History WMG / Dragaera

[[WMG:Devera is [[LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya Haruhi]]]]

* 3) Lyorn - Because the House's bureaucrats played a crucial role in establishing the mechanisms of Imperium and laying the groundwork for the Empire's the social order.

Sethra wouldn't have chosen just ''any'' random pair of nobles to raise the last Phoenix, but would want candidates she could trust both with "Zivra"'s safety and with her concealment. A pair of former Lavodes, retired from service yet sworn and accustomed to following the Enchantress's leadership, would meet both requirements. Zerika's guardians are described as somewhat elderly, as would be expected if they had to retire from service as Lavodes, and/or if they'd walked away from that duty in protest after the Lavode Scandal banished Sethra from the court. Granted, they were Dragonlords rather than Dzur, but it's never actually been stated that ''only'' Dzurlords are eligible for Lavode status, and the fact that Phoenix and Dragon facial features are so similar would've made them the preferred choice among ex-Lavode candidates.

Sethra wouldn't have chosen just ''any'' random pair of nobles to raise the last Phoenix, but would want candidates she could trust both with Zivra's safety and with her concealment. A pair of former Lavodes, retired from service yet sworn and accustomed to the Enchantress's leadership, would meet both requirements. Zerika's guardians are described as somewhat elderly, as would be expected if they had to retire from service as Lavodes, and/or if they'd walked away from that duty in protest after the Lavode Scandal banished Sethra from the court. Granted, they were Dragonlords rather than Dzur, but it's never actually been stated that ''only'' Dzurlords are eligible for Lavode status, and the fact that Phoenix and Dragon facial features are so similar would've made them the preferred choice among ex-Lavode candidates.

Rather, it happened because the life he ''should'' have had, this time around, wasn't an option. We learn from ''Vallista'' that Vlad's soul has been reincarnated many times, into many Dragaeran bodies and Houses. Given the crucial role of the Cycle in this 'Verse's metaphysics, and the way his current life keeps confronting him with situations (i.e. novels) themed around each House in turn, it'd make sense if his soul was likewise "taking the tour" of all seventeen Houses, over and over, ever since Dolivar's time. This soul-Cycle has happened repeatedly, refining his subconscious capacity to intuit and empathize with each House's peculiarities. So why is he Eastern now? Because for this particular life, ''it was House Phoenix's turn'', but there aren't any Phoenixes being born anymore, which forced whatever power or destiny guides his passage from life to life to improvise.

It's probably the only explanation for how animals the size of rabbits could have a reputation for preying upon animals the size of a city bus. It would also explain why norska turn up their noses at meat they haven't killed themselves, if their digestive processes depend on their salivary enzymes being able to infiltrate and start dissolving a dragon's flesh while it's still alive.

May have been foreshadowed in ''Taltos''. And can you think of any better CrowningMomentOfAwesome on which to end the series?

Aliera mentioned that the Jenoine found a way to contain human-level intelligence in a brain the size of a rednut. She never specified whether the brains of the animals which were experimented on were ''originally'' that little, so it's entirely possible that the Jenoine not only make the jhereg intelligent, but that they also pushed the envelop for minimal brain size by breeding them to be smaller with every generation. Adding venom was a side project. After the Jenoine were driven away, their mini-jhereg creations escaped and spread, displacing their bigger, stupider predecessors through superior cunning and a poisonous defensive bite.

The historian's references to Easterners in the former work are much more ignorant - not merely biased, but outright ''uninformed'' - than those in the Blackchapel portions of ''The Paths Of The Dead''. In "Special Tasks Group", the narrator isn't even aware that Easterners can feel hope, whereas in ''Paths'' he depicts the viewpoints of characters like Arra and Erik in very much the same light as he might, a Teckla: still as social inferiors, but as ''people'' with a full slate of emotions, thought processes, and responses, rather than as perplexing aliens with a mindset that can't be sensed or understood. It seems likely that Paarfi hadn't personally met many (or any!) Easterners before he commenced researching Morrolan's background or the Warlock's, and he came to know enough of them while conducting that research to become a bit more empathetic (albeit still snobbish) towards them.

