[Dragaera] Bear with me please? (Spoliers for Orca, Issola, SL, others)

[Jon Lincicum]

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Louis Eastman wrote:
> SPOILERS
>
>       5)  Vlad says he getting paid to related or retell the battle to a
>   
>> metal box  three years after the battle. But by Whom. And he states that
>> noramlly (before the battle) he talks to the every morning metal box,
>> why? What is the metal box?
>>     
>
>
> It's a recorder that Steve uses to get the stories. A bit of an explanation.
>   
Well, not to belabor the point, but we're not entirely sure if the box 
is a recorder, or a transmitter, or both. (Or neither.) Vlad presumably 
doesn't understand how it works--it was apparently given to him by the 
old fool who paid him money to tell stories.

Personally, I'm a bit curious about when exactly Vlad gets a chance to 
sit down with the silver box to tell the more recent stories (Orca, 
Issola, Dzur) since he's on the run from the Jhereg, and you'd think he 
wouldn't want any details about his life on the run to fall into the 
hands of the Council--so why would he record or transmit them to a third 
party he's not entirely sure he can trust?

Perhaps in Dzur (or later) we'll see him resolve his differences with 
the Council, and he can sit down and have a long session with the silver 
box again.

>        7)  Wasn't Sethra "soul" in love with Vlad "soul" WAY BACK WHEN?
>
> Nope, that was speculation (on my part, actually) that Steve vetoed.
>   
I believe SKZB stated that Dolivar and Sethra were "not lovers". Doesn't 
necessarily mean she wasn't "in love" (whatever that really means) with 
him, just that they never had an active romantic relationship This still 
allows for all sorts of other kinds of relationships between them, 
however. Still, it's hard to imagine Sethra having an unrequited love 
for ANYone, let alone Dolivar...
>> Mario is a famous guy in the Organization. Everyone knows him, Morrolan has
>> one of the best spy networks in the Empire, which most likely include the
>> Organization.
>>     
Actually, I believe Vlad expressed a bit of surprise in learning that 
Morrolan knew about Mario--so it might be safe to assume that Mario's 
fame may be more limited to those in the Jhereg Organization. (Or, I 
suppose, those who've read Paarfi...)

However, Morrolan is Aliera's cousin, and Aliera and Mario do have a bit 
of a fancy for one another... At least according to Paarfi. I consider 
it likely that Morrolan has met (and may be good friends with) Mario.

> He spent it on South Adrilankha. He also didn't want a castle.
>   
Well, I don't know that he didn't *want* a castle--just that there were 
a lot of other things he wanted more. (Like a stable home-life, for 
example...)
> Morrolan's his friend, Aliera was once Vlad's brother/sister, and likes him
> a lot.
>   
Re-reading the books in chronological order, I really get the impression 
that Aliera's opinion of Vlad starts out rather low. She's a bit 
befuddled by him in /Taltos/, seeing as he's an Easterner, and therefore 
below contempt--but at the same time, he saves her cousin's life.

In /Dragon/, and later /Yendi/ she seems almost dismissive of him at times.

It seems likely that in between /Yendi/ and /Jhereg/ she does her 
memory-regression thing with Sethra and discovers the truth about her 
own soul--and Vlad's... and her stance towards him seems to change 
significantly given this revelation..
> 16)All near 249-251:
>   
>>           When did Khaaven get a sea named after him?
>>     
>
>
> Last time I checked he didn't. I thought he had a wine named after his
> ancestral
> land.
>   
We have very little information on the Khaavren Sea, (Just that it's off 
the south coast somewhere), but presumably, it was named after whatever 
great historical figure also inspired the name of the Marquisate that 
Khaavren's family once held, and is likely the same person that "our" 
Khaavren was named after, as well. Or perhaps Khaavren is really just 
his title, and we've never actually learned our good Tiassa's real given 
name?
>             Why are Bow-and-Arrows called Javelin-Shooter?
>
>
> Because they don't use arrows, or bows. They fling javelins, also known as
> pilums,
> farther than you could throw them-think of a slingshot and you're close.
> More info; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pilum
>   
There are actually a few references to arrows in various points in the 
books, although I don't recall exactly where. These may have gone in 
before SKZB decided to call them all "javelins" instead.

Of course, it's possible that "arrows" and "javelins" have been used by 
different armies at different times in Dragaeran history, and that 
"arrow" is simply not the term that is currently in vogue.

This may also be one of those things that can be explained away by 
"mistranslation" from the Dragaeran tongue to English, also.


Majikjon