[Dragaera] Just got ahold of Dzur

[Steve Rapaport]

On 8/26/06, Louis Eastman <almagaiz at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>
>
> > =====
> > Now I'm going to have to go back and re-read this thing a few times to
> > see
> > if I get more satisfied about:
> >
> > * Why is simply giving South Adrilankha up to whatever faction not an
> > option
> > for Cawti or Vlad?  Neither of them wants it.  How is Vlad saving Cawti
> > somehow by helping?  I expect I'll catch this on the second time
> > through.
>
>
> Cawti's still trying to improve it, but not doing a spectacular job.
> However, the
> Left Hand wants the area, and is gently telling her to bug off. Cawti is
> stubborn,
> and won't.
>

Right, that's what I gathered.  So how is he helping her by interfering? She
either wins or loses South Adrilankha, which aside from her own
stubbornness, doesn't mean much to her either way.  And she doesn't really
want to be obliged to him.  So he makes everyone happy by staying out of
it.   Simple.

If he interferes, he's telling her that she'll probably get herself killed
by continuing as she is, and that he can save her.  Not a message she wants
to hear.  Ah well, but he's being a Dzur this time...


But more questions are bugging me:
> >
> > * Why does Vlad want to blame stuff on Verra?  Aside from some memories
> > coming back, I didn't see any reason to believe that she was responsible
> > for
> > (or even interested in) any of the books' events.
>
>
> Because Verra has been using him and manipulating him for years, and now
> he
> has discovered tampering with his memory, and possibly how he has thought
> and acted in almost the entire series. He doesn't know how long or what
> she's done,
> she won't admit to a lot of it, and is basically bossing him around and
> not helping him
> or treating him decently. Also, she said she was watching over his family,
> and obviously
> hasn't been doing a good job.
>

Ok, I'd gathered all that, but that's just what gods do.  Why the need to
blame her NOW?  And she's still not obviously involved in the Left Hand or
South Adrilankha, except for sending a dream to help Vlad out.


* The strained dynamic between Vlad and Daymar makes even less sense than
> > ever.  They learn from each other each time they meet, and Vlad has long
> >
> > since accepted Daymar's literal thinking, yet he can't stop jibing at
> > Daymar.  Even Daymar has begun to notice it.
> > And Vlad seems more mature than he was, and less intimidated by powerful
> > folk, so why hasn't he relaxed a bit around Daymar yet, and perhaps
> > started
> > to even be civil when he's the one asking for favors?
>
>
> Vlad's pissed off already when Daymar gets there. He says so, and I
> believe even apologizes.
>

Yes, but he doesn't get any more civil, and he keeps on stopping Daymar from
explaining stuff he (Vlad) probably needs to know.


* For all the talk about Dzur being more complex than they seem, Telnan
> > seems pretty simple and not all that interesting. Aside from being
> > rather
> > more geeky and cheerful than Vlad expects, he doesn't have a lot to say
> > except "Mmmm.  Donuts".
>
>
> He explains how to be a Dzur?
>

That he does.  But so does Sethra, and in almost the same words.  The only
difference I remember between her explanation and Telnan's is that Telnan
substitutes Sethra's "Do what's right" with "It's fun".

But do correct me if I've forgotten something.


-- 
\Steve