[Dragaera] Unstoppable Force vs Immovable Object

[Scott Schultz]

>Remember, we are not on Earth.   It is possible that the emperor can 
>take on a persona which is in their society is untouchable, as everybody 
>pretends not to recognize him "on holiday".

That's an unusual enough trait that you'd think we'd have heard about it
before this.

>Or maybe they aren't pretending.

Given that magical disguises are possible, it could happen; though I'd
wonder how one disguises the orb. I don't think we've ever had an inkling of
an actual invisibility spell.

>Question - how did the Empress acquire her lover?

That's easy. She acquired him before she was an Empress; assuming that
"today's" Laszlo is the same person that Paarfi wrote about. Zivra, as I
recall, had no idea that she was a Phoenix, let alone that she was the
de-facto heir. Whatever it was that brought Zivra and Laszlo together, it
was unimpeded by the trappings of State that tend to impede the Emperor. 

Can an Emperor go visit Valabar's if s/he wants? Sure. A Dragon Emperor, for
instance, might insist on such a public appearance as a signal of confidence
in his own strength. Is it likely to be simple, or easy? I'd say that's
unlikely. If the Emperor enjoyed Valabar's that much, it would make more
sense to hire a Valabar-trained chef or even put part of the family on
retainer as Imperial Chef or something. This sort of rigamarole is a big
part of the reason why a Dragon aspires to be Warlord rather than Emperor.
The Emperor has way too much crap to deal with and hardly any of the "fun"
work.

Getting back to the original question - Let's assume the Empress graced
Valabar's with her presence. I'd expect that Mr. Valabar would treat her the
same as he treated any other guest, observing rightly that she was there
based on the house's reputation and that she would be expecting a certain
kind of experience. I don't think he'd ask her what she desired. He'd offer
the typical menu choices and then make a decision to accommodate her or not
if she requested some other meal. (I'm picturing the seen in _Get Shorty_
when Danny Devito's character ignores the menu and asks for scrambled eggs
with capers in them. *heh*)