[Dragaera] Verra and the Paths of the Dead

[Jon Lincicum]

 -------------- Original message ----------------------
From: "andy" <bonham15 at cox.net>
> 
> 
>  -------------- Original message ----------------------
> From: Jot Powers <books at bofh.com>
> > Adding some spoilerspace
> > 
> > Probably spoils:  Orca, Dzur and Jhergh
> > 
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> > On Tue, Nov 13, 2007 at 06:21:54PM +0000, Jon Lincicum wrote:
> > > 
> > >  -------------- Original message ----------------------
> > > From: "Scott Schultz" <scott at cjhunter.com>
> > > > 
> > > > It also seems, given Sethra's narrative about the vial of blood, that
> Verra 
> > > > is not so much prescient as pre-intuitive. She might have had a child
> with 
> > 
> > Is the blood really Verra's?  
> > 
> > Here is what we know:
> > 
> > Kiera gave a vial of blood to Vlad
> > Sethra is Kiera
> > Sethra reports to get blood from Verra
> > Verra took blood from Vlad and wiped his memory of it
> > Time does funny stuff in the PotD
> > 
> > So, did Vlad in fact simply put his blood into Morollan?  Is Vlad's blood
> > special because he is related to a god, or is it just because he is
> > an easterner?  Are these items actually completely unrelated?
> 
> >Since /Dzur/, I've been wondering exactly the same thing. 
> 
> >The clue that Verra took blood from Vlad in the Paths leads me to think
> >that the blood in the vial is, in fact, Vlad's own. 
> 
> 
> May I point a matter of belief?  Morollan and company believe that being a
> god is a skillset basically, as has been pointed out.  Easterners believe it
> is something inherent... 

Verra, in /Issola/, seems to imply that the truth of the matter is that neither Easterners nor Dragaerans have gotten it exactly right... It's more than just a skill, it's more than just an inherent state. 

I think the key here may lie in what Teldra (poor Teldra!) says to Vlad about a god (or goddess) embodying a trait or aspect. A being aspiring to godhood must link themselves irrevocably to an inherent aspect. This presumably limits them in a way in which they cannot operate or think counter to the aspect that they embody. (Which may well be why Sethra turned godhood down.)

> supposing that the belief of an easterner was
> necessary to make the blood of a god 'magical', maybe verra's blood had to
> pass through vlad to use in morollan?  Without that eastern flavor of
> belief... pararectal, I know.

Interesting thought.  Mixing goddess blood with Vlad blood to make something with different (possibly more powerful) characteristics? Could be. Though this may be getting needlessly complex. 

Majikjon