leads me to conclude that the Lords of Judgement don't actually interfere in individual affairs that much. What I mean is that Vlad or Zerika or Aliera were all innately able to leave the Halls. It wasn't a case of the Gods granting them some sort of protection from the "soul-stealing" magic of the Halls. When they talked about preventing someone from leaving, they meant literally binding someone physically to the place until such time as they fell asleep and died there. Note, that this is my personal view of matters; there's scant text evidence to directly support it. If Vlad's soul is innately "immune" to the Halls because he's an Easterner then it seems reasonable to presume that his soul will go to wherever Eastern souls go, not to the Halls of Judgement. >Also is it >because Vlad's soul trun traitor and establiah the Jar-head that his in >a eastner's body and not in a "human" one. Aliera suggests as much and sort of treats it as a matter of Karma and genetics doing weird things together. The truth may be more complicated. On a seperate note, I'd recommend sticking to the published names of the stories. Steve's pet-names for the books are his personal thing. You won't normally find anyone else referring to them that way, which can lead to some confusion if you DO start referring to them that way.