[Dragaera] New member introduction

[Scott Schultz]

Nothing like diving in head first! ;-)

Since you're looking for discussion, I think it would be good to know which 
books you've read. If you're caught up on the Vladiad but you've never read 
any of the Paarfiad (The Phoenix Guard, et. al.) then you'll be missing an 
important alternate viewpoint on the Empire and its history, and references 
to Paarfi and his works will be more or less meangless to you.


> We already know that Vlad is an imperfect narrator, one who
> distrusts his own memory.  So, to others and himself, Vlad is different
> things in a similar manner.  This is a point that I am not quite married
> to... it feels important but I am not certain where it goes or what it
> proves.
>

I'm not sure I agree with this in the context of the stories. It's true that 
Vlad changes over the course of time, and it's also true that the gimmick of 
the series is that each story revolves around the nature of it's title 
animal in some fashion. I'd say that the characters are not normally aware 
of this, though. For the most part, if you asked Aliera or Morollan about 
how Vlad has changed over the years, I think they'd look at you blankly and 
say "He's the same Vlad he's always been." Kiera might possibly have 
something to say about it, but she's known Vlad probably more intimately 
than anyone besides Kawti or Noish-Pa.

It seems to me that the grounds for envisioning Vlad as a "Taltos-of-story" 
is more of a narrative effect than anything that's obviously meaningful 
within the context of the stories. Trying to think of Vlad as literal Taltos 
is reaching a bit far, IMO, though I think I've heard similar speculation on 
the list before. Primarily, we have the mystery of Vlad's mother. Namely, 
there's barely a mention of her in any of the books. Some readers have 
wondered if there isn't a good reason for that.

> What ever happened to Bolk's heart?  Was it destroyed, or just removed?

Miklos threw it at Verra. Presumably, when she vanished, it went with her.

> Was the whole idea of Brokedown Palace an allegory of what the gods must 
> do to
> fix all of Dragaera?  Did what happen actually happen, or is it the failed
> understanding of the characters that we see?

Unknown at this time. Vlad travels to Fenario in the upcoming book 
_Jhegalla_ and there may or may not be answers there. Steve is no help. He 
enjoys the speculation. *heh*

My personal opinion has always been that Brokedown Palace is allegorical. 
Steve wrote the Dragaeran equivalent of a Hungarian fairy tale. In my own 
mind, it's never really been a part of the canon of the Vladiad and the 
Paarfiad. That view isn't really correct any more, given that Verra 
indirectly verified to Vlad the events of her banishment from Fenario by 
Miklos.

>What was the deal with the
> whole thing?  Stagnancy must be fought because the home is crumbling? 
> Then
> it hit me.  What if the story of Brokedown Palace must be re-enacted 
> towards
> the Empire - with Vlad acting in the place of Bolk's heart?

Honestly, I don't think that Brokedown Palace relates to the Empire at all. 
The whole point of the story is that the Empire (or at least its sorcery) is 
part and parcel of the stagnation that has held back the Royal Family from 
making progress and, by extension, Fenario and the East as a whole.

Consider this - Easterners live and die in the blink of an eye in terms of 
Dragaeran lives. There have been Easterners on Dragaera for as long as there 
have been Dragaerans. Longer, really. Look at how much our own world has 
changed in only 2000 years, then consider that the Empire just recently 
concluded its first Great Cycle - Seventeen Cycles. That means that the 
Cycle has turned 289 times, each of those "turnings" lasting anywhere from a 
few hundred years to a couple of thousand. You see? Our own world has gone 
through mind-boggling change in the course of time that, to a Dragaeran, 
might be a single long lifetime and a single change in administration of the 
Empire.

Easterners have been on Dragaera for something like 200,000 years or more. 
Despite this unimaginable history, their society appears to have changed 
very little. They don't rule Dragaera. They haven't overrun the planet. They 
haven't developed advanced technology. They haven't even united as a single 
nation. In fact, the small glimpses of their lives indicate that after all 
of this time they are still living a quasi-mideavil lifestyle.

How can that be possible, given what we know about human nature in our own 
world?

An obvious answer is that the Lords of Judgement are responsible. They're 
treated as gods by the Easterners who know them, but they aren't benevolent 
except in the most self-serving sense. The Easterners are stagnant because 
the Gods have kept them stagnant in order to protect the Empire, the Cycle, 
and the world from the Jenoine.

Brokedown Palace isn't an allegory about an Easterner who is going to free 
the Empire from stagnation. It's a history of the first revolt of the 
Easterners against the tyranny of the Gods. Since it apparently took place 
rather recently in Dragaeran terms,it's difficult to see yet what the 
end-result might be.

A final thing to keep in mind when considering the idea of Vlad as 
taltos-of-story is that Steve has deliberately embraced the idea that 
there's no such thing as objective history. Fenarr at the Pepperfields is 
the primary example of that. Vlad's version of the story is basically an old 
myth involving a talking horse. Miklos' version, due to 
up-close-and-personal experience with Bolk, is that a Taltos was involved. 
Kaavren's version (as told by Paarfi) as an actual participant in the events 
is that a really admirable example of horse-flesh was sadly destroyed. Which 
is objective truth? There's no way to tell. We don't know what Bolk is or 
what his relationship is to the Lords of Judgement and we don't really have 
any way to objectively know that he was the horse in the myth, and if we 
believe Paarfi/Khaavren, the actual events were rather non-mythical in 
nature.

>
> He now has God-slayer.  But who is he to slay?  And why is Verra not all
> that frightened of the creature she created (Vlad)?  She is indeed wary, 
> but
> frightened?  She built him to be who he is.

According to prophecy, Godslayer will kill Verra. Whether that means that 
Vlad will wield it is an open question.