[Dragaera] Vlad's passivity--getting long

[Alexx Kay]

Jerry Friedman:
> --- On Tue, 10/21/08, Alexx Kay <alexx at panix.com> wrote:
>> Jerry Friedman:
>> > --- On Sun, 10/19/08, Philip Hart
>> <philiph at slac.stanford.edu> wrote:

> It's true we haven't seen any mass media, but we know
> there are ballads, and /Taltos/ and /Issola/ seem
> perfect for that.  There are also books.

_Taltos_ as we know it has a big climax when Vlad performs his spell. 
Vlad doesn't even tell Morrolan about the details (at least not for a long
time), so that leaves the ballad without much of a finish.  Assuming, of
course, that Morrolan, Aliera, or Sethra even wanted to tell the story in
the first place.  While M&A like to be talked about, I don't see either of
them as likely to go into detail about what happened.  Morrolan doesn't
brag, and Aliera didn't *do* anything worth bragging about.  It probably
is generally known that Morrolan went to the Paths to fetch Aliera back,
but further details seem to me unlikely to be public knowledge.  (Maybe
there *is* a song, but it's largely unrelated to the truth :-)

As for _Issola_, I maintain that those events remain secret, but Michael
Wojcik has already detailed my reasons, so I won't repeat them.

>> > but still, I'd expect something.  Vlad meets Ric
>> > in /Dzur/: "Greetings, my lord Count!  I hear
>> > you've saved the Empire twice since I saw you
>> > last!"
>>
>> Ric might conceivably have heard that Vlad got awarded an
>> Imperial Title.
>> But I'm pretty sure the ceremony didn't specify
>> what, precisely, he got it *for* :-)
>
> Well, not precisely, but as you say, people probably
> know it had to do with ending the war.

What I actually said was "Those who follow politics might infer that it
had something to do with the Greenaere war.  Then again, they might
believe it had something to do with suppressing the riots in South
Adrilankha (an issue which Vlad was at least somewhat known to be involved
in)."  All of which are guesses, and rely upon a knowledge of (and
interest in) fairly high-level politics.  We don't know that Ric has such
knowledge/interest (though, to be fair, we don't know that he *doesn't*).

Regardless of what he knows or guesses, I'm willing to bet, just based on
Vlad's character, that the two of them never discuss Vlad's business
activities.  Even if Ric knows, he'd probably regard it as impolite to
bring up.

>> >M. might think Loraan's heirs would be
>> > interested in revenge and might want to keep an eye
>> > on who moves into his manor and keep.  All three might
>> > have various ways of knowing.  If they do know, they
>> > might be safe (certainly Sethra) or think it beneath
>> > their dignity to worry, but why haven't they
>> warned
>> > Vlad?  He doesn't have a GW.  And Loraan might very
>> > well want revenge on Vlad and want Spellbreaker back
>> > (as we find out he does).
>>
>> By the end of _Taltos_, M, A, and S all owe Vlad a big
>> favor, but they're
>> not exactly 'friends' yet.
> ...
>
> But there's plenty of time after that for them to warn
> him.

What's to warn?  By the standards of polite Dragaeran society, the problem
is over and done with.  (Maybe.  I am inferring from few examples.  But
more than the traditional 'one', at least!)  If Vlad hadn't essentially
fallen into Loraan's hands in _Athyra_, I doubt that L would ever have
moved against him.

> Also, Vlad becomes Morrolan's security consultant,
> and I'd think Loraan's continued existence would be a
> matter of security concern to Morrolan and Fentor.

Again, by normal standards, there is nothing to worry about.  Nobody
expects Loraan to attack Castle Black without there being plenty of
warning.

Yes, Morrolan did attack Loraan's home.  But only after long and
acrimonious negotiations had broken down.  And possibly (though this is
complete fabulation on my part) after a dialogue exchange along the lines
of "If you continue to be obstinate in your refusal to sell the item, then
I may be forced to simply take it!" "If you think you are *capable* of
taking it, be my guest!"  Hm, I like this a lot; it might actually give
Morrolan legal cover for his actions.

Alexx

"He acts *just* like a real, period Duke.  Therefore, he should be
 treated like a period Duke -- he should be poisoned."