The historian's references to Easterners in the former work are much more ignorant - not merely biased, but outright ''uninformed'' - than those in the Blackchapel portions of ''The Paths Of The Dead''. In "Special Tasks Group", the narrator isn't even aware that Easterners can feel hope, whereas in ''Paths'' he depicts the viewpoints of characters like Arra and Erik in very much the same light as he might, a Teckla: still as social inferiors, but as ''people'' with a full slate of emotions, thought processes, and responses, rather than as perplexing aliens with a largely-incomprehensible mindset. It seems likely that Paarfi hadn't personally met many (or any!) Easterners before he commenced researching Morrolan's background or the Warlock's, and he came to know enough of them while conducting that research to become a bit more empathetic (albeit still snobbish) towards them.

The historian's references to Easterners in the former work are much more ignorant - not merely biased, but outright ''uninformed'' - than those in the Blackchapel portions of ''The Paths Of The Dead''. In "Special Tasks Group", the narrator isn't even aware that Easterners can feel hope, whereas in ''Paths'' he depicts the viewpoints of characters such as Arra and Erik in very much the same light as he might, a Teckla's POV: still as his inferiors, but as ''people'' with a full slate of recognizable emotions, thought processes, and responses, rather than as aliens with a largely-incomprehensible mindset. It seems likely that Paarfi hadn't actually met many (or any!) Easterners before he commenced researching Morrolan's background, and he got to know enough of them while conducting that research to be a bit more empathetic, albeit still prejudiced, towards them.

The historian's references to Easterners in the former work are much more ignorant - not merely biased, but outright ''uninformed'' - than those in the Blackchapel portions of ''The Paths Of The Dead''. In "Special Tasks Group", the narrator isn't even aware that Easterners can feel hope, whereas in ''Paths'' he depicts the viewpoints of characters such as Arra and Erik in very much the same light as he might, a Teckla's POV: still as his inferiors, but as people rather than as aliens with a largely-incomprehensible mindset. It seems likely that Paarfi hadn't actually met many (or any!) Easterners before he commenced researching Morrolan's background, and he got to know enough of them while conducting that research to be a bit more empathetic, albeit still prejudiced, towards them.

* Except Paarfi is such a grandstanding embarrassment to his academic colleagues and his House that if he actually had such a skeleton in his closet, you'd think it would've been dragged out in public by now. On the other hand, he could possibly be the ''father'' of a half-breed, or have one for a half-sibling.

** Morrolan knows witchcraft, though. That's plenty to be a wizard, provided he can integrate both witchcraft's techniques and sorcery's into the same magical workings. Presumably, by the definition stated above, most wizards integrate sorcery with necromancy or psychics; occasionally, one who doesn't care that it's illegal might blend Imperial and Elder sorcery together. The reason Vlad is a prime candidate is that he knows, and has already begun to integrate, sorcery, witchcraft, ''and'' psychics, plus enough Elder know-how to at least mooch some amorphia off that Jenoine chaos-stream.

** He knows witchcraft, though. That's plenty to be a wizard, provided he can integrate both witchcraft's techniques and sorcery's into the same magical workings. Presumably, by the definition stated above, most wizards integrate sorcery with necromancy or psychics; occasionally, one who doesn't care that it's illegal might blend Imperial and Elder sorcery together. The reason Vlad is a prime candidate is that he knows, and has already begun to integrate, sorcery, witchcraft, ''and'' psychics, plus enough Elder know-how to at least mooch some amorphia off that Jenoine chaos-stream.

Point the first: Paarfi is supposedly a member of the House of the Hawk, but seems rather un-Hawklike in a number of ways. Most notably, Hawks are completely unconcerned with social niceties, while Paarfi is just the opposite. His fancifulness is also rather atypical for a Hawk. Point the second: in ''Five Hundred Years After'', Paarfi goes into a rant about how poorly crossbreeds are treated. This is uncharacteristic of him; while he certainly expresses his opinions in many places throughout the Romances, this is really the only place where he takes a stance that could be described as political. Finally, Paarfi is based on Creator/AlexandreDumas, who was of mixed race.