Starshadw at aol.com writes: > > tyan at twcny.rr.com writes: > > > p25: the Nut and Raisin emblem of the grocer {unclear: > > all grocers use this emblem vs this is the only grocer nearby} > > Actually, I think this means that it is the symbols all grocers used. > Otherwise, I think the word "a" would have been used instead of "the." Heh. That was my 1st reaction, but "the N&R emblem of a grocer" is still ambiguous, e.g. "the tail of a snerp". > > p30: "story": Tsalmoth Emperor, Faarith I, "proceeded" Jamiss I > > {preceeded?}; > > Orb "was even then beginning to show its marvelous attributes" {!}; > > engineer Jamiss took Palace & Orb since Orb failed to save Faarith > > So why -didn't- the Orb protect the Emperor??? Was it really a "sign?" or > are there limitations as to what the Orb can do? Definitely there are limitations, but recall from Lesson 6 in _Phoenix_, pp86-87, that there are at least 2 theories for why sorcery got so much more powerful after the Interregnum: the Orb was changed by its passage from the Halls of Judgment and sorcerors developed new skills in its absence. My guess is that both theories are correct. There was some speculation on RASFW that the Orb is similar to a computer, so perhaps its programming gets increasingly sophisticated over the years. > > p32: "Cavalier Pel" {double meanings? offhand? aristrocratic? > > Charles I of England? 17th century English Cavalier poets? > > gallant = fashionable, lady's man?} > > It looks to me as if it were being specifically used as a title here - a > cavalier is a gentleman traind in horsemanship and arms. It can also refer > to a mounted soldier (aka knight). It does have the more esoteric meanings, > but I don't think it would have been capitalized if it weren't meant as a > title. The capitalization reflects the obvious meanings, but isn't it Pel (not Aerich) who uses female contacts so skillfully? (Eg., before the 4some's audience with G'aereth, he chats up Shaltre's female escort, and then plops himself down near the door in the hopes of overhearing their conversation.) That would fit "lady's man". I don't know anything about Charles I or Cavalier poets, so I couldn't say if there was any relevance. > p33: Count Gant-Aerethia (G'aereth) > >This is intriguing because we see lots of Dragaeran names that have been >"apostrophied" :) If so, then there is a good chance that their names are >being truncated even as G'aereth's. Here are page numbers for David G.'s example of another abbreviation: TPG, ch5, pp49-50: Sivali-Yangorra Stones Teckla, ch13, p437 in omnibus: s'yang-stones > > p39: Aerich passes 3 weapon-smiths, stops at hostelry with fat partridge > > sign, basement door with a small sign of a simple longsword {why this one?} > > Yes, this bothered me. Either he knew of the place previously, or there was > some small sign we didn't recognize somewhere that clued him in, or it was an > implicit statement of his skill with the sword that he wasn't concerned about > getting "the very best." Wild speculation, some in response to Rae's reminder... Apparently Pel cultivates "favorites", e.g. the Chreotha clothier. Perhaps Aerich worries that Pel's choices are more friendly than competent and/or he doesn't like the idea of helping Pel cultivate favorites and/or he doesn't want to owe Pel any favors -- or at least not until he knows Pel better. - tky